Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) Page 16

  “I’ll get you later,” she mumbled under her breath as he slapped her on the tightly clad ass.

  He laughed when she gave him the look. “I look forward to it. I sincerely hope that you’ll be wearing that outfit when you do,” he replied, watching her walk away. Ethan was aware that the college boys were checking her out, and that’s why he’d practically crawled into her body by way of her mouth.

  Just before she disappeared into the building, she turned, icy blue eyes meeting blue-black ones. The wink said it all. She was ready for what waited inside.

  He didn't have to worry.

  Getting back into the Denali, he headed to the morgue. There was work to do.

  Elizabeth stopped outside the classroom where she was directed to go. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach when she saw all the students beginning to pile in.

  Great.

  Here, she’d hoped they’d all sleep in. Obviously, they heard she was coming. Now she really wished Ethan was there doing this. Yeah, earlier, she said she could handle it, but now she was a tad bit nervous.

  When someone tapped her on the shoulder, she nearly jumped.

  Christ!

  What was wrong with her?

  “Are you Director Elizabeth Whitefox-Blackhawk?” asked the man.

  “Yes, I am. Are you Professor Levitz?”

  He grinned warmly. “Yes, I am. You can call me Wayne. I’m pretty laid back. I like for my students and guest faculty to feel comfortable with me.”

  She studied the man. He was around fifty, and athletically built. He was far from some old man sitting in his office withering away.

  “Thank you. You can call me Elizabeth. I’m beyond laid back,” she stated, noticing a young man was plastered to the professor’s side. “And you are?”

  “I’m David Lessman. I’m the teaching assistant for the professor. I’ve been dying for this day to arrive. I hear you’re one of the power players in the FBI.”

  It was hard not to notice the young man was checking her out. His eyes were firmly locked on her chest. In fact, he was borderline ogling.

  For some reason, it creeped her out.

  That said a lot.

  “Yes, well, don’t believe everything you hear,” she stated. “A lot of times, reputations are made in the media—not reality.”

  He didn't say anything else.

  “Are you ready for this ninety minute rollercoaster ride?” the professor asked, jerking his head toward the room.

  “I’ve done bigger lectures. This is more my husband’s thing, but I’m no stranger to it. Don’t worry. I won’t let it turn into a free-for-all. I promise. Worse comes to worse, if they stampede, I’ll shoot them.”

  She was joking, but obviously the professor wasn’t amused.

  “You can’t bring a gun in there.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, well, the shiny gold badge says otherwise. I’m not here just giving a lecture. I’m on the job, and that means I carry.”

  She lifted the side of her blazer to show the professor her sidearm. It was tucked right against her badge.

  He looked nervous.

  “I was kidding about shooting anyone. That hasn’t happened in…days.”

  The TA started laughing, obviously getting the joke. When he got the dirty look from his professor, he shut up.

  “Can I ask what you’ll be speaking about today?” Professor Levitz asked. “I normally have final say on what’s going on in my class, but Doctor Hallowell wouldn’t let me in on it this time.”

  She reached into her briefcase and pulled out her papers. When she handed them over, Elizabeth waited for him to read them.

  “Really?”

  She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad reply.

  “Doctor Hallowell warned me about you. He said you’re brash, a loose cannon, and trouble. From the look of this topic, I can see he was definitely wrong. This is perfect.”

  She relaxed. “He’s paranoid. Do I look dangerous?”

  Both men swept her body, and she didn't miss the look in their eyes. Score one for her. Mommy body wasn’t unappealing after all.

  Good to know. When she wanted to stay in bed instead of run, she’d think back to the kiss from Ethan, and the approving stares of lecherous strangers.

  She nearly laughed.

  “No you don’t look dangerous,” David Lessman stated. “In fact, you don’t look like a Fed.”

  Yeah, she got that a lot. By the time she was done tap dancing on their egos, they thought elsewise.

  “I’m intrigued by your topic,” stated the professor. “Profilers are vital in the FBI. I once had the rare opportunity to go to a lecture held by the Feds. The speaker was an Ethan Blackhawk. His methodology was fascinating and truly amazing. It left me wondering if he was just well-trained or relying heavily on his instinct.”

  “Both,” she replied. “In fact, this lecture is based on him. Not only is he my profiler, but he’s my husband. Thus the same last name,” she stated, tapping the badge on her hip.

  He looked impressed.

  And he should be.

  “Excellent! I hope I can meet him one day. He’s really good at what he does.”

  “Yeah, we take our jobs seriously. The family that solves crimes together, stays together.”

  Little did this man realize that they would be having that meeting. He had four women disappear from his class, and the frat boys were part of it too. This could very well be ground zero where the men began their hunting.

  “Professor, Director, we should begin,” stated the teaching assistant, pointing to the room. The flow of students had ended, and it was time.

  “Are you ready, Director?” he asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  They headed in to get started.

  Once inside, Elizabeth could feel so many eyes on her. She was accustomed to being the center of attention, and maybe it was petty, but she was so damn glad she’d worked hard after giving birth. She wasn’t feeling nearly as insecure as she probably should have.

