Let them talk.
He didn’t care.
“This is nice,” she admitted when his warm palm was placed on the small of her back.
Yes, it was.
Ethan was in Heaven.
Together, as one, they forgot about Bonnie, the killings, and all the BS going on around them.
For that one moment in time, they were happy again, and it was like it once was.
“When this case is over, want to head back to Salem?” he asked, spinning her out of his body. He punctuated the question with bringing her to a stop.
Elizabeth was surprised by his question and the fast dance move.
“What about work?” she asked, as he brought her back into the protective frame of his body.
Ethan was always light on his feet, and when she was in his arms, it was pretty amazing.
“Well, technically, I still have some vacation time coming, and I was thinking we could head back there. Security can keep us quarantined, and you can help me.”
She was confused.
“Help you what?”
“Get you to fall back in love with me.”
She didn’t speak.
He stared into her eyes.
“I see the demons, Elizabeth. I know how much I damaged us. I know that telling you to get away from me was the biggest mistake I’ll ever make in my life. I just want to fix it.”
She placed her cheek against his.
Ethan was doing that.
This helped.
“Tonight is a good start. Give me time, Ethan. Losing you, being cast aside…it broke something in me. I need time to regain my balance. This case is making it hard to focus on myself. I’m thinking about Bonnie.”
He was aware.
“You still love me, right?” he asked hesitantly. While he was afraid of the answer, he had to know.
Elizabeth stared into his blue-black eyes. “Ethan Jackson Blackhawk! Of course I love you!”
He relaxed marginally.
“But?”
“But nothing. I’m trying to put myself back together again. Before you, Ethan, I didn’t need love. I’d had a decent relationship, and he broke me too.”
He knew she was talking about Chris.
“Then I fell into one with Dakota, and he wanted to cage me. He wanted something I couldn’t give him.”
“Marriage?”
She nodded as the song changed. When he didn’t let her leave the dance floor, she figured he wanted to continue.
“Then?” he asked.
“Ray, my dad’s death, and you.”
“Did I damn you the day I entered your life?” he asked. “Did I make it hell?”
She brought her mouth to his in the center of the dance floor. She softly kissed him, even as they all stared.
Ethan held on, holding her firmly to his body. With her trapped, he deepened the kiss, and she didn’t stop him.
Slowly, they pulled apart.
“Did I?” he asked. “Was that my consolation prize?”
She wiped the red lipstick from his bottom lip. “You healed me. I stopped thinking only about me, and I became part of something amazing.”
“And?”
“I was happy. I believed nothing could break us, and I was right. I only didn’t realize we’d break from the inside out.”
Ethan let her talk.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m so sorry, Ethan,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
He stopped her. “Don’t. You’ve shed enough tears, my love. You committed one little crime, and I know why you did it.”
“You do?”
“You were afraid of me.”
She didn’t lie.
“Yes, I was. You’ve had moments where I’ve had to hold my breath. I’ve had to wait for the storm to pass, and I was afraid to be honest.”
“That’s not good for a relationship,” he admitted.
She touched his spiffy bow tie.
“I know.”
“Do you need time away from me?” he asked. “Is that what you’re asking?”
She had to know. “Would you give it to me?”
“No.”
She didn’t speak.
“I let you go, and if I let you go again, I’ll die inside. I have to be with you or I can’t be me. There is no Ethan without Elizabeth and Callen. I’ve learned a valuable lesson.”
“What?”
“I’m madly in love with my wife, and I will be, but I can’t take her for granted. All of this…it means nothing.”
As if to prove it, he stopped dancing. He tapped a Senator on his shoulder.
“I love my wife.”
He laughed.
Elizabeth was horrified.
“Ethan!”
He didn’t stop there. When the waitress walked between them, he stopped her. “She’s the mother of my children, and I don’t deserve her.”
She couldn’t shut him up.
“Ethan! Jesus!”
“I’m going to tell everyone, Elizabeth. Until you believe it, I’m going to say it over and over again. You’re my wife, my heart, and my soul. I was a fool. Forgive me.”
He went to his knee in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone around them stared curiously.
“Ethan, get your ass up or I’m going to make you cry like a girl,” she threatened.
He grinned.
“Be mine? When this is over, let’s go on our honeymoon. We missed it. We were both shot, and it sucked. Let me redo our relationship starting from that fifth day. Let me show you that you’ve always been the one.”
She stared down at him.
“You’re not going to stop, are you?”
“Loving you? No.”
She began laughing. “You’re bat shit insane, Ethan Blackhawk.”
“And?”
“I’ll do it. Let’s go somewhere clothing optional. Callen too!”
He grinned wickedly. “Now, that’s my girl!”
He got back up and continued dancing as if nothing had even happened.
“Are you insane?”
“Yes, for you.”
