Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) (33 page)

They couldn’t believe how
easy this was. Generally, they had to get through a weeping mess to get any details. This woman was a fount of useful information.

“What church?” Callen asked.

She thought about it. “I don’t know the name,” Tiva stated, “but it’s the one out by the Rez. You can’t miss it. It’s the ornate Catholic one with mega cemetery and all those crypts.”

Yeah, they definitely knew the one.
In fact, it kept popping up over and over again.

Saint Mary’s of the Sacred Heart was turning out to be a mecca of trouble.

“Thank you for your help, Ms. Maine,” Callen stated.

“I’m locking up. Here’s my number if you need me,” she said, smiling at him. “I’ve got to find another job. I wish someone would have told me he was dead. I wasted three days here.”

Callen took the card as she walked away. Yeah, he wouldn’t even go there if he was single. That woman was stone cold inside.

Outside, they watched her lock the door and head to her car.

“Well, where to now?” Ethan asked, shaking his head.

“It appears that we have a church to visit.”

Great.

Both men pictured Elizabeth
running amuck in a Catholic church. This should get them all struck with lightening.

Hopefully today, God had a sense of humor
or a hell of a lot of patience.

One of his creations was about to raise some major hell.

             
                   *     *     *

At the morgue, Jaxon sat very close to Tony as he showed her how to process evidence. Apparently, when you worked in the FBI, you had to know how to do it all.

That freaked her out.

In all honesty, she wasn’t really a lab rat. Her love in life was being out in the dirt. Jaxon never realized how hard her job at the FBI was going to be.

Already, she was regretting it.

Then, she glanced over at the man beside her. Well, not all of it. She had to say, he smelled amazing. Despite being trapped in a sterilized room, wrought with the smell of cleaning fluid, she was able to hone in on his scent.

Maybe it was instinctual.

Shit!

She’d gotten mad at him for thinking that, and here she was, saying the same thing.

Well, damn it!

This was a problem. Being an anthropologist, she understood the need for species to come together, procreate,
and form little cohesive units. She just didn't expect it to be like this. Jaxon didn't expect to wander into the FBI and find him.

It just seemed
all too crazy.

Yet, here he sat.

Tony could feel her watching him, and his heart pounded in his chest. “Are you okay?” he asked, placing his hand over Jaxon’s in her lap.

Just that light brush of
skin to skin made her shiver. No, she’d never be alright again, and she knew it. This man was going to make her life difficult.

“Yeah, I just need a little break. My neck is killing me from staring down.”

“Want me to rub it?” he offered, knowing that was so very unprofessional, but he’d seen Chris’s wife do it for him.

“No, but I’m going to run to the coffee shop. Would you like some?”

He was good. “No thank you, but be careful,” he said, and then decided to be a gentleman. “Do you want me to go with you?”

She flipped her hand in her lap to squeeze his fingers. “No, I’ll be good.”

Tony watched her leave. As she stopped at Zane’s workspace, once more that feeling of jealousy roared to life in his body. The only way to make it subside was to think of that morning in bed. He’d kissed her like he’d wanted to, and she didn't push him away.

It had to be as sign, right?

As she walked out, he forced his attention back onto the trace reports in front of him. Tonight was their date, and in all honesty, he couldn’t wait.

Now, if he could only make it through the rest of the day without doing anything stupid, irresponsible, or idiotic.

Yeah, slim chance there.

Tony knew the absolute truth.

When it came to Jaxon Armstrong, he was totally screwed.

Outside, Jaxon headed to the coffee shop. When her phone rang, she recognized the tone and her heart thudded. Quickly, she rushed to answer it, afraid to miss it.

“Hey, Jax! How’s my baby sister doing?” asked Jagger Armstrong.

The laughter bubbled up at the sound of his voice. It was so amazing to hear from him. At that moment, he was stationed somewhere in the world.

God, she missed him.

“I’m lonely without you, Jagger. When are you coming home?” she asked, hoping it was soon.

“Not for a while, Jax.
I wish it was tomorrow, but I’m neck deep in something. Why do you sound upset?”

When it came to her brother, Jaxon didn't pull any punches. They were all they had left in the world, and the bond between them was tight.
“I met someone.”

“Did he hurt you? I’ll get my ass home and kick his all the way to the deepest pit of hell.”

She laughed outrageously. Her brother was a Marine to the core. “No, Jagger! He’s sweet, gentle, and perfect.”

“Okay, then why are you sad?
You should be happy and giddy with girly-dom. What’s wrong with him?”

She took a deep breath. “He works for the FBI
. I met him on this assignment, but already I think I’ve made a huge mistake when it comes to the job. It’s nothing like I thought it would be.”

Ahhhh, he understood now.

His burial rat sister was second guessing her skills. “Well, let’s handle one thing at a time. Tell me about this mystery man. Does he like you?”

She thought back to the kiss
. Inadvertently, her fingers went to her lips. “Yes, he does.”

“Then, you need to see where it goes. If he likes you enough, he won’t care if you leave the FBI and go back to
playing in the dirt. Hopefully, he can get past the bugs and bones. If that doesn’t creep him out, nothing will.”

“He’s an anthropologist too.
In fact, he’s one of the best in our field.”

