Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (60 page)

“See, you asked for it
just like you are now. Don’t act surprised that I’m always trying to get you naked, when you’re always touching me. I’m a man and it doesn’t take much.”

Elizabeth ran her fingers down his cheek and lightly tou
ched his lips. “I love you.” The love overwhelmed her, and she remained in his arms. The love she felt for this man was so overpowering she felt like she wanted to burst from it all.

“I love you too, baby. Call me when you get out of your appointment?” he asked. “I wish I could be there with you. I hate that I’m missing our first doctor appointment together for the pregnancy, but I promise I’ll be there for every other one.”

“Yes Mr. Blackhawk. I promise I’ll call you as soon as I walk out of the doctor’s office. We’re going to have weeks of doctor’s appointments. Don’t worry, Ethan. Before you go, can you get the paper for me?” she asked, sweetly.

“I absolutely can,” he
answered, kissing her on the forehead before he left the kitchen.

Elizabeth slipped out an anniversary card from the
cabinet and dropped it into the stack of papers that he was taking into work. Today was their five month anniversary since being married, and Elizabeth wanted to surprise him. “Thank you, Cowboy.”

“Remember, call me.”

“I will love bug,” she grinned, and enjoyed the look on his face when he recognized the term of endearment.

His heart skipped a beat
. Elizabeth had called him that during an interview in Salem. “See you later, sweet cheeks,” he laughed, grabbing his phone and his paperwork.

Elizabeth walked him to the door, waving to him as he drove away. She re-set the alarm and planned on finishing her breakfast
, and then leaving for her doctor appointment in a little while. It was going to be a nice morning of leisure. Deep down, she wished he was going to the doctor with her too, but she didn’t want him to feel worse than he already did. Elizabeth laid a hand over her belly and talked to her little Blackhawk bump. “Daddy will be here next time, I promise,” she said, lovingly rubbing the place where she would one day be fully showing.

Timothy Blackhawk woke up his heart pounding in his chest and an incredible feeling of panic filling his body. He had just had the worst dream in his life, and he had many nights of dreams in his eighty-eight years. He dressed in his robe and wandered out to his kitchen, hoping to have some tea to calm his rattled nerves. In his kitchen, there sat his grandson, drinking coffee. He didn’t look well rested either. In fac
t, he looked worse than he felt if that was possible.

“Are you feeling okay,
Granddad?” he asked, alarmed. Timothy didn’t look well at all. It was possible the previous night had been too much for him. He wasn’t a young man anymore to be out late and drinking wine.

“No, my boy I’m not okay. I had a horrible dream and woke feeling the effects
of it, that’s all.” He sat across from his grandson and tried to get the fear to leave his body.

“Me too, it was about Lyzee,” he said
, drinking more coffee, looking down at the paper in front of him.

Timothy Blackhawk felt his chest tighten. If he were the only one dreaming that his granddaughter-in-law was in danger, he would brush it off, but two dreams? That was something he just couldn’t ignore. “I had one too about her, she was being chased through the forest, and someone was hunting her
with arrows.”

Callen Whitefox couldn’t remember his grandfather look this pale. “Yeah, mine too
.” The panic started to well up in him too; he never told his grandfather about his dreams. Ethan and Elizabeth yes, but he never mentioned arrows to the older man.

“You need to get dressed and get over there right now. Call
Ethan and tell him something bad is going to happen. Please hurry, Callen. I fear for the life of his wife and child!”

Whitefox grabbed his phone, and dialed his brother. Immediately his call was dumped into voice mail; he must be on the phone with a call. He left a message, told him it was an emergency and call him back as soon as he got the message. He pulled on his jeans and ran out the door to his truck. All he could hope was his grandfather was horribly wrong, but deep down in his heart he wished he stayed there last night. Suddenly, he felt very afraid that his new sister-in-law was going to pay for the Blackhawk family sins.

                             *   *   *

Elizabeth clipped her gun to her hip and slipped her badge into her pocket. She checked her hair and smiled. She was still thinking about the night with her
husband and the morning too. A secret joy filled her when she thought about how he was going to find her card and smile like a lunatic. She almost wished she could be a fly on the wall of his office, when he discovered it hidden in his work papers. Grabbing her keys and purse, she stepped out into the sunshine, enjoying the warmth on her skin. Maybe she should start having her breakfast outside in the sun, just to get a little bit of vitamin D from its rays. It was looking to be a really nice day outside.