She snorted as he dipped her low and kissed her.
“You’re my girl. Don’t forget it.”
They continued dancing, and while she’d laugh and communicate with him, she wasn’t herself.
“Did I embarrass you? Are you upset?”
“What?”
“You checked out. What’s going on?”
“I smelled the same perfume that was in that construction house across from Sister Margaret. It made me think about Bonnie.”
“What about her?”
She shook her head. “This is not the place. I’m sorry I checked out. I’m just inundated.”
That he got.
“Baby, how many times did I go on and on about work with you? Talk to me. I’m not only your husband, but I’m your profiler. I’m here to talk you through it. Use me.”
He had a point.
Besides, this was them. They were cops to the core when they met, and they were still battling the evil of the world.
The criminals.
The Bonnies.
“That list has me scared shitless. I can’t stop thinking about it!”
Him too.
He was worried.
“Doctor is next, and that could mean anyone,” she offered. “Any one of a huge number of doctors we both know.”
He knew what she was thinking.
How could she not?
Elizabeth expected this to hit close to home.
“You suspect Chris or Tony are in her crosshairs, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I do. Cannon might not have been a direct hit at me, but it was meant to send me a signal. Anyone I love is in danger of being hurt. Because they are part of my life, she’s going to make them pay.”
He dipped her and then lifted her back into his arms.
“We can increase security.”
“There has to be a pattern. Sexy profiler, wha
t are we missing?”
“I don’t know. All I know is Cannon was a dick, and the nun was a nice lady,” Ethan offered. “Tammy Beard was devastated.”
Elizabeth laughed. “She was a nice lady? By who’s account?”
He was confused.
“Tammy Beard.”
She laughed even more. “Margaret was a horrible woman, who abused kids with a ruler. She once yanked my hair so hard she pulled a clump out and made my scalp bleed. My mother showed up and nearly tore her into pieces.”
He was surprised.
“Really?”
“Yeah, she was more the Devil’s handmaiden than married to God.”
That was interesting…
He went with his only rational thought.
“Maybe she mellowed. Time changes people.”
She went with that. There was no love lost for the first two victims, and that screwed with her.
She was supposed to care.
Was this part of Bonnie’s plan? Was this her way of making her feel guilty?
Elizabeth hated when criminals tried to mess with her mind. It always sucked.
“What are you thinking now?” he asked.
“I wish I had a profiler who could tell me their connection,” she said.
He laughed.
“Point made. Give me until tomorrow. I’ll work on it, but right now, I want to romance my wife.”
She could put it aside.
“Go right ahead. Romance me. I’m ready to be swept off my feet.”
“I want to show you how much I love you.”
She was ready.
It had been weeks.
“Do your worst, Mr. Blackhawk. I’m ready for you.”
He gave her the grin, and she let her guard back down.
Finally, she was safe.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
FBI
Hoover Building
He was beat and staring at files was NOT going to help him get Bonnie. Dakota was getting pissy, and that was his sign that it was time to call it a day.
Truth be told, he hadn’t slept much the previous night. He and Sarah had spent way too much of it rolling around—naked.
Not that it was a bad thing.
It was just ill-timed.
Glancing over at his partner, he figured he should break the ice.
“Want to grab dinner?” he asked. “I know it’s late, but we haven’t stopped doing research for hours.”
She ignored him.
“Sarah. Come on. Be mature. Adults don’t ignore each other.”
She lifted her head.
“Know what adults also don’t do? They don’t sleep with people, multiple times, and then tell them they’ve made a mistake every single time. Adults don’t intentionally hurt someone because they’re an asshole.”
He got it.
She was pissed.
“We have to work together. Bonnie isn’t screwing around.”
“I’m not either. I’m not messing around, Marshal Rakin. I’ve found something.”
He waited.
When she didn’t talk, he asked.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What did you find?”
Sarah packed up her things and grabbed her tablet. “You’ll find out tomorrow when I talk to Elizabeth. You’re not my problem. I’m going to help the FBI find Bonnie, and I’m going to find my way off this dysfunctional rollercoaster.”
He was shocked.
“I’m not dysfunctional!”
She didn’t look at him.
“Okay, I put the fun in dysfunctional!”
She headed out of the conference room, slamming the door behind her.
Clearly, she wasn’t amused.
And Sarah was right.
She deserved better.
And that wasn’t him.
That’s why he had to let her go.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Party
The whole time they danced and schmoozed, Elizabeth had the feeling they were being watched. She didn’t know who was gawking, but maybe it was just her imagination.
While working a case, she was always paranoid as hell. She’d already smelled Bonnie’s perfume, so why not really go over the edge and be insane?
“You look distracted,” Ethan offered, leaving a kiss across her bare shoulder. “And sexy. Are you wearing anything under that dress?” he asked, running his hand across her derrière.
