Chapter One #3
“We had a team go in and clean up after Gamble. The bodies are moved, but the horses are still there. I haven’t been able to transport them out yet. Someone is taking care of them. Poe arranged it.”
When she pulled her hair up, and it sat in a messy bun on the top of her head, it sent those curls of lust to his belly.
There was the only woman he’d ever loved—other than his mother.
God.
Ethan missed her so much.
Oh, and he wasn’t the only one. Truth be told, the four men were floundering without her.
Yeah, even Gene.
Elizabeth was the glue that held them together. She was the cream in their cookie sandwiches. Without her there, and the kids tucked away, the gold baron’s mansion was…silent.
It was hollow.
It was one of the darkest spaces he’d ever had to haunt.
“Do you think Von Donore is going to make another move?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Don’t you? He needs that crypto code, and he’s an egomaniac.
There’s no way he won’t try to punish Poe and Arthur Doyle for staying just out of reach, again.
If he puts two and two together and realizes Gamble is Arthur, he’ll even be bitchier.
The only thing going for Gamble now is that Von never saw his face.
Poe said the files he had were pictureless. ”
Well, that was good.
As for what she said, yeah, that was accurate.
Ethan had profiled it for them, and Von’s desire to win was outmatched only by his cruelty. Von Donore was a dick and didn’t like to come in last.
“You could always dangle the actual crypto code in front of him.”
She was aware.
That would bring the man out, but this wasn’t her rodeo. Elizabeth didn’t micromanage The Hunters. That was Major Maura Gaines-Mars-Armstrong’s shitshow.
“I’ll see what Maura wants to do. She’s the strategist. I’ll leave this up to her. The Hunters have yet to give me a reason to doubt that they can handle this without me sticking my nose into it.”
He figured as much.
“I mean, it’s a cute nose,” he offered.
She smiled.
“Thanks, handsome. Hopefully, I don’t cut it off to spite my own face, at this point.”
Yeah, he hoped so, too.
“Well, I miss you.”
That warmed her up a little. At least they all hadn’t moved on, forgetting about her. Yeah, that was a fear in her world when it probably didn’t need to be one.
Sue her.
She was human.
“The bear isn’t keeping you warm?” she joked. “Is the newlywed phase over?”
He laughed.
“No, it’s not over, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss my wife and her smile. I miss how she smells like cookies, and how she’s more than willing to sit with me in the tipi while I do crazy shit. I miss her antics, and I miss her humor. I miss her love.”
Elizabeth missed him, too.
So, he wouldn’t suffer, she brushed it off, making a joke. It was pure Elizabeth at her finest, even when she wasn’t feeling it.
“And my tits. I know they’re on the list somewhere,” she joked.
He winked.
“They are at the top of the list. I was trying not to be obvious. It seemed crass. I like to leave that to Callen. He’s a master at it.”
That amused her, and it felt good to laugh a little.
“I’ll be home before you know it. I’m going to help get The Hunters working this, and then, I’ll get to where he’s leading me next. You should have information for a profile to keep you caught up. Don’t give anything to Ivan. He might try to get to me, and we have to keep him safe.”
That he understood.
“Just be careful and maybe slide into my DMs. I miss seeing my wife naked.”
She laughed even more.
“Oh no. I hope when I get home at some point that the men aren’t desperately horny and all over me like tan on Native,” she teased. “Whatever will I do?”
Ethan was amused.
Oh, and he knew the truth.
Callen was pacing like a caged tiger during mating season, so that was likely what was going to happen. She’d only been away a few days, but still…
When the female was taken out of their unit, three of the men got edgy.
Real.
Edgy.
“You won’t even make it to the car. Callen will pop out of the trunk like a jack in the box. He’s a lunatic.”
And predictable.
“God, I hope so,” she admitted.
Ethan got serious.
“I love you and ask The Hunters for help. Even if they are busy, ask.”
She sighed.
“EJ.”
Only, he didn’t let her finish because if she wouldn’t do the asking, he absolutely would.
Trust.
And.
Believe.
Blackhawk was going to take care of his wife.
“Take care of what’s mine,” he said. “Oh, and Callen’s, Chris’, and Gene’s. We love you and can’t wait until you’re home. If you need us, call. I mean it. You don’t have to carry this alone.”
Actually, she did.
It was her job.
It was her cross to bear.
It was likely going to be her downfall, too.
Elizabeth was smart enough to know it. She could feel it in her balls—the brass ones she carried in her purse. If she didn’t get a break, at some point, everything was going to collapse around her.