As she turned and opened the door to the Denali, she felt the slight sting in her neck, and the entire world started going dark. The last thing she could hear was the twisted laughter whispering in her ear.

Ethan Blackhawk was her last conscious thought, as she pictured the women in the pit. Her poor husband was about to start living his worst nightmare. All she could do was whisper to whatever power that was listening.

       
Please don’t let him be the one that finds my body.

                             *   *   *

Callen Whitefox drove like a maniac, literally risking his life and everyone else’s on the road to get to his sister-in-law. In his dream, Elizabeth was dressed as a Native woman in deerskin, and she was running through the woods being chased by some unseen force. The look of fear and terror on her face had made his heart pump in his chest while he slept. Watching her stumble and fall, forcing herself to get back up and run more. Her body was being slashed by the bushes and pickers, drawing little droplets of blood that ran down her arms and legs. The dreams lately all seemed so real, but he’d chosen to just ignore them. Until his grandfather had one too.

Something about this one was
different, and it just felt more important. Everything in life was about the careful balance. His grandfather had told him that many times growing up, and today he couldn’t get his balance at all. Everything in him hoped that she was still having coffee and at their kitchen table, and he was just going to look like a lunatic pulling up to her house.

In the driveway he noticed her Jeep and the Denali, and he had this sigh of relief fill his body
, as he jumped out and raced to the door. Before he could even walk onto the porch, he saw it and it stole his breath. There sat Elizabeth’s badge, gun, and a card, just like they had found before. He looked around, and heard nothing. There were only chirping of birds and the sound of cars down the street. With a tissue from his pocket, he carefully moved her gun and picked up the card. On the one side was a picture of a dove, and he couldn’t read any further. It was the killer, and now he had their Elizabeth.

Whitefox pulled out his phone, calling the office. When Ginny answered he blurted into the phone. “Ginny, it’s Callen Whitefox. Is my brother in the office?”

“He just walked in and is in his office on a conference call.”

“You need to go in and tell him we have an emergency and to call me back right now, please.”

The woman didn’t answer. “Is it a real emergency? He doesn’t like to be bothered on calls.”

“Ginny, it’s the worst kind, please get him now. It’s about his wife.”

“Oh, God! Okay I’ll get him!”

He hung up the phone
and waited to give his brother the most horrible news that he could ever have to break to the man. As he rubbed the bridge of his nose, he felt the dread fill him, and the overwhelming need to pray to whomever was listening. In his heart he felt such terror, and he began begging for Elizabeth to have a fighting chance.

Blackhawk listened to the drone of innate
talk on his conference call. He had seen that his brother had called and left a voice mail, but he needed to stay focused on the budget meeting. It was a big concern, and they were going to be way over budget this month with all the overtime they were steadily accumulating.

When he heard the tap on the door
, he looked over and motioned in his secretary. It had to be important. Ginny knew that this call was priority one for the day. She placed a note on his desk, wordlessly.

Your brother called, said it’s an emergency.

Call him as soon as possible, it’s about Elizabeth.

Blackhawk felt his chest tighten he nodded and spoke up. “Gentlemen, I have an emergency I’ll talk to you later,” he said, disconnecting the call. As he began dialing his office phone, he logged into his voicemail on his cell to check the message.

“Ethan, get home now and bring a team!”

“Callen, what the hell?” He felt sick, and he knew something was wrong. “Are you screwing with me? I just hung up on half the directors in Quantico.”

“Granddad had a dream,
and so did I. When I rushed over here, Elizabeth was gone.”

“Yeah she left for her appointment by now
.” Blackhawk tried to convince himself, breathing slowly to keep from panicking. He had to believe she was in the Denali on the way to the doctor’s office.

Whitefox blurted into the phone. “Her car is here
and so is the Denali. When I got to your porch I found her gun, badge and a card from the killer. Ethan, I’m not screwing with you! I wouldn’t do this to you if it wasn’t the truth. Come quick!”

