Page 115 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

The Reservation

The Woods

Same Time

For Wyler, it was always peaceful in the trees on the reservation. Even when he was a boy, he’d come out here, and he’d have one hell of an adventure with his friends. It got him out of Timothy’s hair.

And that was always a good thing.

Now, he was in his favorite spot, and this was his way of saying goodbye to his home.

Wyler knew that he’d never be back until he was already dead.

It saddened him because he really wanted to be here. Closing his eyes, he called for his father in his mind.

‘Let Elizabeth change her mind. I want to be here. I have a better chance at surviving if I’m here. Please, Dad. I’m done being selfish, but please intervene.’

When he opened his eyes, he hoped his father would do something. Here, Wyler believed anything could happen. This was where his soul needed to be.

If nothing changed, he’d make the sacrifice for his family and go back to DC, but it was against his first choice.

As he was sitting in the absolute silence, that’s when he heard the breaking of branches not far off. That was his sign.

Wyler tucked himself back into the bramble, hidden from view.

At first, he believed it was a deer, and that he was going to have his kill to bring back to DC, but it wasn’t.

Not.

Even.

Close.

Instead, he saw two men in camouflage walking side-by-side.

Behind them, they were dragging something. At first, he thought it was a deer, but then, he looked through his scope and could see what it was.

It was a human.

Lance Running Wolf.

Oh, holy shit.

Wyler knew what his daughter was working on, and he believed that these two men wearing camo hoodies had to be the people she was hunting.

Well, it appeared he was in the right place at the right time. It also appeared that Lance was next to die.

Wyler knew he had to make a choice.

And he needed to make it fast.

If Lance was even alive.

* * * The Blackhawk Family * * *

The Cabin

Same Time

Four P.M.

When they pulled up to the cabin, no one was amused by any of this. They all knew what was lurking in the woods, and yet, Wyler still went in there.

Was he out of his goddamn mind?

Did he have a death wish?

Either way, she was going to bust his balls so hard he walked funny all the way to chemo.

Her idea of fun wasn’t sending her Marines into a bad situation to find Wyler.

Yeah, they had him tracked with a tracer in his boot, but as of yet, he wasn’t answering calls and texts.

That scared them all.

As Ivan got out of the vehicle, he ran straight into his team—the people who managed to let an older man slip right by them.

“How the hell?” Ivan asked. “There are two Archangels and a combat Marine here. How do you let Wyler go into the woods when you know the assholes Elizabeth are chasing are just looking for a way to stop her? Killing Wyler is the best way.”

They stood there.

Honestly, there was no excuse.

“We don’t know,” Michael said. “Muriel and I had the front, and Demeter was literally sitting his ass on the back porch watching the woods.”

The other two people agreed.

“There’s no way he got past us,” Muriel said. “It’s not possible. He had to sneak out earlier than when we sat down to lock the premises up.

Ivan just wanted to get Wyler out of there, so he’d bust balls later. There wasn’t time.

“What saves us is he wears an actual tracker without trying to ditch us.”

Callen tried to calm them down.

“Wyler is accustomed to hunting here,” he admitted. “He’ll turn his phone off, and he’ll kill a deer then drag it out. He’s consistent.”

Well, what Ivan didn’t like was the proximity to the cave that Elizabeth had been dumped on. It was only a couple miles from here, and they didn’t know what was watching that part of the woods.

Ivan was ready to go.

“We’re going to track him and get him out,” he said.

Only, he didn’t get to say anything else.

Elizabeth phone chimed—her personal one, and she pulled it from her pocket.

That’s when she saw who it was from, and her heart began racing.

‘I’m in the woods hunting. I was tucked into my blind, and I saw two people dragging Lance Running Wolf into the trees. I’m less than five hundred feet from him. What do you want me to do?’

Oh, holy shit.

Wyler was in the thick of it.

Why the hell wasn’t she surprised about this? Her father-in-law made her work for it the last week, and of course he was now involved in a very DANGEROUS case.

“We have a problem.”

She read it out loud to her security, and to the man’s daughter.

“It looks like The Hollow picked another person to play this game with, and punish everyone.”

From where she stood, Rayna was scared stupid. Honestly, she didn’t understand this.

“Why is my father in danger? He’s the one who told me I was an idiot for taking it to you guys. If anyone should be in danger, it’s me—not an older man.”

Elizabeth wasn’t sure how she felt about this. A part of her was feeling guilty for thinking the man was involved, but then again, paranoia was how she did her job.

