“What?” he asked. “Why would I do that? Your doctor told you it had to stay on until Monday.”
She smiled.
“Because you love me?”
He held her fingers in his hand. “Wiggle them for me.”
She did.
“Any pain?”
“Other than the one in my ass for having this monstrosity on my arm?” she asked. “No.”
“Pull my fingers.”
She wiggled her eyebrows.
“There’s something wrong with you,” he said, finally laughing. “You know what I meant.”
She did what he asked, and her grip was strong and firm. She was healed.
“Am I good, Newton, or do I need to be in this gun slinging chastity belt?”
He knew what she was doing. Elizabeth was trying to make him laugh.
“You’re good.”
“Yee haw! I almost want to plant one on you.”
“Bad idea. I have vomit breath.”
She snorted.
Then she kissed him on the lips anyway. “That’s love, my friend. Can we go set me free?” she asked.
“Yeah, we can, if I can find the bone saw. Zane ruined my autopsy set up.”
“She’s not yours anymore,” Elizabeth teased, giving her a persona. “She’s his. Let her go. You broke up with her for a bigger, badder lab. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
Chris stared her in the eyes. “I could never let you go. I get attached.”
She got it.
Getting up, she held out her hand. “Ready, Doc?” she asked.
He took her fingers in his, and she pulled him up.
Together, they headed out of the Men’s room, and right into Callen and Ethan.
“Are you okay?” Ethan asked.
“I’ve felt better. I’ll survive.”
Without saying another word, they hugged him. They closed around his body, a Blackhawk all around him, and they shared their love.
“Someone grabbed my ass,” muttered Chris.
“My bad,” Callen stated. “I thought it was hers. Strangely, they felt the same. Now I feel sick to my stomach.”
She snorted.
“Pervs.”
It did its job.
It got Chris to laugh.
When they broke apart, he couldn’t help be overwhelmed by the two men beside Elizabeth.
She’d been right.
He wasn’t alone anymore.
He did have love, even if he’d lost his wife. Chris had a chance at something beautiful, even if it didn’t mean sleeping with a woman he’d once been intimate with.
He really had a family.
Bethe too.
In the end, that’s all that really mattered.
To him.
To his child.
They weren’t alone.
Elizabeth wiped his face. “Let’s go scare some marshals. Then I want to find Bonnie. I have a bone to pick, but speaking of bones…”
Chris laughed.
“Let’s go get you naked.”
She put her arm through his, and they headed to the elevator.
Callen glanced over at his brother.
“Did he just say…?”
Ethan shook his head.
“I don’t want to know. It had to be code.”
“For what?” Callen asked.
With his wife?
One would never know.
Chapter Five
Airport
S he was proud of herself on a deep, profound level. At first, Bonnie believed that without Clyde, she couldn’t pull any of this off. Then, as time went by, she realized that she was better than him and getting a lackey was easy. Lizzie was insane, and that made her perfect for these games.
The best part about her was she was expendable.
If the shit hit the fan, Bonnie knew who she was going to offer up on the Blackhawk altar.
It was only fair.
Bonnie deserved the best in life. Her youth had sucked. It was about time she had the best of the best, and with these killings, she was on her way to getting her fortune back.
She’d use her way to the top.
Then she’d run.
Granted, Lizzie brought some amazing things to the table. She’d gotten this whole thing started with her sick, twisted brain. A part of her admired the woman.
She had no morals.
She loved to kill.
And she had the ability to make all the right connections.
Oh, that was the best part.
Now, as they were waiting to board the plane, one thing was clear. They were about to make Elizabeth work for it.
That first victim…
That was a gift.
He hadn’t suffered.
He hadn’t screamed for her.
Bonnie hadn’t mutilated him, solely based on the fact he was to get her attention.
The next one…
Shock and awe, baby.
Shock and awe.
This was about to get fun, and she couldn’t wait to make the most of the next victim. That one was going to be so much fun. Killing her would be beyond pleasurable.
She was getting giddy just thinking about it.
In order to keep it going, she needed to play the game—starting with her besotted partner in crime.
“I’m having so much fun with you,” Bonnie offered, holding Lizzie’s hand.
“I’m so glad. How much did we get?” Lizzie asked.
Bonnie made a quick mental calculation. “We got about a thousand dollars. Who keeps that lying around?” she asked.
Lizzie giggled. “The next one won’t, but that’s okay. She’ll still be fun.”
Bonnie agreed.
Yes, she was really looking forward to this woman. It would be poetic.
This setup had taken months to plan. It had begun almost after the last time she went up against Elizabeth. Only, she never knew the woman would be coming back to DC.
That had been a stroke of luck.
Fate was on her side.
“Can I chop her up?” Lizzie asked.
Bonnie glanced over at her. “What did I tell you about control?” she asked.
“That I need to get some.”
God!
It was like having a child.