Everything in him stopped. Breathing stopped, his heart stopped
, and most of all his life stopped in that very minute. Elizabeth was gone, and he was going to end up finding her dead like the other women. He reached for his phone and dialed the tech lab.

“Christina, get the crew to my house, Director Blackhawk has been abducted by
the killer. This takes priority and everyone goes. You have to help me find my wife,” he whispered into the phone, as the anguish filled his voice, and he felt completely numb all through his body. His wife and child, all that he lived for were now gone.

The gasp on the other end of the phone said it all. “Okay boss, we’re mobilizing and will be there within ten minutes.”

Ethan walked out of this office completely shocked and unsure what to do next. Ginny touched his arm and he looked down at her.

“Mr. B, are you okay? You don’t look well.”

“Elizabeth has been abducted by the killer. I have to get home.” His voice was dead and empty, and he was trying to get his body and mind to work together again.

She’
d never seen her boss like this. Ethan Blackhawk looked hollow and out of sorts. There was no way he could drive himself home, she called over to an agent sitting at his desk. “Tom, the boss needs to get home fast, can you drive him? Something happened to Mrs. B.” Ginny scribbled their address down from the files on her desktop and held it out to the agent.

“Can do, Ginny!” said the agent, grabbing his gun and keys and rushing to his boss’s side. “Come on, Director
! Let me get you home fast!” He steered the man to the elevator, holding the paper in his hand.

Blackhawk just followed where he was led. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this
, and now he knew nothing ever could. How was he to go to his house, and know that she’d been stolen away from there? If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself, and he certainly couldn’t go on without her and their child. It felt like half his life was gone, and his heart was dead and ripped in two.

The agent beside him led him by the arm, and was speaking to him. He tried to focus, and then just gave up as he opened the car door for him. Then his mind went completely dead
. It had to go silent, because if he allowed it the freedom to think, it would drive him mad.

T
he killer had his wife at that very moment.

His Elizabeth was in the hands of
a homicidal killer and whether he survived depended on her survival.

Blackhawk prayed.

He started praying to any and every God, Goddess, saint, idol, and deity he could think of, hoping someone would hear his words. When he closed his eyes, he remembered the night they shared and the morning. The fear made him want to howl in pain. His wife was at the mercy of a mad man.

His phone rang and he looked down at the display. It was Gabe. Surely he would know what to do, and he’d help him through this.

“What happened Ethan? You bailed on that call. The bosses are all worked up.”

“Gabe, the killer took
Elizabeth.” The words almost didn’t come out, and they certainly sounded foreign to his ears. He wondered if he even was able to make a complete sentence.

Gabriel Rothschild felt everything in him go cold. Dear God, this was all his fault
, and he had to do something. “Ethan, listen to me. You have to snap out of this, she’s going to need you. I’ll mobilize everyone that we have in the area. I can be on the next flight out of Quantico to help you, but you have to run this until I get there. You’re her last chance. Ethan, she needs you right now.”

Blackhawk heard the words.

“Ethan she’s going to be okay, you have to do your job. Do it for Elizabeth.”

He hung up
his phone on his friend and boss. The anger and the pain were too much for him to swallow right now. Something like hate started growing deep inside of him. If she didn’t make it, he would just be inconsolable.

When he looked in the mirror, the tech van was right behind them. In fact, there were four vans as they pulled along the street to his house. Part of him wanted to drop to his knees and weep, and the other part wanted to kill the man that touched his wife while everyone watched. Out the side window, he could see his brother standing in the front yard, and he looked as bad as he did at that moment.

The minute the car stopped
, Blackhawk jumped out, running towards the porch. It all had to be a big mistake, and she was going to come out and ask him why he looked so scared. At that moment, he would have given his life to hear her call him ‘Cowboy’ one more time.

“Ethan, wait!”
His brother headed him off, throwing his body against his and stopping him. “Don’t touch it! Let the techs get to it first.”

“I have to find my wife, Callen!”
He struggled to get past his own brother. There was the threat of violence simmering, just below the surface ready to break free.