Everyone was guilty until she proved otherwise.

Ethan rationalized it for her.

“They couldn’t get you, so they are taking someone to punish you—your father. You’re being watched by our security. It’s also a way to play with Elizabeth to see how quickly she can find the body. This is a game.”

A game with mystery killers.

From where Rayna stood, she looked panicked, and that upset Uriel. He dropped his arm around her body, and reassured her.

“We’ll get him.”

God.

She hoped so.

“I’m going to message him,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll tell him we’re coming, but to stay hidden unless he has no choice,” she admitted, texting him.

That seemed to be the best option. The Marines could reach him quietly. Now, she wished it was dark. It was easier for them to make a sneak attack.

‘Wyler, we’re on our way. Make sure you keep your boots on, and your phone. We’ll get to you. Stay hidden, and don’t compromise yourself. Shoot to protect but otherwise, stay tucked away. Who has him?’

She waited for him to reply, and it didn’t take him long. All she needed was a name, and she could hopefully wrap this up.

‘I can’t see their faces. Their backs are to me, and they are wearing camo. Lance is out cold—I think. He might be dead already. I can’t get closer.’

When she saw that, she showed Ivan. Never in her life did she expect her father-in-law to be in the thick of this, but here they were.

As for Ivan, he was making plans.

But so was she.

Elizabeth began pulling off her blazer, and thankfully, she was wearing dark colored jeans and hiking boots already.

When she held out her hand, Michael tossed her a black jacket that he’d grabbed from the back of one of their rides, and then handed her an earpiece that would link to her vest.

Her husbands were staring at her like she’d lost her damn mind.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Callen asked. “I know you’re not thinking of playing commando in the reservation woods.”

She was honest.

“I’m going in to get my goddamn father-in-law, her dad, and two nuts. Keep searching EVERYONE we have on our suspect list. I need to figure out who the third one is—if there is one. If there’s not, I’m kicking Tony’s ass for trace contamination!”

Oh, the men were not happy.

Not.

At.

All.

“Maybe Gene should…,” Ethan began, only to get one hell of a look from his wife.

Immediately, he shut up. That was her ‘go ahead, and I’ll bust your chops since I’m your boss’ look.

Oh, he knew it well.

“Gene should stay here with me, so he can watch all of us,” he said, redirecting that.

No one else said shit.

Callen knew better.

He wasn’t opening his piehole on this one. Elizabeth was at the end of her patience for this case, and this place. One more surprise, and she was losing her ever-loving mind on their asses.

It was always the people closest who got splattered when the shit hit the fan.

When Ethan said nothing else, Ivan clued her in.

“We have his location. Get your gear, Raph, Michael, and Uriel. Muriel, you’re on the Blackhawks. I want you, Demeter, Gryp, and Saint outside the cabin in case this is to divide us up. I repeat Blackhawks INSIDE the cabin.”

The ones being left behind got down to business.

When Rayna didn’t move, Uriel spoke to her instead of Elizabeth.

“You have to stay here. We’ll get him back.”

She had tears in her eyes.

“I need to go. What if…?”

He lifted her chin and whispered to her softly.

“We are Archangels for a reason. We’re damn good at extracting and taking back prisoners. Raphael can blow shit up with some toothpicks and a miracle. Michael is killer at hand-to-hand. I’m able to hide in plain sight and catch people off guard.”

She pointed.

“Why does Elizabeth get to go then? Surely, I know the woods better than her!”

He stared into her eyes.

“Honey, she makes us look tame. If there’s someone who needs to be saved, she’s deadly with a gun and marksmanship. She’s like a sniper, and can move carefully. We will save him,” he promised, hoping that he was still alive.

If he was being dragged behind them…

It wasn’t good.

She pleaded with him as Muriel was waiting to take her inside the cabin.

“Please save him.”

He kissed her on the forehead, and then sent her away with Muriel. All he could hope now was that the man was still alive, or he had the sneaking suspicion that Rayna wouldn’t want him to stay there.

He’d be the scapegoat.

As he grabbed his black jacket, so that his skin would mostly be covered if he had to blend, the rest of the team was ready.

Elizabeth had her hair pulled back into a bun, and she had a gun slung over her shoulder in case she had to pick off anyone at a distance.

Ivan was pulling his tactical jacket over his body armor.

“Michael, you’re on the deputy director. Uriel, you’re on extraction. Raphael and I are going to try to get as close as possible to get Wyler out, and Rayna’s father.”

Ivan looked at Elizabeth.