All the King's Henchmen Read online

  “Not exactly what I meant,” Chris stated, popping chocolate into his mouth, “but I think you know that. I like to be on top.”

  She recalled, and she never minded.

  “I don’t mind if you stay,” Callen stated. “Ethan?”

  “Bigger bed it is.”

  Chris appreciated it.

  “I’d like to stay. Again, unless it’s Saturday morning. Bethe likes cartoons. I’d like to keep that tradition alive as long as I can. She’s getting bigger, and one day, she won’t want to watch ponies with her Daddy.”

  They understood.

  “Then it’s settled. Move some of your things in here,” Ethan offered.

  Callen stopped him.

  “Wait.”

  They all looked over.

  “Let’s be realistic here. WE share a closet. All three of us. If you look at our ratio of space, YOU, Ethan, are going to have to share. We have half the space you do. One of us is a clothes whore, and it isn’t us.”

  Chris was willing to keep his things in his room. He didn’t mind. It was only across the hall.

  “I can keep my things…”

  He stopped him.

  “No, you can’t. When I was invited into this unit, that would have hurt my feelings. I know because I had a separate room for a while. Instead, I have a better idea.”

  They listened to Callen.

  “What’s on the other side of our closet?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “A guest room.”

  “It’s renovation time,” Callen said, smiling.

  Ethan was down with that.

  “We’ll open the closet up. I’m the deputy director. I can’t just toss a few suits…”

  “Yeah, that would be absurd. Everyone needs fifteen of the exact same black suit with matching black shirt. I’m the crazy one. Open a wall instead…,” Callen teased. “Perfectly logical.”

  “Maybe with a built-in boot rack for some cowboy boots?” he offered, sweetening the pot.

  She covered Callen’s mouth before he said anything. Now her husband was talking her thing.

  “Talk boot rack, Ethan. I think I just got wet,” she stated.

  Ethan laughed.

  “I know my wife.”

  “I’m literally the wet, since I was in her,” Callen muttered from behind her hand. “It’s my fault. I’m a dirty boy.”

  She snorted.

  He had a point.

  Ethan shook his head in amusement. He knew why Callen was upping the humor. His nerves were shot to shit.

  “You’re not right in the head, son,” Ethan stated. “Deal on the closet idea?” he asked.

  “Deal. You keep your space. We’ll take the bigger area,” Callen stated. “We will go through the walk-through to get to the much better closet. I’m going to trick that bitch out.”

  Elizabeth laughed.

  “Of course you are, Jackson James, of course you are. Why should we expect anything different?”

  He shrugged.

  Callen could afford to have a nice closet. He deserved it, and so did his wife. Wait until he filled it with boots and belt buckles just for her.

  As the amusement subsided, Ethan knew the fun was over. It was time to prep his wife for the situation he was handling behind her back.

  Ivan’s resignation.

  “About today.”

  She cut him off.

  “I want Christina, two techs, Chris, the new ME, Max, Noah, and Alex to work this,” she said, assuming that he was gearing up to talk shop.

  They needed to get this locked down.

  “That’s it. Locked lab—and I want everything off of electronic record. Chris, can you work off of old paper files like we once used to do?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I was going to suggest it. There won’t be any copies of anything like dentals or medical reports. I’ll make sure it’s all noted, but without any qualifying identifiers.”

  Perfect.

  Chris knew what would drive her insane, so he offered up a compromise. While he was training the new ME, he’d be more than happy to give her busy work in Autopsy Four with Doctor Reynolds. She could train her, too, since she’d been with the FBI almost as long.

  “I can do the autopsy without the new ME. If you think it’s a security risk. She can sit this one out.”

  She contemplated it.

  While fewer people meant less leaks, she still had to take this woman out for a ride, and if she couldn't handle this stress, there was no point in her being there.

  It was better to learn this now than later.

  “No, she needs a trial by fire. Besides, it’s one autopsy. She can help you, see how I work, and then we can run with it. If you’re ever down, she’ll have to work with me.”

  “Lucky her,” Callen teased. “Let’s see how long she lasts,” he offered.

  “Well, I can postulate that I’ll be wet from Ethan many more times than wet from you after that comment.”

  Ethan grinned.

  “Angel, ouch. That hurts. You wouldn’t do me like that, would you?”

  She snorted.

  “Funny, it didn’t hurt me at all,” Blackhawk offered, eating the last of his chocolate.

  “Traitor.”

  Chris shook his head when Callen looked at him.

  “Uh, I am NOT going to be the mediator or tiebreaker between you and Ethan. That’s dangerous. If I don’t stay out of it, she’ll kill me.”

  She blew him a kiss.

  The man got it.

  “He is correct.”

  Oh, he knew it too.

  Ethan continued, “Johanna and Brody are still working their case,” Ethan stated. “They have the other half of the techs and Tony with them—since there are bones being used to find the serial killer.”

  That’s what Ethan thought she’d say.

  “I should call them to check-in. This is their first big case without me. I hope they don’t burn Raleigh down. It’s been around a long time,” she teased.