“Yes, you do. You can help me set the scene. This one is special. This one is going to really make Elizabeth think twice. We’re going to have one hell of a time with her.”
Lizzie was excited.
Bonnie was everything she could dream about in a partner. All her life, she felt empty.
Killing had filled that hole.
Bonnie had filled her soul.
As their boarding flight was called, they both stood.
“Now remember, don’t draw attention to yourself,” she said, as Lizzie pulled the big hat over her face to hide her from the airport security camera. “You’re my ace in the hole. As long as she can’t figure out who you are, we’re safe.”
She understood.
“Yes, Bonnie.”
“When we get back to DC, we have work to do. It’s going to be God’s work.”
That made both of them laugh.
As they boarded, Lizzie was beside herself with happiness. “I love my life.”
Bonnie was glad.
“You should live each day like it’s your last.”
Because with her…
It could be.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
FBI West
Interrogation room
Oh, he was all kinds of pissed. Not only was he in handcuffs, sitting in the FBI building, but Elizabeth had made sure they brought them in the front door to really prove a point.
She’d had them walked in like they were common criminals.
It was a move he’d used before. Their dicks were out, and she had proved hers was much bigger than his.
This round went to Elizabeth.
She was in her element, and he wasn�
�t.
All the way there, he was thinking one thing. This whole situation was going to suck seven ways to Sunday.
“What are we going to do?” Sarah asked. “They didn’t let us call our boss. That’s wrong.”
He laughed. “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. You’re in Blackhawk land, and she’s the all-powerful one. If she wants, we’re going on a field trip to Gitmo. Ethan Blackhawk can pull that trick out of his pocket for her—and for his wife, he will.”
Sarah looked worried.
“But I thought you had a relationship with her.”
He laughed more.
Yeah, like that mattered.
“She’s a piranha. Keep your feet out of the FBI pool,” he muttered. “Trust me when I say you going for her gun was probably NOT a smart idea. You’re lucky she didn’t break your face with that cast.”
“Yeah, well, my head hurts.”
His partner was clueless. That was the least of their problems. Their asses were about to have big bites taken out of them. The chewing was about to begin.
Dakota could hear talking outside the door, and he prayed that he could talk his way out of this one.
If not…
Yeah, it was that damn bad.
When the door opened, he knew it was show time.
As Elizabeth walked in, she wasn’t alone. She had backup, and that was the worst part.
Where Dakota figured that he could schmooze her, there was no way in bloody hell he was going to be able to talk his way around Ethan.
But it got worse.
This was a two husband kind of day.
Riding shotgun to both Blackhawks was Callen Whitefox. The man was a freaking brick wall. He’d collapse all over him if he even crossed a line.
“Well, well, well. At least we’re in a little more familiar territory now,” she offered as she straddled a backward chair and rested her newly un-casted arm on the back of it.
When she stared at him, her eyes never moved from his. Dakota had seen her in action, and while some people had to turn this part of themselves on and off, she didn’t.
This was a predator to the core.
She was dangerous.
“Elizabeth.”
“Director Whitefox-Blackhawk,” she stated coolly. “You’re here because you were playing dirty pool, my, at one time, friend.”
“We’re still friends,” he offered.
Dakota needed to get through to the humanity that he knew lived beneath the Fed covering. It wouldn’t be easy.
She leaned back.
“Where’s the cast?” Sarah asked, noticing that she was now plaster free.
“It came off. When I beat someone into a bloody pulp, I like to use my fist, not plaster.”
Sarah laughed.
Elizabeth focused on her.
US Marshal Sarah Valley had to be a few years shy of thirty. She still had that green sheen to her. The newbie didn’t know what was good for her.
Clearly.
This was a dog fight, and someone let the puppy into the yard. Well, she’d handle that.
“So, Dak, who’s the little girl?” Elizabeth asked.
“You know she’s my probational partner,” he stated “Come on, Lyzbeth.”
She grinned ferally. “Yeah, I know who she is. What’s that saying? Oh, yeah! Always study your opponent. Did she skip that lesson?” Elizabeth asked.
Dakota knew that Sarah’s laughter put her on the radar. The woman had no sense of preservation.
“It was scheduled for next week,” he admitted.
Elizabeth stared at him.
Then she began laughing. The smooth, feminine sound washed over all of their bodies. There was that Southern girl next door feel to it.
Oh, was it very deceiving.
“Well, she should have studied up, Dak. I know I did.” To prove a point, she let it rip. “You’re Sarah Marie Valley, age twenty-four, and you’ve been a Marshal about four months. You graduated top of your class at a state school, you have a background in criminal justice, and you’re one of five kids.”
She stared at her without flinching. “Tell me something you didn’t have to Google.”
Oh, it was going to be like that, was it?
It was on.
“You have a parrot at home, and he likes to eat cheese. Polly can’t stand crackers.”
She stared at her.
That caught her off guard.
“How did you…?”
