Page 39 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

That was what she needed to hear.

“Welcome aboard the S.S. Crazy. She’s leaving port, and we’re likely getting rammed by an iceberg before sinking.”

Rayna was positive.

“Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think.”

EVERYONE began laughing.

Elizabeth let her in on one thing.

“Rayna, I’ve been doing this a very long time. One of the perks of dancing with this particular devil is I can feel how the case is going to go. I have over a thousand of them under my belt. We’re about to get fucked sideways, and it’s not going to be fun.”

Well, she was in for the long hall.

“I mean, it’s been a while. Is that with lube or without?” she joked.

It broke the ice.

And made Elizabeth laugh.

“Without.”

She shrugged.

“Good. I like it rough.”

That was all she had to hear. Glancing over at Gene, she needed more.

“See what you can find. I’m sure it’s not going to be much, but we can’t risk it. Search for lore in all Native tribes. This might not just be indicative of this one. We might have something that crosses tribes and is deeply cultural. Any hints might give us a lead.”

Gene could do that.

“On it, Honey.”

Gene would start that as soon as they were on the scene. He’d find a peaceful spot and get to work.

And babysit her at the same time.

Because he didn’t like this either.

When Ivan tapped her on the arm, she focused on him—already knowing where this was going.

Call it a hunch.

Someone was about to be twitchy as fuck.

Well, at least that was consistent.

“Yes, Toadstool?” she asked.

Oh, he voiced his opinion on the whole situation, and it was exactly what she expected.

“I don’t know…maybe let’s not poke something called THE HOLLOW?” he asked. “Because we’re out in the open, Brunhilda. We’re short bodyguards, and you wanted everyone we could spare on the kids.”

She was aware.

And that still stood.

There was no way she was changing that priority. If something was going to move on them, she could defend herself.

Her baby birds could not.

Caryn couldn’t.

Coraline and Oliver couldn’t.

This was about mitigating the danger, and to her, Ethan and Callen were safe, the house was covered, and they were mostly protected.

It would have to do.

This was the story of her life. Elizabeth knew she needed to be focused and take care of herself.

“I won’t poke the crazy,” she offered. “BUT I have to investigate this, Ivan. I can’t pretend that I don’t know that there’s someone killing people. I know, and now, I have to handle it.”

He sighed.

That’s what he assumed.

“I’m going on the record and saying I don’t like this. I’m also going on the record and saying don’t you dare leave my side for a single minute. If you pull any bullshit, Elizabeth, I will take you down, hog tie you, and transport you to a hotel room for your own safety. I’m not kidding.”

She got it.

Ivan was a man on the edge.

“I won’t do anything reckless, Ivan. I promise.”

That seemed to calm him down.

Now, she needed to figure how to dig into this case, other than relying on her team to find information. There had to be a way to get more.

She needed to use the resources around her, like the Natives here. Ethan, Wyler, and Callen had been off the rez for too long. She needed someone who was here his whole life.

Focusing on Rayna, she went there.

“Your father is on the council, no?” she asked.

Rayna nodded.

“Yes.”

Elizabeth went there.

“I’m going to need to talk to him. I know how they work. They voted, and if he knows about this, I have to get whatever information I can so we can be prepared. My family hasn’t been here for a while.”

Immediately, Rayne apologized.

“I’m really sorry about this. I really didn’t know anything about this situation. I find it disgusting that innocent people are being hurt for a myth or legend. There are no evil Wendigos here. That’s fallacy. I grew up in these woods. I’d know if some boogeyman was around.”

She’d hope so.

“Let’s just see what we have, and go from there, but prepare your father for the possibility that he’s going to have to meet with me for a talk.”

That worked for Rayna.

“I’m also sorry about your father-in-law. I hope he finds peace while he’s back home,” she added.

Oh, she doubted that.

Elizabeth was going to haunt his every move if he refused to go back home for treatment.

Bet.

On.

It.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Rayna just nodded.

“Let’s get this shit started,” Elizabeth said with a sigh, as Gene dropped his arm over her shoulders in solidarity.

He knew that when you were being boned good by a case, it helped if you had solidarity.

As they walked into the campground, Chris was giving off instructions. Benjamin was handling forensics, bagging up clothing he’d carried into the area.

The other techs were snapping pictures, and Tony was in the dirt, digging around with his fellow anthropologist wife.

“Team, make the magic happen,” she stated.

