“I didn’t do it for him, baby. I did it for us. I’m not going to foster anger. My grandfather once told me a story.”
She stayed against him as she listened.
“There was a wise old Native and his grandson. They were talking about two wolves fighting. The boy asked which would survive the fight.”
“And?” she asked, listening to him.
“It would depend on which one was fed love and which one fed jealousy.”
She got it.
“You’re going to be a sexy old Shaman. I can’t stop thinking about you, half-naked and in a tipi.”
He snorted. “I feel so cheap. I’m nothing more than some sordid fantasy of yours.”
She ran her mouth over the pulse in his throat. “You’re so much more than a fantasy. You’re my reality,” she whispered in his ear.
Ethan let her torment him.
It felt…delicious.
“In fact,” she began, “we can go back to the Rez, retire in Grandad’s cabin, and raise a lot of hell,” she teased. “I don’t mind being the Shaman’s squaw.”
Ethan was having a hard time concentrating.
“You realize ‘squaw’ isn’t a good term, right?” he asked. “You basically just called yourself my slut.”
She rubbed against him. “Oh, gee, did I?”
He stared into her eyes.
Ethan couldn’t love her more, but he had bad news for her. “While that little fantasy sounds amazing, I have to be the bearer of bad news.”
“What?” she asked.
“While I’d love to do it, I can never be Shaman,” he admitted.
“Why the hell not? Because you broke all the laws on the rez? Oddly, that’s even hotter.”
He snorted.
Blackhawk truly loved her for not seeing it in him. She looked at him like he was the sexiest Native ever—next to Callen.
“I’m not full Native. I’m a half-breed. The tribe only tolerated me because Timothy scared the shit out of them. Callen can be Shaman—not me.”
She didn’t care. “You can play half-breed witch doctor to this slutty squaw any day, handsome.”
He laughed.
What was he going to do with her?
“Thanks, baby. Now go get dressed. While it pains me to say it, we don’t have time for you to be tempting me with your girly goodies. We have to find Bonnie, before she kills again.”
She was well aware.
Elizabeth knew it wouldn’t be long.
Bonnie was a bitch like that.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Room Twenty-Six
When his cell rang, he reached for it. As he answered, and heard Ethan’s voice, he knew it had to be important. It was barely five in the morning.
“What’s up?” he asked sleepily. “Do we have another victim?” he asked. “Has Bonnie resurfaced?”
“We don’t have a body, but we do have confirmation on Bonnie. She’s resurfaced and is on the move. It’s time to catch a flight. You have twenty minutes to get out of the hotel and to your ride. The FBI jet takes off when we arrive.”
He got it.
This was go time.
“If you’re late, you’re on your own getting back to DC. Got it?”
He did.
“We’ll be there, Director. I’ll wake my partner up, and we’ll be at the parking lot ASAP.”
The line went dead.
A sleepy blonde lifted her head. “Dakota, what’s going on?” Sarah asked. “Is it Bonnie?”
She cuddled against him, resting her head on his chest. When her hand slid down beneath the sheet, he had a hard time focusing.
Truth be told, he couldn’t believe she’d talked her way into his bed again, but she had. He had every intention of not sleeping with her again, but clearly, he’d lost that battle.
Apparently, he was damn easy.
There was something about her that undid him, and confused the hell out of him at the same time. Dakota hated sleeping alone. Nightmares chased him.
With Sarah, he felt calm.
It pissed him off.
“Yeah, she’s on the move, and for the record, Sarah, this can’t happen again.”
“What?” she asked, staring up at him.
“You know what I mean.”
Sarah sat up.
When the sheet dropped, showing off her firm breasts, slim waist, and all the things that made him go stupid with lust, he knew he was screwed.
“This, Sarah. We’re partners. We can’t keep sleeping together. It’s going to cause a mess and someone is going to end up hurt.”
Yeah, like he had with Elizabeth.
“Dakota, we’re good together. No one is going to get hurt. You’re being irrational.”
No, he was being logical.
He could see that, to her, it didn’t matter.
Still…
She was so damn young.
He was…an idiot.
He tried a different route to get her to see that she couldn’t be his bed mate. There was a relationship dream in her heart, and he couldn’t give her that.
Dakota had learned a long time ago that he wasn’t the relationship type.
Look at his failures.
“Honey, you deserve better.”
She blinked.
Did he just…?
“So, that’s the line you’re going to use?” she asked. “Really? That’s the shitty brushoff that you’re going to hand me after rolling out of bed with me?”
Here was the part he hated.
Dakota hated this confrontation—especially with her. It was going to suck.
“Sarah.”
“Your dick was just in me an hour ago, and now, you’re finished? NOW?”
He got out of bed.
“It is what it is. We have to stop this, Sarah, and whether you like it or not, it doesn’t mean that I’m not being honest with you. This is going nowhere.”
And then he headed into the shower.
Sarah sat there.
