Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (67 page)

“I’ll send the tech team, go!” Gabe Rothschild
watched his agent run for his vehicle. He threw on the lights and tore away like a maniac.

Gabe turned to the first female tech agent he saw. “Find the address Director Blackhawk just lef
t for and get a tech team there. He’ll need one female agent at least for evidence removal. They found Elizabeth and she’s alive.”

There was a cheer that went up through the e
ntire group that heard the news.

T
heir own was safe.

Callen sat beside Elizabeth on the bed as he watched her drink a cup of tea Timothy made for her. He was so glad to see her, and he could only imagine how happy his brother was going to be. “Want to talk about it?” he asked.

“Okay.”

“What happened?”

“I was leaving to go to the doctor
’s office this morning, and that’s the last thing I remember. I felt some pain in my neck, and then everything went black. Next thing I woke up in the woods dressed like this. How did you guys find out I was gone?”

“Granddad had a nightmare
, and when he woke up he told me to get to your house fast. By the time I got there, your gun, badge and a card were the only things on the porch. I must have just missed him and you,” he paused. “I’m sorry I was too late.”

“Did you have a dream too?”

“Yeah, and it wasn’t pretty. It didn’t have this happy ending.”

“Callen, it’s not your fault for being late. This creep was going to get one of us, and he planned on using me to torment Ethan. If he got either of you, I don’t doubt he would have killed you both outright.”

“How did you get away from him?”

Elizabeth wished she could just lie down and sleep a little while. The long trek out of the hunting lands drained her. “I managed to escape the nutjob for about two hours, staying ahead of him. Maybe six miles of forest at least. Then
, I went down this slope and someone grabbed me from behind, and it was Wyler. I thought he was the killer until I heard noise from the trail next to us. He kept me completely safe and took care of me. If it wasn’t for him, I think the killer would have worn me down and eventually murdered me. Without him, I would be out there alone dressed like this, and I would have frozen to death in the darkness.”

He didn’t know what to say.

It was very unlike his father to be the hero in a story. He wasn’t really sure how it sat with him.

“Please, cut him a break
. I’ll ask as a favor just for tonight. I wouldn’t have made it without him and that’s the truth. Even now, I’m shaky.”

“Tonight
, I can agree to that, but only because he saved my favorite sister.” And the woman he was in love with.

“You know that’s not really a compliment
, since I’m your only sister.”

Whitefox laughed for the first time in hours.

“I’m sorry you both had to worry,” Elizabeth said softly. She was sorry; it had to be the longest day of all the Blackhawk men’s lives.

“You can make it up to us later
by never being out of any of our sights!” he laughed. “You thought Ethan was going to lock you down? Add me to that too.” He leaned over cautiously to not touch her person, and placed a kiss lightly on her lips. “Complete lockdown, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth smiled
at his protectiveness. “Oddly, I am completely okay with that after this whole experience.” Now she desperately wanted to see her husband. “Where’s Ethan? I just really need to see him right now.”

“He’s coming for you
, just hang in there. You made it through the last ten hours, and I think you can make it a few more minutes until lover boy storms the house and charges in here like a maniac.”

Elizabeth laughed. It felt good. W
hat felt better was she beat the serial killer and knew she could now take him down for trying to hurt her family.

“I beat him, Callen,” she said softly.

“There was never any doubt, Lyzee,” he answered just as softly. When she offered up a fist bump and tear filled eyes, it took everything in him to not pick her up and offer her comfort. All Callen wanted was to wrap her protectively in his arms.

Elizabeth Blackhawk was definitely bad ass in his book.

Director
Ethan Blackhawk slammed his vehicle into park, and charged his grandfather’s house like a man being chased by demons. All he wanted was proof that she was still alive. He wanted to see her face, her smile, and know that she was still his and he wasn’t too late. He ran through the door searching for his wife, like a wolf scenting its lost mate.

“Where is she?”
he demanded.

Wyler and his grandfather pointed, and he practically knocked his father over to get past him. He pushed the door open and there
she was.

His life started again
just by seeing her.

“Ethan, don’t touch her,” his brother
warned softly.

He didn’t even look at
him, but instead he walked towards his wife. “I know. The tech team is coming,” he answered, as he dropped to his knees beside the bed and his eyes filled with tears. Here was the reason he lived, and she was dressed like some Indian woman in deerskin, braided hair, and moccasins. Her arms and legs looked like someone had slashed at them. The thorns and bramble did a number on her body. He took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes- those icy blue eyes that he couldn’t live without.

“I’ll be okay, Callen,” said Elizabeth unable to look away from her husband.
“Thank you for staying with me.”

He nodded and walked out, closing the door to give them privacy.

“Hey Cowboy, did you miss me?” she asked, smiling at him. If she broke, he’d be right behind her. Now wasn’t the time. Elizabeth would break later when they were home alone.

“Oh God, Elizabeth,” he
whispered, laying his head on the bed. It took everything in him to not weep over having her back. “I didn’t think I’d survive this one. The minute my brother called, I stopped living, breathing, and existing. Don’t ever leave me again, even for a second.”

“I love you.”

“My God, Elizabeth! I love you too!” Blackhawk looked back into her face, re-memorizing everything about it. “I thought I lost you, baby. I just died inside,” he confessed, his voice filled with emotion. “Are you okay?” Ethan Blackhawk looked at her midsection, hoping she’d tell him their child was safe.

