Page 56 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

Immediately, their fear calmed down, and the tone changed. Her reassurance helped them relax. She could see it as they got off of the emotional rollercoaster.

“When I find who this is, I’m getting them a test for their sanity,” she admitted.

Ethan understood.

As Gene’s vest chimed, he knew what it would be. He wasn’t working on anything else.

“Go ahead, MATE,” he said.

She did.

“I’ve used the language that the bones were carved with, which was very old. We’re talking a thousand years old. In case you’re wondering how I deciphered the other bone, and now your arm, the information was in an anthropological journal.”

Elizabeth sighed.

“To the point, please.”

MATE asked one thing.

“Do you really want to know?” she asked.

Well, she asked, didn’t she?

“Yes, MATE.”

Their AI went there, and it definitely put a chill in all of their bodies.

“It’s the symbol for feast. You were likely meant to be dinner. They stashed you away to kill you later.”

Oh, well, that made her happy to be back, and it made sense since they’d let her live.

She was betting they were going to make her suffer. The crazies always got off on shit like that.

The last thing that Elizabeth wanted was her liver served with Chianti and fava beans as she was alive to watch it happen.

This screamed ritualistic, and she didn’t like playing that game with cuckoos. There was no one crazier than someone hell-bent on keeping a cultural norm going.

It never ended well.

Honestly, she hoped Ethan was going to be back on his game so they could shut this insanity down before it bit her in the ass.

She was going to need a profile.

ASAP.

When nothing more was said, Gene, who was her partner in the field, took over. He glanced over at the Archangels, and knew they needed to get her cleaned up and the evidence off of her before they did anything else.

It was going to be a very long night for many of them.

“We need to regroup,” he said. “Give us some time with Elizabeth to get her situated and ready to head back out.”

That worked for the team.

Ethan focused on Tony.

They were going to leave him and Jaxon in charge until they could get Elizabeth’s blood, and everything gathered up.

“Duke and more agents are coming. When they get here, keep everyone on this scene until we get back. Elizabeth is going to lead us to the cave, and we’ll pull a late night clearing it out.”

Yeah, she wasn’t sure she could do it.

Only, how did she tell them she couldn’t?

Right now, she was fighting to hold on, and what she wanted was to cry.

Seriously.

The adrenaline was crashing, and she wanted to weep buckets at how closely they’d come on this one.

Immediately, Tony became a team player, and he didn’t even give her crap.

That told Elizabeth all she needed to know. They’d all been afraid.

“We’ll hold it together. Leave us as many bodyguards as you can. I like my liver in my body.”

That was the plan.

Ethan continued.

“Saint, Gryph, and Ivan, stay here. Make sure the teams are safe. Axl is also on the way, and we’ll get more agents. Our location is tracked.”

The men were more than fine with that.

That’s when Ethan dropped the bomb.

“We don’t want the family without cover.

We’re moving them immediately. We’re not keeping our kids on the reservation.

They will be easier to watch if we shift locations.

Then, more of the Marines can focus on Elizabeth.

Callen, make hotel reservations for our children for tonight, and then contact the agent who is selling the house.

Tell him that we’re willing to pay over if they close tomorrow. ”

Callen got it.

It looked as if they were buying the house and everything in it. They didn’t have time to play around on the reservations.

Honestly, that worked for him.

Before Ethan could say anything else, his brother was already on his phone.

Turning, Elizabeth focused on her head tech.

“Benjamin! Get my gear swabbed, and tested. Again, I want these assholes’ DNA by morning when I show up. At that time, I’ll be expecting my gun and badge back. My phone too. Capice?”

He nodded.

“Yes, ma’am!” he said.

As they began heading out, the rest of the Marines surrounded her.

If that wasn’t enough protection, Rayna was right beside her.

“I’m glad you’re good,” she said. “That was scary thinking they got you.”

Yeah, she had no idea.

Since he was flanking her, Michael saw her shivering. The temperature had gone down since the rain stopped, and he didn’t want her cold.

Yes, it would mean contaminating her clothing with his DNA, but they would have to exclude it and move on. It bothered him to see that she was uncomfortable.

Elizabeth had been nothing but kind, caring, and loving as he was nursed back to health. She even looked the other way when he said he was fine, and she knew he absolutely wasn’t.