She didn’t know what to do next. She’d tried everything, and he simply didn’t care.
At all.
Dakota Rakin had a heart of ice, put there by Elizabeth Blackhawk, and no one could defrost it.
No one.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Airport
Damascus
Somehow, they all got there in record time. Dakota followed in their rental, and it was silent the entire ride.
He didn’t speak—not because he didn’t want to, but because Sarah wouldn’t look at him.
She was pissed.
No, she was furious. He could tell by the energy coming from her.
Dakota couldn’t back down. He knew they had to find a way to get over the little fling he and Sarah were having. It was going to end badly, and he didn’t want her to be hurt.
He liked her.
Genuinely, he was attracted to her.
Women didn’t want US Marshals. They got shot at, killed doing arrests, and had a rough life. He wasn’t home much, and that was a marriage killer.
Women wanted stability.
They needed it.
Dakota had to find a way to get her to understand that. Sarah had her whole life ahead of her.
If she wouldn’t be so stubborn.
“I’ll grab your things,” Dakota stated, as he pulled his from the rental.
“No need. I can take care of me. You’re fine, Marshal Rakin.”
“Sarah, we’re about to board a flight to go hunt Bonnie. I don’t think this is the time to be pissed at me. We had sex, it was a good time, and that’s it.”
“A good time, huh? Is that what you think? How kind of you to label it how you see fit. Why should I have any say in anything concerning you, me, or my body?”
“Sarah.”
She wouldn’t look at him.
This was going to be bad.
“We had better hurry,” she offered. “You know, so we can
go catch Bonnie, and I can get a new partner.”
First, he was shocked.
Then, he was pissed.
Sarah’s words really stung.
“You’re going to ask for a reassignment?” he asked. Why was he shocked? He’d broken the rules, and he’d crossed one hell of a line with her.
“Yeah, I am, since you’re bad for me. I’m cutting my losses and moving on.”
Her words were a bitter pill to swallow, but then again, he imagined rolling over in bed after a night of sex and being told it wasn’t happening anymore hurt too.
Especially since he’d said it about twenty times over the last few months.
“Sarah.”
She walked away, following Elizabeth through the back entrance of the airport. The FBI used this hub, and they didn’t have to wait in line.
They had their own private TSA.
Ethan caught up to the man.
“What do we know?” Dakota asked, trying to focus.
Blackhawk showed him the videos as they walked toward the gate. Ethan kept him from falling off a curb and into a post as he read.
“She’s got balls to provoke us.”
“Yeah, well, she’s about to be neutered. When Elizabeth catches her, she’ll make her pay.”
He hoped Ethan was right.
“I need a favor,” Dakota said, as they checked their IDs and badges at the gate. While the TSA checked them against a federal list, Dakota figured he might as well grovel to a man who wouldn’t bat an eye when it came to punching him in the face.
Why not?
He was batting a big fat zero today anyway.
“What?”
“My boss...?”
“You want me to clear you working with us, huh?” he asked. “You’d like me to talk to Director Hunter?”
“Yeah, if possible. I’d appreciate it. It’ll sound better coming from you than me.”
“You’ve gotten on his bad side, huh?” Ethan asked, as the TSA agent checked his firearm serial number against the list.
“Yeah, he thinks I’m obsessed.”
“You are.”
“Gee, thanks. I’m glad everyone is more than happy to point that out. If you were in my shoes…”
He stopped him.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Wait, that’s it?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Where’s all the anger and aggression? Is it because you had that affair? Is that why you’re playing nice?” he asked. “Are you looking for penance, and she’s making you?”
Had Dakota not been in a bitchy mood post conversation with his partner, he likely wouldn’t have taken the shitty jab at the man, but he couldn’t help it.
The Blackhawks, all of them, were a pain in his ass—as of late.
Ethan moved fast—so fast—that Dakota never saw it coming.
He had him by the shirt and he stared into his green eyes. “I didn’t cheat on my wife. I would never do that, and if it’s any of your business, the only reason I was ‘playing nice’ was you hadn’t pissed me off—until now.”
Ethan knew everyone was staring.
TSA.
Local cops.
Their family.
Elizabeth approached the two men. She didn’t like what she saw.
“Um…boys…does someone want to explain?” she asked, hoping Ethan wasn’t losing it. If he was…
Yeah.
She would be heartbroken.
“He thinks I cheated on you and was pointing it out to me—rudely, may I add. I was just reminding him that I’m not a pussy when it comes to standing up for what I want, have, or worked hard for in life. That’s all.”
She got it.
If Dakota was going to poke the bear, he was going to get clawed. She couldn’t fault Ethan for it. Had someone antagonized her about the media’s shit fest, she’d do the same thing Ethan had done.
Defend herself.
Ethan stared into his eyes. “Be careful, Marshal. You don’t want to mess with me. I’m not talking as Ethan. I’m talking as Deputy Director of the FBI.”