  “I already did, baby. They are pretty close to closing it up. I gave them a profile, and your team is doing their thing. You’ll have enough on your plate with this one. You don’t need to be worrying about them. I will micromanage the B team.”

  She had to let him.

  Elizabeth knew how bad this was likely going to be for anyone handling it. The only reason she took it was she didn’t give a shit what people thought of her. They called her names as it was and spread rumors. As far as they were concerned, she’d only gotten to where she was riding Ethan’s coattails—err—his dick.

  “Thank you, handsome. I appreciate your help on this.”

  Yeah, about that.

  “I can’t go out with you, and I’m sorry.”

  She figured.

  “All the media needs is me out there with you, and they will smell something going down. We don’t want that.”

  No.

  They didn’t.

  “I’ll help you from behind the walls of the Hoover Building with anything you need to support the team.”

  That worked for her.

  Good.

  It looked like they had all of their bases covered. The team was picked, and Ethan had her back.

  “We have to move quietly,” she admitted. “As I figure, the only people we need to worry about spilling the beans to will be people outside the White House.”

  “Like hookers?” Chris asked.

  “Yep. If the president was shagging them at the White House, you can’t tell me they didn’t excitedly spread the word.”

  “Yeah, and likely some sexually transmitted disease,” Chris added, knowing what he was talking about. He’d been there and done that nightmare once.

  No one argued that.

  He was likely right.

  “I can only imagine the grossness that was attached to that man’s dick, when it was attached,” she stated, starting to laugh.

  They all looked at her.

  “Come on. You live by the dick…”r />
  Chris finished for her.

  “You die by the dick. That was our saying a long time ago, and it still fits.”

  Yeah, it did.

  “Ever notice we pretty much have a hooker on every case?” Chris asked. “I’m beginning to think it’s not a coincidence.”

  She laughed and went to give him a kiss. He moved his face so her lips touched his cheek.

  “Uh…,” she began.

  “Our lips are compromised. You have an open cut and so do I. Callen already caught me off guard.”

  They all looked over.

  “What? He was naked in the shower. I couldn’t help myself,” he teased. “I’m good. I didn’t have any open wounds in my mouth until after. Tiger, here, wasn’t gentle,” he teased, pointing at her.

  She punched him in the fox.

  “Jesus. She’s better. Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with her fists.”

  Good.

  All of the men there needed her on her game so she’d stay alive.

  “Back to discussing work and not who Callen is kissing. It’s safe to say that if it’s anyone off this bed, other than someone who shares our DNA, you’re a dead man.”

  He grinned wickedly.

  “No kissing random strangers. Darn. That so sounds like me,” he said.

  She kissed him.

  Simply because he’d kissed Chris, offered up bed space, and was being a good man.

  Elizabeth focused on work.

  “Has the body been moved yet, Ethan?” she asked, needing to know exactly what he handled. There was no doubt all of it, but still…

  “Not yet. The body is scheduled to arrive at six, right before the next shift rolls in,” he said, telling her everything.

  Ethan watched her face as she made mental notes of what was going to go down. He could tell he’d done it exactly how she’d planned.

  “Perfect. I’ll be there at intake, and so will my favorite ME. He looks sexy in scrubs.”

  He grinned.

  “And out of them.”

  “Amen,” she said, laughing.

  The men loved when she was happy and when they could all be relaxed around each other. Chris shared her life before, and they would let him have that love again.

  “Okay, so I’ll guess that Ivan will be here and ready for me in the morning. I will also bet that you’re going to double up security on me too.”

  Oh, boy.

  And here it came.

  A part of Ethan hoped she didn’t bring it up. Up to that moment, they’d been having a good time, and he’d pushed the issue from his mind.

  Well, it was back.

  “Baby.”

  “You’re not going to tell me I can’t work this outside Hoover or the White House, are you?” she asked. “That will make it a million times harder. I’m safe. Ivan will have my back. I’m sure he’s kicking himself over this, and he shouldn’t be. There was more of them than of us.”

  With each word she spoke, he felt worse and worse.

  “No, I’m not clipping your wings and locking you in the big bird cage,” he stated.

  Yeah, he was going to tell her something worse. It was going to be far worse. Everyone was watching him. He’d yet to tell anyone what had happened. Up to that point, he was carrying it on his own.

  Shit.

  Here it went.

  “What then?”

  “Ivan resigned.”

  That shocked the hell out of her. It sucked the peace and calm right out of the room. It had the reaction that Ethan believed it would.

  It wasn’t good.

  It was bad.

  In fact, it erased the smile on her face and replaced it with one he never wanted to see. She was hurt again.

  “What do you mean he resigned? Why?” she asked. “Why would he do something like that?”

  “He dropped the ball, and his parting message to me was whatever you talked about before was rescinded. He’s good to go.”

  Chris closed his eyes.

  Oh, this wasn’t going to be good.

  “Why would you let him quit?” she asked. “Why would you even accept his resignation?”

  “Baby, he turned it in. I wanted to see what he would do after screwing up his mission, and he opted to bail instead of face it head-on. What would you have me do?” he asked.

  Yeah, he could have done more.

  Like not test him.

  Like tell him it was okay.

