Chapter One
Over The US
Private Jet
Race To Save Lives
While she was no stranger to crisscrossing the United States to do her job, Deputy Director Elizabeth Blackhawk was a stranger to her current situation. For her, this could quite possibly be the first time she was at a loss.
Yeah, most of the time, she was behind the eightball for some of her case, but as of late, she was chasing her own tail in one big circle.
And she knew it.
The one who got away was doing exactly what she and Doctor Ethan Blackhawk had assumed he would do.
Creating chaos.
The Grave Robber was making her work for it, and work for it, she was.
That was anything but an understatement.
Elizabeth was well aware that she was in a race against time, and to stop innocent people from dying. The only problem was, this nutjob had been trained under the tutelage of a master killer.
With each time she researched Devon Slater’s father, they were just discovering the fallout of the man’s killings over the last three decades.
It was vast.
It was sick.
It was horrifying.
What began as a normal case for her, had spun off into a whole other realm of cuckoo, and she was struggling to keep it in check.
The Grave Robber was running this, and for the first time in her life, she was at a killer’s mercy.
It had been quite a few days of playing catchup, and it wasn’t a good place to be in her world.
Not.
At.
All.
While she loved a chase, she didn’t like a killer taking innocent lives and jerking her around. Deputy Director Elizabeth Blackhawk was being led around by her nose, and it was on her last goddamn nerve.
He was playing with her like a cat would a mouse. Oh, and that was exactly what The Grave Robber was doing, and this mouse was not happy.
The whole time during his escape, this killer was one step ahead of her, and she was fighting tooth-and-nail to catch up to him.
Unfortunately for her, this sicko was equally matched when it came to money and places to hide. For the first time since saddling up with rich husbands, the money at her disposal, which she used to help with a case, wasn’t helping at all.
Amidst this game of cat and mouse, Elizabeth realized one thing.
It was like chasing herself.
The Grave Robber was smart, he had money afforded to him, and he had studied her for years. Who would have thought the master would have taught the apprentice to watch her meteoric rise through the FBI and study her?
Well, that was exactly what he’d done.
Yeah, and that was a pain in her ass.
Now that he’d been trained for his whole life to be a killer, he would be dropping bodies and clues all over the place as she was forced to wait for the second shoe to drop.
At some point, he would be coming for her family in an effort to derail her.
This was a hot mess.
And she was scared shitless.
With her kids tucked away in the Puget Sound, she was able to concentrate—a bit. While she wished she had help, a smaller team was a safer team.
That was less of a target for The Grave Robber.
As long as everyone was safe, she was good. The men she loved were locked down with security all over them like tan on Native in order to give her the ability to focus on one thing, and only one thing.
The chase.
It was making waves in her personal life, and Elizabeth preferred not to rock that boat. She wasn’t enjoying the idea of this nut damaging her relationships all because she was having to lock them down.
Know who else wasn’t enjoying any of this?
Her head of security.
At that very moment, Ivan was on the big screen in the sitting area of that private, unlicensed, unmarked jet, reading her the riot act.
When she’d called in to check on her family, someone had let Ivan get on the call.
Damn them.
He was stirred up.
In fact, someone was ballsy today, and she didn’t want to deal with the bullshit, but here she was…dealing with the bullshit anyway.
Why?
Oh, well, maybe because she committed the cardinal sin.
Toady was grounded and not by her side.
All of this was because she opted to leave him behind, Still, a day later, Ivan was pitching one hell of a fit. Only, what he didn’t seem to realize was that she was doing it for him.
There was no doubt in her mind that The Grave Robber knew all of the players in this game, and he would be all over Ivan’s family to use him as leverage to get to her.
At some point, when he got bored with dropping bodies and clues, he was going to try to get to her inner sanctum—by way of security.
That couldn’t happen.
There would be too much on the line, so she was playing chess.
Oh, and he was goddamn bitchy about it, too.
No.
Shock.
There.
“I should be there,” he stated for what had to be the umpteenth time, prompting the same exact reaction from Elizabeth.
She sighed.
God.
She was so tired.
“Ivan, we went over this. You’re giving me a migraine,” she stated. “Can we please stop beating a dead horse on this?”
Uriel popped the top on a soda and passed it to her. It was full-on sugar, but she needed some calories somehow.
They’d yet to see her eat, and both him and Raphael were worried about her.
