Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) (62 page)

They watched her walk away. Yeah, someone was definitely mellowing.

At the door, she encountered Deputy Turner. “Put your eyeballs back in your head. We’re not selling tickets to this show,” she growled, unhappy with the way the man was staring at the victim.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t mellowing at all.

Blackhawk was glad. It was nice to know some things wouldn’t change.

Tony held her hair as she tossed her cookies. He felt sorry for her, because he remembered the first time he’d been on a scene and had done the same thing.

When he saw his boss strolling toward them, battered jeans and boots, he knew there was going to be a flaying. Whenever someone puked on one of her scenes, Elizabeth made them toughen up real fast. It was like FBI hazing at its finest, and he was helpless to stop it.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked, standing there.

She shook her head. “No. I’m a bone person. I don’t do fleshy really well.”

Elizabeth waited until she finished puking
, then handed her a bottle of water. “Let’s have a seat over there,” she said, pointing to a location without vomit.

When they followed her, she sat in the grass. It wasn’t lost on her that Tony had Jaxon protectively under his arm, as if he was waiting for her to try and break his babe.

Today was his lucky day.

“For the record, this wasn’t
too bad. I have a story to tell you,” she stated, dropping her elbows to her knees. “When I was first starting out, one of my first serial killings was this animal called the Boston Butcher.”

Tony knew where she was going. It had been one of his first cases too. He’d been called in to find the bones of the victims, and he never left the team.
It had been the turning point in his life, which put him on this path.

“Well, he liked doing just about the same thing to his victims. Only, he didn't know I was willing to do just about anything to stop him.”

Yeah, like kill him in cold blood.

“I was assigned this green ME. He was right out of college. You haven’t met Doctor Leon
ard yet, but he’s a hoot. Together, we had to go on this sick scavenger hunt to dig up his victims who were buried all over the place. To make it more hellish, they sent me this anthropologist. He was young, crazy, and didn't listen to anyone.”

Tony grinned at her.

“Well, we hunted this asshole down, but in the process we had to find all his victims. They were the key to unlocking the nutjob’s mind. It was a disgusting, bloody mess most of the time. On one of the very first scenes, my anthro started spewing all over the place. It was like he was possessed.”

That made Jaxon laugh.

“The most memorable part was he puked on our ME.”

“That sounds revolting,” she said.

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, for them it was. For me, it was a box of chocolate covered shits and giggles. To this day, I can still hear Christopher cursing. It was a thing of beauty.”

Tony snorted.
He remembered that day well.

“After we plugged up Mount Vesuvius, we got to work. It was the nastiest, vilest, and hardest work I've ever done
in all my life. In the end, we all forget the puking, the humiliation, and focused on the important part.”

Jaxon waited.

“We were there to stand for the dead. When it all comes down to it, puke, cry, or punch the shit out of something, but remember that we’re the last line of defense for them. If we don’t stare at it and wade through it, they have no one to give them a voice.”

She stared at her.

“You’re stronger than you think. I know that this little episode won’t scare you off. You can do this, Jaxon. Once, I didn't think I could do it every day. Now, I can do it in my sleep.”

As they all stood,
Jaxon glanced over at the woman. “What happened to him?”

“
Are you asking about the killer or the anthropologist?” Elizabeth questioned.

“
I guess both.”

She dropped her sunglasses back on her face. “The killer got away
, but the killing stopped.”

Yeah,
justice was served when she secretly blew his brains out.

“And the doctor?”

“He became one of my closest friends, and is still doing the job today. Only, he’s smarter, kinder, and one of the most compassionate men I know. This job doesn’t harden everyone. Sometimes, it just makes the good come out.”

Tony patted her on the shoulder
. “Yeah, you turned out pretty good too, Director Bad Ass,” he said.

Jaxon glanced over at him.

Elizabeth offered him a fist bump. “Take her back to the cabin, Tony. I’ll be over to see you later. I have to go through a dead woman’s possessions to try and figure out what the hell is going on here.”

Walking away, she whistled, scaring a few techs.
They scrambled like soldiers being ordered around by a general.

“So, you two go way back?” Jaxon asked.

“Yep.”

“Will it
really get easier?” she asked, as he dropped his arm over her shoulders.

“
I guess you can say it will in a way. You’ll still see them and hurt, but eventually the puking stops.”

She was curious. “How long
until that happens?”

“Well, I’ve been doing this almost thirteen years. I think I stopped last year.”

She stared at him.

“I’m kidding!”

Jaxon let him lead her away. If he said it would get better, she trusted him.

With her life.

             
                  *     *     *

Elizabeth navigated her way up the two flights of stairs until she was met at the top by her husband. Callen was already inside looking around, searching for any signs the killer had been up there.

“How bad is it?” she asked, stepping in and looking around.
The last few times they’d had to search a person’s home, they’d encountered a plethora of mess.

“Well, she either really liked sex, or she was using her place as a storage unit for vibrators.”

She shook her head. “In or out of the packaging?” she inquired.

“Wait. Wh
y does that matter?” Blackhawk asked all of a sudden.

“
If they’re sealed in plastic, they’re new. If they’re not, glove up. I see you never bought a girlfriend a sex toy,” she added.

