Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) Read online

  He understood.

  “We should continue,” he stated.

  Chris picked up where he left off. “She was stabbed, and he took her lungs and spleen. In the process, he hacked his way through her liver and pancreas.”

  “No finesse?”

  He shook his head. “This wasn’t a doctor, that’s for damn sure. He got in and got out. Since we know that Agent Madden found her still warm, he moves fast.”

  “What kind of knife?” she asked, out of curiosity.

  “Not sure, but we’re working on it,” stated Merry. “I’ll have it soon. I promise.”

  That was good enough for her. If her team was working, that meant there would be results.

  Ethan was quietly standing against the wall.

  “This has you screwed up, huh?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, it does. This is all one hot mess. I’ll have something for you later. I need to mull this around in my head.”

  “Just one question,” she stated.

  “Yeah?”

  “Conductor of the crazy train?”

  He nodded. “He may own the whole damn railroad.”

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Beta Phi Ti

  Standing in his newly set up frat bedroom, Broderick Seaton got prepared for what was to come that night. His palms were sweaty, and he was thinking about Johanna.

  He’d seen her on the campus while he was out pretending he was going to get acclimated with the area.

  She just appeared out of nowhere, and luckily for him, she didn't see him.

  Tonight, he’d surprise her. He only hoped he could keep them safe. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d die for her. She was meant to be his, and now he was going to start building that back up. Later, he was going to show her that she’d been wrong.

  He’d stand by her.

  Brody would hold her hand.

  There was more to them than a future family.

  As he doused himself with his body spray, there was a knock on his door. Already, he figured it was time for the festivities to begin.

  And he was ready.

  “Come in,” he called, pulling on his button down shirt. When he turned, not only was he getting one ‘brother’ he was getting them all.

  “Can we talk?” Arman asked, stepping inside the room carrying a folder. “It’s about you.”

  He shrugged, even as the nerves quivered in his gut. This would be make or break time. By now, they’d done a check on his cover story. All Brody could hope was it held up. Staring into the mirror to fix his hair, he tried to be calm. “Sure, about what?”

  “We need to talk to you about the game. It’s been brought to my attention that you’re interested in joining,” Arman said, as his ape of a guard Nels closed the door.

  “I’ll admit that it intrigues me. What do I have to do?”

  He handed him the folder. “Inside are four women. You have to pick one, seduce her, bring us proof, and then it’s on to the next level.”

  He didn't open the folder. For his sake, he prayed there was a picture of Joey in there. If not, this was going to be awkward. “What’s the next level?”

  Arman laughed. “First you have to show us what you’re made of,” he stated. “Then we’ll let you know what’s up for grabs in the bonus round.”

  Sutton winked at him. “I think he can do it.”

  Brody opened the folder. Inside, he found himself faced with four women. The first three were strangers, but the last one was the love of his life. It pissed him off that they’d taken her photo without her consent.

  It infuriated him that someone was using her as a mark, and nothing more than a sex toy.

  Since the picture wasn’t from a party, but out on campus, that meant they were stalkers. There was his Joey as she sat in the cafeteria with some of the other sorority girls.

  “Her,” he said, handing Arman the picture of Johanna.

  He started laughing. “You’ll never get in her pants. Nels tried, I tried, and even Hervey gave it a shot. She’s gotta be a dyke.”

  Brody wanted to make the man bleed, but instead, he kept his cool. “How long do I have?” he asked.

  “There’s no time limit. You can have all semester, if that’s what it takes. The only caveat is the longer you waste trying to bag her, the less time you have with all the bonus babes.”

  He wouldn’t need a long time. First, Johanna would play along, even if she was pissed at him. Lastly, they weren’t going to be there for an extended period of time. Once this case was closed, they were heading out.

  “I can crack her.”

  Sutton pulled out a fifty. “My money is on him. I think he can do it.”

  The other two men did the same thing.

  Brody yanked out one hundred bucks and tossed it on the folder. “I’ll get in her pants. You three didn't romance her first. I like to make my girls feel like they matter.”

  God.

  There was a special place in hell for assholes who talked like this. Heaven help him for having to pretend to be this sleazy.

  “We’ll see,” stated Arman.

  “I’m telling you that romance works.”

  Arman began laughing. “Please. A wife is for romance. These sluts are for sex. I won’t waste my time. They’re begging to get into heaven.”

  “What happens there?”

  The man grinned, elbowing his compadres. “It’s only the hottest sex ever. These babes beg to be down there, and once we get them in our game room, they’re putty in our hands.”

  He stared at him. “Are they?”

  Arman simply nodded. “We’re not taking anyone down there tonight. We need to lay low.”

  “Really? Why?”

  They looked around at each other. “Let’s just say that there have been some issues. Tonight, we’ll find the next babe to take that trip with us, but she’s going to have to wait.”

