True Love Lost (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 3)) (35 page)

“What do we have?” Both Blackhawks moved towards the building, guns out.

“It looks like we can stop looking for Bobby Lee Tills. Right now he’s lying against the back wall and pretty much same as the others,” he answered. “The killer has been here, and this time, our victim is missing his eyes. We can thank the killer or the birds.”

Whitefox walked behind Desdemona, his Glock out, scanning the area around the building to make sure she’d be safe. Behind him Blackhawk began dialing the tech team for retrieval.

Something about the birds drew Elizabeth’s attention. Carrion birds were scavengers, and they were all looking down into the dilapidated building at the meal that was going to be out of their reach soon. All she could hope was they got there before the birds pecked apart the evidence too much.

Desdemona stood in the doorway, looking in at the deceased man, and she felt bad for him. Yeah, he tried to abduct her, but she wouldn’t wish this end on anyone. As she stepped in
the room, Desdemona noticed the glassless window facing the tree line. At least with the missing sections of the roof and open window there would be plenty of light to examine the body. She stepped in to get her part of the job done.

Elizabeth heard the telltale pump of a shotgun, and then the birds all
taking off at the same time, cawing in alarm. She ran towards the building, alerting her team. “Down! Gun!” The team dove, as she slid into the building, knocking both Callen and Doctor Adare off their feet and to the snowy ground. The blast filled the area, then a second, before silence filled the clearing.

When there were no more shots,
Ethan was the first to be up and moving. He motioned to Littlemoon, and they charged off into the trees to head off the killer. All the while he was worried about his family in the building, but he needed to do his job and trust his partner.

Elizabeth leaned over
Callen and touched his leg, as fear filled her heart. Both were lying motionless on the ground. “Cal, are you okay?” she asked, tentatively touching him.

Whitefox reached up and pulled her flat
and against his body to keep her safe.

“Are you out of your mind?” he hissed into her ear. “You could have been shot!”

“Yeah, so could you!” she answered back, her heart was still pounding in her chest.

“I’m wearing Kevlar, Lyzee. You’re wearing skin. I would have been okay,” he answered, exasperated. “I could have landed on you and the baby when you slid into us.”

Elizabeth placed her hand over her belly, and was grateful that wasn’t what happened. “Oh, well next time I’ll wait and see how that thick skull of yours does against a shotgun blast.”

“Are you both done fighting
?” whispered Desdemona. “Some of us don’t do well in these situations, and you both aren’t making it easier.”

“Yeah, we’re done
.” Elizabeth placed her hand on his cheek. “You okay, Doc?” she asked, looking over at the woman.

“Yeah, I think so,
Elizabeth.”

Callen turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. He was grateful she was still fast on her feet
and had no sense of self-preservation.

“T
hat was close. If you didn’t plow into us and knock us down, that wouldn’t have ended well.” She let it hang in the air as she looked over at the giant hole in the wall from the bullet.

“Close
calls keep me on my toes,” she said, joking.

Desdemona was shaking. “Elizabeth. I love you,” she said
, kissing her boss on the lips. “Thank you for saving us!”

Elizabeth laughed
at the entire situation. She was the pregnant woman lying between two lovers, and was just kissed by her ME.

Whitefox snorted. “Ethan is going to be pissed he missed that kiss,” he said, and started to stand. “
Speaking of Ethan, I better go after him. Both of you stay down. Elizabeth you aren’t vested!” He gave her the look.

“I know, I know.”

“Keep down, until Ethan or I get back.”

Elizabeth watched him run from the building. “Slide back against the wall, and keep your eyes on that window,” she said getting into position with her ME. “Got your gun?”

“Uh huh,” she said, her hands shaking. “How are you not completely scared and rattled?”

Elizabeth
shrugged. “I’m just used to getting shot at and more so now that I’m pregnant.” She patted the woman on her leg. “Or maybe it’s a statement of my mental status. Possibly a little of both,” she joked, trying to hide the fact she was badly rattled. Callen Whitefox almost didn’t walk out of that building.

Desdemona
didn’t understand how the woman could be so blasé about the entire episode. It was possible she was completely insane. “Next time a field assignment comes up, I think it’s Doctor Leonard’s turn.”

Elizab
eth heard the crunching of snow, and elbowed her ME. “Get ready,” she whispered. “Someone’s coming.” Both women lifted their guns. Elizabeth’s steady and Desdemona’s shaking. “Don’t shoot unless you don’t know who it is,” she whispered.

“I'm good with a gun when I’m not scared shitless,” Desdemona whispered.

“Elizabeth, it’s me,” her husband said, knowing she’d be ready to kill whoever came through the doorway.

“Hey honey, just hanging out w
ith Desdemona and the dead guy,” she said, pushing the ME’s gun down towards the snow, so she didn’t accidentally shoot her husband.

“Do you see why I didn’t want you running around without a vest,” he said
, peeking around the corner.

“Yeah yeah, so you keep saying
, but if I wasn’t here there may have been a vastly different outcome.”

Desdemona squeezed her hand. “I don’t know how you knew
the killer was going to shoot, but thank heavens you did.”

“I heard the pump of the shotgun, and then the birds took off out of the tree
.” Elizabeth pulled her friend to her feet. “Did you catch the shooter?”

Whitefox appeared behind his brother.

“Whoever it was, they took off in a car,” answered Blackhawk.

“I called the tech team, so we can start processing the scene and then get the hell out of here,” he said
, staring around the abandoned space. “I don’t like working on scenes where people are shooting at me and my family, or my wife is playing cowboy.”