Dakota looked over at her. “Hush,” he warned. “Gitmo. Don’t fuck with her.” Then he jerked his head toward Ethan Blackhawk.
He could pull up just about anything on anyone. That’s what made this team lethal.
You had a killer.
You had a man who could call up the devil.
And you had muscle.
All of which couldn’t be swayed to turn on their other partners. The wall was impenetrable.
“Don’t mess with me, little girl. I could be your damn mother,” she warned.
Sarah closed her mouth.
She didn’t want to, but she would for her partner.
Elizabeth laughed. “What were you thinking, Dak?” she asked.
“I was thinking I was going to catch Bonnie. That was my goal, and you know it. This isn’t personal, Elizabeth.”
She did believe him.
Only, that wasn’t the issue.
He was obsessed.
“Someone has to take her down.”
And she knew who that someone was.
Her.
Still…
Dakota, while sneaky, he was all about justice. They wanted the same thing, but they were both alphas and the yard only had room for one pissing dog.
That was her.
“Bonnie is back, Lyzbeth.”
“Director,” she corrected.
“I figured we were using each other’s nicknames, like we once did,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
Callen cracked his knuckles from his spot in the corner of the room.
“I think that’s your answer, Marshal Rakin. We’re not here to reminisce. We’re here to discuss this before you lose your job. The ONLY reason I’m in here and I’m calm is my best friend made me realize something.”
“What? That you’re a bitch?” Sarah asked.
Elizabeth looked over at her. “Yeah, you’re sleeping with him. I can tell. You’re leaning toward him, he keeps trying to get you to back off, and normally, a sane person is scared shitless of me. I have a rep.”
“Yeah, and it’s not pretty.”
“Neither is life, little girl. Talk to me if you survive the first decade of your job. It’s not sunshine and roses. This is the real deal. I’ve seen things you can’t even comprehend.”
She opened her mouth.
Dakota warned her. “Sarah, come on!”
She closed it.
“Wise choice. Do you want your boss’s wrath or a trip to Gitmo until I can get this handled without tripping all over ‘Susie Sunshine’ here?”
Neither option worked for him.
Dakota dropped his head to the table. “Lyzbeth, I’m sorry. I crossed a line.”
“Again, Dak.”
“Again. I just wanted to get this case closed.”
“For Debra?” she asked.
He lifted his head and in his eyes, there was so much emotion.
“Yes.”
“And that’s what I learned from my best friend. I was going to come in here, ride your ass, beat you down, and then hand you back to Marcus Hunter.”
“He’d take our side,” Sarah offered.
Ethan laughed. “I play golf with him on Sundays. I’m pretty sure I have a little more pull than two US Marshals who were planning to go rogue.”
Sarah wasn’t sure if he was bluffing. All she was sure of was that she’d heard about him, and it didn’t do him justice. The man was pretty damn handsome.
Why was he with this viper?
Ethan lifted a brow as if waiting for t
he woman’s comment. When she didn’t go there, he smiled at his wife. “All yours.”
“Then I guess I get to pick,” she stated. “Gitmo or Marcus ‘Mad Dog’ Hunter?”
Dakota knew they were screwed.
“Let me help,” he begged. “We nearly had her last time. We’ll get her, and it’ll be over.”
“Yeah, Dak, and you nearly had your dick blended into a chocolate smoothie. Sometimes, you have to cut your losses and let others handle it.”
“You’re after her for revenge too.”
“No, I’m after her because she’s a danger to me and my family. You’re not on her radar. On a normal day, she doesn’t see you because you’re carrying the wrong reproductive organs. She sees you as nothing but a hurdle. I’m the game.”
He knew she was right.
Still…
He could do this.
“I have intel.”
She lifted a brow. “Gee, what do you know? Who did you steal it from?”
“We figured it out. That’s why we came here. I was trying to tie it together so we could pin her down.”
She wasn’t sure she bought that.
“I swear on my momma’s grave.”
Okay, she knew how much he’d loved his mother. There was no way he’d toss that out to save his bacon.
He had something.
And she needed it.
He held out his cuffed wrists. “Can you please remove these?” he asked. “You know I’m not going to hurt you. At one time, I wanted to marry you. I was in love. Had you said yes, and we got hitched, then I likely would have wanted to kill you.”
She snorted.
“You’re lucky I think you’re amusing, Dakota.”
He smiled at her. “Come on.”
Elizabeth pulled the key out of her pocket. “Do I need to tell you what happens if you twitch the wrong way?” she asked, pointing at Callen.
“No, I’m aware. I won’t do anything, Lyzbeth. We have history. I’m asking you to listen to what I have to say, and if you think it’s helpful, then let me in.”
She could do that.
Little did Dakota know that she was down two on her team. She’d come in there with the intent to let them help, but she was going to screw with them—Sarah irritated her.
She reminded her of herself—right before she put a bullet into ‘The Butcher’s’ head.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 17