  He tried to get more information out of them, but they shut him down. No one was going to spill any more details.

  “Let’s just say that the heat is on, and let’s leave it at that.” He shut up on the topic. “If you score, report it to Nels. He’s our record keeper. He’ll let me know when you prove it.”

  Brody went back to grooming.

  “Hey, can I have that picture of the babe? I want to study it and see if I can work out a good strategy.”

  Arman laughed. “You’re a freak, and I happen to appreciate that in a fellow predator.”

  Yeah, if this ass only knew who the prey was and who was the hunter, he might not look so smug.

  When he handed the picture to Brody, he waited until they were gone. When they were, he slipped it into his laptop bag beside the one of Joey and him. They weren’t keeping it—not if he had anything to say about it. The mere idea of men ogling his girl was enough to make him want to vomit.

  Staring in the mirror, he hoped she was ready.

  Oh, he was going to get her attention, romance her, and make Joey his.

  Getting in her pants wasn’t a priority.

  Making her fall in love with him definitely was.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Across Campus

  She really hated playing student.

  There was nothing worse than having to go back to school and pretend you gave a rat’s ass. Johanna didn't care about history, or even math. She was a Fed, and all she wanted to do was go back to her old life.

  Yeah, she went there.

  She missed Brody.

  This job sucked. At least when she was working with him, they had fun. They’d laugh, joke…and have sex.

  Shit!

  She couldn’t go there. Johanna wouldn’t. That boat had sailed, and she wasn’t on it. Right now, as she raced across the quad to get to her dorm, he was probably laughing it up with his new partner.

  Wasn’t that what she had wanted?

  Wasn’t that the gift she’d left for him?

  Yet, it still hur
t.

  Johanna was so lost in her thoughts that as she raced down the stairs to the dorm, someone grabbed her arm. It caught her off guard, making her drop her books. Before she could react, the stranger was bending over to pick them up.

  “Who are you?” she asked, backing up.

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. I just needed to talk to you.”

  She watched him warily as he picked up her Calculus book. “About what?”

  “You found her, didn't you?”

  She backed away more as he approached with her books in his arms.

  “What?”

  “Lori Denny. You found her body, right?”

  “Why do you want to know?” she asked, afraid to look away.

  “I’m Archy Saba. I work for the school paper, and I want to do an interview with you. I’ve already asked the cops for information, but the sheriff’s department is being close lipped. I thought I’d ask the woman who found her what she saw.”

  It was time to put on the act.

  “She was my friend. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  He looked sympathetic. “I’ll buy you a coffee, and we can talk over it.”

  She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

  “Listen, you saw her. You can tell me everything. Did you happen to see the killer? That would be freaking awesome. We could blow this right out of the water. In fact, together, we can get this out on the Associate Press and have the story spread across the country. We’ll be famous.”

  That was exactly what they didn't want.

  “No!”

  She grabbed her books and tried to get past him. Instead of getting away, he blocked her path.

  “Come on. You know you want to help me.”

  When he touched her arm again, tightening the grip, old training kicked in. She belted him.

  Archy Saba didn't see it coming.

  As the air was knocked out of him, he doubled over, barely able to breathe. As he was focused on himself, Johanna took that moment to rush past him.

  She hoped no one saw her sucker punch him.

  The last thing they needed was her blowing their cover. She was buried in the sorority, and that’s what the FBI wanted.

  Racing to the steps of her dorm, she didn't look back. It was funny because at one time, she’d stand her ground, kick the shit out of the asshole, and not be afraid.

  Now she was terrified.

  Without Brody, everything was out of sync.

  As Johanna raced up the dorm stairs, she tried not to look at anyone. Right now, she really wanted to be alone to think. Tonight was another party, and she was getting nowhere fast. Jason, her partner, had suggested she let one of the frat boys cuddle up to her. If she did, they might get into that basement room.

  That scared her, despite knowing that he was probably right.

  The key to all of this had to be down there. Every one of the dead girls had taken a trip downstairs with Arman. He was the likely killer.

  If she could get down there, she’d be able to find out the truth.

  Was there a frat boy killing the girls?

  In her room, she took a minute to breathe. Tonight, she was going to let the first one who approached her try to get in her pants.

  Shit!

  The things she did for her job.

  It made her want to be sick.

  Dropping down on her bed, she grabbed the giant pink teddy bear and hugged it close.

  As she closed her eyes, there was only one thing on her mind.

  “I miss you, Brody. I really, really miss you.”

  Chapter Five

  Wednesday Afternoon

  He had to get out of the frat house. The entire time, all the members were talking about getting laid, and that made him think about Johanna.

  It was more than that with her, but still…he could remember what it was like to touch, taste, and hold her in his arms.

  He missed it.

  So, while he was miserable there, getting edgy about what was to come, he knew where he could head.

