Page 111 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

“You need to do it sooner rather than later. You need to just say it.”

He was aware.

“I’ll tell her,” he said. “Will you stay with me?” he asked, staring into his husband’s eyes. “If she won’t, will you?”

He rested his forehead against Ethan’s. Somehow, he knew this was going to be asked of him. There was no doubt in his mind, this had the potential to fracture their family.

All he could hope was it didn’t.

“Please?” Ethan asked. “Don’t leave me behind.”

That was all he had to say. No matter how twitchy this made him about the upcoming explosion of their family, he knew if he ever abandoned Ethan again, it was done.

“Yes, I will.”

That helped him relax.

“Do you think she’ll stay?”

He hesitated.

What he wasn’t saying was that he absolutely, positively didn’t believe she would.

“Just be honest,” Ethan said. “I need you to be my compass again.”

If that was what he wanted, he’d do it.

“No. I don’t think she will. Being here is more difficult for her.

The children are at risk, even if Callen bought a house.

Our team is divided, and so is security.

If things were different, she’d stay. She’s not just Elizabeth Blackhawk anymore.

She’s the Deputy Director of the FBI, the president’s right-hand weapon, and a mom.

At some point, something will have to give. ”

He had tears in his eyes.

That was what he feared.

Could he live without her?

Could he ask her to live without him?

“Is this selfish of me?” he asked. “Is it wrong to do this when I need to?”

He took his face in his hands.

“No, it’s not selfish. If you need this, EJ, then you need it. I can work out of this office, and so can you. We can always fly home on the weekends. We can be a family still. It won’t be easy, but nothing worth having in life is the easy way.”

Ethan was to the point.

“Please don’t abandon me,” he whispered, again. “I need someone to love me enough to give me this. I just don’t know how to ask her for it. After all the rough times I made her struggle to be with me, I don’t know if I have the right to ask for this.”

Oh, well, no shock that he felt like that.

There was no doubt that this was going to blindside Elizabeth, Chris, and Callen.

It was also going to tear their family apart. Willa was thriving with Dolly and the kids.

They couldn’t pull her away.

They were going to have to let her stay with the other children.

This was more than Ethan coming here to roost. This was about tearing a marriage apart so that a fivesome was now a twosome and threesome—on opposite sides of the country. It was about taking their child away from her siblings.

This was huge.

This was all going to come down to one thing.

Which Blackhawk was stronger.

Would it be the soon-to-be Shaman, or the Raven?

Time.

Would.

Tell.

Meanwhile…

There was no doubt in Elizabeth’s mind that something was ready for her, and all she could hope was that it would narrow down the problem.

Finding The Hollow.

“What’s up?” she asked, back on duty.

“We have a problem,” he said, and Chris knew she wasn’t going to be happy.

God knew he wasn’t when he found it.

Elizabeth didn’t like the look on his face. Chris was seldom worked up, but the artery in his temple was HUGE. He was pissed off.

“What?” she asked.

Because she didn’t like things sugarcoated, he went there.

“I just looked over the toxicology they ran on your blood, second checking their work that they did last night, and there’s something there.”

She lifted a brow.

“What does that mean?”

Chris was to the point.

“They ran the wrong test. One of the techs didn’t run the right one because they were having a party here with the music. What Benjamin told you about you not being drugged might not be right.”

Oh, boy.

Yeah, she didn’t like that.

“So, I reran it.”

Elizabeth already knew she’d been drugged. The timeline wasn’t adding up for her. She was gone for over an hour, and there was no way they knocked her out, took her to the cave, and got her to that space unless she was out far longer.

“And?”

“The problem is that chloroform dissipates quickly. The numbers were low, but there’s something there. I have to rerun it. That’s going to take some time.”

Well, shit happened.

Of course, it was happening to her while on the reservation, in danger, and running a new team.

“Is Tony in trouble?” she asked.

He laughed sardonically.

“This is exactly why I said no music. They are like teenagers, Elizabeth. We get a new batch, and then, we have to break them all in. Chrissy wouldn’t have dropped this ball.”

She calmed him down.

“Chrissy dropped plenty. Don’t be upset. I assumed I was drugged anyway. You’re not shocking me with anything I don’t know. I was out a while, and I don’t have a concussion. That means that they had help keeping me out cold to transport me.”

He still didn’t like this.

Who would?

“Well, we’re trying to use a test where we can use an isotope to isolate…”

She stopped him.

“Over my head, Handsome. Just tell me where I can find this drug. The Hollow is likely someone who sticks close to the reservation. Would a doctor have chloroform?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“No, but a vet would. Mostly. It’s not widely used at a vet all that much, but it might be a long shot. I’ve been trying to figure that out for you. It’s the only thing I could come up with, to be honest.”

She stopped him.

“It’s a reservation, Chris. They’ll use the older meds because it’s what they can access. As for the rest, you caught it before it slipped by us. This could give me a suspect. I’m here not far from the vet center so I’ll pop in.”

