Page 92 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

“Now that the testosterone is done flowing, Ivan, take the bone, head, and my son outside. Everyone follow him. I’d like to interview Uriel as to what time this all went down last night, and if he saw anything.”

Without an issue, they followed her directive, leaving them alone.

When she pointed to the couch, he met her there and sat down.

“You’ve got it bad,” she said.

He simply nodded.

Oh, tell him about it.

Caspian felt like he was neck deep in quicksand, and sinking fast.

“What happened?”

He began reporting like he would with Ivan. Uriel was short, sweet, and to the point.

“I got here around eleven, and I opted to stay. The dog barked around one thirty-two, like I said, and we woke up to this.”

She stopped him.

“No, I meant to your heart. You already gave it to her, didn’t you? I know you, Cas, and I can tell you’re already attached to her.”

He closed his eyes.

When he opened them, that hardened Marine was gone, and in his place was Caspian—the normal guy with normal emotions and feelings.

Nodding, she sighed.

“You’re not coming home with us, are you?” she asked, reading the room.

How she knew, he had no idea? How she picked that up when he’d not said a word…?

Yeah, he’d been thinking just that.

Never let it be said that Elizabeth wasn’t a mother to her core.

She absolutely was.

For Uriel, this was the hardest decision of his life, and he was between two big boulders.

Love and love.

“I don’t want to quit, Elizabeth. I love my job, and you guys are my family. I just need some time. I started something, and I don’t think I’ll be okay if I walk away. My gut tells me to keep my ass here. I just don’t understand why yet.”

She took his hand, and he held hers.

“I have vacation time…”

Elizabeth leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. The second she did that, it brought tears to his eyes. In his youth, acts of love and showing it were not something his family did.

He grew up under the regimented fist of a general for everything. You didn’t show emotion, or you were weak. You didn’t ask for help, or you were pathetic. You didn’t cry out when you were hurt or you were a loser.

It took him ten years with the Blackhawks to realize that men could cry, and that feelings mattered. He’d been reprogrammed, and now, he was on the cusp of having to let the people he loved go.

For his heart.

Oh, the irony.

“I don’t want to lose my family,” he whispered. “You guys have been mine for ten years. I’ve learned how to be me from that fresh Marine out of the corps with all the scars and wounds. I just can’t bear the idea that this might be my chance to meet someone who sees the real me.”

She moved closer, and he dropped his arm over her shoulders.

“Who says you’ll lose us?” she asked, knowing that would never happen.

If he called her in the middle of the night, on a Tuesday, she’d catch a flight. Each one of the Marines who worked for her was family.

They were hers to the end.

He was honest.

“She likes me for me. She didn’t laugh, and she is attracted to me. I’m not going to find a long line of women who want to saddle up to this mess.”

The second he said it, she pinched his leg, and he yelped.

Then, she told his ass off.

“You, Caspian Carter, are a catch. That’s the bottom line. You caught her all on your own, and you deserve it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t special—especially the demons in your head!”

He was honest as he rubbed his thigh.

“At what cost? What if it’s just a fluke, and one month in, after I leave, it’s not what I thought it would be? Then what? I’ll be family-less and job-less.”

Is that what he really thought?

She pulled out her phone, and she texted someone. When the front door opened, and in came Ivan, he looked worried.

“Oh, thank God. I thought I was going to find bloodshed. I know how you get.”

She ignored him.

They had bigger issues, and he was her partner in parenting the Marines. They looked up to Ivan because he gave them jobs, and made them all a unit.

“Cas is going to take a little work break,” she said, giving him a heads-up.

Ivan laughed.

“Rough night fornicating?” he asked, busting his ass because that’s what they did.

He stopped laughing when she finished.

“He’s taking a month or two off when we go home to DC,” she said.

The minute the words were out of her mouth, that was when Ivan stared at her.

There was no way he heard her correctly.

“WAIT. WHAT?” he asked. “That’s not a break, Elizabeth. That’s a leave of absence.”

She broke out the sarcasm.

“He. Is. Going. To. Stay. Here. For. Two. Months. And. Baby. Sit. The. Cabin. Am. I. Talking. Slow. Enough. For. You. Marine?” she asked.

He was still staring.

