Page 22 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

FBI West

Damascus

Almost Noon

When she arrived to the building, this was a first for Rayna. Since she was new at being Chief of Reservation Police, she had the minimal contact with the FBI building, even though it wasn’t all that far from the rez.

Oh, but she’d heard stories.

Lots.

Of.

Them.

What she knew, historically, was the FBI and Natives didn’t work well with each other.

Incidents that went down had told her that.

What she also knew was that her homeland, the reservation, had been infiltrated, to use a harsh word, with outsiders as of late.

Granted, they were married into the tribe, but still...it made some of the Natives very uncomfortable, while others seemed to not mind at all.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Were times changing?

Or was it all because of the family being tied to two of their most illustrious sons?

That could be it.

The Blackhawk name was synonymous with Native on their rez. Her father-in-law had been best friends with one of them for years, until he left.

She remembered Wyler Blackhawk, and his sons pretty vividly. Rayna recalled being a child, and hearing tales of their ‘adventures’.

Yeah, she heard the stories of the Blackhawk boys running wild on the reservation stealing hearts, and bikes like they ruled the land.

Rayna was also very aware that the police department was run by one of the brothers for quite a while. For that, she appreciated it.

God knew how difficult it was to do her job. Callen Whitefox had definitely held his own, and pushed back the wave of crime that was always threatening to overtake them.

Now, as she came in here, she was faced with a dilemma.

Honestly, the last thing she’d expected to hear that the person she’d be meeting with was Elizabeth Blackhawk.

What the hell?

What were the chances she’d be visiting the building, and Rayna needed assistance?

That was wild for her.

Well, hopefully, she’d tag in some decent agent, and this wouldn’t be a clusterfuck because there was no way the woman would get her nails dirty with a case.

Right?

As for a clusterfuck, most things that were rez related were just that or so she tended to figure out. The crazy was always barely contained.

Well, this should be interesting.

Who knew where this was going to go?

As Rayna was sitting there, the secretary had brought her some coffee, and was smiling at her the whole time.

It made her…paranoid.

Yeah, it really did.

As a person of ethnicity, she didn’t fit into social circles easily. People were assholes, and she’d dealt with a lot of that.

Why did she have a right to be twitchy?

Well, maybe because she got all of her police training OFF of the reservation. She saw how she was looked at, and treated when she was the only person with tan skin in a training class and on the force.

Now, what she was expecting was pretty much the same shit.

Just on a different day.

Call it a hunch.

All that she could hope was that Elizabeth Blackhawk would pick a Native-friendly agent, and she could pass this off.

Even better, if the agent would let her tag along to help out and make sure Native interests were held in check, that would be terrific.

Now, how did she make that happen?

There was a lot to do now, since she was going to have to go to the council and explain what was going on. They were likely going to pitch a fit that she went running to the FBI for help.

Only, the protocol book that had been created by Callen Whitefox, a now-director of the FBI, said to do just that.

Hopefully, she’d withstand the council blowback when they got bitchy.

Yeah, her fingers were crossed.

As she sat there, she took it all in. A guy in all black walked by her with a bag, and he was giving her the hairy eyeball.

Then again, he was giving everyone the hairy eyeball.

That was when she recognized him.

Oh, Rayna had seen plenty of the Blackhawks on TV and on the news. There were also the moments where she’d seen Elizabeth Blackhawk off duty, and someone caught her at a book signing, or fancy function with Callen Whitefox.

The lady got around.

As for the suspicious guy, she knew him to be one of Elizabeth’s bodyguards.

It was funny that she needed one.

Ahhhh, the outsiders and their need to feel special. The Caucasians were Caucasian-ing.

Again.

Yeah, she’d seen the woman on TV in her gorgeous gowns that likely cost more than Rayna’s yearly salary.

The jewelry, and the way her hair was coifed and perfect always annoyed the hell out of her. There was no doubt in her mind that she was way too pretty for anyone’s good.

She’d heard some shit about her, and none of it was good. Apparently, she was difficult at best, and a raging bitch. The cops outside of the rez, where she’d gotten her training, had mentioned that one day when they were on break and her name came up.

Honestly, she was so glad she wasn’t working with the woman on this. Being annoyed by a bossy, pretty woman was more than she wanted to deal with today.

They had a real problem on their hands.

Her self-importance would drive her insane in about an hour. Rayna liked a down-to-earth kind of a person who wasn’t afraid to get dirty and do the job.

