Chapter Three #2
There were just too many of them in the family to fit inside of a ‘normal house’.
Who was she kidding?
“Anyway, good job,” Elizabeth offered. “Did everything go okay?”
He laughed.
Oh, it had been interesting. His recently assigned partner, Alex Bartlett, was an interesting creature, and he found himself looking forward to work and spending time with him.
He was attractive, probably too much for his, and Corbin’s own good, and liked to be entertaining.
And Corbin needed more of that in his life.
The last two weeks together as partners had been a whirlwind.
Only, it was also problematic for Corbin. He’d learned long ago to avoid people who drew him in. Being around him was fun, and he made him laugh.
That perplexed and worried Corbin.
He’d had that once before, and couldn’t go back to that. Thankfully, the man was straight. It helped in ways he’d never understand.
“It went. I’m good,” he said, knowing what she was asking. Elizabeth told him that not everyone could work with Alex, and that it took a special person.
Apparently, he was it.
Yes, Alex let his personal life bleed into his professional life, but who didn’t?
And yes, he could become incredibly clingy, but Corbin missed having someone to spend time with after work.
It was working well.
Maybe too well, too.
So, she’d given him an out, if he wanted one, but Corbin was no quitter. The guy was funny, and he was a good agent. He was riding this out to see what would happen.
If the worst that the man did was want to go bowling after work, or shoot some pool, he was good with that. Corbin didn’t have a social life, so hanging out with his partner for a few beers, a movie, or a laugh did the heart good.
His heart needed it.
They’d already become fast friends, and that always helped when you were trying to survive in a new city.
The FBI was new, too, and he was like a fish out of water. Alex made it much easier. Even his mother saw the difference in him, and that was saying a lot when she wanted to meet his new partner.
And that was never happening.
“Good,” she said. “Like I said, if Alex is a pain in the ass, let me know,” she stated.
Alex stared at her in amusement.
“I’m right here, and I’m on hold. I can literally hear you, and see you two talking about me.”
Oh, she was aware.
She kissed him on the top of the head.
“I know. I like to talk about you to your face, then it saves the drama later when you realize I was busting your ass.”
He snorted.
Yeah, she had a point about that.
“You’re both off,” she said, looking at her watch. “Now, that being said, if something comes up, cancel that. We’re running short-staffed, and right now, Duke and Axl are handling the local cases so Duke can get the girls each night.”
They’d all been asked if that was okay, and no one minded. Both Corbin and Alex didn’t have family ties, so away cases were perfectly fine.
A hotel was a hotel, was a hotel.
Oh, and Alice could babysit Alice.
“Thanks,” Alex said, hanging up. “Working with Corbin is like working with a non-stop adventure. He’s funny. So far, I give him an A minus. He’s got shit taste in music, so he’s not allowed to pick that anymore,” he joked.
Alex stared at him.
“And you too. Is this an epidemic? Do people stop seeing people after a while? Or is that just me?” he asked, laughing despite it.
Ian grinned.
“Oh, you get used to it. Wait until she starts talking in third person or tongues.”
She elbowed him.
“Just let me know if there’s any problems. Corbin, you’re with us this weekend. Don’t forget.”
How could he?
Gene and Ethan were officially tying the knot, and only some people were aware.
Because loose lips sank ships.
There was no way he was missing hob-knobbing with the President of the United States at a wedding. Granted, he wasn’t taking a plus one because there never would be one of those again. A part of him wanted to invite Alex, but he didn’t want to make the man feel uncomfortable.
Or realize that he was gay.
That tended to ruin shit fast.
As for the president, he’d met Gabe a few times, when he was a Fed, but this was different.
He’d be there with bells on.
“Behave, and let me know if Ian sends you out,” she said, done with checking in.
Now that she’d handled that, Elizabeth gave them both fist bumps, and they moved through the bullpen to the exit. The next stop was the lounge, and it had been made into a place for her Marines.
Inside, they were sitting there, watching the news, playing cards, and having coffee.
She helped herself, and grabbed a cookie.
Before she could say anything, Ivan gave her a heads-up as to what was going down.
“Demeter checked in. Raphael is on his way here with Ethan. Wyler and he had a blow-up, and he decided not to go into the smoke, whatever the fuck that means.”
She just listened.
You didn’t try to explain Shamanism to a bunch of Marines. They worshipped at the temple of the BOOM. That was their almighty.
They liked chaos as much as she did.
What they didn’t know wouldn’t make them freaked out.
