You wanted who you wanted.
She wanted him.
Dakota was very uncomfortable with their relationship. While he saw it as a string of sex, she saw that bond forming.
It was there.
She’d bet money on it.
“Focus, Sarah,” he muttered, trying not to stare down her shirt. Her breasts were right there, and they were pretty hot. Forty plus year old men didn’t get to always see nubile soft skin.
The inner perv in him came out when she was around. He was a horrible human being. The peek of pink and black lace made him want to do stupid things.
Things he couldn’t take back.
“Look at these victims,” she stated, pulling them up on her laptop.
“Plot them,” he ordered, hoping there was some sort of pattern to be found.
Sarah hit a key and they pinned themselves to a digital map on her screen.
The laptop did the job, tracking and pulling up the details on all of those particular cases.
They were all around DC.
None were directly in, but right around the edges of the commonwealth.
Something was definitely up.
His gut was screaming and whenever that happened, it meant one thing.
He was on the trail.
Hunting was his thing.
“Okay, this has to be something.”
“I agree,” she stated. “What do you want to do?” Sarah asked, leaving this up to him. He was the lead investigator, and that meant he had the final say. She was on probation, and she couldn’t make the decisions.
Not about work.
Their personal relationship…she was working on it.
Dakota thought about it.
“Pull those files from all the police precincts. If she follows pattern, it won’t be in the same districts. That would draw flags. She’s betting no one will notice bodies across state lines.”
Sarah grabbed her phone.
“And then?”
“Get ready to start tracking. My gut says this is Bonnie. She’s coming back. It’s not a matter of if. It’s when.”
She began making the calls. If Dakota was right, they were on the cusp of going after a maniac.
She couldn’t wait.
It was going to be one hell of a hunt.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Salem
Tuesday
Well, he was here.
It was time to face the music. The trip there had been chaotic. Ethan Blackhawk, in a moment of sheer insanity, loaded up his wife’s two German Shepherds, Kanji and Sungila and got them onto the jet with him.
What had he been thinking?
Once on board, they smelled his wife, and they went absolutely insane.
No.
They went nuts.
Those two mangy beasts were tracking her scent, and they tried to eat their way into the cockpit.
They were the proud owners of two ‘German Shredders’ on the hunt for their person.
Elizabeth.
They wanted to get to her in the worst way.
As the pilot stared at him in horror—repeatedly—Ethan was forced to laugh. They kept scratching on the cockpit door. Once he’d told them they were Elizabeth’s babies, that seemed to appease the pilot. He’d flown them around for many, many years, and Duke loved Ethan’s wife.
Elizabeth had a way of captivating anyone.
It was her personality. She was the girl next door, and a ferocious lioness beneath the calm, cool exterior.
This chaos was likely nothing new—just that of the four-legged kind.
After they figured out Elizabeth wasn’t in there with the men, the two dogs curled against him.
The flight was rough.
They were scared shitless, and he didn’t blame them. They’d never been on a plane before, and he was sure it was painful for their ears.
Both dogs had whimpered from takeoff to touch down, and he found himself trying to soothe them the best he could.
He felt horrible for them.
Had it not been an eight-hour drive, he would have taken that route.
Ethan did his best to keep them calm as they sporadically looked up at him.
He knew what they were asking.
They wanted to know about their momma.
They wanted their Elizabeth, and he completely understood. For the last few weeks, they’d been heartbroken.
It finally occurred to him.
She’d captivated them too.
Today was a turning point.
To say he was nervous was an understatement. When he saw her, she could welcome him or send him on his way. This was a gamble, and he was putting it all on the line.
For love.
For his wife.
For his family.
In all honesty, it felt weird not having the badge and gun on his hip. While he’d asked Gabe to accept his vacation, pending his resignation, he didn’t want to bring his badge or gun with him.
It was the FBI, and Elizabeth…
He wanted to show up there as Ethan Jackson Blackhawk—her husband—not Deputy Director Blackhawk. The gun and badge were not the impression he wanted to make.
Why push his luck?
So, here he stood, beside his huge rental SUV as he stared at their home. So many memories came flooding back the second he saw the big, white house with the cheery, red door. He’d met her here and their life began, and now he was back to try to find that path again.
He wanted what he’d had.
He wanted his woman by his side.
Ethan needed Elizabeth.
So, he was about to eat crow.
Opening the back doors of the SUV, he let the dogs free. “Go find some squirrels,” he said, knowing they would be fine wandering the woods. Kanji and Sungila were really good at finding their way home.
He could take a lesson from them. They would always find their person.
There was no doubt they’d find Elizabeth for him.