He was glad he helped.

“I’m still riding ass so hard, Callen’s going to take notes for another time.”

The big man laughed.

“Since we’re talking about me and riding ass,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows, “Elizabeth and I are getting the hell out of here after this case. Want to join us? We’re leaving Ethan and Gene to have a honeymoon—with all of the kids,” he said, grinning.

Chris laughed.

“Well, only if we’re going to take turns molesting our woman,” he said. “I do love a good ‘tie Lyzee down and make her scream’ kind of a deal.”

She snorted.

Once more, her son cringed and purposely moved as far from them as possible.

He was going to need therapy after hearing all of this.

She continued.

“I was thinking white bikini, no tan lines on my chest, and a beach where I can lay there in just Himeros’ Collar and the littlest bikini bottoms known to man. You know the kind that show EVERYTHING.”

Well, now, both men had erections picturing it.

“I’m in. Where?” he asked. “I’ll kill Tony later. I’ll be calm by then, and I’ll likely forget to strangle him,” he admitted.

She had randomly picked a place.

“Barbados. You, me, and Callen, buck naked and breaking all kinds of laws. I mean ALL kinds of laws. We’ll take minimum security, and find a nice hotel…”

Chris stopped her.

“We own a business home there,” he said. “It’s right on the beach, and no one uses it anymore since Janet is over the idea of being tan and is in her Morticia Addams phase of witchcraft.”

She wasn’t shocked.

“There’s a deck patio over a pool where we can fuck for hours, and NO ONE is getting sand in bad places, or seeing it.”

Callen was in.

“Perfect. Bring the kink, Doctor. We’re going to have one hell of a time playing Jackson James and Sir. She’s spending hours on her knees.”

If he thought that was a deterrent for her, it wasn’t. In fact, sign her up.

“Good. You get a sex slave for two days. Make it count, and I mean THAT kind of sex slave.”

Oh, hot damn.

Unfortunately, Takoda could still hear them, and gagged.

“Seriously. What the hell, parental units? Why am I being tortured with all this extra knowledge I didn’t ask for?” he asked. “Oh, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Callen laughed.

“Oh, Son, you have no idea. I have no shame. Learn that about me. Your mother in a bikini is the highlight of my whole life.”

Elizabeth snorted.

It wasn’t like he was lying.

“Go kill Tony, Christopher. I’m going to figure out where this killer found chloroform. Thanks for the heads-up, my love. Call me if you get anything else. Oh, and remember, if Tony disappears, you have to do paperwork,” she said, ignoring Takoda.

He laughed.

Oh, he’d been bitchy, but two days in Barbados with Elizabeth and Callen?

He’d get over it.

Fast.

“Oh, and Chris. I really need Benjamin to put a rush on Rayna’s DNA. The test that Callen called you about.”

Yeah, he’d make sure it was done.

“Do you think she’s involved?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“No, but I want to see if we can tie her father and her ‘missing’ brother to this. I feel like I’m being lied to, and I’m missing a big, fat clue.”

Now, he got it.

“I call you when it’s done. That’ll take time. DNA is longer to process.”

She was aware.

Blowing him a kiss, she ended the call. Then, she focused on Takoda.

“Still want to follow me around with pervert one and two always thinking dirty things?”

He shrugged.

“I mean, at some point, I’ll be desensitized. It’s like being tortured by Marines. You don’t feel the pain anymore after a while. You get numb.”

Ivan actually held out his hand and got a fist bump from the boy.

“You learn fast, Koda,” Ivan admitted.

Elizabeth just rolled her eyes.

“Well, grab Ethan and Gene. We’re chasing chloroform here. There’s really only one place to get it on a reservation.”

Callen was the Devil’s advocate.

“Unless it was bought off reservation.”

She sighed.

“Killing my vibe, Callen James. Killing my vibe,” she said.

Then, she whistled.

Security headed their way.

“Warn Uriel we’re about to move. We’ll walk over to the vet center. I need to figure out what the hell is going on here, and soon. I want to get the hell out of here. I’d rather eat my own eyeballs than be here one more day.”

Well, Ethan and Gene heard that, and both of them knew the truth.

This was about to get worse.

For them.

* * * The Blackhawk Family * * *

Nearby

Watching

Waiting

Planning

They were keeping a close eye on the whole team, specifically the Chief of Police. Not only was she fooling around with an outsider, but she was the reason The Hollow was being hunted.

And that pissed them off.

Apparently, she didn’t have an ounce of common sense, because now, they had a whole bunch of problems.

Even if you lived under a rock, you knew about Elizabeth Blackhawk, and how she could solve just about anything.

That woman was about to ruin decades upon decades of their culture.

Their home.

Now, they knew what they needed to do.

It was time to distract the Blackhawks, and there was one way how.

This should punish those who deserved it.

Once and for all.