His shoulder was still fucked, and his heart was in a million pieces.

To give her something back, he pulled off his light jacket and put it over her shoulders.

“Thank you, Saint Michael,” she said, sure she didn’t have any suspect DNA on her tank top. It had been under her vest.

He tried to lighten the mood.

“I mean, you fucked that evidence playing in the rain anyway, so what’s a little more work for the new team? It’s not like they’ll complain on day one.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

Oh, she appreciated him trying to keep it light.

Really.

For the whole walk back, everyone was tense—and with good reason.

This was a rough case with a lot on the line. Tomorrow was going to be a marathon. She had zero suspects, and no profile.

YET.

As soon as they were on the trail back to the cars, and out of earshot of the head of security, she went there.

It needed to be said—just in case anyone wanted to play the blame game.

“Breathe, Guys. No one panic, and no one blames Ivan. He was doing triple duty. I need to get our shit straightened out. I can’t have a war on my hands.”

No one said anything.

A mom had to mom.

Apparently.

Honestly, Elizabeth’s well-laid plans were totally fucked. Her original thought was to stop by Thomas Adsila’s home to walk the scene, so she could get a different perspective, but now, that would have to wait.

She needed to regroup.

Her hands were shaking.

“Rayna, join us. We’ll talk after I manage to decompress and get my bloodwork done.”

That worked for the woman.

After all, she was their prisoner. She rode in with them, and her car was at the FBI building.

The silence didn’t bother Elizabeth. The whole time they were walking back, everyone was watching the nearby trees that flanked them.

Just.

In.

Case.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to reach the vehicle, and as they did, another FBI ride pulled up and parked.

Out of it raced her brother, and he looked like he was running into Hell to save her.

A little too late.

Where was that energy an hour ago? Then, she could have used it.

When he moved at Elizabeth, Michael blocked him with his good arm, and he shoved it out of the way.

“Knock it off,” Duke practically growled. “She’s my goddamn sister!”

The Archangel stood his ground.

“She’s covered in trace! No one’s hugged her yet,” he stated. “You can’t!”

That seemed to calm her brother down—for the most part. Duke was a lot of Charlie, and a little of Caryn when the shit hit the fan.

That was for damn sure.

Because he clearly needed it, Elizabeth reassured her brother.

“He’s right, but I’m okay, Duke. Don’t worry about me. I’m tricky to pin down,” she admitted.

Duke stared at her.

Don’t worry?

Was she out of her mind?

All he’d done the whole way there was worry about his sister. Now, he was seeing her, and he was still not feeling so calm.

Her head had a gash on it, she was a hot mess, and it looked like she’d been through the war.

Yeah, it was his job to worry.

PERIOD.

Worrying was all Duke seemed to be doing as of late. He was worried about his wife, and if she could handle work and their daughters. He was worried about his mother, and the shit that Wyler was putting her through.

Now, he was worried about his sister.

His family felt like it was falling apart, and for the life of him, he didn’t know how to fix it for anyone.

Like Wyler, he had the overwhelming urge to run.

Yeah, this family was stressing him the hell out. When he heard about Elizabeth going missing, and security retrieving her badge, gun, and phone, he’d nearly lost his goddamn mind.

“Are you really okay?” he asked, staring into her eyes.

Yes, he kept his distance, but he needed to make sure she wasn’t badly hurt. Duke knew that his father, wherever he was in the universe, would want him to look out for his sister.

She nodded.

“I got clocked by a cuckoo, but I’m fine,” she admitted. “I had my adventure for the day.”

There was one thing that he’d learned about having a sibling. There was an automatic bond there, and he had it with Elizabeth.

And he knew when she was full of shit.

Yeah, liar-liar, her britches were on fire. There was no way she was okay.

He’d put money on it.

Gently, he placed his hand on her cheek, not giving two shits about the DNA that he was screwing up. She was soaked and looked like a drowned rat.

As he stared at her, Elizabeth was willing him to say nothing. The last thing she needed was everyone all over her. She was seconds from cracking.

All she wanted was to go home.

“If you need me, call. I’ll get to you as quickly as I can,” he admitted. “No matter what, Lyzee.”

Yeah, she was lucky to have a brother like Duke, and she knew it.

She loved this man.