“Well hell! He’ll get it then.
All you bone doctors are the same- completely freaky.”

Ah, if only it were that easy.

“He’s older than me and loves his job. What if I start something, and end up walking away?” She really needed his advice.

“How much older? Are we talking like old man in a wheelchair old, or
possibly approaching Medicare?” he teased.

Jaxon snorted.
“Hardly. He’s forty one.”

Jagger scoffed. “That’s nothing. If
he really cares about you, then he’ll understand and make it work. If it’s not meant to be, you’ll at least know you tried. Isn't it better to give it a shot than to crawl away like a coward?” Jagger knew his sister. Her instinct would be to run, but she’d regret it. “When the going gets tough…”

“The Armstrongs get going. I know. You’re right.”

“Am I going to meet the crypt keeper?” he teased.

She started laughing. “No
t if you keep talking like that, Jagger. You’re going to be embarrassed when I kick your ass in front of him. Some scary Marine you’ll be.”

“Be still my broken heart. Here, you just tossed me over for an old man.”

“He’s really hot, so hell yeah I did.”

He made a gagging noise to get her to laugh. “Go for it, Jaxy. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. You need to spend half your day in the land of the living.
It’ll balance out the rest of the gloom and doom.”

She was well aware.

“I love you, kiddo. I’ll call you as soon as I get more time. I have some creepy assignment coming up in the next couple months, but I wanted you to know that I miss you.”

“Are you stateside?” she asked, knowing it wasn’t likely he would tell her. Jaxon just needed that one little piece of information to eat away at the dread.

“Jaxon…”

“Please? I don’t know if I can handle you being a target in the Middle East.”

There was a pause. “I’m closer than you think, and let’s leave it at that.”

The held breath was released.
“Jagger, you watch your back. I need you to come home safe,” she ordered. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Jaxy. Now, go live life
and make our mother proud.”

When the phone went dead, her eyes filled with tears. Her brother was her rock, and he was absolutely right. She was going to make this worth her while. She may not have lots of time with Tony, but she’d live for the moment.
After all that she had seen as a doctor, who could fault her for stealing some normalcy?

As she ordered her coffee,
Jaxon noticed a boutique across the street. It looked perfect. Glancing down at her watch, she noticed there was time. She’d run in, grab something, and hide it in her vehicle. Then, she’d wear it tonight.

Yeah, she was going to take this moment to live. Jagger was right.

There was no way she was going to run because of the what if’s.

She was an adult and wanted to feel.

Tonight, she’d make it happen.

             
        *     *     *

Pulling up to the church, both men glanced back at her from their seats. The looks on their faces said it all, and she was having a hard time not laughing at them.

“What?” she said, staring
in mock confusion.

“You know what, Elizabeth,” Callen stated.

She continued to stare at them blankly, waiting to see what they were going to do next.

“You can’t go into a church, guns blazing. This is a holy place to some people
, and we need to play nice,” Ethan warned.

“I tell you what, boys. I’m so sure that you’re going to be surprised, how about we bump our earlier bet to this house of the Lord. Obviously, they’re in the middle of mass here, so if I can keep my cool, make it through, we use this little fun fest as our bet.”

The men both burst out in laughter. Elizabeth and religion were like oil and water.

They repelled each other.

“So, you’ll not get angry, curse, or stir the pot?” Ethan clarified. Their wife was tricky, and he wanted to shut down any loop holes.

The
n, Callen picked up where Ethan had left off, “Or make anyone blush when you trash God?” he added.

“Yes, yes, yes,
and yes,” she replied, smiling.

“You’ll never do it. You’re going to be having another bab
y, and right after Charlie,” Callen said, grinning.

“Deal,” stated Ethan. “You have to
do all the questioning though. It’s not fair if you just sit there quietly.”

“You both can sit and look pretty. I’ll survive the last part of mass
, and I’ll even be able to do the interview.” When she hopped out, they followed.

“This is going to be interesting.”

Elizabeth was bringing her game on this one. When in doubt, teach the men in your life a big fat lesson. As proof that she was dead serious, Elizabeth gave them a heads up. “You’ll need to take off your sidearms. This is a house of God,” she said, sweetly.

The men stared as she did just that. The look they were giving her was priceless. Oh, she wasn’t going to just win. Tomorrow, the men were going to be swapping out their clothes.

This was worth playing good Catholic girl. She’d done it in her youth, so how hard could it be?

After their glove box was locked, she headed
toward the church. The minute one of them placed their arm around her, she knocked it away. “Stop. This is a church.”

They stared even more, not believing it.

Entering, the men were out of their element. Growing up, they were exposed to Native beliefs based in nature, nothing more. While they believed there was a higher power, to them it was the Great Spirit.

Once in the door, they watched their woman. She stopped at the bowl with the holy water and dipped her fingers into it. With them, she made the sign of the cross.

They stared in disbelief. At any second, they fully expected her to burst into flames.

As she headed to a back pew, they were shocked as hell when she knelt and bowed her head to the cross. Once seated, they stared at her like she was possessed.

“What?”
she mouthed.

“Who are you?”
Ethan replied.

Callen was speechless. He simply shook his head.
It was one thing to play church goer, but Elizabeth had to survive the interviews.