Page 88 of Adoring Delaney

“It says they’re gonna kill you.”

“I read it, baby. I know what it says.”

“And I’m gonna watch.” A sob tore through her and I didn’t know how to make this better for her. I didn’t think now was the right time to make promises that no one was going to kill me, therefore she’d never watch anything. She wasn’t in a place where she’d believe me.

I twisted her in my arms, squatted, my forearm going under her knees, the other behind her, and I hefted her into my arms and walked us to the couch. I sat and adjusted her in my lap so I was cradling her. She shoved her face into my neck and I felt wetness from her tears hit my skin and my anger flashed.

Someone had scared her so badly she was shaking. Fear leaked from her pretty blue eyes and burned a path down my flesh.

Neither of us spoke. I held her while she cried, trying to tamp down the urge to kill the asshole who sent the letter. Old habits die hard. I’d led a life of action, where threats were met with bodily harm. Now, I didn’t have the authority to strap on my kit and hunt down leads. I couldn’t act swiftly and methodically to new intel. I had to sit on my ass and wait for Ethan.

I had no choice but to take the back seat while he worked the system. He had his own set of rules he had to follow, and he did, always. There had only been one time when he’d stepped out of bounds and that was when Honor had been kidnapped. An infraction that was overlooked because the call he’d made had saved a life, and the only person who’d been left to rot in the ground was the man who’d deserved it.

The front door opened and Laney jolted in my arms.

“It’s your dad, baby,” I whispered to the top of her head, then to the rest of the guys who’d walked in. “On the table. We already touched it.”

Jasper, my dad, Levi, Clark, and Ethan all walked by eyeing me holding Delaney. All had matching pissed-off expressions and they didn’t even know how bad it was.

The message was fucked. It was clear. And it was detailed.

The person said they were going to kill me, do it slowly, and Delaney was gonna be forced to watch but she’d be left breathing. The author of the note said they wanted her to live the rest of her life with the memory. What she’d been forced to see and the knowledge she couldn’t stop it but it was her fault.

“Fuck. Goddamn!” my dad boomed.

“Came through the mail. Virginia Beach, VA,” Jasper growled. “You have any enemies up there?”

His question was directed to me, therefore I answered. “None that I’m aware of. I can call my old team, see if they’ve heard anything or received any threats. Though they may be MIA, they were leaving for training.”

“Someone from overseas?” Ethan asked.

“Too many to count. But I find it doubtful ISIS would send a handwritten warning.”

There was a beat of silence and I knew without looking they were all studying the letter.

“Nick,” my dad clipped. “I just sent you an email. A letter that was delivered to Delaney’s house. I need you to take a look at it.” There was a pause then he continued. “Yeah, I’ll wait. I’m putting you on speakerphone.”

“Pulling it up now,” Nick’s voice came over the speaker.

“I’m really scared, Carter,” Delaney spoke softly.

“I know, Laney. But everything’s gonna be okay.”

“What in the fuck?” Nick sounded much like the other men. Angry and unbelieving.

“Lock it down, son,” Clark waded in. “We need you to focus. Read it again as an FBI profiler, not as Carter’s cousin.”

“Christ,” he muttered. “First read it seems to be about an enemy of Carter’s wanting him dead. But if you pull out the marker words, the motivation behind killing him is Delaney. The person is using Carter as the tool to hurt her.”

“What does that tell you?” Levi asked.

“The person is enraged with Delaney, a perceived wrongdoing against the unsub. I’d focus on Delaney’s enemies, not Carter’s. He’s simply the means. Read the line, ‘You’ll know my pain.’ Delaney will, not Carter. Also, where it says, ‘You’re going to live your life like I do.’ Again referring to Delaney. If this was about Carter, everything would be in reverse. Delaney’s life would be in danger. The wording would be different, Delaney would die and Carter would watch. I want a list of every person in the last three years that has looked cross-eyed in her direction. Anyone who’s given the smallest hint they’re pissed at her. Kids who got a bad grade and voiced their displeasure, a parent, a teacher, a friend, every last person. I’ll go from there. If I have to go back ten years I will.”

“FBI doesn’t handle threats like this,” Ethan reminded Nick.

“We do today. I’ll brief Unit Chief Gonzales here at my office and make a call up to Virginia to the director. The second I mention Delaney Walker and Carter Lenox, they’ll give my offices full support.”

I had no doubt about that. My dad, Levi, Jasper, and Clark had worked with the Director of the BAU a lot over the years and the man thought very highly of my family.

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