Then, he was to the point because while he’d love to be lax with security, she tended to need a full platoon to keep her alive.

“Elizabeth, we don’t need a cabin babysat. We need the family handled. We’re likely losing Michael. His ex was all over the news today, talking about his fiancé and he is going to hear about it.”

She was aware.

The asshole reporter was always up in their grill on the news. She hoped an asteroid landed on him, to be honest.

Ivan kept going.

“We’re taking about the fiancé that he’s no longer with because Michael ditched his ass. If we lose him, and we lose Uriel, we lose two Archangels. That leaves us Muriel and Raph. I can’t just call up Archangels. The government controls that, and there are only so many.”

She was aware.

“Oh, well, it gets better, Toady.”

He couldn’t imagine how.

“While he’s on leave, he stays on the payroll with all of his pay, and benefits.”

Ivan blinked.

“Pardon?”

She shrugged.

“Or I can just pay him if that’s what you want. Oh, wait. WE PAY YOU to PAY THEM!”

Ivan stared at her not shocked about that part, but more so, the part about losing another Archangel.

“Elizabeth, listen to me. Again, I can’t regenerate Archangels like an octopus grows an arm. There are LIMITED supplies of them. You are always in danger, and now, you’ve added Takoda to the duty list.”

When he heard how she might be in danger, Caspian took one for the team.

“I will go back with you. You need me. Don’t worry about it. I’ll survive.”

Absolutely not.

She stopped him.

“You’ve been beyond loyal for ten years, Cas.

You’ve watched our backs, you’ve kept us safe, and you’ve been our family.

I want this for you. Stay and see what develops.

I’ll buy you some time, and so will Ivan.

Ethan wants to do a library here. We’re going to put you in charge of making sure it stays on task.

That way, you stay on the payroll, and you have a job so Ivan doesn’t freak out.

Toady can kiss my ass if he thinks I’m choosing me over any one of my Marines. ”

Oh, he was aware.

“It’s not the money, Elizabeth. It’s the schematics, but we’d have to put someone here or have someone fly out with Ethan while he works on the library, so it’ll work out,” he said, relenting for his friend.

Ivan sighed.

“You like her that much, huh?” he asked.

He nodded.

Ivan loved every one of the people who worked for him. They were all family. He called his company Archangel Security because of his friendship with Raphael and Uriel when he first got on protection duty.

Well, that and it sounded badass.

“Your job is safe, and the Harpy doesn’t have to make me do it. You’re my friend and my family, Cas. Get the girl. If it doesn’t work out, you can come back. You will forever be the only Uriel on my team. That’s yours and yours alone.”

Caspian was super emotional at that.

“Thank you, Ivan.”

He patted his friend on the back.

“We don’t leave anyone behind, Cas. In the corps, and in life. You’re my friend. I have you.”

Thank God for that.

He looked over at Elizabeth, hoping she could give him a freaking clue.

“How do I get the girl?” he asked. “I’m new to this. I’ve never had a girl. I’ve had dates, and I’ve had sex, but I’ve never let anyone in. That’s scary.”

Oh, they were well aware.

Rejection hurt.

Only, Elizabeth was pretty sure that Rayna was feeling it, or she wouldn’t be tearing her father a new one in the other room.

“That’s the hard part, Cas. You have to let someone in.

You clearly feel comfortable around her.

You’re not having issues with talking. I say just give it time.

If I’ve learned anything from the Chief of Police, is that she’s not a doormat.

Chances are, she’ll have you wound up in a relationship before you know it. ”

Ivan winked at him.

“You know how bossy women are,” he said.

She used her foot, hitting him in the back of the legs so his knees buckled.

When he hit the ground on his knees, she smiled.

“Bow male. That’s what we expect.”

He laughed his ass off. His friend was so freaking ridiculous, but that’s why he loved her.

The insanity kept him on his toes.

“Can we keep this between us?” Cas asked. “I want to see what happens the next few days while you handle this. I’ll tell her after I figure out if she’s thinking about a longer-term situation.”

They could do that.

When the door opened, and out came Rayna, she was bright red. It was clear that the talk hadn’t been the kind she’d enjoyed, and she was annoyed.

Big.

Time.

