Page 70 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

When Charlie died, she never got over it. It wasn’t until she came to grips with it, found all of his killers, and got him justice was she able to say the hardest word.

Goodbye.

Wyler was living in the past, and it was haunting his present. If he wanted to live, then he needed to let the past go and give it one million percent.

Fate was in control, and he might make it through this. That was for fate to decide.

Not them.

At least though, he’d try.

“Then say goodbye. Your son talks to the spirits as he walks with his ancestors in the tipi. Ask him to take you to her. You know Ethan would do it for you.”

He closed his eyes and was to the point.

“I don’t want him to hurt.”

Elizabeth stopped that then and there. People tended to underestimate Ethan. The man was so much stronger than anyone thought.

He’d walked through the fire, and he survived a lot. Already, after finding out about his sexual assault, he was fighting back and healing.

It had been a week.

The man was tenacious to the end.

“If I’ve learned anything about Ethan Blackhawk, it’s that he’s the strongest person I know. He’s lived through a lot, and came out swinging. Ask him to help you. He will. Everyone says he is the next Shaman, and one day, he might be. Use his gift. Let him dream walk with you.”

Wyler considered her words.

She was right about his son. Finding out that Ethan had been assaulted…it made him want to stay to make sure he was okay.

It made Wyler want to help him heal, not break him further. God knew he’d done that plenty.

“When you find Catherine, apologize to her. Not her grave, not the wind—to her. I’m sure Ethan would love to see his mother one more time.”

Wyler pointed out the legality of it.

“He’d have to use peyote.”

She laughed because she got it. Only, she was well aware that what happened in the tipi stayed in the tipi.

PERIOD.

“I’m not going to drug test my Native, dream-walking husband. I’m not an idiot,” she admitted. “The Blackhawk boys have questionable hobbies, and I’m looking the other way on that one.”

It made him laugh.

Elizabeth reassured him.

“I’m his goddamn boss, but he’s the best profiler at the FBI. I’m not risking losing him. Ask your son to help you talk to Catherine. If your biggest struggle is this, find a solution and stop running.”

Because he felt the need, Wyler came clean.

“I stole some of his peyote so I could do it alone. I needed to talk to my father. It didn’t end how I hoped.”

She snorted.

Yeah, she bet.

Timothy had been a tough parent for all three men, and there was no doubt that he was watching and not amused by any of this bullshit.

Call it a hunch.

“Oh, well, I’m going to say he stole plenty of peyote when his grandfather was alive. I know my husbands. They have sticky fingers when it comes to peyote, motorcycles, and my panties.”

Wyler looked horrified.

“I don’t want to know.”

Oh, well, the family that shared and busted ass stayed together for the long haul.

Getting up, Elizabeth hugged him to prove that she was no longer angry with him. She’d said her piece, and they would keep moving on.

“I’m sure Timothy gave you hell. He’s a bossy pain in the ass, but he was loved, and so are you.”

He held her.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, my daughter. The love I have for you is nothing like any love in the world,” he said. “I’m going to fight. I don’t know how long I’ll make it, but I’ll try to stay here for as long as I can for my family. I’d want you guys to fight if it was reversed.”

She stopped him.

“Don’t do it for us, Wyler. You have to want to do it for you. If you do, we’ll walk beside you and help you fight. You need to want to be here.”

He understood.

“I don’t want to abandon TJ. He needs me, so I’m going to live. I’m going to find a way to survive this so that I can do right by at least one of my sons.”

That was a good plan.

The child needed his father.

“If I can’t make it, Elizabeth, will you please make sure my burial is like my father’s?” he asked, this time instead of making it go through the attorney. “Will you send me off in a way that means a lot to me?”

She nodded and took his face in her hands. Staring into his eyes, she made the promise.

“Then, your dying wishes will be done. I’ll give you a ceremony like you’ve never seen before,” she promised with tears in her eyes.

“Just fight for us, and Caryn, and TJ. Fight for Ethan and Callen. If you fight for them, I’ll let you go gracefully into the night when it’s time, Wyler.

I’m Catholic. I believe we all have an expiry date, but it doesn’t mean you give up. ”

He kissed her on the stitches.

When she set him free, he faced Chris.

“I’m sorry that I made this difficult for everyone. I hope that you can find it in your heart, Christopher, to forgive me for hurting all of you by not sharing with my family what was going on.”

He reassured him.