“Anyway, Ethan did some weird shit and wandered to the cemetery.”
Not shocking.
“Burial grounds,” she corrected. “We whites have cemeteries. The Natives have burial grounds. They decorate them with ribbons and wind chimes. We ignore our ancestors and let the weeds take over.”
Well, it wasn’t like she was wrong, now was she?
It had been a while since she visited Sam or her father’s grave, and her mother’s.
Yeah, a long time.
She did check in on Catherine, but that was because she wasn’t far from where they spent most of their time, as of late.
“Anyway, he was out of it. No one drug test him because he won’t pass.”
She snorted.
“He’s got a license from the state to use Peyote for ceremonial use. Now, if Callen shows up, test him. He’s got sticky fingers.”
Oh, they were well aware.
Blackhawks were Blackhawks.
That was for damn sure.
Ivan continued.
“Benning checked in. The kids are doing their schoolwork, the tutors showed up, and one quit. So it’s a good Monday in your world.”
She sighed and rubbed her temples.
“What did my sons do now?” she asked.
Ian rubbed a hand up and down her back to keep her calm. There was no doubt in his mind that she was going to blow. One more bad piece of news, and he worried about her sanity.
And her control.
She needed a case, and to be focused on something. Only, the last few had been cakewalks for her.
Sadly, for everyone else, Elizabeth liked a tough one—AKA a dangerous one.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he admitted.
“Oddly, it wasn’t the boys,” he said. “The woman went to the bathroom, and she got locked in, and the lights went out. She felt cold, and swore she saw something in the dark. She screamed so loud that Benning heard her, and then, and only then, she was able to get out.”
Elizabeth lifted a brow.
Uh, that sounded…bad.
“I’d like to say it was the boys,” Ivan admitted, “but the bathroom locks from the inside, and Caryn said that EJ and CJ were with their tutor, and no one moved. We checked to make sure, and the kids didn’t do shit this time. I know how that isn’t normally the case.”
Shit.
“So you’re telling me a ghost spooked our tutor?” she asked. “And now we’re down a tutor? What class?”
He reassured her.
“It was for the younger kids, so everything. We’re already on it, but more likely than anything, she heard the place was haunted, accidentally locked herself in, and the wiring is faulty.”
Yeah, just like it was faulty at the castle in Scotland.
She wasn’t buying that.
Not.
At.
All.
“Well, we have to find another tutor. The kids need to get their education. I wouldn’t want them to turn out like turnips. They already have enough going against them. I’m their mom, and they have a pack of dads.”
No one there believed that.
Elizabeth was a damn good mom, and the kids were lucky. In fact, they were incredibly smart children, and that’s what got EJ and CJ in trouble.
Curiosity killed the kid.
“Like I said, we’ve already begun the hunt for the new teacher. We’ll start vetting.”
Saint smiled.
“I can teach them—,” he began, and was cut off.
By whom?
Ivan.
“Absolutely nothing,” Ivan said. “You wore your shirt backward yesterday. You’ve taken a few big booms near your head. Crayon munching one-oh-one is not in the curriculum.”
Saint laughed.
“That shirt thing was intentional. I was trying to see if…nah, it was backward because Winn molested me in a closet, and it was dark. I’m not even going to lie. No one’s believing anything I say anyway.”
She found that amusing.
Who hadn’t had that happen? That’s why she liked V-neck shirts. You always knew immediately when you were wearing it backward.
When Uriel handed her another cookie, she smiled at him.
“Thank you, Honey,” she said.
He winked.
“No problem, Mom. I am your favorite now that Michael bailed on us. Shame on him, by the way.”
She snorted.
The people in her family were crazy, and this was the proof. Now, as of late, they were fighting over who was her favorite.
“I don’t play favorites. I hate Ivan the most.”
He found her funny, and flipped her off with two birds—not one.
“Anyway, anything else?” she asked, needing to get this done too. Maybe she’d get out of here at a decent time, after all. That would be nice.
Ivan shook his head.
“Just that the team is heading in, which is wild since you have the day off, and all of you are here.”
She corrected him.
It needed to be said.
“I have NO days off, and Damascus is boring as hell for me. If I stay home, the kids don’t focus on schoolwork, and I need those boys to get educated so they know how to break out of Leavenworth—or not break the law in the first place.”
They all laughed.
Because if there were two children going to end up there out of her brood, it was those two.
For.
Sure.
When she heard laughter, she turned around, and there was her husband.
Mr. Blackhawk was in the building.
Oh, and he was in a suit.