Whitefox kept his brother locked in his arms, restraining him as he led him to the porch and evidence. If he contaminated the scene he might risk their chance of finding Elizabeth. Both men watched as Christina bagged the
note.

She handed it to her boss with
eyes full of sadness and fear for Elizabeth, and the man standing in front of her. Christina knew he had to be thinking about the mass graves they had found, and if they’d recover her body the same way. She knew he was, because all of the tech team certainly was too. It was written across all their faces.

Blackhawk took the bagged card and examined it. On the front was a dove, a hand drawn one. It looked peaceful. Then he flipped it over. The words were angrily scribbled across the card and he could see the desperation in them. The killer was definitely unhinged and now he had his wife and child.

        You have twelve hours and then she dies Blackhawk.

       
Let’s see if the mighty raven can find the dove before

                             
        she’s the sacrifice.

                     Her life is in your hands.

Blackhawk felt rage
and swallowed the pain. The clock was ticking for his wife, and he swore right then and there the killer was a dead man.

There’d be no trial
and no jury.

In that brief instant
, he decided that he was going to make sure that the man suffered if his wife was even scratched. Something dark, black, and vengeful welled up in his body and threatened to spill out at the man who was fucking with his life.

He looked at his watch. Sh
e would have left for the doctor by nine, and it was now ten. His wife had eleven hours left, and he hoped and prayed it was enough time to find her alive.

If he didn’t…

His life was officially over.

Gabe Rothschild felt intense fear and horrible guilt. He called his secretary and ordered the jet prepared for immediate flight. Right now he was abandoning his job and heading back out into the field to help his family. If anything happened to Elizabeth, not only would he be crushed, but his wife would be devastated. He sent her a text message simply stating he had to take a flight, and more details later.

T
hat was it.

She was almost six months pregnant, and Livy didn’t need
this stress harming her or their baby. Telling her that her best friend had been abducted by a serial killer would do more harm than good at that moment. They still had a chance, and he knew if anyone could fight for her life, it would be Elizabeth Blackhawk. 

Grabbing
his gun from the desk, and clipping it on under his suit jacket, he went to his closet grabbing his travel bag. In case of emergencies, he kept it there if he had to catch a flight, and this was a huge emergency. Gabe walked out of his office, nodding at his secretary as he entered the elevator.

Elizabeth would
n’t have much time. It would be a five hour flight until he landed and hopefully that would give him time to help find her. He’d rush the pilot and get them in the air fast. That was the good thing about working for the government. There was a way to circumvent any delay.

Gabe
dialed his phone, barking orders into it. “I want that flight in the air as soon as I step on the jet, am I clear? There can’t be any hold ups. Get it ready to take off. I’m in route and this is priority one.” He disconnected the call.

In the garage
, his car was waiting, the driver had been warned and he was prepared. The engine running and the door open. 

“Get me to the jet as fast as possible, Richie. It’s
an emergency.”

The driver nodded, closing the door and jumping into the car, following orders. 

Gabe sat in the back pulling up all the information his agents had been sending him the last few days, and he dove in, doing what he used to do.

The training came back
, and the field agent was still alive in him.

As he scanned the information
, he called his secretary. “I want everything you have on Wyler Blackhawk. If he worked off reservation I need to know where and with whom.” He gave her the years specifically. Elizabeth had clued him in that the killer was his offspring. It was off the official record, but now he needed to find the mother that gave birth to that child. Time was ticking, and he knew it.

“Hang in there, Lyzee,” he whispered to himself, as he began constructing his own assessment to
help save his agent’s life.

              
                 *   *   *

Satisfaction and joy filled the man.

He had succeeded in h
is plan.

After taking the woman
, he dropped her into the trunk of his car, and he escaped from the house as soon as he could. He didn’t want to risk either brother returning and finding him in the act. Once step one was completed, he brought her back to his house, pulling into the garage to begin his prep work. 

Elizabeth Blackhawk was a beautiful woman
. There was no doubt about that. Deep down, he was envious of his brother, and he wondered what it would be like to have a woman like her as his own. The rest of the women that he had taken had been easy and mediocre. There was no time for the little fantasies being created in his mind. The drugs he pumped into her would be wearing off in a little while, and he still had work to do on dressing her and the tattoo.