Chapter Two
Damascus
The Baron’s Mansion
Home Base
Same Day
To say that the house was filled with tension would be an understatement. All four of the men were edgy, and that was definitely adding to the energy there. Normally, someone would be the levelheaded one and be able to talk the others down.
Or add in some levity when needed, but unfortunately, that was beyond the point now.
No one was excited that the woman they loved was out in the world, and they were locked down for their safety.
Each and every one of them was more than willing to sacrifice themselves for Elizabeth.
It was why their marriages worked.
No one was more important, or less important.
Well, none of the men. If asked privately who the most important person in their world was, each would say one name, and it would be the same.
Elizabeth Renee Blackhawk.
As the mother and matriarch of this tribe, she held them together as the glue that was unbreakable.
She was the one who comforted the children and made sure everyone felt safe.
Now, no one felt safe.
Not.
Even.
Close.
Without her there, it was as if a very important part of their unit was missing her.
Oh, and losing her was just as bad as losing any of them—possibly worse, and they knew it.
So, they were trying desperately to hold together as the world imploded around them.
It was nuclear strength explosions too that were threatening to rock them to their core.
When Devon Slater blew that car, with enough explosives to take down a whole building, they got lucky, and no one died.
Thankfully, while sick in the head, and a piece of shit, he was also really bad at math. His numbers had been slightly off, if he had been the one building the bomb, and the worst of the situation was Ivan taking all the glass to his face.
It could have been far worse than some headaches, vertigo from their ears ringing, and a lost blacked-out ride.
Far.
Worse.
None of them died, and that was a win in their book. Only, now, they knew that it was only going to escalate at some point to bite them in the ass.
As they were sitting in the living room of the mansion, with more than enough Marines surrounding them, the three men were twitchy.
That word was an understatement, too.
Ethan was off in the office making a phone call, and the men suspected it was to get them help.
HIRED help.
Of all of them, he was the twitchiest, and that was to be expected. While they all wanted to protect Elizabeth, she was Ethan’s emotional support spouse. He clung to her like his life depended on it, and when something was off between them, he was most definitely not in a good way.
In a way, all of their lives depended on her, and the strength she carried as their talisman.
“He’ll be okay,” Callen said, as Gene was pacing like a caged tiger.
The bulky man was wearing a path in the carpet as he worried about his husband.
Only, his words didn’t help.
Gene knew a crashout when he saw one, and Ethan was notorious for them.
This wouldn’t end well.
Gene didn’t believe that.
Since this whole mess began with The Grave Robber, Ethan had been off.
Hell.
Everyone had been off.
That was a problem in their world. Because they all worked together, and as a finely tuned machine, when one part of the whole was a mess, they were all a mess.
Ethan wasn’t sleeping.
He wasn’t eating.
He was filling his days with being a Shaman, but you could tell his whole heart wasn’t in it.
And Gene was worried not only about him, but about Elizabeth, too. The last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt. He’d come to love her more than he’d ever thought possible.
They had a history of friendship, but now, they had a path of love.
She mattered to him.
“I’m worried about how this is going to derail him. I know what he’s thinking. He made the choice to stay here, and he’s going to carry this.”
Chris tried to reassure him.
Hopefully, they all made it through this unscathed, but he was beginning to see the cracks in their family.
And that scared him.
“It will be okay, Gene. Ethan will get back on his feet. This just sideswiped him. It caught us all off guard. It’s not easy being on lockdown.”
Ivan was not far away.
Oh, and he had news for them.
“If you think that’s difficult, imagine burying someone you love. I suggest everyone STAY on lockdown. We’re down two Archangels while they are on Elizabeth protection. Don’t make me get mean.”
Callen was curious.
So, he had to ask.
“Where is she right now?”
That was a damn good question.
He shrugged.
“She’s been given the greenlight by the president to fly off the radar. So, her jet is not trackable. If that wasn’t annoying enough, she’s turned off her trackers, and so has Raph and Uriel. They won’t tell me shit,” he said, sitting not far away.
Truth be told, Ivan looked like hell warmed over.
He was covered in lacerations that were scabbed over, and his face was bruised from the blowback last week when Devon tried to yeet them off the planet.
If that wasn’t enough, there was no doubt he was stressed about not being near Elizabeth to protect her.
“Ethan will know,” Gene admitted. “There’s no way his bestie will keep that from him,” he added. “Raph will spill it, so he doesn’t stress. I’ll bet big money on that. He can’t help himself when it comes to keeping Ethan calm.”