He got it. From the glare Callen Whitefox was also giving him, he knew to tread lightly.
Ethan released him.
“I didn’t mean…,” Dakota began, “I saw the media, and you two weren’t in DC together. I assumed.”
Yeah, a lot of people did, and that was the damn problem. Ethan could only imagine how shitty it was for his wife to see and hear that BS day after day.
If it were him…
He would have gone on a rampage. Then again, he did have anger issues.
“I am setting the record straight. We don’t want assholes running around spreading bullshit about our marriage.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said.
Ethan let it go.
He didn’t care. He had his wife back, and that’s all that mattered in the long run.
Elizabeth took her husband’s hand in hers. “It’s okay. Don’t get mad.”
“I’m not. I’m just tired of everyone thinking I’d cheat on you. If anything, you should be cheating on me.”
“I do. You should see the sexy Natives in my dreams. There’s fifty of them, and we have one hell of an orgy. Callen’s there too. You should hit him next.”
“HEY!” Callen objected. “Violence is NOT the answer. Now, you can hit me anytime, my sexy little dominatrix,” he whispered.
Then she did what he asked.
“Yeah, that sucked,” he muttered, holding his ribs. “You’re mean.”
They both laughed.
As soon as Ethan did, they all felt better. Blackhawk wasn’t backsliding. He’d just been defending what was his.
She got that.
They were boarding the flight when Ethan’s cell began going off again. This time, it was Gabe calling.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, taking his seat beside his wife. “We’re on our way back now. We land in three hours.”
“Well, you have a problem. Put me on speaker.”
Ethan nudged his wife and did just that.
“Gabe, what’s going on?”
“We had a call come in. There’s another scene. This time, it’s an elderly lady.”
Shit!
Bonnie was moving fast.
She just landed in Dulles last night. It was under twelve hours before her next victim popped up. This proved she had been watching a bunch of people in advance. She’d never just pick someone to kill.
Like fate, she had her plan in stone.
Great.
This couldn’t be good.
“She made a mess of the woman. I have Metro PD holding the scene. I’ll send you the exact address as soon as I get off the phone with you.”
She told him about the list and the medallion shoved up Cannon Austin’s nose.
All the while, everyone listened to the interaction.
“Well, that fits the bill.”
Now he got it.
“Had I not seen the video,” Gabe admitted, “I wouldn’t have believed it was her. This is not her normal MO. Last time, they hid. This time, she’s in your face.”
Yeah, she felt the same.
“Did she decapitate the woman?”
“Yeah, but two metro cops puked on the scene. I’m thinking she did a little more than that. Bonnie and her new bff are causing a shit mess, and I’ve yet to get the pictures. No one wants to touch it until you get there.”
Elizabeth agreed.
“Did we have any cameras that caught her accomplice at either airport?” she asked.
“No. The only reason I knew to look was because I ran Cannon’s financials, and she stole his credit card. He paid for that trip back to DC. We’re keeping tabs on it. Do you want me to have that credit card cancelled so she’s trapped?”
Elizabeth thought about it.
“No. Let’s see if she uses it again. That might help us keep tabs on her. Can we track the new victim’s credit cards? She likely will steal on
e and do the same thing.”
“We can do that. I’ll check to see if she had any. Bonnie seems to be back with a vengeance.”
Elizabeth was aware.
Ethan spoke up, “She wanted you to track her. This is part of the game to her. She has your attention, and we’re racing after her. She’ll be ready.”
Yeah, she knew.
“Elizabeth, be careful. She’s not playing with a full deck, and you haven’t had your recertification after your injury,” Gabe stated.
She was aware.
“You’re not pulling me, are you? This is a bad time to see if I can kick some instructor’s ass. If you do, I’m going to come to your office and kick yours.”
For some reason, he didn’t doubt that.
Gabe wouldn’t risk that.
“No, but make sure you’re on your game. We don’t need Bonnie sneaking up on anyone on the team.”
She got it.
“Oh, Gabe, you said it fit the bill. Who was the victim this time?” she asked.
Gabe rustled some papers.
“A woman named Margaret Peace. She was a…”
Elizabeth cut him off.
“She was a teacher. Even worse, she was my third-grade nun.”
It looked like Bonnie had stooped to a new level of depravity.
And it didn’t look like it was going to get better any time soon.
Chapter Eight
Friday Morning
Washington DC.
W hen they arrived back East, they had company. It was as if someone had alerted the media that they were arriving at Dulles. As they exited the jet, and began moving through the terminal, there were comments, questions, and of course, cameras.
Flashes were going off all around them as if they were celebrities, and not cops.
It was irritating as hell, and there was no doubt that was the plan.
It looked like Bonnie wanted to throw a wrench in the works by slowing them down.
It figured.
Well, screw her.
Elizabeth could do her job with the jackals nipping at her heels. This was nothing.
She’d worked with worse distractions before, so this wasn’t going to do what Bonnie had planned.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 25