The older he got, the more he reminded her of their father.

His penchant for flannel wasn’t the only reason. It was the compassion in his eyes, and his love for his children and family.

“I will. Now, I just want to get cleaned up and get some work done now that I’m not someone’s dinner.”

He looked confused.

As he should be.

“Don’t ask,” Ethan said. “You’ll have nightmares and say you wished you didn’t know.”

Well, in that case, he’d trust the man’s word. If his sister was caught up in something, it was likely a hot mess.

Because he was heading toward the crime scene, Elizabeth gave him his marching orders. The last thing she wanted was for him to be hurt.

Or anyone else.

“You and Axl hit up the scene. Stay together until you get to the team. I’m going to be back later,” she offered, wishing she could find a way to chicken out.

She was at her breaking point for emotional overload, and she hadn’t even confronted Wyler yet.

Today was one of those days, and she didn’t want to spend any more time experiencing it. Some wine, a bed, and a nap to hide was what she craved.

“When I get back, we’ll divide and conquer,” she admitted.

Honestly, that worked for him. If it were up to Duke, his sister, his very independent, stubborn, crazy-magnet boss, would let the men handle this.

But saying that out loud would get his ass kicked by Elizabeth.

Instead, he held out his fist, and she bumped it with her own.

“You scare me sometimes,” he admitted.

Oh, she scared herself all of the damn time. Only, now, the well was empty. There was nothing left, and she needed to find a way to keep going.

Elizabeth was seconds from a breakdown, and she knew it. Once that happened, she’d lose control and chaos would erupt.

She was fighting for her mental stability here.

“Axl, you and Ethan will need to get together and give me a profile at some point. I mean BY THE MORNING. I have to regroup because of this little fun fest. I had planned on hitting up Thomas Adsila’s. I won’t have time. I want you with us when we walk the man’s home tomorrow.”

Ethan knew why she was going in with a backup profiler. He’d crashed and burned in Philly, and he hoped she wasn’t giving up on him.

He could do this.

For her.

“Can do, Boss. I’m glad you’re in one piece. We’d all miss your sarcasm, ball busting, and general saltiness when people misspell a word on their reports.”

She actually laughed.

“That’s why they have spellcheck, Axl. Seriously. Use the AI. It’s our friend,” she joked, as he also held out his fist, and she didn’t hesitate.

Not.

At.

All.

There wasn’t a day that went by where she wasn’t grateful that she was surrounded by good people.

“Go,” she said. “It’s going to be nightfall in the woods before we know it.”

That it would be.

As they left, her husbands and Gene got into the vehicle, leaving her a captain’s chair.

Not because they didn’t want to comfort her, but because of trace and the vibe she was giving off.

Gene knew something was wrong.

HELL!

They all knew.

How?

Elizabeth wasn’t spitting mad like a cobra whose nest had been disrupted. When she got poked by the crazy, she raged against it.

On top of that, this was an inconvenience for her, and she still wasn’t pissy.

When she didn’t want to go hunt down a lunatic and watch them cry as she beat their asses, something was off.

Now, they were resigned to just sharing looks between them as if they were waiting for the explosion to come.

The men just didn’t know whether it would be tears or anger. They were waiting to see how it played out.

“Saint Michael of the packed vehicle,” she said, as he looked up at her in the rearview mirror. “Get me to the cabin. My britches are wet, and not for the fun reason I like.”

With a nod, he did just that.

As he drove, security in the front, and the family in the back, no one said a word the entire trip across the rez to get to the cabin.

When they pulled up, Chris took over.

“I’ll take her upstairs,” he said, grabbing his kit. “I’ll do a medical check, and stitch her up. Give me about an hour,” he offered.

They would give him all of the time he needed, knowing that Chris might be able to settle her down. They might all need to calm her down at some point.

As she walked from the car toward the cabin, halfway there, she heard her name.

It was Wyler.

When she turned, she saw him.

“Elizabeth!” he called from the tree, staring out the one window.

Immediately, she locked eyes with him, and she did something that no one expected.

Elizabeth turned her head and walked away, ignoring the man.

It was in that moment that they all knew.

This was about to be a million times worse than they even suspected.

This was a red alert.

Coming back here had done one thing.

It fucked them all.

Big-time.