“We’re safe, Ethan,” she smiled, knowing what he needed to hear. “Back in one piece, or is that two pieces?” she tried to lighte
n the mood, she was seriously afraid she was going to start crying.

“Thank God
!” He closed his eyes again and most of the fear began to drain away. “I can’t ever do this again, do you hear me? If you think I was a crazed control freak before, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“I’m okay with that,” and it was the complete truth. After this, she didn’t want to risk her future.

“How did you get away from him?”

“It was all a game for him. He wanted me to run, so he could stalk and kill me like prey. So, I gave him what he wanted
. I took off, and he didn’t have a chance. I made it six miles and then he started closing in on me. Luckily your father was hiding in the woods. He saved me and got me out.”

She stroked his cheek. “
I owe him my life and our child’s life.” Elizabeth looked into his eyes, before she told him how she felt. “I know you have a hard time around him, but I have to let him be part of our child’s life. I could’ve ended up in that pit, Ethan. That’s all I kept saying to myself. I was so afraid that it was you that was going to be digging me up and having to pick up the bones of our baby.”

He didn’t know what to say
, but the idea made him want to be sick. Just the fact she had used that as her mantra to escape, broke something inside him. His father was the least of his concerns now. His beautiful wife was home and alive.

She wanted to say more, but there was a knock at the door. The tech team had arrived, and she was a walking crime scene. “Let me get this done, okay? I had a really long day at work,” she laughed
, trying to make him relax. “Then I’d like to go home, we need to talk and I just want to feel safe tonight.”

“Okay baby
.” He stood and leaned down, touching his lips to hers, just to feel that one point of contact with his wife.

Everything was going to be okay now, Elizabeth was
back home.

“I’ll keep you safe,” he promised
, and he knew he would.

~
Chapter Nineteen ~

Tuesday night

Ethan stepped out of the room and left his wife with the tech crew. He felt a sense of relief that she was back home and safe, and now he could start to focus on finding the bastard that dared to violate her. Thomas Mason may have been related, but now he was marked for death. Desperately, he wanted to ask his wife if the killer had touched her, but if she said yes the rage would have overpowered him. Now he knew she was in good hands. Christina would take good care of her.

As the woman walked past him with her trace kit, she patted him on the back in reassurance. This all could have gone horribly wrong
, but he lucked out, and it had a happy ending.

Blackhawk joined his family sitting on the couch in his grandfather’s living room. What he couldn’t ask his wife, he could ask his father. There was no doubt his wife would sugar coat it to protect his heart,
but his father wouldn’t. Man to man, there would be nothing but truth.

Sitting across from them, he closed his eyes for a moment until he was sure he was completely composed and able to continue. “I need to know what happe
ned, and I need all the details. I don’t plan on making her talk about this when I take her home,” he stated, still unable to look at the man that abandoned him as a child, but gave him his wife back alive. There was no doubt in his mind that she had a right to tell him his father could see their child. How could he say no? He saved her and that alone was able to wipe the slate clean in his mind.

Wyler took a sip of tea his father had made him. “Your wife told me to go make myself scarce. She was afraid the killer would come after me. I went up to the hunting grounds that I always use for my food supply. While I was there I
noticed someone had been there. The underbrush was disturbed, and it seemed off to me. I settled in for the night to wait for deer and to confront whoever came through my space. Grounds are domain to the specific hunter, and mine are far enough back that people don’t just stumble onto them. When I saw the tracks, I was angry and I parked myself in the brush and was going to find the intruder.”

All the emotion flooded through him, but he could finally open his eyes and stare into the face of the man that saved his family. “Please
Dad, continue.”

The use of
‘dad’
surprised him and Timothy, equally. Usually, it was Wyler, but he tried to not have hope as he continued. “I heard a quad, and I went to investigate. I saw a man dressed as a warrior, war paint, feathers, the whole deal, with a woman. She was bound, hooded, and tossed over his shoulder.”

Blackhawk felt rage at the way his wife was treated.
When his brother placed his hand on his shoulder, he nodded signaling he’d be okay.

“I stuck around to see what was happening. I thought maybe this was the kill
er. The woman was dressed as a Native in deerskin. When he pulled the hood off her head, I immediately knew who she was. Even with the braids and eyes closed. Your wife is beautiful and very distinctive.”

“He sent me pictures to torment me.”

“Yes, he took pictures and was laughing. Then he left her to rest on the rock after he re-hooded her. I was going to try to get to her then, but I only had a bow and arrows, and I didn’t know if he had a gun. I was lying in wait if he tried to hurt her.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Nothing I could hear. Elizabeth spoke to him a while, and he became visibly angry. Then he shot an arrow directly at her.” Wyler paused. “Your wife didn’t even move or flinch, and you can tell she saw it coming. It was like she was daring him to a game of chicken.”

Blackhawk laughed an exhausted laugh. “Of course she dared him. That’s my, Lyzee.
A mere mortal would have been scared and panicked, but not my wife.”

“
The arrow grazed her arm, and then she was gone. Elizabeth was off like a doe. I tracked her for two hours and had a hell of a time keeping up with her through the thicket. I don’t know if she had a compass, or if she was trained well, but she immediately headed north and away from the common trail. It’s how she kept ahead of him and away from him.”