  “Everyone, as we’ve mentioned, we have a guest lecturer today in class. I would like you to warmly welcome, Director Elizabeth Whitefox-Blackhawk.”

  The class began clapping.

  Elizabeth stared out at a sea of at least one hundred faces. She was immediately able to pick out her two agents. They were side by side, and that was a damn good thing. She knew that Broderick Seaton was on the job, and Johanna was safe.

  They weren’t the only people she’d noticed. Across the auditorium like room, she saw the frat boys. Elizabeth had made sure to study their faces, memorizing them. She wanted to keep her eyes on them at all times.

  “Thank you all,” she stated, watching that section of the room. Ethan was pretty sure they were the center of it all, so she made sure to direct her attention that way, setting the stage.

  As she put her briefcase down, she took off her jacket, knowing that the gun at her hip would draw attention. That and the shiny gold badge could always intimidate. As she stood in front of the desk, she saw the look on Arman Smithfield’s face.

  He wasn’t happy.

  In fact, he looked a little surprised.

  Elizabeth noticed that there was an empty desk where the professor must have sat. Hopping up on it, she crossed her legs and stared out at the audience.

  “Today we’re going to discuss serial killers,” she said, before continuing, “and how I use psychology to catch them, lock them behind bars, and throw away the key.”

  The frat boys looked rattled.

  Good.

  It was time to begin…

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

  Morgue

  Thursday Morning

  When Ethan Arrived, his team was doing what they needed to get the job done. One of the best things about them was that they were self-sufficient. He owed that to his head ME, Doctor Christopher Leonard. The man ran the place with an iron fist, and when it came to catching killers, that was probably
a good thing.

  When he walked in, Merry was processing trace they’d found on the victims’ clothing, and Chris was staring at his cell phone looking a little upset.

  “Is everything okay?” Ethan asked, placing his coffee cup on the metal table.

  “I just received a text from Cyra. It seems that Bethe slept through the night, and I missed it. I wanted to catch all her milestones, so I’m a little disappointed.”

  Ethan patted him on the back. “I know how you feel. We missed CJ’s first word, when he crawled, and his first tooth. It’s hard when you work for the FBI.”

  Chris shrugged. “I don’t want to miss all that.”

  That made Ethan nervous. “Are you subtly telling me that you’re quitting, Christopher?”

  Merry looked up, shocked at that.

  “No! I just…I don’t know.” Chris didn't do it for the money. He had plenty. In fact, being loaded made it easy. The idea of being home with his daughter and wife was appealing, but then he knew he’d miss this too. At some point, his child would grow up, and he’d long for the FBI days.

  It was one hell of a conundrum.

  “If you want, we can maybe work something out,” Blackhawk offered.

  “We can?”

  Ethan genuinely liked the man. They were family. On their days off, when they actually had them, the families spent a lot of time together. There were BBQ’s at one of their homes, swimming, or just watching football games with beer. He hated that Chris was missing out on the things he was looking forward to with his first child.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We can keep you based out of FBI West instead of traveling. That way, you’ll at least get to be at home. I know how shitty it is to be on the road.”

  That was why they didn't take field jobs every week.

  “Really?” he asked, looking excited. “Won’t that suck for Doctor Legend?” he added.

  “You’ve done your time on the road. He can pick up the slack until Bethe is a little bit older. Then you won’t miss as much.”

  “Thank you!” Chris said, hugging the man.

  All the techs stared. Someone had just manhandled Ethan Blackhawk, and it was shocking.

  He patted him on the back. “No problem, Christopher. Now, let’s talk about the case.”

  Chris looked a million times better than he had a few minutes ago, so Ethan’s work was done.

  “How are we on trace?” Ethan asked, directing that at his head lab tech. “Did we find anything to lead us to a suspect?”

  Merry blew out a frustrated breath. “We only have about four million samples and not enough time in the day to eliminate all of them.”

  He got the point.

  They were working as fast as they could.

  “Lori Denny was at a party rubbing up against about sixty men. I have everything from hair to fuzz from sweaters. If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you, Merry. Keep working.”

  She would. There wasn’t any other choice.

  “Doctor, where are our agents?”

  Chris pointed toward a small room off the main morgue. “Last I saw, Agents Blaise and Flowers were in there working.”

  Well, they were about to get some company. Heading there, Ethan found them inside with papers all around them.

  Before Ethan could even ask what his agents had found, Jason Blaise was aggressively up and out of his seat.

  “We have a huge issue!”

  “Whoa! Take it easy,” Ethan stated, when the man started sputtering in anger. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can fix it.” Some days, being boss was more babysitter and appeaser than head of a large office.

  It appeared today was a prime example of that.

  Ethan sat, indicating that his agent should do the same thing. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be major. Agent Heidi Flowers looked completely calm and cool.

  Ethan suspected this was going to involve another man trying to interject himself into the team.

  “Tell me what has you this upset.”

  “Last night, in the midst of our operation, another agent interfered, pulling my partner out of the frat party. She was supposed to be working on getting into the inner circle, and that basement room. Now we’re no closer and time is running out. I want him pulled from this case. He’s screwing with our plan.”