  Heading off campus, Brody knew where his bosses were staying, and he opted to drop in for a visit. At least he could relay what he knew, while thinking about the job and not how to get Johanna back.

  Knocking on the door, he waited for someone to answer. The Denali was out front, so he knew the bosses were there. When Ethan Blackhawk opened the door, he looked a little surprised.

  “I was just heading out to pick up some Thai. Are you hungry?”

  Brody was still intimidated by the man. Ethan Blackhawk exuded strength, character, and charisma, not to mention he watched you with his nearly black eyes, missing nothing. “No thank you, boss. I just came by to update you on everything I learned the last two days at the frat house.”

  He was perplexed.

  “You could have just sent a text. We would have gotten it,” he stated.

  Brody looked anxious. “Is Director Whitefox-Blackhawk here?”

  “Yes, Broderick, she is. Why don’t you join us in the living room?”

  Ethan led him back. “Baby, we have company. One of our agents popped in for an impromptu update.”

  When she glanced up, immediately Elizabeth looked concerned. “Are you okay?” she asked, checking out the time on her watch.

  “Yeah, but I wanted to share what I learned.”

  She waited for Ethan to sit. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  Agent Seaton told them everything. It felt odd not having Johanna by his side as he broke it all down. This was something they’d done together, and often.

  Elizabeth listened, and when he discussed that part about the photos, having to score with the woman before getting to ‘heaven’, she glanced over at her board.

  “So, we have four women who all took a stairway to heaven, only to end up dead. That’s one hell of a coincidence.”

  Brody agreed. “I’m a little freaked out that they had a photo of Joey. I mean…that they had photographs of all these women.”

  She stared at her agent.

  “Don’t try to kid a kidder, son. It’s okay that this has you all stirred up. She was your partner, and you’re crazy about her. Ethan would be exactly the same.”

  He stared over the rim of his soda can. “Bullshit. I would be livid. In fact, I believe the word is homicidal.”

  She snorted. “See? Old dog or new dog, the tricks are still the same.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Broderick asked, hoping the answer was going to be ‘abduct Joey and make a break for it’. That would probably make his day. Anything else was going to add to his emotional distress.

  Elizabeth checked out her agent. From his starched shirt to his well-coifed hair, he still reminded her of a cop. “You have to loosen up. You look like Director Blackhawk does when he’s running a case. Take a chill pill and stop stressing it. You’ve done this before, it’ll all be okay.”

  “Hey! I look damn good,” Ethan protested.

  She winked at him. “You need to loosen up. Unbutton that top button, smile a little, and stop looking so freaked out.”

  “I’m not used to doing this without her. That’s why I can’t stand my partner. Johanna led me, and now I feel lost.”

  Ethan got it. That’s how he felt with Elizabeth. Once she entered his life, everything went out the window. Blackhawk was pretty sure he couldn’t go back to doing it alone either.

  She stood, crossing the room to stand in front of Broderick Seaton. Sometimes, the job of boss meant playing mother too. “Here’s your assignment for tonight. Are you ready?”

  He waited for it.

  “I want you to go in, make contact, and then go somewhere you can talk this out.”

  Brody looked shocked. “What?”

  “You said that they aren’t taking a woman downstairs tonight, and that you planned on romancing your mark to get in her pants, so take a break. What’s going to happen, if you don’t settle this mess between you both, is you’re going to jack this, and the situation wi
th her, up. You’re stressed.”

  He took a deep breath. “Okay. I think I can do that.” In that moment, he trusted his boss.

  “She’s going to be shocked to see you. Use that to your advantage. Then take that time to get in control and handle the situation. You’ll come out on top. My money is on you, Broderick.”

  He listened. “You’re nothing like they say you are.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, well, some of the things they say are true. I have my moments. I’m sure Ethan can attest to that if you ask him.”

  He held out his hand and shook hers. “Thank you, Director. I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

  “Just get the girl, keep your cool, and don’t blow the undercover part of this apart. If you manage that, we’ll call it even.”

  He headed out.

  “Good luck, son,” Ethan said, as the man headed past him. When they heard the door close, he glanced over at his wife. “Well, I better start coming up with plan B, because we are so screwed.”

  Elizabeth laughed.

  Didn't she know it?

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Johanna was just about ready. She’d picked her clothes with the intent to get the most attention. At this point, whatever frat boy hit on her, she was going with him. They needed to get into that room and with the urging of her partner, they didn't have time to play hard to get.

  So, she looked like a made up floosy.

  It made her want to puke. Her red lipstick was garish, her black eyeliner so thick she resembled a vampyre, and her skirt. Well...her mother would kick her ass.

  Yeah, she was just about ready.

  At the knock on her door, she glanced over. There stood Garland, one of the sorority girls, and she looked just as ridiculous. She’d made sure her shirt was cut so low that she was giving out plenty of tit shots.

  Great.

  God!