The tears were coming.
Exiting out a door, she found herself in the kitchen. “I need a cab,” she said, trying to control her tears.
The waitress recognized her from the last Christmas party she’d hosted with Ethan. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll get you to one,” she offered.
She was escorted outside, and one was waiting for her. When the driver asked her where to, Elizabeth hopped in and gave the man the directions.
She couldn’t even think straight.
Marlee Whittaker’s words kept replaying in her mind—over and over again.
Silently, Elizabeth stared out the window at her worst nightmare.
This woman knew about Ethan’s tattoos. He kept them a secret. There was no way she knew unless…
And then the tears came.
Ethan Blackhawk had cheated on her.
He’d had an affair.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Across Town
Brownstone
Georgetown
They broke in and carried the body around the back to get the doctor inside.
Once there, they tied her to a chair, and began their fun.
“Doctor Michaels, we’ve been watching you,” Bonnie offered, smiling down at her.
“I’m sorry I have to kill you. I promise it’s going to suck, but when you’re dead, you’ll have peace. Until then, you can thank Elizabeth Blackhawk. She’s the reason you’re going to die.”
“Please don’t do this,” she begged, the blood running down her face from the gash to her head.
Her nose was broken, and her face was on fire.
“Sorry, love, but I have to do this. I need to collect a doctor, and I couldn’t get to the two that mattered. Tag, bitch, you’re it. I promise I won’t let Lizzie rape you until you’re dead. I’ll at least give you that.”
Doctor Michaels opened her mouth to scream.
But it never came out.
Bonnie knocked her out again.
Then she took her tongue so she couldn’t scream.
And the games began.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
The Event
Washington D.C.
She was gone way too long.
Ethan was confused as hell, and he was a little worried too. Elizabeth had left for champagne, but that was thirty minutes ago, and she’d yet to come back.
Yes, he had gotten trapped talking to the Secretary of State, but he wouldn’t have missed her had she come up to him.
Something had to happen.
Something was very wrong.
He could feel it in his gut.
As he moved through the throngs of people, he could hear them whispering, pointing, and talking about Elizabeth.
Jesus!
What the hell had gone on?
As he broke through the crowd, he found Marlee standing there with red wine stained down her dress.
Oh shit.
That was an Elizabeth signature move.
His heart stopped. What the hell had gone down?
When his wife lost control, she would dump and then laugh. Add to it that this was the woman the media said he was jumping, and the one who’d stripped down in his office.
Shit!
Shit!
Shit!
“Marlee, have you seen my wife?” he asked, specifically using the ‘W’ word.
“Yeah, Ethan! I saw her all right! That crazy bitch dumped wine down my dress!”
And here it began.
The bartender was rolling his eyes.
That alone gave Ethan the cue he needed.
“What did you do to her, Marlee?” he asked, immediately siding with his wife. Elizabeth, while a loose cannon, knew that she had to behave a certain way when playing his wife.
She wouldn’t do anything to hurt his career.
Blackhawk trusted her.
She practically shrieked. “Nothing! I’m surprised she didn’t attack me physically. Your boss will hear from mine!”
Ethan knew he was getting a call from the president. There was no doubt about it in his mind. That douchebag was just waiting to take Elizabeth to her knees.
Fuck!
This still didn’t tell him where Elizabeth had gone.
Pulling out his cell, he called his security guys to see if they had seen her.
Nothing.
Now it was time to panic.
It was hard not to think about Bonnie killing her. It was hard not to picture her being tortured. The mere idea of that happening made him sick.
As he was about to lose it when someone touched his arm.
He looked down at the brunette. “Yes?”
“Are you looking for Mrs. Blackhawk?” she asked.
“Yes! Have you seen her?”
“We put her in a cab out back. I think she said she was going home. She was crying, sir. That woman in white was making her life miserable. The bartender told us all about it. She started on your wife.”
His heart skipped.
He glanced over at Marlee.
Enough was enough.
He stormed at her.
“What did you do to her?” he asked once more. This time, he kept his voice nice and loud.
“I said I did nothing!”
“Like the time that you tried to jump me in my office by stripping? Then you got mad when I turned you down and humiliated you because you’re not half the woman my wife is?”
She gasped.