  Oh, he had news for the man. He was no longer running the show. Elizabeth was, and while she was playing Cupid, and FBI agent, there was no stopping her.

  Jason Blaise was outnumbered and about to be vastly disappointed. Someone wasn’t getting what he wanted.

  “She could have wrapped this last night…” he began, only to be cut off.

  “Stop. Breathe. Relax.”

  The man didn't do any of those things. Instead, he still looked like a kettle ready to blow.

  “We had him go in, and he wasn’t blowing the operation. We had inside intel stating that the frat boys weren’t taking anyone downstairs. We wanted to give Johanna a few hours off. She’s living in this role twenty four-seven. She needed a break.”

  “But…”

  He raised his hand. “Her old partner was instructed to go in to remove her for the night.”

  Well, sort of. Since the man had cleared it with them first, neither found any harm in it.

  “Right now, he’s on her like white on rice. We have this completely under control. You’re to be her eyes and ears when they’re in the field. You have your role in this operation, Agent Blaise, and it’s not as the boss. We’re here now and taking over.”

  He didn't look happy.

  “Agent Madden is in a great deal of danger. Her position is in the middle of it all, and Agent Seaton is looking out for her best interests. Elizabeth and I will pull her out before risking either of their lives. She’s not a pawn to solve this. She’s a valuable asset to the FBI, and we’d like to keep it that way.”

  The grimace said it all.

  “Let me warn you. I will tolerate the look on your face, but my wife will not. Had you just given her that puss, she would have wiped it off, tore you down, and shipped your ass back to FBI West with three new assholes. I suggest you learn to have a better poker face.”

  He glared at Ethan.

  “Oh, and if you’re thinking, ‘I’ll call Gabriel Rothschild’, that bridge is burned. We’ve already learned that you’re jumping our authority to report directly to him. That’s one more reason you’re not running this anymore. When you swim with the big fish, son, one may end up a shark. Welcome to the pool.”

  He said nothing else.

  “The women who entered that basement didn't live long. We want to know what’s down there, but we aren’t willing to sacrifice Johanna. It seems you’re a little too eager to gamble with her life. That’s a very bad sign when you’re working in the field with someone.”

  “Then why am I her partner?” he asked angrily. “If you don’t trust my judgment and sent in someone else, why am I here?”

  Ethan pointed at his laptop. “When she turns on her trace, your job is to decide if something is happening. If she’s in a party and not moving, she’s safe, but if you find her in a car, moving away at a high rate of speed, something’s likely gone wrong. You’re her backup. I suggest you do that.”

  “Send me in then, and let Agent Seaton babysit the laptop. I can play college boy the same as the next guy.”

  While he probably could, there was one reason Broderick Seaton was sent in. He had more skin in the game. There was no doubt that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Johanna. He had too much invested—his heart.

  Obviously, this man didn't know that they had a sexual thing between them. That was probably good because it meant they were keeping it low key. That would make it easier to keep them together if Johanna was okay with that.

  Jason didn't like any of this. This was a big case, and when it was shut down, he wouldn’t get the credit he deserved.

  He knew it.

  Shit!

&n
bsp; It pissed him off.

  Ethan focused on Agent Flowers. She was calmly sitting there, doing her job. She didn't look stressed out at all. That said a lot, since just last week, she’d been bitching about being Seaton’s partner.

  Interesting.

  “What did you find?” Ethan asked, referring to the job he’d given her.

  “I’ve done trace after trace on Poppy Gauger. Nothing is coming up. She has to be dead, boss. There’s no credit card activity, her car hasn’t left the lot, and she’s not sending up any hits. I’ve even walked the campus, trying to see if I could pick up any trace of how he took her, and I couldn’t.”

  That didn't make him happy.

  Somehow, she felt like a piece to the puzzle, and he needed to find her. It wasn’t only for them, but for her too.

  She deserved to be found.

  “Keep looking. She didn't just vanish into thin air. While you two are working on this, I also need to add more to your paperwork. I want you both to run the frat boys.”

  “Which ones?” Jason Blaise asked, pulling out his pad and paper.

  “Start with the four following Arman Smithfield around, and then expand out. We don’t know if this game is exclusively for his inner circle, or if they’re all involved.”

  “There are about thirty of them. This is going to take days.”

  Ethan’s brow winged up. “I’m sorry. Did you have plans? Were you heading out early for a date? No? Then get working. You like living a little too close to the fire, Agent. You’re going to get one hell of a burn.”

  Ethan didn't mean being in the field. He meant with the insubordination to his superiors.

  Jason didn't respond.

  It was probably for the best.

  With that, Ethan headed out. In the main morgue, his phone began ringing. When he answered it, he found the president of the university on the other end. The man sounded irritated, and that could mean just about anything. For all he knew, his wife had burned down the building she was in, and was presently dancing naked around it.

  By the time he got off the call, Ethan was pretty sure lunch was going to be a pipe dream. He had feathers to unruffle, and that would take time. Before he could call his brother, Ethan’s phone chimed, and he knew who it was before even looking. Callen was calling.