Heading up the stairs, he saw the red Adirondack chairs sitting on the porch. His eyes filled with tears as they struck that chord in his soul.
It brought back so many memories.
All good.
Blackhawk remembered coming there that morning when he wanted to get to know her more.
That was one of his fondest memories.
She was beautiful then, and she was just as amazing now—all those kids later.
God!
He loved his wife.
Staring at the screen door, he listened to see if he could hear her.
He couldn’t.
There wasn’t a sound from inside the house.
It was odd. Ethan was shocked that they’d left the place open. “Elizabeth?” he called.
Nothing.
“Dad?”
Still silence.
“Callen?”
Again, nothing.
“Maeve?”
Nada.
Then he looked around. There was no car in the long driveway, and it occurred to him. Maybe she didn’t realize today was the day.
Or maybe she didn’t want to see him.
His heart sank like a ton of lead stones being tossed into the sea. This wasn’t exactly how he thought it would play out. He assumed she’d come running out to him, and they’d kiss.
It would be a new beginning.
And this hadn’t been a thought in his mind.
Now he was faced with the disappointment. Before he let it upset him further, Ethan grabbed his cell and texted his brother.
‘I’m here. Where is everyone?’
He took a seat in the red chair and waited for a reply from his husband—the third part of their unit.
Finally, it came.
The second he saw it, there was some calm.
‘Dad, Maeve, Chris and I are at the park with the kids. Elizabeth went for a run. She should be back soon. I’m glad you came, bro. I love you. See you as soon as I get back. The kids will be excited.’
Well, at least someone was happy to see him. Ethan leaned back in the chair, and he took in the sights and sounds.
Honestly, he missed the place. It had brought back so many good memories.
He refused to think of the bad ones that had caused so much pain there.
Elizabeth finding out Charlie had been murdered.
Them being shot by Abigayle.
Doctor Trudeaux being eaten by some crazy.
This was about a new beginning. This was about reclaiming his woman.
If this failed, he was dead.
Literally.
Without his wife, he didn’t think he could go another day. Ethan wanted to make this up to her. She deserved the best man in the world, and he’d fallen short.
Blackhawk was modeling his relationship after his brother. He was calm, compassionate, and treated her like a queen.
That was his goal.
After all, she deserved it.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he heard the dogs going crazy as they raced from behind the house. They stopped in the driveway and stared down the road.
Then they took off running full speed.
Blackhawk knew what that meant.
His heart thumped.
The life returned.
Here came his wife.
Then, she appeared on the horizon. She was running his way, and she looked…
Stunning.
Ethan couldn’t move as he tried to remember how to breathe. This was seven weeks and a million apologies in the making. Now he had to put his faith in his wife.
She was about to make him.
Or break him.
His fate was in her hands.
She heard their barks over the music playing on her earbuds. It was the sweetest sound she’d heard in a long time. Leaving her two dogs behind had sucked, but she did it so Ethan wouldn’t be alone.
Even hurt and angry, she couldn’t do that to him.
With more barking, she could see the flying dust heading her way.
She stopped and pulled out her earbuds.
Her German Shepherds took her to the ground, and then they nearly licked her to death.
“I missed you both too,” she said, burying her face in their necks.
They smelled like home.
And Ethan.
God!
They smelled so damn good.
“I missed my boys!” she said, running her hands through their soft fur. “Where’s Daddy?” she asked.
She couldn’t wait to see him too.
They immediately got off her body.
“Find Ethan,” she said, and they took off running back toward the house. She popped in her earbuds and followed.
It was time.
All the way there, she was a nervous wreck.
She’d stayed home that morning to wait for Ethan. He didn’t give her a time, but she suspected today was the day. Gabe had called her earlier, once he’d gotten into the office. He found Ethan’s gun and badge, and he needed to know what to do with them.
Did vacation really mean vacation?
She wasn’t sure.
So, she told him to hold onto them.
It was her clue that he was on his way. So, she couldn’t go with the family to the park.
She’d promised him.
She’d be there.
The only reason she went for a run was the nervous energy was going to give her an ulcer. Other than that, she’d sat on the porch waiting most of the day.
As she ran up the driveway, she could see him sitting in the exact same spot he once sat.
He took her breath away.
Ethan was wearing a long-sleeved black dress shirt, his hair was loose, and he looked…
Worried.
Yeah, he thought she wasn’t going to be there.
She knew her man.
At that point, she knew one thing. She loved him, and it was time to start anew.
It was time to give him the keys back to his kingdom. He’d tried, and that was all she could ask for in life.
He had begged for a chance at redemption, and it was time. For the last three weeks, she’d healed by his words. With each journal entry, she was closer to being whole again.
In that book, Ethan poured out his heart.