Elizabeth ignored him and stared
down at the man that just last night was trying to kill them. “Get to work Doc,” she stated, patting her friend on the ass as she walked past her.

Desdemona laughed and felt a little less shaky.

“That was for the kiss,” she replied, winking and walking past her husband.

“Wait, what kiss?” he
asked, staring at his brother. “There was a kiss?” The tone of his voice was sheathed in unadulterated disappointment that he missed out on that.

Whitefox snorted. “Oh yeah, you
should have seen it. Desdemona was kissing your wife and I got to watch.”

“
Son of a bitch. I hate this killer.”

Wednesday Afternoon

Desdemona once again stood on her stool looking down into the face of death, and as usual she felt pity for the violent end
to his life. Yes, he was a vicious man who wanted to do her and Elizabeth Blackhawk harm, but in the end no one deserves to have their eyes removed or pecked out by scavengers. With her micro-goggles she examined the wounds in the orbital sockets for any trace or sign of what happened. Just as she was leaning over the body, she heard someone clear their voice.

“Excuse me, Doctor?”

Desdemona stood up and pulled the goggles off her head. “Yes, Sheriff?” she asked, preparing to pull the sheet over the man’s body. He was one of his employees, and she didn’t want him to have to see him before they cleaned him up.

“Can I see Bobby L
ee?” he asked, softly. “I know he was a colossal asshole to you and the agents, but he was still someone I knew.”

She contemplated it.

“You can look, Sheriff, but you really can’t touch. The tech team hasn’t swept him for evidence yet,” and she saw the look on the man’s face and went around the table to him. “I’m really sorry for your loss.”

He nodded and moved closer to the body. When he’d seen him at the crime scene his adrenaline had been racing, due to being shot at, and now he was back down to normal. It all just seemed senseless to him. Completely senseless
for anyone to die this way. In defense was one thing but this was a travesty.

Desdemona took his hand and patted it. “The FBI will find who killed your friend and co-worker. You can trust in that
.” Desdemona smiled up at the man. “Have faith.”

“After this week, I think I need a drink or two,” he spoke to the tiny woman beside him. “Want to join me tonight for one?”

That caught her completely off guard and she didn’t know what to say.

“
Unfortunately, she’s going to be very busy tonight, Sheriff. I’m afraid Doctor Adare is very unavailable.” Callen Whitefox stood in the doorway of the make shift morgue and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh, I see,” said the man. He
suspected there was something between them, but he wasn’t definitely sure until just that moment. Oh well, strike two with the feds. He’d have to find his companion out of the women in Red River.

“I hope you do,” he
answered, stalking towards them. Whitefox was very aware of their hands still joined, and he lifted a brow and shifted his glare to Desdemona.

She released his hand like it was a hot coal straight from a fire.

“I’ll go get some work done,” he said, tipping his hat at the doctor. It was a shame; she looked like she’d be a fun distraction for the evening.

“Doctor, the only hands you’re going to be holding and drinking beer with are mine, am I clear?”
He glared down at her.

Desdemona must have been staring with her mouth wide open. When he put his fingers under her chin and closed her mouth, she didn’t know what to say to him. “Callen!”

Whitefox didn’t care if she was outraged, and he planned on showing her. Leaning down, he pulled her face towards his and kissed her hard and fast. When he broke away, the telltale dazed look in her eyes gave him a sense of possessiveness. “Am I perfectly clear, Desi? That’s an order.”

When her mind
was finally unclouded, she nodded at him. There weren’t any words left in her head at that point. The man certainly could kiss and distract a woman.

“Elizabeth and Ethan want the presence of your company in the room they’re
using. Seems they want a preliminary report and any data you’ve received on the other victims. I’ll walk you up,” he said, stepping back. After today’s events, he was on an adrenaline high.

“I think I can find my way upstairs,” she muttered, grabbing her papers from the table. “Derek,” she called over to a tech prepping some instruments. “Can you please put the deputy back in the cooler, until the team is ready to wash him down and check for trace?”

“Sure thing Doc,” the young man said, smiling.

“Thank you, Derek.” Desdemona started for the door and noticed the look on Whitefox’s face. “Are you going to stare like that at every man that comes within proximity to me?” she whispered to him. “Even the techs?”

“Yep.”

“Why?” S
he didn’t understand what was bothering him.

Whitefox waited until they were out in the stairwell, and he took her by the arm. Desdemona stood on a stair ahead of him, and they were almost eye level. “Because I don’t share what’s mine,” he practically growled, low in her ear.

The words and how he said them gave her goose bumps.

“I’ve found I’ve grown attached to you, Desi, and I’ve also found that men sniffing around you makes me very irritated.” He loved the way she smelled, and he wanted to just grab her and take her home and do very insane things with her.
Callen knew why it was happening, and again more guilt came and he bore it alone. Not even Elizabeth could help him carry this.

“Don’t I get any say in this?”
Desdemona was outraged that he was taking control of her life and whipping it into a frenzy. Part of her wanted to stand up to him and defend herself. This was her life after all, and she deserved the right to speak her mind.

“No, you don’t
.” He took a deep breath, trying not to focus on the black glasses perched on her nose, or the way she stared at him in outrage. “We better go, before I do something that gets us both embarrassed if we get caught.”

Now she blushed bright red. “Callen!”

“Come on,” he turned her around, and tried desperately to not watch her as she walked up the stairs. His body was hard and taut as he visualized the morning they spent in bed together. Then came the memory of Elizabeth saving their lives, and risking her own again. At that moment he was a volatile brew, needing an outlet to his ever growing frustration.