Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) (18 page)

“There’s a motto for our next totem pole,” Ethan teased, “since we are
NOT
putting our names on it.”

“Har-har. You’re funny.”

Livy loved having them around. “You three are funny. I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Gabe said. “I haven’t heard our house this quiet in…ever.”

She laughed and saluted her husband with the wine. “Amen. We just found our silver lining to this mess.”

Callen put down the knife and began massaging his hand. No one missed it.

“Are you okay?” Chris offered, moving toward him.

“Damn hand, that’s all.”

“Let me see it.”

Callen held out his hand for the doctor to look at it. “Well?” he asked.

“Squeeze my fingers.”

Callen did.

“You couldn’t do that a month ago. You’re on your way back.”

Gabe was glad to hear it. “I don’t want to have to bench you.”

Ethan interjected first. “He’s not being benched. Callen isn’t losing his job. If he can’t be a Fed, none of us can.”

Elizabeth didn't disagree.

“What?” Gabe said. “Is that some threat?”

“No, it’s just how it has to be. If we lose him, we can’t do our jobs.”

“So, you three are going to retire?” Gabe asked, lifting a brow.

“Let’s put it all out on the table, shall we?” Ethan began. “The FBI is tough, but there are loopholes. I fully expect to find one, utilize it, and help him keep his job.”

“Ethan,” Callen began.

“No, Cal, don’t. You were shot in the line of duty. You aren’t going to be retired as if you don’t matter. You served your country, and we’re going to make sure the Federal government serves you.”

Elizabeth knew how tense this situation was. Ethan felt horrible. The only reason Callen was shot was because he took one for the team and went with Dakota Rakin. Had it not been for his temper, Ethan would have been shot instead.

He carried it daily. 

“I’m not disagreeing with you, Ethan, but the heat is on you three right now. Your faces are all over the news. That weasel reporter made sure that you’re now a household name.”

“Fuck him,” Ethan said. “Callen will be back even if I have to bend every rule on the planet to do it. We’ve all twisted them to our needs. Look at this mess.”

They all got quiet.

No one moved.

“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like that,” Ethan said, closing his eyes. Immediately, he felt even worse.

“It’s okay, Ethan,” Gabe offered. “I’m not offended. You’re right. We’ve all bent the rules at one time or another.”

Elizabeth moved from her place at the island and toward him. When she got there, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on to her husband.

“I love you, Cowboy.”

Callen did the same, pressing Elizabeth between them.

Chris, Livy, and Gabe took in the moment. It was touching and crystal clear that they did need each other.

This was how they refocused and found the center.

“We have this,” Elizabeth reassured, as both men gave her a kiss. They took a deep breath, and reclaimed their balance. 

“Better?” Gabe asked as they broke apart.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for that,” Ethan stated.

Livy laughed and then fanned herself. It was enough to break the ice and lighten the mood.

“We should eat,” Callen said, noticing Elizabeth looked a little pale.

“You won’t hear me complain.”

Chris carried a large salad to the table as they grabbed the other food. As the table was being set, the ME updated Callen on everything they had found.

It was obvious that he was relieved to hear it was a copycat killer.

“I found something too,” Callen offered, as they began sharing a meal as a family.

“What?” Elizabeth asked.

“I think I know how they got Director Donnelly out of his house.”

They all glanced over.

“What? Did you think I was sitting in Gabe’s chair with my feet up the entire time?” Callen asked, teasing them. “I do know how to be her paperwork monkey. She’s trained me well.”

“I like lust monkey better,” she stated. “The perks with that outweigh the office work.”

Livy giggled until Gabe gave her the look. “Don’t encourage her.”

Callen found that amusing. “Well, for the record, I prefer it too.”

“Focus,” Ethan stated, getting his brother’s attention.

“You’re no fun.”

“Duly noted. Now, what did you find for us?”

Callen told them everything. He broke down the call and how the tech unit was tracing it. “As soon as it goes on, and a call is made, they’ll trace it. We’ll immediately be alerted.”

“Maybe it was some booty call,” Chris offered.

“I thought that too, but the number had never called him before. If you’re a booty call, what are the chances that it’s your first one, unless you’re the killer?”

Elizabeth thought about it as she chewed on some salad. “I think that’s a long shot. This man was chilly and cold. You could tell by just being in his space. He wasn’t going to be heading out at three in the morning for a hook up. If anything, he was efficient.”

“Would he have a lady there?” Chris asked.

That was one question they didn't have an answer to, and they wouldn’t unless they tested the man’s sheets.

It was quite possible that this might be a man and woman team doing the killing.

Immediately, they all thought about Bonnie.

“She isn’t back, is she?” Callen asked. “If she is, I get to make that shot. I owe her one.”

Ethan thought about it. “I don’t think so. She liked the game, but she liked the notoriety that went with it. When she called you and Elizabeth out, she signed her name.”

This has been the exact opposite.

“This killer is like the original. He’s watching and biding his time. Why?”

No one knew.

“That’s going to be the big clue. If we can figure that out, then we can start to anticipate the next step.”

They knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Well, we know how many there are going to be,” Livy stated. “At least there’s that.”

Callen glanced over. “What do you mean?”

Elizabeth told him all about it.

