Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (13 page)

“Give me some credit, my boy.
I’m too old to think I can enact justice. I’ll leave that to you and Elizabeth.”

“I give yo
u all the credit in the world, Granddad, I just happen to not be naïve enough to know that the people on this reservation would prefer to handle this in their own way.” Blackhawk got up from the chair and took his wife’s hand, signaling it was time to go.

“Come back and see me soon, Elizabeth,” he said to
her, smiling gently. “Anytime, even without Ethan. You are welcome in my home.”

“I will,
Granddad,” she kissed him on the cheek and headed out to the car. It was obvious the men wished to talk without her there, and she’d accommodate her husband’s need for a private conversation.

“Ethan, in my dream the raven was in trouble. Caution is needed at this time. There
’s danger coming, and I don’t want to see either of you harmed.”

Blackhawk didn’t want to hear the words. He didn’t want to be pulled back into prophetic dreams. “I won’t let anything happen to my wife,” he stated
, with absolute fact, as he walked out of the house. Doubt filled his mind at the choice they made leaving the jobs in Salem. Bringing her back to the FBI was a bad idea, and he only hoped his grandfather was wrong and the raven wasn’t in danger.

Elizabeth had to be safe at all costs. Without her he was sure he’d lose his mind and go completely insane.

There was no doubt.

~ Chapter Four ~

The rain was moving in fast-
faster than anyone expected. Far and few were the pouring rainstorms that reaped havoc on the land, but once in a while there was a monumental one. This storm would be so bad that it would erode the land and make the ground seep away into the streams and river beds. When these storms happened things that were buried deep were pushed to the surface. There was always the chance of unearthing things that lay deep in the rich, black soil. On such a night, the lost would be found and return to life.

It was inevitable.  

One could believe that the Great Spirit was weeping for their murders, and calling back the souls and bodies of those taken before their time. The lost that had been defiled and not given a true burial, but dumped back into the earth and left to decay. Whether Mother Earth was pushing them out of her womb to be found, or just unable to hold onto the screaming spirits- it would never be known.

The only thing evident was that there were many dead now, and justice must be found
for each and every one.

                           *   *   *

Wednesday evening

Fortunately for the tech team they had just beaten the rain. All the remains had been packaged up and sent back to the FBI West lab to be analyzed and checked. There were a great deal of bones to be studied, and it was going to take the remainder of the night.  Most of the bones were soft and many of them from the unborn. The tech team had documented everything, and they’d taken hundreds, if not a thousands of pictures. Not one stone was left unturned, and now would come the arduous duty of reconstructing the crime and chasing any lead they could find.

Ethan and Elizabeth Blackhawk had visited the scene right before the heavens opened up. Like
ever diligent agents, they walked the perimeter again, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Checking to assure nothing was missed. There wasn’t even a single gum wrapper left in the campsite. The tech team had done their job. That was a constant with their team. Efficiency was their main goal, and the second goal was to avoid the scary wrath of Elizabeth Blackhawk.

Dismi
ssing everyone back to FBI West and packing up all the equipment didn’t take much time. Even under the ongoing scrutiny of the tribe that stayed to watch over them, like they were thieves stealing precious artifacts. The glares said it all to the outsiders.

“Meet us at the office, tomorrow,” said Blackhawk, absently. He had too much on his mind to stay focused, and he was done with the entire day.

Callen Whitefox nodded. He could see his brother was distracted and the assumption was that granddad had given him the riot act. “What time do you want me there?”

Elizabeth noticed her husband was no longer pay
ing attention. “Nine a.m. is good, Callen. We’ll meet you in the lobby and head down to the lab together.”

“I’ll be
there. Thanks for coming today and making this as easy as possible,” he added. There was no doubt that he was grateful that his brother and sister-in-law were handling it respectfully.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” she nodded, taking the keys from her husband. She wasn’t letting him drive when he was completely unfocused. She did
n’t want to die on the way home when the torrential rain began. 

Inside her husband’s mustang she
drove out of the reservation, giving him some time to remain quiet. As they approached the main road, leading them out of the town and back to their neighborhood, she couldn’t help but be worried. It wasn’t like him to be this introverted when thinking about an assignment. Usually he would talk it out with her unless she was the issue plaguing him. Something his grandfather had tossed out at him in private was playing with his mind and emotions. There were storms brewing in Ethan Blackhawk’s eyes.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked finally, putting on the wipers, as the first spots of rain began to fall.

“I want you to stay in the office and forget about this assignment,” he said it with so much emotion in his voice. It was ready to break from him and flood them both in the car.

“I can’t do that, Ethan and you know it.”

“Yes, you can. You just won’t do it! We have the luxury as directors to back out of an assignment. I can cover it with my brother. Please stay in-house.”

Elizabeth slowed down for a stop light and looked over at her husband, she wanted to be furious that he was telling her what to do, and that he was forgetting that she was his equal partner. She just couldn’t muster the anger. It wasn’t often that he looked this lost and worried, and she opted to take the higher marriage road and cut him a break.

“I will if you will. We both walk away together, or neither of us does.”

He looked over; his eyes looked very dark in the confines of
the car. “I have to finish this.” Blackhawk didn’t know why he felt such a strong compulsion, but he had to finish this, if anything for his grandfather. It was his penance for walking away.