“Or was it the times you sat a little too close to let the media think I was having an affair—with you, some cheap knock off of a woman?” he said, giving it to her both barrels.
The people around them stared.
Ethan didn’t care.
No one screwed with his woman.
No one.
“You wanted in my pants so badly to have power, Marlee, and that was NEVER going to happen. I won’t stoop to fucking some two-bit trash bag who doesn’t deserve my time. I don’t care that you slept your way to your position, but you’re not going to defile my job, my wife, or her and my marriage. Am I clear?”
She’d turned as red as the wine on her white gown.
Marlee Whittaker snapped.
“I would have had you! You’re nothing but some lowlife Indian. I shouldn’t have wasted my time. You can keep your hag! Go for it!”
He let it go.
That one word proved what she’d said to his wife to make her leave the venue, unprotected in the back of a cab.
It broke his heart.
“It’s your boss who will be hearing from me, Marlee, and he’s going to see the video footage of my office. It’s been saved. If you don’t stop trying to sexually harass me, and harassing my wife, you’re going to lose your job!”
She was horrified.
Yes, he was bluffing, but he wanted to make sure she left crying just like she’d done to Elizabeth.
It was payback.
It was the least he could do.
When he turned his head to look around, her movement caught his eye. Ethan saw her intent coming, and he didn’t even try to avoid it.
It would be the nail in her coffin.
She slapped him.
And Jesus!
Did it hurt.
The Secretary of Defense, and ex-soldier, didn’t pull that damn slap.
It was exactly what he needed. She’d struck him, and he was going to own her job.
“Thank you. That’s your resignation papers. You’re done!” he said, turning on his heel and walking away.
It was time to find Elizabeth.
And fix this.
Hopefully, she’d believe him.
He wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. After all, he’d been the one who started this mess. He told her to get out of his sight, and he’d sent her away.
This was on him.
Not the woman who, twice now, tried to bury his marriage.
And may have just succeeded.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Fort Whitefox-Blackhawk
Security Gate
When she arrived at the house, Ivan was standing there, waiting for her. He must have seen her, so he waved the cab inside.
Inside, when he opened the door, he found a tear-streaked Elizabeth, barely holding it together.
It was so unlike her.
Well, before she and Ethan had their blow-up. After that, it was anyone’s guess what was going to happen.
“Mrs. Blackhawk, are you okay?” he asked, getting that panicky feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Where’s Ethan? Are you hurt?”
She sobbed more.
“Hey, what happened?” he asked, crouching beside the cab door.
It unnerved him to see her weep. She never let anyone see her like this. Elizabeth was a bitch on wheels, and they liked it that way.
“I need Callen. God! Can you pay the cab guy and get me to Callen?” she asked, holding out a fist full of bills.
Her hand was shaking.
“Okay, Elizabeth, I have this.”
Ivan handled it.
Once he paid, he offered her his hand. When she stood up, she wobbled in her heels. There was no way she’d make the walk all the way up the drive.
So, he scooped her up and carried her.
“I have you, Mrs. Blackhawk. I’ll get you to Callen,” he promised, as he carried a sobbing woman all the way up the hill.
“I need Callen,” she muttered, over and over again.
He understood.
“We’re almost there.”
Once inside the kitchen door, Ivan carried her into the main sanctuary of the house.
Inside, Callen and Chris were eating pizza and flipping through files. When they heard the door open in the kitchen, they both stood. When Ivan walked in, carrying Elizabeth, there was panic.
She was a mess.
Makeup was smeared.
Tears stained her cheeks.
Jesus!
What had happened?
“Angel! What is going on? Where’s Ethan?” he asked. She continued to sob, so Callen focused on the security guy. “What happened?”
“She showed up in a cab at the gate. Alone. Like this. I’ll go wait for the Deputy Director.”
Callen was worried.
He took her from Ivan and dismissed the man. “Thank you, Ivan. We have it from here.”
He patted her leg. “It’ll be okay, Mrs. Blackhawk. Whatever it is, you’re stronger than this. Don’t let them see you cry. You’re badass.”
She kept sobbing.
Chris pulled off her heels. “What happened?” he asked. He knew it had to be bad. Elizabeth was beyond distraught. She was having a breakdown.
“Marlee Whittaker,” she got out.
“Isn’t that the woman…?” Chris closed his mouth. This was going to be bad if Elizabeth was weeping over it.