As they kept working, she stood watch, both of her security guys so far up her and Gene’s ass, she could taste their cologne.

Well, this was normal.

Not far away, Chris was helping move some dirt off of bones, and he was examining the fleshy part of the hand that had been found attached to an arm bone.

That’s when it got super creepy. For Elizabeth, she could feel the energy there, and it was BAD.

It was rare a crime scene made her twitchy, but she had that overwhelming need for her fight or flight to overtake her.

That’s when it happened.

In the distance, they heard something howl, and it sounded…otherworldly. It was more between a guttural scream and an animal barking at the moon—if the moon had been out.

All around her, everyone froze.

Elizabeth looked around, and she did NOT like the vibe that was coming from that sound. Maybe it was her imagination, but it was off.

Rayna kept her voice lowered.

“It sounded like a war cry,” she whispered.

Oh, that made it worse. If there was a Native getting ready to go into battle, she didn’t want all of the innocent people here getting caught in the crossfire.

Immediately, Ivan moved closer, proving she wasn’t the only one feeling it.

Gene was worried, so he also kept his voice low.

“I hope for our sake there’s not a bunch of bodies in the ground. I’d like to get the fuck out of here as quickly as possible. That sounded ominous.”

She was aware.

Never before had she been uncomfortable on this particular reservation.

Ever.

In fact, it was like home to her.

Now, there was this heaviness, and she felt like she was being watched.

Oh, this was bad.

Her team looked twitchy, so Elizabeth did what she could to calm them down.

“Ignore the coyote,” she said to them, making something up about what it had been.

They needed to process this scene and get the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

“We have guns. It doesn’t,” she admitted. “We have nothing to worry about. Stay close and inside the circle of trees, and we’ll all be fine.”

Would they be?

God.

She hoped so.

Elizabeth looked straight up at the sky, and it looked cloudy. That was causing shadows down under the trees, and she honestly hoped the weather wasn’t changing.

That was the last thing they needed.

“It had better not rain,” she said, crossing her fingers.

Gene stared at her.

“Oh, well, now that you said it, it’s definitely happening,” he admitted.

Yeah, he was right.

Bet.

On.

It.

Rayna wasn’t far away, and she was texting her father about talking to him about what was going on. She knew she’d have to talk him into a sit-down with Elizabeth. If anything, he was non-native unfriendly.

Unfortunately.

Not far from here was the big bodyguard who was supposed to be watching Elizabeth, but she was pretty sure he was watching what she typed because his eyes were on her.

She had goosebumps as she rattled off the message.

‘Dad, we have a situation. Can you meet with me to talk? What the hell is going on here with The Hollow? Where are you?’

She hit send, and waited to hear back from him. All she could hope was he’d be helpful.

Sometimes, he was difficult at best.

And held a grudge.

With Elizabeth being white, and a Blackhawk, how could that situation go wrong?

Fortunately for her, he must not have been in a meeting or still with the council because Rayna immediately got a reply.

‘I am on the rez. I can meet you at the council house in about twenty minutes. I had some things to do. See you there. Be very careful, Rayna. What you’re messing with is dangerous, and I wish you would have come to me before going to the FBI. I love you.’

When she finished reading it, she headed toward Elizabeth and showed her what he’d said. All she wanted was to be open and honest with the woman, so she didn’t think she was hiding anything.

Working on this was turning into an adventure, and Rayna loved one of those.

Elizabeth took her phone and read both of the messages, and knew she had to divide and conquer on this one. At that moment they had countless bodies, possibly, Wyler was locked in a treehouse, and security was stretched thin.

She had no choice.

“I want you to go meet with him. I need anything you can get on this. Something icky is going on here, and I normally have to chase a killer with a small head start. This is years in the making.”

Elizabeth was watching Tony take pictures of the bones that had been unearthed. He was on his knees, and something had his attention.

“I can do that. How will I find you? Will you be here long?” she asked.

Honestly, she wanted out of there now. The last thing she planned on doing was hanging out here for any extended time.

Her gut was screaming that this was bad news.

Only, she had to get the evidence so forensics could be done. This killer wasn’t trying to get her attention. Instead, he or she had been killing like they always did. If she was going to find forensics, the clothes and the recent bones were her best chance.

This was going to be about outthinking this individual as best she could.

“Uriel will know how to find me,” she said. “He’s in constant contact.”