  Like pretend he wasn’t pissed off and needed a whipping boy.

  “Ethan.”

  “Elizabeth, he is security. That’s his job. As of late, he’s been more like a friend. We can’t have your security being lax. You have plenty of friends…”

  She got up from the bed.

  “He is my friend and that’s not his fault. He didn’t do this on purpose, Ethan. He was shoved in a trunk in the heat. He could have died. Ivan was doing his job!”

  “I know, BUT he was willing to leave. What does that tell you about where his mind is in this? I didn’t ask him for his resignation. He willingly turned it in. He’s got no skin in the game, clearly. If he did, he wouldn’t have offered it, been here tomorrow, and fixed his shit.”

  Tears filled her eyes.

  This was her breaking point today.

  She’d been abducted, beat on, worried about Chris, and then Ivan quit.

  Yeah, the day WASN’T getting better at all. In fact, it was going downhill, and fast.

  “You could have stopped him.”

  Ethan didn’t lie. There was no point. He’d set up the test, and the man failed. Why would he beg him to stay? Elizabeth deserved security that wanted to be there for her. Ivan didn’t have that drive.

  Apparently.

  It looks like they had all been wrong.

  “Yes, I could have.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  That hung there between them, and she stared at Ethan. Her heart hurt, and she hated games. She hated that her husband would let him suffer because of today.

  Well, she had news for him, and Ethan was going to have to suck it up.

  “I’m not taking a new security guy. I’m done. I am sick of getting attached to them and having them walk. Heath left, and now Ivan too.”

  Oh, yeah, that wasn’t happening when there was a much simpler solution.

  “Then don’t get attached,” he said. “They are protection duty. You don’t have to make it personal, and you don’t have to mother them.”

  She glared at him.

  “Yeah, why make anything personal? Why care about the people who would take a bullet for me?” she asked, tears filling her eyes.

  Elizabeth couldn’t believe his blasé attitude about all of this. Not today of all days. So, she, like Ivan, escaped. She headed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

  There was no doubt how she felt.

  “What are you doing?” Callen whispered. “You know she thinks of him like her brother. She loves Ivan. That’s her friend,” he asked. “Why would you set his ass up like that? We’ve all had a rough day!”

  Here was part of being in that difficult situation. Ethan had to be her husband, but still be the deputy director. Sometimes, he had to look at the big picture, and this was it.

  “He dropped the ball, Callen. He let her down, and it nearly cost Elizabeth her life. Again, I didn’t do anything to him. He opted to hand it in. I just accepted it.”

  Chris stood.

  This was shitty any way they looked at it.

  “We’ve all let her down at some point,” he stated. “I let her down with cheating on her, and she got shot because she began dating Ray, her asshole partner. That was on me.”

  Callen got out of bed too.

  “This is more about you, Ethan, than him. You’re pissed at him, and that’s wrong. You tested him knowing he’d do exactly this. You’re too smart to say you didn’t see this coming. Ivan was a Marine. He failed his mission, and now you’re punishing him f
or it. Cut the bullshit, Mr. Profiler. You knew he’d offer up his resignation to show how sorry he was.”

  “He will get over it, and so will she.”

  The bad thing with Ethan was he saw things as black or white. To him, there wasn’t a whole lot of gray.

  He was either Native or white.

  He was either boss or husband.

  Callen knew this would damage them.

  Chris spoke up, taking the chance.

  “Today, he asked her to be his best man in his wedding. He didn’t pick some Marine buddy. He picked her. Today hurt him too. He nearly lost someone he cares about,” Chris said, grabbing their bowls. “He means a great deal to her.”

  Ethan didn’t speak.

  “What would Timothy tell you to do?” Callen asked. “Since you’re on this whole ‘being more like granddad thing’, what would he say?”

  Ethan sighed.

  “I’m pissed. He screwed-up.”

  “YOU jacked it up too,” Callen pointed out again. “You broke her heart when you told her to leave. You dinged up her heart after you were abducted and you came back angry at the world. Now you’re playing deputy director when a husband is needed. You’re hurting her again.”

  Chris stood there with Callen.

  “She needs Ethan, not Deputy Director Blackhawk,” Chris stated.

  “I thought you weren’t going to get involved?” Ethan asked, looking at the other man.

  “I said I wouldn’t play mediator. You’re way out of line with this, so there’s no need for me to take sides,” he said. “I’m with Callen. This was shitty, and we’re calling you on it.”

  While they both expected an eruption for having his directives challenged, that was not what happened. Instead, Ethan sighed.

  They were right.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll handle this.”

  “You think?” Callen asked.

  “Get dressed,” he said, pointing at his naked brother. “We have a ride to take.”

  “Where?”

  “I need a drink.”

  “Why?”

  “Just get dressed. We’ll leave in five minutes,” Ethan stated, heading out of the room.

  Callen would give him the benefit of the doubt.

  For now.

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

  Ivan’s Home

  Monday Night

  Ivan was lucky that Blue was away working on some forensic artistry for another team. That way, he was able to come home, get beer, and have some privacy. Instead of heading to her house, he headed to his much smaller one.