Callen started laughing from the other room. “I love the conversations we have. With any other company, we’d all be fired.” As if to prove a point, he tossed her a box. “Hey, Miss Kitty
, I found you some edible undies. I don’t mind tropical fruit. I bet it would be tasty.”

She found that funny. “Damn, I miss Chris Leonard.
If he were here, I’d have something totally inappropriate to say.”

Ethan moved toward the kitchen. “I didn't buy
my girlfriends sex toys. I am the sex toy,” he teased back. Unfortunately, it was just as the two agents walked in the door.

From the looks on their faces, they were both mortified and amused, but afraid to show it.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying the look of horror on her husband’s face. She couldn’t help but laugh at how Ethan embarrassed himself.

He had the worst sense of timing
.

“Again, I love my job,” Callen stated
, snickering like a madman.

“Ma’am, the tech team is dividing up and heading back to the morgue. Do you want us to stick around and babysit them, or head in to start working?”

“Can one of you stay and one of you go?”

Johanna pulled out a coin and flipped it. Her partner called it in the air.

Obviously, this was common between them.

“Heads, you lose,” she said, pocketing it. “See you later, alligator,” she said, heading out.

“Where should I start?” Broderick asked.

She stared at him. “You just trusted your partner and didn't ask to see the coin.”

Broderick Seaton didn't get it. “She wouldn’t lie to me.”

Bot
h men found that funny as hell. This man had a hell of a lot to learn about the opposite sex.

Uh, yeah, newbies were the best.

“Are you dating anyone, Agent Seaton?” asked Ethan.

“No, why?”

“Next time, ask to see the coin. That’s just a little advice from man to man. Women are sneaky.”

Elizabeth was amused, but focused on work.
“You can have the kitchen. It’s probably the least offensive room in the house.”

As he headed off, they
wandered into the bedroom.

There was porn, sex toys, and other things all over the place.

“It looks like our victim liked to bring her work home with her,” Callen stated, picking up a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. “I never saw the point of these. Who needs the fuzz?”

She stared at him. “Uh, so it doesn’t hurt?”

As Callen walked past her, he swatted her on the ass. “We don’t have that problem. No one ever died from a little pain.”

“Are you out of your damn mind?” she asked, staring at him.

He simply laughed before heading into the bathroom.

Ethan took his position at the one side of the bed. “Want to help me look in the drawers?” he asked.

“Ah, it’s like date night for the Blackhawks,” she quipped, before opening the one closest to her. “I’ve got lube and other toys.”

Blackhawk found meds inside his. Digging through them, he didn't find anything that was alarming. “We have birth control, some vitamins, and what do you want for your birthday?” he asked
out of the blue.

“What?” she said, slipping her hand beneath the mattress. “Where did that come from?”

“Every holiday, I get you jewelry. I want to know if there’s something specific that you want for your birthday.”

“Running out of ideas, huh?”
she teased. Ethan was amazing at picking out presents. He didn't just buy jewelry. Each piece had some meaning behind it. It made them special.

“Honestly, yes.”

She thought about it. “I don’t really want anything.”

Callen stuck his head out. “I have your gift already,” he stated, tapping his head. “It’s going to make you cry.”

There was no doubt in her mind. When it came to either of these men, she was a big puddle of mush. “Really, I’m good this year. You don’t have to get me anything,” she said.

Both men began laughing.

“Yeah, that’s a bad idea,” stated Ethan. “You’re a girl. They like shiny things for any, and all occasions.”

There was one thing she wanted, but she needed to take care of it on her own. This year, she’d be giving them the gift.

“Really. I don’t want anything. I have four babies, Wyler is healthy, we have a good life, and I get to work with the men I love. I’m golden.”

Blackhawk looked skeptical.

“Okay, how about you two men bake me a cake, cook me dinner, and we have a little party at home.”

Broderick walked in on their conversation.

“Really, baby? You don’t want anything for your birthday?”

The agent stared laughing
at the conversation as he passed through the room.

“What’s so funny, Agent Seaton?” she demanded.

“Every man knows that when a woman says no presents, she doesn’t mean it. It’s always, forever, most definitely a trap. I may not be good at the opposite sex thing, but I have sisters. Momma didn't raise no fool.”

Ethan pointed at the younger man. “See.”

“I swear that all I want is a little intimate birthday party with my family. Make me dinner, let me kiss on my babies, and we’re all good.”

In that moment, he had an idea. She’d just
released it wide open to interpretation, and he was going to go there. “How about I get you a day of pampering at the spa? While you’re off getting your girl on, I’ll make you dinner, and we’ll have a party with the people you love most.”

“Deal,” she said. “See? That was easy.”

Oh, she had no idea. He was going to give her a birthday that she’d never forget.

“I don’t see anything,” Elizabeth
said. “We can have the techs sweep. I don’t think he was up here with her. Our perp must have caught her while she was downstairs and took care of her there.”

“I agree.”

Callen exited the bathroom. “She liked her vibrators and let’s leave it at that. Other than some waterproof toys, nothing stands out in there.”

“Great.”

He had a question. Since he was the newest one at this, he was curious. “What did she see? He took her eyes. That has to be significant.”