“Mr. Blackhawk! Of course I’m wearing britches. What kind of woman would I be if I was naked?”
“My woman,” he admitted, sliding his hand into the back of her hair to tug her mouth to his for a kiss.
It was hot.
Heated.
Delicious.
She never wanted it to end, but now she was overheating, and she needed to get a drink to calm down. If not, Ethan Blackhawk was going to be molested in a closet somewhere.
He was pushing his luck.
“Want more champagne?” Elizabeth asked her husband, as she freed herself from his mouth.
He glanced over at her, a sparkle in his eyes. “Are you trying to get me drunk, Mrs. Blackhawk?” he asked. “If you are, keep trying. I’m intrigued by you, that plot, and an empty limo to ourselves.”
Ethan could see her on the floor beneath him screaming his name.
It made him hard.
She laughed, and her melodious southern-twanged laughter slid across his body like silk.
It made him horny.
And crazy about her.
“Maybe that’s my plan, but this is our last glass. We have to work in the morning, and I need to be able to focus.”
“If you insist, my love.”
She gave him a kiss and headed off across the ballroom.
Ethan kept his eyes on her. It was first the sway of her ass, and then the black ink tattoo of his name across her back that had his attention.
How could his wife think he’d ever stray?
Ethan had the perfect life.
And he was going to ensure it remained that way.
At the bar, she ordered two glasses of champagne and then pulled some money from her cleavage to tip the bartender.
“Classy,” someone said from beside her.
When Elizabeth turned, she was face to face with a woman she didn’t want to ever see in her life. She’d seen enough of her on the media reports.
“Hello, Marlee.”
“You can call me Miss Whittaker,” she stated. “You know, since first names are more friendly, and we aren’t.”
Elizabeth didn’t get why this woman hated her, but she could see it in her eyes.
She was a viper.
She was aiming for Elizabeth, and all she could think was not to embarrass Ethan at this function.
He deserved the best.
Not a mess.
“Fine with me. I’m not looking for friends,” she stated.
Elizabeth refused to turn her back on her. She’d likely strike. In those heels, she couldn’t put up a fight.
She wouldn’t make a scene.
“What do you want, Miss Whittaker?” she asked, playing along as the woman brushed her long red hair back.
“I want your husband, and I’m going to get him.”
She laughed, but at the same time, her heart was thundering in her chest. This was her fear.
This younger, prettier, more important woman.
“Well, he’s taken.”
“He wasn’t saying that when he was fucking me before you reentered the scene.”
Her heart skipped.
“What?”
“Oh, didn’t dear sweet Ethan tell you? We were a hot and heavy thing. We had sex in his office. Ever done that?”
She didn’t speak.
Normally, she’d kick anyone’s ass who even tried to hurt her, but she couldn’t muster it.
Why?
Deep down, she believed he’d been with her. Why wouldn’t he? She was beautiful and powerful in
DC.
“I love his tattoos. His abs are spectacular. I’ve never seen an eight-pack. I’ve found myself fond of Native men. Now I see why you have two. I mean, had two. Ethan said he was going to leave DC, but I see he’s staying. I guess our little thing is far from over.”
Elizabeth couldn’t breathe.
There was that claustrophobic feeling coming over her. She wanted to run, but where?
“And just because you’ve been a pain in my ass, keeping me from what I want, I’m taking the spare one too. I bet that will be one hell of a threesome. I’ll have your life.”
She wanted to be sick.
Elizabeth balled her fists.
Then she looked around.
She had to keep her composure. This was Ethan’s career. If she blew up, she’d ruin his life.
Elizabeth took a deep breath.
“He is a fine man, don’t you think?” she asked, pointing at him across the room. Ethan was talking to someone.
Elizabeth saw her handsome husband, and her heart was broken inside.
She had to…
She needed to…
Elizabeth couldn’t breathe.
“I’ve changed my mind. Can I have a glass of red wine?” she asked the bartender, her voice dry and parched.
He poured her one.
“Yeah, drink up, Mommy Dearest. You’re done. He’s sick of haggy old housewife with stretch marks from all those babies. He told me my body kicks your body’s ass any day. He worshiped me. When’s the last time you got that?”
Elizabeth picked up the drink and took a sip. It was bitter on her tongue.
It was like swallowing vinegar.
“Well?” Marlee asked, smiling at her.
Without warning, Elizabeth dumped the blood red wine down the front of Marlee Whittaker’s white gown.
It stained it in a puddle of red.
“Oh, shit,” she said, somehow mustering the strength to fight back. “Jesus! I’m such a klutz,” she drawled. “You better wash that out. It looks like a scarlet letter—an S, for slut.”
With that, Elizabeth put the glass down, and strolled past the patrons there with their dates.
The whispers began.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 36