Ivan shrugged.
“Well, you’d think he’d tell me—HIS ACTUAL BOSS. All I know is that I complained about not being with her, and she wasn’t having it. She claimed it’s classified, which we all know is Elizabeth for fuck off.”
Despite that, Chris knew why she refused to tell Ivan anything.
“She loves you a lot,” he said. “You’re legitimately her brother from another mother. Elizabeth has a lot on her shoulders right now. She is trying to protect our kids, us, and you guys. Give her grace to do it. If she needs you, she’ll call for you, Ivan.”
Oh, he hoped that was an accurate statement.
From where he was pacing, Gene was curious.
“Aren’t you scared?” he asked the man. For one of Elizabeth’s husbands, he was irrationally calm.
Hell!
Gene wasn’t in that kind of a relationship with her, and he was scared shitless.
At his question, Chris laughed, and he sounded…exhausted.
“I’ve been doing this a lot longer than all of you.
I was there when the carnival killer nearly drowned her to death.
Breathing life back into her was a miracle.
I was there when she went after not one, but three different mob men.
That nearly ended fatally. I was there through it all in our youth.
I’ve spent the majority of my life scared of what was going to rise up and bite us in the ass, and the antics she was going to pull out of her hat at any moment. Trust me. I know fear.”
Callen patted him on the leg.
“I don’t wish that on anyone.”
Yeah, Chris was aware.
He was the one legally married to Elizabeth, despite her being a Blackhawk, and being her husband was not easy.
Loving her was the simplest thing.
Watching her walk through fire…not fun.
It was terrifying.
She’d been blown up.
She’d been shot.
She’d been nearly killed.
All he could hope was that she managed to stay one step ahead of this crazy.
“We will get through this,” Chris said, trying to stay optimistic.
From his mouth to God’s ears.
Or the universe’s ears.
At this point, he hoped whoever was listening did them a solid favor and got them all through this in one piece.
When they heard footsteps, they all glanced over, and it was Ethan coming back into the room.
Behind Ethan, Gryphen was following him.
He was so close to the back of the man, in some states, they were breaking a few laws.
Sodomy ones.
Yeah, that’s how far up his ass Gryphen was.
Immediately, Gene headed toward his husband to see if he was okay. That would set the tempo for the rest of the day.
“Hey.”
Ethan went into his bigger body and rested his head on his shoulder. He knew he was playing with the devil on this one, and it was starting to wear him thin.
As Gene hugged him, no one said a word.
They knew better.
As Gene rubbed his hands up and down Ethan’s back to comfort him, Ethan went there.
“I did what needed to be done. May we survive the blowback of this one. The Hunters have been put on alert to assist.”
Oh, boy.
Callen was curious.
“And they are in? Was it what we discussed?” he asked, making sure.
Ethan got free of Gene’s embrace and faced the men he loved.
“Yes. I contacted The Hunters after the fact. They are going to help us. I offered to pay them, and they declined. They want in. They are about to head out, but as soon as they get back stateside, she has help.”
Gene was curious.
“Did you tell Elizabeth that you were going to do this?” he asked. “Asking because while we discussed it, part of that was us TELLING her in ADVANCE we were getting her help.”
Ethan just shook his head.
Well, shit.
That was a problem.
There was no doubt that this was going to go badly. There was no doubt she was going to see that as going behind her back in some sort of betrayal or lack of faith in her.
“She didn’t want to burden them…”
Chris sighed.
Oh, and they all knew what that meant. Even he knew this was going to get prickly. Like a porcupine stuffed full of explosives about to blow right in front of them.
“EJ,” Callen said, reassuring his brother. “We need their help.”
Oh, he was aware.
Still…
He didn’t relish in usurping Elizabeth’s control. As a husband, it was a difficult path to navigate. As a husband to a strong, independent woman...
It could be someone’s downfall.
“I’m worried,” he admitted. “I made us stay here. This is on me. If she hates me for interfering, I’ll deal with it. If she asks, I did this on my own.”
Yeah, no one would let him take the fall for this alone.
No.
One.
It wasn’t happening.
“We’re standing together on this,” Gene said. “It was done as the collective, not the singular person. Elizabeth won’t hate us all. She’ll be angry, but at some point, we’ll find this nut, and all will be forgiven.”
Ivan laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
That was pretty damn funny. Did they know the woman at all?