Since leaving that crime scene, she was silent, and when Elizabeth wasn’t laughing or busting ass, bad shit was coming.
The other warning sign was that Elizabeth was mainlining caffeine like an addict, and that never boded well when she crashed and burned.
What wouldn’t they do to get her to eat something?
Anything.
“You shouldn’t be there without me,” he warned, ignoring what she just said. “I’m your head of security for a reason. My sole job is to ride your ass and keep you alive. Raphael is good with Ethan, and Uriel is always on kid duty. We have specific jobs for a reason,” he stated.
AGAIN.
Gratefully, Elizabeth took the soda and sipped it. What she wanted was some more coffee, but Raphael was guarding the pot like it was the president, and she had nefarious intentions.
Somehow, she’d hoped they’d be less up her ass than her security guy, but in fact, they were a million times worse than Toady. Ivan knew when to back the fuck off.
They.
Did.
Not.
“Ivan, we had to button down the family, and whether you like it or not, you’re family.
Blue and your girls matter to me, and The Grave Robber has likely studied you guys too.
If anything happens to one of your daughters, because of me, I won’t be able to live with that.
I’m barely able to live with strangers being killed in this game.
Don’t make it so much more difficult on me. Please.”
He was aware, but he felt…helpless.
Replaced.
Worried.
Scared.
His laundry list of emotions were long, and he wanted nothing more than to be there with her to keep her safe too. He was a man divided, and he didn’t like it.
Not.
At.
All.
The bottom line was that Elizabeth was a sister to him. She was the most important person in his world, next to Blue and his daughters. Not being there made him feel like he’d failed her.
There was no doubt that The Grave Robber was coming for her. It was only a matter of time.
Yes, Archangels were MORE than effective, but he knew her better. Ivan knew when she was going to dodge and weave, how she’d react to a bullet, and when she was going to try to ditch security.
“I’m good,” she said, seeing his face. “You don’t have to worry about me.
Hell! Winn and Cas are all over me like white on rice, and I even get a guarded escort to the bathroom to pee—while on a jet with only so many people on it.
I’m safe. What I need you to do is keep everyone there safe now for me. ”
He stared at the two Archangels who weren’t only his employees, but his friends. They’d all seen some shit in combat and while protecting the Blackhawks.
They were brothers.
“They’d better be following you everywhere. I told them you’re tricky.”
She laughed, and it came out in an exhausted tone. It was crystal clear that she was three days past tired into a dangerous place where she’d never ventured before.
BURNOUT-VILLE.
That was what really worried her. Something had to give, and she was afraid it was her.
To be honest, she was good at holding it together and multi-tasking her world, only, she wasn’t sure how much more she had in the tank.
Elizabeth was tough, but this runaway killer, Wyler’s cancer, having to move to FBI West for Ethan, and the daily grind were weighing on her.
Like concrete boots and a deep body of water.
Elizabeth wouldn’t be shocked in the least if everyone was taking bets on when she’d break—if that wasn’t the douchiest thing imaginable and not something they’d do.
“I don’t feel tricky,” she stated. “I feel annoyed, and this isn’t helping that situation, Toadstool. I’m good.”
Raphael heard the tension, and he stepped in. Ivan had told them to protect her at all costs. They’d been chosen since Uriel was not married, and Raphael’s marriage to Saint wasn’t plastered all over the world.
They were the two soldiers who The Grave Robber would have the least chance of damaging to hurt her.
“We’ve got her,” Raphael said, sitting beside Elizabeth so she could lean on him.
He’d fight to the death for this woman for a plethora of reasons. His bestie was one of the men married to Elizabeth, and he’d get her home to Ethan every single time.
That was his oath.
Besides, she was like their mom, and no one was getting to her on his watch. Ivan had a far more difficult job. He was in charge of watching over the husbands, and with multiple people came higher odds of a situation occurring.
Ivan sighed.
“I know. I just feel…”
She stopped him.
“Don’t,” she said. “I have enough on my shoulders. Put your feelings on the back burner. If we’re going to survive The Grave Robber, we can’t go with our feelings into this fight.
The bottom line, again, is if your wife or kids get hurt, I can’t carry that, Ivan.
Raphael and Saint’s daughter are with the kids in the Puget Sound, and their marriage was kept lowkey.
He can’t manipulate that to use it to get to me. ”
He knew she was right.