Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (33 page)

It was time to see how smart the
raven and the fox were, and if they would figure it out before it cost them both their lives.

~ Chapter Ten ~

Saturday one a.m.

Callen Whitefox pulled into his driveway and parked his truck. He had a good time at his granddad’s home with his brother and sister-in-law. It had been a long time since he felt such joy and happiness, and he wanted to keep the good feelings going.

Something
that he couldn’t explain had led him to the bar to grab some beers, and it sat uneasily in the pit of his stomach. The part of him that was envious rose to the surface, as he watched his brother with his wife. There was such a connection between them. One that he had never had before in his life with anyone. They flowed together seamlessly, and he wanted that in the worst possible way. Not to mention the sexual connection they shared together. There was such easiness between them. The holding of hands, the looks they shared, and the teasing that both participated in together.

The one thing he wanted more than anything in life was t
o know one person belonged to him. What he would give to be able to feel alive with a woman of his own. It was something he never thought he could find. Now he knew it was a possibility. Going to the bar he hoped to find that connection but deep down, he knew that wasn’t going to happen, not with the women from the reservation. That road had been travelled many times before, and it always led to a dead end.

Walking in for a beer was
easy; taking in the surroundings and the women that were just a constant reminder of how the reservation wasn’t what he saw in his future was the hard part. It was depressing. All he wanted was his own Elizabeth. He kept trying to convince himself that he wanted a woman like her and not her, but the woman made his body react the way his brother’s did whenever she was around.

It was hard to miss that sexual chemistry they shared
, and how Ethan just came to life around her. Just observing them had made his own body tight with need and want. The same chemistry was affecting him too.

When Kaya Cheek placed the beer in front of him and told him she was getting off in a few hours, it sobered his mood and thoughts right up. As bad as he wanted to find solace, buried in a woman that night, there was no way in hell he was taking that route again.
In his mind, he could pretend it was the woman he wanted, but he knew his heart wouldn’t fall for it.

Ever.

Whitefox finished his beer, tossed his money on the bar top, and walked away from a mess he had no desire to wade into again. Heading home was his best option and then a really cold shower, as he tried desperately to not be jealous of what he hadn’t found himself. Cold showers hadn’t worked yet, but maybe this one would do it, and erase Elizabeth from his mind.

Walking up the steps to his deck, he placed his key in the lock and had that brief awareness that something w
asn’t right. Something felt off as he looked around at the trees lining his yard. Oh well, one too many beers had screwed with his senses. He ignored that instinct, and he pushed the door open to his home. All he wanted now was a shower and bed.
Home sweet home
, he thought, kicking off his boots and walking into foyer. Flicking on the lights, Callen Whitefox jumped, startled by the woman in the chair in his living room.

Her dead eyes stared at him, watching him blankly
, already cold and empty. He couldn’t help but notice the look frozen on her face. It was one of terror, and that alone scared the hell out of him. She was wearing deerskin and her hair was braided to look like an American Indian woman. Now the killer was definitely screwing with him and his brother. He grabbed his shotgun by the door, and Whitefox pulled his cell phone from his pocket. There was only one person on the planet he wanted by his side now, and he dialed his number.

Ethan Blackhawk and Callen Whitefox had a big problem. Elizabeth had been right.
This was definitely personal. 

Ethan was lost in a dream and curled around his wife. After returning home, they showered together and had some
more fun playing wicked water games in the privacy of their home. There was just no getting enough of his wife. When they collapsed into bed together, they allowed sleep to finally win and pull them both under. The sound of the cell phone wasn’t welcomed; it meant there was death waiting for them.

“Ethan, your phone,” she mumbled and then just rolled over him to grab it. Her husband was dead to the world. As she finally managed to answer it, it finally registered with her husband that she was lying across his body.

Confusion filled him. It wasn’t like her to wake him. As his eyes slowly opened, he began adjusting to the scene before him. Both of them had just gone to bed less than an hour ago and something must be wrong.

“Blackhawk,” she mumbled
, half asleep, as she rubbed her eyes.

“
Elizabeth, I need you.”

“Callen, what’s wrong?” she felt her heart start to pound. The sound of her brother-in-law’s voice woke her fast and she sat up.

“I need you both to come to my place now! The killer was here,” he hissed urgently into the phone. 

“Give me the address,” she said
, hopping off the bed and grabbing her own phone to type it in for directions.

He rattled it off and there was
fear in his voice. “Hurry please, Lyzee. This has me freaked out pretty bad. I’m scared.”

“Hang in there, Cal. We’re coming.”
Elizabeth hung up and dropped her husband’s phone into his hand. Just the fact that the man sounded scared shitless, but to admit he was scared, meant it was big.

“Callen?”

“Killer made a house call, and we have to hustle,” she said, pulling on her jeans fast.

“Is he okay?” he asked
, afraid for his brother. As he dressed quickly, a silent prayer was being said that nothing would happen to him now that he was back in his life.

Elizabeth pulled on her shirt tucking it in and looking over at her husband, she could tell that he was worried
about Whitefox. It was etched in his face. “He didn’t specify what was going on, he just said hurry and that he was freaked out.”

“Then we better hurry,” he said
, clipping his gun to his hip and rushing from their bedroom, his wife following right behind him. Part of him vowed to make the killer pay if anything happened to Callen Whitefox.

