Chapter Fourteen #5
“No, you shouldn’t have because that’s a given.
Caspian is my family, too. Those Marines have protected us, our kids, and the people we love.
I’ll fucking lie like a goddamn rug to protect him.
You just get Rayna here. I know a few people in the area.
I’ll have a makeup artist who works on deceased people come and clean her up.
He won’t see what was done to her. We’re both going dark side.
I’m your ride or die, and have been since the day I fucking met you. ”
At his words, there was relief, and the tears came.
“He took her eyes and brutalized her,” she whispered.
“He was a million times worse on her because he wants Caspian to hate our fucking guts. It’s a fate worse than death to see your kids hate you for something out of your control.
He knows I value being a mother over EVERYTHING because I lost my own. ”
Oh, no doubt.
Only, they needed to stay on task, or this was going to get a million times worse.
So, Chris was to the point.
“FOCUS. He wants this. Listen to me, Elizabeth. I’ll get you the bodies, and I’ll get them to that warehouse.
I’ll help you, and we’ll finish this. He’s not winning.
I’ll carry you over the fucking finish line, if need be, but we’re ending this here and now.
He’s gone too far by touching our family.
If you think I value a crime scene over your heart, or anyone we love, then, I’ve not been clear the last twenty-five years! ”
She sniffled.
Only, Chris wasn’t done.
“As for the message he left, I’m hoping you didn’t listen to it.”
She was honest.
“I destroyed her phone. I’m going to need you to break every law and rule known to ME kind. I want all information scrubbed. Cas is to never hear a single thing about this. Make that report vague. I’m going to lose him with this. He’s going to hate me.”
He reassured her.
“He won’t.”
Yeah, he would.
There was no doubt in her mind that the man would never speak to her again.
She could bet on that.
After all, how could he not hate her? She’d cost him the love of his life.
“We’ll transport back. We don’t need evidence on who did this. It wasn’t an apprentice. There’s no precision. It was brutal hacking.”
Raphael put his hand on her shoulder, offering her his support.
She said one last thing.
“This isn’t going to court.”
Oh, well, he was glad.
Never in his life did he think he’d say that, or cross the line, but here he was, doing it. It would give him great satisfaction to have the man’s parents exhumed. If he could, he’d piss on their graves for what they’d raised.
It wasn’t difficult to raise good children.
You just couldn’t be a shit parent.
Or in this case, a serial killer.
“I’m getting the warrant from a judge right now. I’ll have them there by morning. As for the rest, transport to the morgue. I’ll give Ethan and Callen a heads-up so they can distract Caspian until I have time.”
She was appreciative.
“Thank you, Christopher. Tell the judge we need to keep it silent. I don’t know where they are buried, but I need them moved.”
If they were lucky, it would be above ground in a mausoleum. That would be a fast pickup. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be cremated either.
He wasn’t sure what his wife was going to do with the remains, but he knew it was going to be memorable.
For Devon.
“Don’t worry. I have it, Elizabeth.”
She was grateful.
“See you in a bit.”
When she hung up, Raphael hugged her.
“And that’s why you’re a mom. We love you for how much you protect and cherish us, Elizabeth. We’ll forever have your back.”
She hoped she didn’t lose Caspian.
That was her big concern now. Telling him was going to be brutal.
“What do you need us to do?”
She was to the point.
“Get a body bag out of the back. I’m going to move her, and then, we’re getting out of here. Can you snap pictures of EVERYTHING in that cabin? Send them to my encrypted drive. I need to make sure he hasn’t left a clue.”
Not that she’d need it.
As soon as The Hunters showed up, she was absolutely going hunting.
For a soon-to-be dead man.
Devon Slater was about to get a little of his own medicine.
And she hoped he choked on it.
Meanwhile…
At FBI West
When she hung up, Chris was worried. He’d never heard her be that angry, and he’d heard a lot when he was around Elizabeth all through the years.
This was a concerning thing, and so much so that she’d wanted the man’s dead parents dug up. There wasn’t going to be a happy reunion when that happened.
His priority was keeping that little event on the DL. If Devon Slater was as attached to his daddy, like they believed him to be, he would go nuclear.
And then no one was safe.
Especially Elizabeth.
When he put his phone away, and went to turn around, Ethan was right there.
He actually jumped.
“Jesus, my love! A bell! Please! You don’t creep up on someone in a MORGUE!”
Ethan didn’t even laugh.
Instead, he stayed focused.
He said one word, and it was all that needed to be said. It was that concise.