“Then I guess we have our answer,” she stated nonchalantly, as she drove them both home. As much as she was willing to give him a break, she wasn’t leaving him alone on an assignment while she hid in fear.

Elizabeth parked in their driveway as her husband exited the car without a word to her. Usually he would wait for her, and her heart clenched at the mere thought that this had come between them, dividing them. Hurt washed through her as she put his car in reverse and headed back out.

A little feeling of disappointment hit her as he had forgotten his grandfather’s prediction of their pregnancy. All she wanted was him to focus and be excited with her. Elizabeth again forced herself to just let it go, because he had a lot on his mind and shoulders. Right now she would focus on the big question plaguing her. Was his grandfather right? She needed to pick up a pregnancy test to see if
he’d been correct. In her mind she began calculating, trying to figure out if it was possible. Anything was at this point as neither had been careful. It was a good thing they both wanted children. Pulling into the drugstore, she hoped whatever the outcome, it would bring them back together. She needed a miracle, and she wasn’t afraid to pray for one at this point. 

Ethan Blackhawk dialed his boss the minute he entered their home, uncaring if his wife was behind him listening. He was pissed and angry that they had drawn this assignment, and he wanted to tear
someone a new one. As it rang, he waited and rationalized what would happen if he exploded on the phone at Gabe.

“Rothschild.”

“It’s Ethan.” Blackhawk hoped his voice didn’t sound as angry as he felt. This was his boss and now his family, so he tried to dial it back and get some control. 

“How’s it going, Cowboy,” he said, distractedly.

“Well, let me recap for you. We have a killer using the bones of unborn children on the reservation I once called home. We also have my half-brother who betrayed me, playing the role of chief of police. Let’s not forget my grandfather is the head of council and a shaman who hands out superstitions from dreams. The recent one is my wife is in danger and to keep her close. Did you hand pick this one to make me go completely and totally over the edge? If so congrats, Gabe, I’m over the edge. You win!”

“Yes, I can see that, Cowboy.” Gabriel Rothschild let hi
m vent and get it off his chest, as his friend and part of the family. He wasn’t going to even address how unprofessional his agent was behaving. It was so uncharacteristically like him, he knew he had to let it slide. “Are you waiting for me to say I’m sorry, Ethan?” he paused before continuing, “I am and I wouldn’t have sent you both in had I known, or if I could switch it around.”

“I want her pulled out, and I don’t care what you have to do to make it happen. I never question or ask anything from
you, but this time I’m begging. Yank her for my sanity’s sake.”

Gabe almost wanted to laugh. “You think that’s going to go over
well and that she’ll actually listen to me? I even suggest pulling her, your ass and mine are in the fryer, Ethan. I may be her boss, but I can’t pull people without a valid reason. I still have to justify everything to the higher ups. You know that and contrary to popular belief, I am accountable to people above me. I can’t make rogue decisions. I have leeway, but there are limitations to even my power. I run Quantico, but I don’t own it.”

“I’m aware she’ll be pissed, but if she’s in danger I won’t risk her. Pull her out and make her stay at FBI West, or call her back to Quantico on some asinine reason, I don’t care. In fact, tell her they lost her requalification paperwork
, and she needs to redo it. Please.”

Now he did laugh. “Again, Ethan, I won’t and can’t. You and I both know that your wife has a mind of her own, and if she even thought that we were having this conversation, she’d skin you alive and then come after me
, both guns blazing. Where she can only cause me hell, Elizabeth can physically cause you far worse for even making this call. Like divorce, murder, torture…”

He wanted to punch something
, and he just let it all out. “I’m scared shitless, Gabe.”

That he understood. H
e remembered the way he felt when he was going to marry his wife Livy, and she had to finish an assignment out in the field. He was a mess and completely nervous when some lunatic was stalking her. He nearly lost his mind with it all. Sympathy was flowing readily; the man had been forced to watch Elizabeth fight for her life and save them both. Fear he understood, but he could only do so much to cover for his agents.

“I can talk to her, but if I pull Elizabeth, she’s going to be very angry. One husband to another and one friend to another, vent it and get it out, but don’t put this between you both. Your wife is smart, and she’s a damn good agent. How would you feel if she called me
, and we were having this conversation about you behind your back?”

“I’d be furious!” Blackhawk
hated that his boss even remotely had a point. It occurred to him he just broke a big marriage rule by betraying his wife.

Gabe laughed. “Then update me on the details, and we’ll forget that we even had this little discussion, or you’ll see exactly
what the meaning of the saying ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ means.”

Blackhawk sat at their ki
tchen island, and broke it down like he had many times before to his boss. He told him about the medicine wheel and what the anthropologist had to say. Finally he wrapped it up with his grandfather and his knowledge on shamanism. When he worked it all out to his boss, he felt a tiny bit better, and he finally felt back in control of something at least.

“What can I do to help you two?”

“Can you find out if there have been any other locations where medicine wheels or human bones with red symbols were used in any ritualistic ceremonies? Open or closed assignments?”

“I can
have Quantico run the searches and have the information out to you as soon as possible. Anything else?”

“Promise me
this is the last assignment in the field for Elizabeth.”

“I promise it is
.” Gabe gave him the words even when he knew that he couldn’t put that in writing, but if it helped Ethan get through it then so be it.