                                    *   *   *

The killer sat watching from the trees through the
scope of his rifle. It was hard to suppress the giggles, as he could see the fox’s face through the window. Apparently he had caught the man completely off guard, and he didn’t expect his little present. It gave him a great deal of satisfaction to know he had rattled his brother’s cage. Now he just had to wait it out and see if the raven would be flying in to rescue the younger brother. Once he did, he’d be ready. There was going to be a death in the family tonight once the raven arrived on the scene. Oh yeah, screwing with the brothers had been fun but now it was time to show them he meant business.

It was time for a funeral. 

Once he eliminated the competition he would reclaim his heritage. The game was over and now the real fun would begin. It was just a matter of one well aimed shot to take down the bird that was the bane of his existence.

    
                              *   *   *

Blackhawk drove like a maniac as his wife navigated the directions to his brother’s house. He was scared shitless and didn’t know what to think. As they pulled into the drive behind his truck and slammed to a stop, both of them were out of the car quickly and up the stairs to the front door. Both Blackhawks took position on either side of the door, guns drawn as they knocked. Neither was sure what to expect, and they needed to be cautious of what was waiting behind the door for them.

Whitefox opened the door and his eyes were glazed and glassy. 

“You okay?” his brother inquired, pushing past him into the entryway.

“The house is clear. I already checked it. Nothing is out of place other than the present that he left for me.”

Elizabeth walked in
, re-holstering her gun and saw exactly what her brother-in-law had come home to, and she didn’t blame him for being shocked and freaked out.

The young girl sat in his chair, staring like a broken doll. She had been dressed in Native American attire of deerskin and beads. Her blonde braided hair was long and down her back and she wasn’t even close to looking Native. If anything it looked cartoonish and like kids playing dress-up. Everything was over exaggerated. The hair, the makeup, and the clothing the killer had chosen for her. Had she come home to this, there was no doubt that she’d feel the same way as he did. The killer was now escalating and playing dress up. “Do you recognize her?” she asked, her voice calm and even as she tried to ignore the dead eyes. Great, now she was freaked out too.

“No. I’ve never seen her before in my life,” he answered, honestly. “We don’t get many blondes here on the reservation,” and it was true. This woman was a definite outsider.

Blackhawk pulled out his phone and called the tech team, it looked like they were going to have an early morning start.
There would be gripes and moans in protest. None of the team would be happy getting the call this early in the day. He tried to have sympathy, but this was the element of the beast, and they all knew that signing on to the FBI.

Elizabeth took Whitefox by the
hand and led him to his bedroom and away from the dead woman. Now, she needed him to focus on her and what she was going to be asking him. “Callen,” she touched his cheek and directed his face to look at her before she continued. “I need you to tell me everything about tonight, before you went to Timothy’s and then after. I need a walk-through of your last moments here until when you found the body.”

Elizabeth knew what time they had left, and she was pretty sure he didn’t return right home. There was the subtle scent of cigarette smoke and alcohol clinging to his clothing, and she hoped he would have an alibi. It occurred to her that he was either being targeted, or was being set up. The more people that saw him, the better his day was going to be.

Callen Whitefox stared blankly at his sister-in-law, feeling confused. Maybe it was the alcohol and maybe it was the fact he just found a dead woman in his house. He didn’t register what she was saying, it all just seemed like a jumble to him. Then he remembered what she had said at his grandfather’s. He found a body; he was a suspect until she could clear him.

“You spent the day with us
, and then after leaving me you went back to work.” Elizabeth began, leading him through his day, offering him a starting point. Holding his hand in hers, she offered him support while she did her job.

“Yeah, I had paper work to do. Lately
, I’ve been neglecting some duties, and they’ve been piling up at the office. As I was sitting in my office, granddad called, inviting me to dinner. He told me to be there. I wasn’t given an option, it was a family dinner and the whole family was going to obey.”

“Okay, you left your office,” she led, still offering him comfort by holding his hand firmly in hers. “Where did you go then?”

“Home. I came home, showered, and changed and there wasn’t a dead woman here. I would have noticed.”

Elizabeth nodded. “After you showered and changed you went right to Timothy’s house?”

It took him a minute to remember as he played it back through his mind. “I went to his house, but I stopped to talk to my deputy on duty.” He thought back to the conversation. “I told him where I’d be, and how to get a hold of me in case there were any issues.”

Elizabeth nodded, stroking his knuckles with her thumb, offering him reassurance.  “After that you went right to Timothy’s?”

“Yeah, then I stayed there until about one hour after you left, updating him on what was going on with the case and having some tea with him. He was talking about...”

“Go ahead, about what?” she pushed.

“You and how he hoped I found a woman just like you.” Whitefox let it drop off. This wasn’t exactly comfortable territory. His brother had specifically stated that he didn’t want him even thinking inappropriately about Elizabeth, and he was trying desperately not to, but failing miserably. He was hyperaware of her.

Elizabeth made a mental note of the time and pretended to not notice the tension in his voice about their discussion of her. They left there around ten p.m. and if he left at eleven there was still some time left unaccounted for in his schedule. She was going to have to push harder since he wasn’t being exactly forthright. “Callen, where did you go after leaving Timothy’s
?” she asked, quietly. She could hear her husband on the phone with the ME outside the doorway.