Free Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) by Morgan Kelley Page B

Could Gabe have been right? Was this nutjob playing some sick game of cat and mouse all thanks to the media portrayal of her? She pondered all the interviews and news stories, and most of them simply stated that she was good at her job. That brought up one more question.
    Why then would he want her on his trail?
    Clearly, the killer wasn’t playing with a full deck.
    At least she had a heads up on this, and she would be going in on full alert. Now, she’d be ready for any type of attack. Plus, the men in her life had her back and would keep her safe. Her hand went to the pouch around her neck. When she had come down from packing, Wyler had been there with it in his hand. He wanted her to wear it and she would. The man rarely threw the Native mojo her way, and if he felt this strongly about it, she’d concede.
    If it gave the men in her family enough reassurance to keep everyone calm, she’d do what it took. Wearing a deerskin pouch of medicine man herbs was a small concession to keep the two men she loved from losing their minds.
    “Where are we staying?” she asked Ethan, as he sat in the passenger seat and worked while she drove. “No roach coach, right?”
    He smiled at her. A roach coach was w hat brought them together. “No baby. You know that I wouldn’t do that to us. I found a really nice hotel in Circle Rock. It’s not a small town or a metropolis, but it has more of the amenities that we may need.”
    “Great. Is the rest of the team staying in the same place too?”
    “Yes. I have them booked there. We’ll be able to keep an eye on them, while still having privacy.” Yeah, and they’ll be an extra layer of protection against the nutbag who was calling out his wife.
    “What do we have related to the assignment?” Callen asked. It was probably time to learn the gruesome, scary, life destroying details. It had taken most of the ride for him to even build the nerve to bring it up.
    Ethan was ready to brief them. “Our first victim has already been identified. Her name is Scarlet Red.”
    Elizabeth glanced over. “Seriously? That’s her name?”
    “Apparently , it is.”
    Elizabeth shook her head. “Okay, then. What else do we have on her?”
    “She isn’t originally from Circle Rock. The files that the police have sent over states that she’s twenty five and works in retail somewhere in the town. They have her as an implant who moved there a few years ago.”
    “Okay, so the killer is focused on a resident and not some tourist just passing through.”
    Blackhawk nodded. “He left a note.”
    Callen wasn’t sure if he could handle whatever it said. No, in fact, he knew he couldn’t, but he’d swallow it much like Ethan was doing.
    “What does it say?” Elizabeth asked curiously. From the tension in his voice and the air surrounding them, she was sure it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
    Ethan pulled it up on the tablet and read it to her;
     
     
    Director Elizabeth Blackhawk of the FBI,
    I’m killing these women for you.
    I’m waiting for the pleasure of your company.
    Stop m e if you can or there will be many more!
    Let’s see if the media is right.
    Are you as smart as they say?
     
     
    Yeah, Callen was right. He didn't want to hear it. He forced himself to take deep breaths as he tried to not lose his temper. It was bad enough that she was out in the field, but the wackjob was calling her out to beat him. There was no doubt in his mind of her ability, since he had watched her in action many times.
    His concern was the crazy factor.
    Elizabeth asked him to read it again. This time she listened and tried to figure out what the killer was alluding to in his message. “I haven’t done that many interviews.”
    Blackhawk thought back the la st few weeks. “You did that one-on-one with the reporter from Red River after the ‘ skinwalker ’ killings.”
    “She hasn’t really been on the news,” added Callen. They tried to preserve their privacy as much as possible , since they