“Uh, do you realize that if you add up the people in this room, and the number of victims predicted, they’re the same number?” Callen asked.

She didn't until that point.

“Ethan?”

“I think the only person in this room who is safe is Callen. He wasn’t part of this. I profiled it, Donnelly picked the agents, Gabe was in charge of it, Chris was the ME, and you two ran the show. That’s six.”

Elizabeth tried to measure the real risk to the people she loved. “I need you to give me your gut on this one, Cowboy. Is everyone in this room in danger?”

Ethan put down his fork. “I can’t give you that. I suggest we watch our backs, and hope for the best. That’s all I have on this one.”

She didn't like that.

Gabe didn't like it.

Hell, no one did.

This was a mess.

Callen sipped his wine. “We should probably assume the worst, don’t you think?”

Ethan agreed. “I would. Until we see who the next victim is, we have no way of knowing.”

No one liked that they had to wait for another body, especially since the victim might be in that room.

“How secure is your house?” Ethan asked, glancing over at his brother. None of them were wearing their guns, but that would stop immediately.

In fact, they were sleeping with them too.

“I have four agents in strategic locations around the house. Tonight, when I give them notice, two more will be patrolling the inside while we sleep—one on this floor and one on the upper level. Plus, we have security cameras on at all times of the day.”

“Wait, did they pick anything up from the body dump earlier today?” Elizabeth asked.

Gabe shook his head. “No. It was just outside the perimeter of the range. The killer knew I’d have security and either got lucky or knew where the coverage stopped.”

“Again, he’s likely a watcher.”

For once, Elizabeth wanted some average, garden-variety crazy person. Killers were getting harder to stop.

When she yawned, everyone glanced over.

“Sorry, this baby is draining me like a hillbilly on a moonshine bender.”

Livy completely understood.

“Head on up,” Gabe offered. “We’ll clean up. You’re the pregnant one, and we need your mind tomorrow. You need to catch some z’s.”

“I feel so cheap and used. You only want me for my mind,” she said before winking at the men in her life.

Both her husbands were well aware of what she was thinking.

Gabe didn't miss the lecherous looks that were passed around. He just didn't plan on dwelling on it. There was no doubt in his mind what they were all planning for later. After all, he looked at his wife the exact same way.

“Sweet dreams,” Livy said, as Ethan swung his wife up and into his arms.

She dropped her head on his shoulder to enjoy the scent of his cologne. Behind them, Callen followed.

“You know they’re going to fornicate all over your guest bedroom,” Chris teased. “Break out the black light in the morning.”

Livy laughed.

Gabe groaned.

“Come on! She’s like my sister. I don’t want to go there. It’s wrong to picture her in any compromising position with a man, let alone two horny men. It gives me the willies.”

Livy laughed even more. “Help me clean up, and you can carry me to bed too.”

He rubbed his hands together.

Chris laughed at them all. “I’m wearing earplugs tonight. What I don’t hear won’t hurt me. You know the saying—when the director’s house is a rockin’, definitely don’t come a knockin’.”

Gabe wiggled his eyebrows lecherously. He didn't care what the man said. They were kid free for the first time in fifteen years.

This never happened.

He was an opportunist, and he was taking advantage of the moment.

His day was looking up. Tonight, he was going to have some fun with his wife.

She needed a distraction, and he was definitely the man for the job.

Upstairs, they got ready for bed. The men quickly stripped down to their boxers and climbed onto the queen size bed. In the adjoining bathroom, they could hear their woman brushing her teeth.

They couldn’t wait to get her into bed. Part of it was because they wanted to feel her petal soft skin beneath their fingers, but also it was to distract her.

They could tell that Elizabeth was off her game. She was so focused on the case, that they knew it would consume her. By molesting their wife, they’d get her to take a break from the oncoming horrors.

She needed it.

She deserved it.

After all, she was growing a child.

When the bathroom door opened, she stepped out. Her hair was down, her face was bare, and she was wearing one of Callen’s t-shirts. It hung low on her, covering the baby bump.

“I get to go first,” Callen stated triumphantly.

Ethan laughed.

The men had implemented a new game in their bedroom. Since they did the threesome thing more often than not, they had to find a way to be fair. Each night, they’d leave their shirts in the bathroom, knowing that Elizabeth liked to sleep in them. Whoever’s shirt she wore to bed, well, they were picked to initiate the fun. Last time, Ethan had won.

It was their version of lady’s choice—
Native style
.

Elizabeth crawled onto the bed, only to be pressed between them. This was the best place to be. The three of them coming together never got old. In fact, it only got better with time. The men in her life knew her body better than anyone did, and she was grateful.

She loved getting off with them, almost as much as she loved getting them off.

Their connection was only getting stronger, and when they could take that time to be one, it reinforced their relationship.

They were indestructible.

“Lyzee, angel, you smell delicious,” whispered Callen, as his mouth moved over her throat and to her lips.

“I love the way she smells,” Ethan admitted. “I could get lost in this scent all day long. The second I smell it, I get hard.”

She shivered at what he said. Ethan was a man of few spoken words. When he used them during sex, they were impactful.

“I’m glad I can turn you two wild Natives on,” she whispered, knowing she needed to keep her voice down. They were guests in Gabe’s house, and they were going to be respectful—as they had some raunchy sex.