“Uriel and Ivan, head outside. I need to talk to Council Member Running Wolf,” she said, figuring she could get something out of him.

Maybe.

The men got up, and headed out.

When her father sat down, he was also annoyed to no end. That was crystal clear.

“So, Lance, tell me about your son,” she said, going in hard, not giving him time to bitch or moan. He was, after all, going to be talking about Uriel, and she happened to care about him a great deal.

The man looked confused.

“Why do you want to know about him?” he asked.

She was to the point.

“When is the last time you saw him?” she inquired, thinking about how Lance had been coming out of the woods right when Rayna had returned.

Lance was also not a small man. He was in good shape, much like Wyler was. There was no doubt he could move efficiently through the woods, while a much younger man covered his ass.

Like the dude that slammed into her.

Maybe it was a father and son team?

What she knew was there were two people involved, and she didn’t necessarily believe it was Lance, she still had questions to ask.

Digging might give her another avenue.

“I don’t know. Maybe two years ago?” he asked, glancing over at his daughter who was silently listening. “Why do you ask?”

She was to the point.

“We know this is more than one person. We’re covering our bases.”

He blinked.

Then, it hit him.

“You think it’s me and my son who are doing this?” he asked. “Seriously? Are you out of your mind?”

She shrugged.

“I mean, I was just asking questions. What I do know is that you, Tom Redbear, and Abe Crowfeather were well aware of this entity called The Hollow for years. You gave us a book with notes in it. I have an issue with people knowing murder is happening, and they don’t seem to care. It also makes me ask why?”

He was offended.

That was clear.

Rayna said nothing, simply because Elizabeth hadn’t accused him of anything—yet. She was trying to make a correlation to the case, and from the standpoint of an investigator, she had a point.

They did all know about it, and she honestly felt the same about the ambivalence to it.

“I can see that you’re taking the council’s kindness and us allowing you to be here to do this for granted.”

She actually laughed.

“Mr. Running Wolf, I don’t know if you’ve seen anything or heard anything about me—outside of being married to the Blackhawk boys, but I’m a pain in the ass.

I’m Native friendly, but when I walk onto the reservation, find out there has been a prolific killer for over a hundred years, and the council doesn’t care… that’s a problem.”

“We can have you stop this then.”

She leaned forward, and she wasn’t playing around. Oh, she was not amused—especially since she’d been abducted by whoever was behind this, and that nearly cost Elizabeth her life.

It had scared her, and she didn’t like that. In fact, it pissed her off.

“I have jurisdiction, but by all means, try to stop me. I’ll see you and the other council members later if I have questions. Oh, and stick close to the reservation.”

He was angry.

“I rarely leave.”

She shrugged.

“Maybe you should. It might give that attitude an adjustment,” she said, standing.

Then, she remembered.

“Ethan told me that you wanted to speak to Wyler. If you do, mind your manners. I get bitchy when someone annoys or hurts my family.”

He stared at her.

“Oh, and since we’re talking about my family, let me just put this out there. The nice gentleman that your daughter has decided to start something with is like a child to me. As in I protect my own. So, I’d tread lightly.”

With that, she stood up.

“Rayna, be ready to go in two minutes. Like I said earlier, you’re stuck with us today, since this has marked you. I don’t have time to play ‘find the Native in the woods’. I’m going to be busy playing ‘find the killer’.”

And with that, she headed out, closing the door behind her.

When she was gone, Rayna sighed.

“You just can’t play nice with people, can you? Now, you have her all stirred up.”

He wasn’t pleased.

“She is not one of us. I don’t care if she married a Blackhawk. As for the other part, Wyler doesn’t deserve my compassion, and that…man you’ve begun something with…you know how I feel.”

Oh, she did.

He’d made that clear.

And so did she.

Not that it mattered, since he was leaving when they left.

“Dad, calm down. It’s not the end of the world if people spend time with non-Natives. Seriously. It’s not fifty years ago. The Blackhawks didn’t make us walk the trail or cause us pain, and neither did Elizabeth. They are just trying to save people.”

Honestly, he didn’t care.

The Blackhawks were on his nerves.

And had been for more than a few decades. It was definitely time to track down Wyler.

Once and for all.