He’d held nothing back.
It was raw.
It was filled with truths he’d just begun discovering.
It was his feelings—not as he was seeing it—but as he was living it.
That was all she could ask for, and she knew it. Ethan was back, and he was trying to do the right thing.
And she forgave him.
As she got closer, he stood. He looked nervous as hell, and she wanted to help him through it.
This was his home too.
He should feel nothing but love and welcome there.
As she reached his rental, the dogs were already sitting. Elizabeth gave them more kisses, and in exchange, they returned them tenfold.
“Well, so much for showering,” she said, knowing he was watching and listening. She could feel his eyes burning into her flesh with his gaze.
Well, the time for stalling was over.
“Boys, go find the squirrels,” she said, and then whispered a command in Ethan and Callen’s native tongue.
They were gone in a second.
She stood and knew it was time.
Heading up the stairs, she didn’t look away. The man before her looked so different.
He looked aged.
He looked tired.
He looked…beat.
“Ethan,” she said, as he didn’t move toward her. There was that awkwardness that she’d hoped wouldn’t be there. In her fantasies, she pictured him swinging her around, as the fell to the ground to make love.
That wasn’t happening.
This man was guarded.
He was like that first day. There was that tentative look of worry in his eyes.
It broke her heart.
“Elizabeth,” he said, unable to look away. She looked different than the last time he’d seen her. She was rail thin, her arm was still casted, and there were lines around her eyes.
Worry lines.
He’d put them there, and he was ashamed.
“Welcome home,” she said, still not moving. Elizabeth knew they needed to bridge the gap. If not, this was dead before it ever started.
So, she offered him the olive branch.
“You’re here early.”
“I can come back,” he offered, not sure what to do next. He didn’t feel like he was home. He felt like an intruder, and that was only fair. “If you’re busy, I can come back later.”
He’d blown her life to Hell and back. What was he expecting?
Fanfare and fireworks?
This was on him, and he had to pay the piper for his anger and words.
“That’s not necessary. I was waiting for you,” she offered. “Are you hungry? I can make you breakfast.”
He wasn’t hungry, but he was desperate to be near her. He was desperate to fill the moments with something that was safe. Food would keep him calm.
It would keep him from dropping to his knees and groveling.
For now.
“Yes, I am.”
She smiled.
“Wait. That was a lie. If I eat, I may puke. That’s the truth,” he stated.
Elizabeth laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Just that there’s a picture before breakfast,” she offered, trying to help him. She held out her hand to him as a way for him to reach her.
He took it.
“I’m hungry, so I’ll eat if you don’t want to. I ran. I get to have some food.”
He watched her as she led him inside. “You’ve lost a lot of weight, Elizabeth.”
He wanted to call her baby.
He longed to use her nickname, but he felt…
Like they were strangers.
She shrugged at h
is comment. “I haven’t been hungry lately. You know how it is,” she offered.
Yeah, he knew.
He didn’t eat all that much. It was always a quick candy bar or some crap he found in his desk. Ginny had begun ordering him food just to see him eat.
He had lost any desire to feed his body when his soul was starving for his wife.
Food lost its lure.
Life lost its lure.
“Have a seat,” she offered. “We can talk while I make us something to eat.”
He did just that, and it wasn’t lost on him that this reminded him of the first time they ate together. It was another time, but he wished he could go back there. Then he could skip the shit in the middle that he’d royally screwed up.
“How about stuffed french toast?” she asked, pulling out the bowls and frying pan.
He knew why she offered that up.
That first meal had been plain french toast. She hadn’t had time to make the other kind, and she’d hinted at the next time.
There’d been so many meals in between, but this one might be the one that mattered the most.
“That would be amazing. I believe you owe me it. I think I’ll cash in on that debt.”
Elizabeth grabbed an apron and she began setting up.
“How was your trip here?” she asked, cracking eggs into a bowl.
“Long. I was thinking about what it would be like when I got here.”
“And?” she asked.
He didn’t reply right away.
“Ethan?”
“Doctor Gaines reminded me that lying is bad, so I hope you don’t read into this. I need you to take my words at face value or give me a chance to explain.”
“I can do that. What do you need to tell me?” she asked, handing him a whisk. “Beat these, please,” she said, trying to recreate that first breakfast. It had kicked off one hell of a whirlwind courtship.
She was trying to help him navigate back to her.
“I pictured you running toward me, us kissing, and making up. That’s all.”
She didn’t get offended. “I pictured us having sex on the porch. Talk about let downs.”
He stared at her.
Then he laughed when she smiled at him. It was warm, sweet, and genuine. It was like that first breakfast. She continually caught him off guard that day.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 5