“I’m not angry with you, Dad. I do know how you feel though,” he admitted. “I carry a death sentence with me every single day. I know that I, too, have a sooner expiry than I’d like. One day, the meds won’t work, and I’ll reach the end where my body can’t keep going. I know how scary that is.”

Elizabeth had tears in her eyes as she listened.

“When that day comes, I’m going to lean into my family. They love me, and they will help me fight. Don’t think that we won’t fight for you too. We will. I promise.”

He hugged the man.

“Thank you, Christopher. You’re a good man, and I’m glad that you’re part of our family. I love you,”

Rubbing his hands up and down Wyler’s back, he offered him the comforting he needed.

“I love you too,” he admitted.

When he set him free, Elizabeth waved him toward her.

“Come sit,” she said.

Wyler moved toward her, and shared what he’d been doing out in the treehouse, after she left, and he’d been allowed free.

“I called my oncologist and left a voicemail with the answering service. They, immediately, called me back, and he wants to see me in the office for a visit on Monday.”

She nodded.

“If I don’t have this case kicked by then, first, I’m losing my skill, and second, I’m in a whole lot of trouble, I’ll be there with you.”

Chris reassured them.

“If Elizabeth hasn’t closed this, I’ll go with you, Wyler. I’m not needed on this case, since there are no fleshy bodies. Don’t forget that we’re all ‘Team Wyler’ all of the way.”

The man smiled at him.

“Thank you, Son.”

Oh, he didn’t mind.

“The doctor orders some food. I’ll get you some. You need to eat to keep your strength up,” he said. “I’ll also start making calls tomorrow to see what trials are available. We’ll go to your doctor appointment with a game plan in place.”

Bless him.

This was definitely far better than fighting this alone. That was for sure.

As Chris left to go get him food, Wyler sat beside his daughter.

“The Archangels told me you are in a bad place with this case. I remember my father telling me about The Hollow, and how bad it could be.”

Oh, really?

Why not interview a Native who had been alive longer than them, and had spent around five decades here?

That sounded like an eyewitness, in a way. At this point, she’d take anything.

She was desperate.

So, Elizabeth let him talk.

“Timothy told me that The Hollow punished bad people. At the time, I wasn’t sure if he was telling me that to keep me in line, or sharing information. Sadly, I ran wild, much like Ethan and Callen did. I wasn’t a good kid, so I figured it was the former.”

That sounded very similar to what Callen and Ethan mentioned about how Timothy kept them in on the Summer Solstice.

It fit.

Now, she was curious, but she knew what she needed to do first.

“MATE, I’m going to interview Wyler as a person who might have insight into this on the reservation. Will you put a copy of our conversation on the drive for the team to see?” she asked.

Her tablet beeped.

“As you wish, boss lady.”

She just rolled her eyes.

“Dad, we’re going on the record,” she said, clueing him in that anything he said was going to be visible.

He nodded, wanting to help her so she stayed safe. That was his bottom line. When he’d seen the kids and his wife being taken away by security, they told him they were going to a hotel, and that was for the best.

The Hollow was dangerous.

“What do you know about Thomas Adsila?” Elizabeth asked, starting the interview.

It seemed like a good place to start, since he was the latest victim.

He thought about it.

When Chris brought him a bowl of venison stew, Wyler took it, and began eating with them.

“That he was a drinker like I used to be. I haven’t been in the bars for a while, but when I was, Thomas was always there. If you want to know more about him, go to his watering hole. They’ll be able to tell you everything.”

Oh, well, that was definitely in the cards.

At some point.

“Do you know of anyone who had disappeared around this time of the year when you were here?” she asked.

As he thought about it, Elizabeth was holding her breath. If she didn’t find someone, anyone, who could give her insight, she was screwed.

As he ate, Wyler tried to think back to all of the people who had come and gone there. Then, he finally shared with them.

“As a matter of fact, yes. A couple of people, now that you mention it. Honestly, I never attributed it to The Hollow. If we are being frank, I didn’t believe in it. My father, bless his dead soul, was one of the Natives who really believed in the ancestors and how they handled things.”

So basically, the nuttery.

Oh, Timothy.

What the hell?

“It was likely because he was the Shaman,” she said, rationalizing it for them.

Why the hell not?

Wyler continued.

“Well, either way, Timothy was all about shit like this. Saging the home, and dream walking were two of his favorite pastimes.”

Yeah, Ethan was too.

Honestly, who was she to say shit? When in Native-land, let the men do what they wanted. It was their culture, and their children’s too.

Wyler shared.