Not a princess in a gilded castle.

That just pissed her off.

As she sipped her coffee, she hoped they got this show on the road. Right now, she had deputies babysitting bones under a fire pit in the middle of the woods.

They were about as reliable as a broken umbrella. Yeah, it might keep you partially dry, but chances were you were getting wet regardless.

Just as she was about to call it off, and head out to deal with this herself, she heard footsteps heading her way.

Glancing over, she saw that Elizabeth Blackhawk was making an appearance, and she wasn’t alone.

Well, shit.

She was bringing her ‘husbands’ with her.

And it was clear they recognized her.

As she stood, they reached her.

“Chief?” Elizabeth asked, holding out her hand. “I’m Deputy Director Blackhawk, and this is my profiler, Doctor Ethan Blackhawk, and my Liaison to the Native Community, Director Whitefox.”

Callen laughed.

“Little Rayna Running Wolf,” he said, as they all shook hands. “Long time no see,” he stated.

She shrugged.

“I mean, the last time I saw you, I think you were trying to keep the Silver Fox brothers from burning down their cabin,” she admitted.

He laughed.

“Thank God I’m not still trying to do that,” he admitted. “It was exhausting.”

Yeah, no kidding.

He should tell her something she didn’t know. She spent most of her day wondering when the other shoe would drop on the rez.

Callen put his hand on Ethan’s back.

“This is my brother,” he said. “He wasn’t around when you were just a kid. EJ, she’s Dad’s best friend’s only daughter.”

Ethan tried to place her.

Only, it wasn’t easy.

Oh, he knew who Lance Running Wolf was. He and Wyler were best friends until they weren’t.

The family lore was that the shit went down right before he was born when Lance and Wyler competed for the attention of a certain Catherine Kennedy—later, Catherine Blackhawk—his mother.

Like had happened to many friendships in the past, his and Callen’s included, a woman destroyed their relationship.

“I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting you, Rayna. I left the rez at eighteen, and never looked back.”

The woman understood that.

She’d gotten off, until her father helped her get the job she had now.

Somehow, this place kept pulling you back in until it finally won.

That’s how it got her.

Unfortunately, the Rez had desperately needed law and order, and she had been its best chance at that—or so her father had convinced her.

Oh, it was likely because she worked cheap. Her cabin had been built for very little, and the land belonged to the tribe.

It wasn’t like she had bills.

“That’s probably the sanest thing anyone can do. I left for a while and then my father needed me back home to help our people.”

The whole time, Elizabeth said nothing.

She let Callen do his thing. The man was the Native whisperer. If anyone could crack the ice, and make this a smooth journey, it was him.

She’d defer to him on this one so that their first situation back was a smooth one. Honestly, she was curious what the woman needed.

And she didn’t miss that this was very reminiscent of her first days here long ago when she ran headlong into the then Chief of Police, Callen Whitefox.

Everyone knew how that ended.

“I’m sorry to bother you with this, Ma’am,” Rayna said.

Elizabeth reassured her.

“You’re not bothering me, and please, it’s just Elizabeth. I’m not formal. I keep it pretty light, unless it’s the president or media that I’m dealing with,” she admitted.

She could see that.

The woman was in a pair of jeans, some beat up boots, and a blazer. Under it, she could see the body armor, and the Ruger on her hip beside the gold badge.

Color her surprised that the woman wasn’t in fancy clothes, and was spending her time meeting with her.

“I appreciate you meeting with me so you can find someone to help me.”

“That’s my job,” she admitted. “It’s my pleasure to help you,” she added. “Let’s go talk.”

That worked for Rayna.

Elizabeth led her back, and everyone else followed. Instead of going to her office, she took them to the lounge where she could get a cup of coffee, and refill the woman’s too.

In the room, she poured three cups, made them up, and carried them to table. Then, she grabbed some cookies that were on the counter.

Bless Vivian.

She was on her game.

Everyone liked a cookie, and she could see that Rayna was watching her with suspicion and distrust. Normally, she’d not give two shits, but this woman was part of her husbands’ tribe and heritage.

She’d always take it down a notch to help a Native. As a white woman, she had reparations to make for the past—especially as an FBI agent.

When she sat, Elizabeth was flanked with both men, and they were ready to go.

“Tell us what happened,” she said. “So I can get the lay of the land before I jump in.”

That caught Rayna off guard.