Free Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) by Morgan Kelley Page A

fight.
    “Oh. I see.”
    “I can’t tell him no. I’m sorry. When the director of the FBI says jump, you do it.”
    She sighed. Cyra remembered her short tenure at the FBI. Gabriel Rothschild was a tyrant, and you didn't tell him no.
    “Okay, Christopher, but when you get back, we’re going to talk about this. I may need to go back to work. I’m going stir crazy here with Igor, Bethe, and your mother. Something needs to change, and we’re going to find the solution.”
    He got it.
    Cyra was laying down the law.
    “Okay, honey. I promise. As soon as I get back, you and I will have that discussion. I love you.”
    “I love you too, Christopher. You be safe, and make sure you call me tonight.”
    “Yes, honey,” he offered, glad his wife had calmed down. “I’ll see you soon.”
    When he hung up, he started pulling off his scrubs to change. Hurriedly, he got into his dress pants and shirt. There was a stop, which he needed to make, before he boarded that flight. It couldn’t wait. 
    In a locked box, at his bank, there was a file. He’d saved one copy of it for this very moment. Chris liked to be prepared, and he was glad he’d had the fortitude to do it.
    Now he wouldn’t have to recreate the entire case.
    They had access to it.
    They also had something else.
    There was the one lone bullet. He’d absconded it from the city ME after Seamus O’Brien’s death.
    It was time to give it back to its owner, and hopefully, it would help answer the questions.
     
    She needed it more than he did.
     
    If they were lucky, it would be the key.
     
     
     
     
                      * * *   B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *
     
     
     
     
    Airport Tarmac
    One Hour Later
     
     
     
    The flight was a anxious one.
    Whenever the team was heading out, there was always an underlying tension, but this time, it was even more intense. Ethan and Callen were stressed to the max, Elizabeth was riled up, and the other two passengers were feeling it too.
    No one was enjoying this new assignment.
    Elizabeth sat between her husbands, and they were each holding her hand. It would be difficult to ignore the strain on each of their faces.
    In fact, Merry noticed it was on the ME’s too.
    Something was going on.
    She could feel it.
    “Why does it feel like we’re heading off to the gallows?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
    Chris wouldn’t give away too much information, but he knew Merry would have questions.
    Hell!
    She was the only tech on the plane. Normally, they travelled with a pack of crime techs. Today, that wasn’t the case. That alone should be setting off every alarm for her. If she didn't have questions, he would have lost respect for her.
    “We’re heading back to DC to handle a case Elizabeth and I worked years ago. The killer got away. He vanished.”
    Well, so much for Chris’s hard and fast rule about always playing it straight with their team when they asked questions. Chris knew he didn't have any choice.
    This was need to know only, and Merry didn't need to know.
    “Oh.”
    She stared at him.
    “Can’t you give me something?”
    He thought about it. She was right. Merry needed a little information in order to do her job.
    “Do you recall the ‘Irish Butcher’ case?” he asked. Chris knew Merry would have been young at the time. She might not have any clue who he was.
    “I remember my parents talking about it. Everyone was. Why?”
    “That was our first big case together. Elizabeth and I were teamed up to find him. Needless to say, he escaped.”
    He left it at that.
    “And he’s back?”
    “Apparently, but we’re keeping this quiet. We don’t want to start a media feeding frenzy.”
    “Shit! That’s why she looks so freaked out. I don’t blame her. Trying to catch a serial killer that many years later has to be difficult.”
    He was well aware.
    “I want you to call ahead to Quantico and make sure you have everything that you need for the scene. We’re traveling