The cracking was getting louder.
“Love you, sexy man. Kiss the tribe for me, and I mean it! Don’t tell Ivan where the fuck I am. It drives him insane.”
Ethan just laughed.
“Be safe, my love.”
She blew him a kiss and then cut the call. As soon as she did, she whistled, knowing Raph and Uriel were lurking not far away, listening.
There was no way in hell they weren’t eavesdropping. She knew security.
They were yentas.
When they came back into the area, in the back of the jet, they were each eating a sandwich.
That was when Raphael handed her one.
“We land in a few. Then, the bird is ready to transport you to Area Fifty-Two. If you don’t eat, you don’t go, and before you argue, you might be able to kick my ass, but you can’t kick BOTH of our asses. It’s in your best interest to just eat and let us take care of you.”
Well, that said it all.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry that I’m being difficult.”
Uriel kissed her on the top of the head.
“Mom, you’re not being difficult. This is a difficult situation, and you’re being held hostage by it just as much as we all are. We got you, boo. Promise.”
There was no doubt in her mind.
Since she was going to put in a long day, she started eating, and her stomach rolled with discontent.
After seeing what The Grave Robber had done to the women he left for her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to ever eat again.
It took a lot to gross her out.
Oh, and she was there.
“Okay, guys. We’ll chopper in and get this handled. Then, we’ll see what we can do to help The Hunters.”
Neither man said anything.
Why?
They wanted to interject that she needed help sometimes, too.
But she was stubborn.
So.
Damn.
Stubborn.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
Damascus
Same Time
Post Call
Ethan Blackhawk knew that his wife needed help, and beyond that, he was worried about her well-being. This chase was stripping her bare—right to her soul.
It was going to damage her, and he feared their relationship. A smart man always knew when the edge of the cliff was coming, and while he wasn’t a smart man, he was a profiler and doctor.
He could see this coming a mile away.
So, he was going to do what any self-respecting husband did.
He was going to interfere and do it behind her back.
Hopefully, it didn’t end up getting him neutered by his woman or divorced.
Riding a couch for a month was definitely the best outcome at this point, and one he was willing to take for Elizabeth.
Why?
Oh, that was easy.
His gut and instincts as a profiler told him that there was NO way Elizabeth was catching this nut in conventional ways.
It was going to be an all-out hunt, and there were no better people to help than those who did it daily. The Hunters cared about her as much as the others she surrounded herself with, and they would want to assist.
He’d bet on it.
So, he dialed.
When her face came on the screen, Maura Armstrong was just waking up.
“Hey,” she said. “What happened?” she asked, surprised that it was Ethan, and not Elizabeth.
Her response amused him.
When you knew, you knew.
It was rare he’d call The Hunters, even though he’d created the group to help his wife out with the riffraff that liked to stir the pot in the US.
“I have a problem, but it’s off the record. Let’s say it’s more a personal conundrum.”
At that, Maura was curious.
Call her intrigued, as she lifted a brow.
“Uh, okay, Ethan. What’s the situation, and can Jagger hear it?” she asked, since he was in bed with her. Somehow, she doubted it was a federal situation, or it wouldn’t be his face she was staring at.
From off of the screen, her husband protested.
“Well, kick a dude out of bed like he doesn’t matter,” he joked. “I feel so cheap after you woke me up this morning and not for coffee.”
She slapped her husband on the abs, so he’d behave—or at least try to behave. Anything was possible with Jagger.
Ethan wished he was feeling that kind of cheap, but his woman was miles away, and he wasn’t by her side.
“Yeah, Jagger can hear it. Like I said, it’s a personal problem, and one I need assistance with. It’s not classified.”
Well, that was good and bad. Good because Jagger’s classification level was way beneath hers, and bad because if Ethan had a problem, it was likely tied to his spouse.
Been there.
Done that.
Blackhawk explained.
“Elizabeth is on her way there. We have a problem that’s plaguing us, and we need a solution. The kind of solution that a special off-the-books kind of an agency handles.”
Oh, well, that told them what kind of solution he was looking for, if he was calling them.
A dire one.
A bloody one.
A fast one.
A not-so-legal one.
You didn’t call mercenaries to do a food delivery. You called them to handle a problem that needed to disappear—and on the DL.
“What kind are we talking about?” Maura asked, focused on the man on the screen. She wanted to make sure they were on the same page here before they went dark OPS and kicked in a door or five.
Because they would.
They all respected the Blackhawks, so no matter what it was, they were in.
No money was needed.