“Bad?”
He nodded.
Chris wasn’t sure what he’d overheard, and what he hadn’t. So, he shared.
Keeping his voice down, he said the words.
“She wants his parents’ bodies.”
Oh, and Ethan knew why.
Honestly, it told him that his wife was still in this game. She was now one step ahead of him. When he took something of their family’s, she was taking something of his.
“He’s crossed a line, and she’s taking away the thing he loves and hates the most. This is checkmate. She’s going to give him a piece of his medicine when she wants to make the killing blow.”
That was all well and good, but Chris was curious.
“Will she survive this?”
He nodded.
“No one is tougher than Elizabeth. She’ll make it through the fire. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
He hoped the man was right.
Ethan said one last thing.
“Brace for it. If she doesn’t play this exactly right, and he slips through her fingers, he’ll lose his mind. They are his ultimate collection—the woman who broke him, and the man who made him. They are what he cherishes and hates the most. Once he loses them…”
Well, how could this go wrong?
Let him count the goddamn ways.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
Same Time
Callen’s office
Elizabeth’s field partner had been working on a few things, and mostly, trying to get a lead so that they could keep The Hunters updated.
Speaking of them, he needed to get his own update from them.
As to when they’d be saving their asses.
Pulling out his phone, Gene made a video call to the cavalry.
It was answered pretty damn fast.
“Hey, Gene.”
He could see them on the screen in the sitting area of Callen’s jet. They were lounging, and no doubt trying to get some sleep before the hunt began.
And who could blame them?
There was no way they’d know how long it was going to take, and this might not be a sprint, but a marathon.
Not far away in a corner, Rogue was behind a computer, doing some work. That was typical Rogue behavior. The man didn’t need a lot of sleep, and loved him some tech.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Only, before answering her, Gene couldn’t help himself and bust Zayn’s ass.
It was kind of their thing.
“Fat ass, put the chips down. Don’t get fingerprints on the chairs. Callen will never let you use the jet again!” he stated, annoying the man because he could.
Zayn gasped.
“HEY! Are you really calling me fat, my rotund, less-active friend?” he shot back.
Yeah, he missed these nuts.
It was good to laugh. Honestly, Gene couldn’t remember when the last time he actually did that. He’d missed his old family and couldn’t wait to see them again.
He wished it was under better circumstances—like taking a vacation in New Orleans.
“We have a problem,” he said, getting down to the situation at hand.
Oh, Lordy.
What now?
Maura couldn’t imagine what it could possibly be. She’d just spoken to him not that long ago when he asked for them to get the show on the road.
“What?” she asked.
Gene clued her in.
“We just had another victim. This time, it’s Uriel’s girlfriend, the Reservation Chief of Police. She was just killed.”
Yeah, he’d gotten notified when MATE popped into the office and told him what was going down after he’d asked for an update.
He continued.
“Elizabeth is bringing her in, and it’s bad. This officially is going to cause issues not only between Uriel and the family, but the Native community. Her father is the Reservation Chief.”
Oh, Jesus.
They bet that was going to make Ethan’s job as Shaman all kinds of fun.
It sounded like a war zone was going on around Elizabeth. All of them felt horrible that she was going through this.
Zayn was curious.
“He is still targeting Marines?” he asked. “Because last time it was a Marine, and this time a Marine’s woman. That’s pointed. That also makes me want to grab him by the neck and use his face as a punching bag.”
Gene wished that was all it was, and then maybe, they’d be able to pinpoint his next target. Only, this was halfway to bedlam, and the train was going off of the tracks.
“He’s targeting everyone he can. We tried to bring Rayna RunningWolf in, so she’d be safe, but she refused. We can’t kidnap people to keep them safe.”
The Hunters all shrugged.
Sure you could.
They’d done it before.
Instead of going there, Gene shared.
“We just found out he’s got accomplices who helped him set up the crime scenes. Oh, and surprise, surprise, he’s offed them. I need a little help from your resident computer dude, and possible Dark Web surfer. We need information.”
Rogue knew he was up to bat.
“Oh, well, I’m available,” he stated, knowing he’d already spoken to Remmington and had gotten some information. “Before we work on that, I was working on some other things. I heard back from Remmy. He has a preliminary list of suspects who have been in contact with the person you’re hunting.”
That was the best news Gene had heard. He knew at some point, Elizabeth was going to go out and get justice. They needed to know who was taking money from Devon Slater.
Sooner.
Rather than later.
“Who?”
Rogue sent him the list.