He wasn’t shocked.
They all knew it would happen.
“What did she do?” Callen asked. “What did that skank do to you?”
She tried to get it out.
It was so damn hard. This was a punch to the solar plexus. This was what was going to break her because it was her biggest fear.
Now she was living it.
“She told me she and Ethan had slept together.”
Callen’s jaw ticked.
He wasn’t happy—not with the woman who did this—but with a brother who had better not have lied to them.
If he did…
He’d kick his ass. Blood or not. Elizabeth had been through enough shit the last two months.
She didn’t need this.
She didn’t deserve this.
“Where is he?” Callen asked.
She shrugged as she buried her face in his hair and neck. Clinging to him, she felt a little less afraid.
Callen had her.
“She said she was going to take you, too, Callen,” she whispered. “She wants to have my life.”
He was appalled.
“There is no fucking way that’s going to happen, angel. I’m not leaving you.”
She sobbed.
Oh, enough was enough.
Callen was going to handle this.
First, he had to handle his wife. Chris was right there, and he was a doctor.
“Can you help her?” Callen asked Chris. “Maybe talk her into a sedative? I wouldn’t say drug her, but she’s going to make herself sick.”
“I can help her.”
Great.
Normally, Callen wouldn’t want anyone seeing his wife naked, but he had some ass to kick.
His brother was going to bleed if what Elizabeth had told him was true.
“Come on, honey,” he offered, taking Elizabeth from Callen’s arms.
She was so light.
It reminded him of a broken doll.
“Punch him for me too,” Chris said, angrily. “If he cheated, break him for me.”
Callen would.
But first, he’d hurt him for Elizabeth and their family.
This had rattled his wife, and he didn’t blame her. When a man cheated on her, which they had before, she’d left them.
“I can’t stay married to him,” she whispered. “I don’t stay with cheaters.”
It was as if she’d read Callen’s mind.
Chris knew it was the grief speaking. He’d calm her down. She was stressed.
“Give him time to explain,” he offered.
Her hand went to her mouth.
“I think I’m going to puke,” she said, getting Chris to haul ass to the bathroom.
“I have you, honey. It’s okay.”
But he wasn’t sure it would be.
Ever again.
When Ethan finally got home, he was shit scared—not for himself, but for his wife and her personal safety.
If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. He’d let her leave his side, and that was a dangerous thing.
What was he thinking?
Shit!
This was a disaster.
On top of it all, Callen wasn’t answering his phone, and neither was Chris. The two men were sending his calls straight to voicemail, and no matter how much he begged, they wouldn’t talk to him.
Yeah, this was bad.
Then, he called Ivan.
He, too, didn’t reply.
Shit!
Ethan truly, desperately, and viciously wanted to kill Marlee Whittaker for this stunt. She’d turned his life upside down, likely destroying it.
As the limo pulled up, he jumped out and saw Elizabeth’s personal security waiting for him. Ivan didn’t look amused, and that spoke of what was to come.
“Is she safe?”
“That depends. Are we talking about her being safe from who? You?” Ivan stated. “You seem to be the one breaking her over and over again.”
It stopped Ethan in his tracks.
He turned.
“Pardon me?” he asked. The man’s comment had caught him off guard.
And with good reason.
Normally, security didn’t say shit. They were like flies on the wall. They saw, but they didn’t engage.
“It’s not my place,” he began, “but…”
Ethan cut him off.
“You’re right. It’s not your place. So why don’t you keep your mouth shut?”
Yeah, that didn’t sound like him.
At all.
Truthfully, he couldn’t.
Why?
Oh, maybe it was because he genuinely liked Elizabeth—barbs and all.
“Sir, I will, but first, you need to hear the truth. You’ve run her ass through the ringer enough, don’t you think? One of the reasons I love this job,” he offered, “is because Mrs. B keeps me on my toes. The other reason I love it is because when you have to protect someone with your life, it’s easier to do when you actually like them.”
Old Ethan would have punched him in the face.
&nbs
p; New Ethan, instead, listened.
There was wisdom in everything.
Plus, he could hear the windchimes. This was a teaching moment from his grandfather. He knew it.
“She’s tough, she sacrifices a lot, and she’s kind. She doesn’t deserve the ride of shame home in a cab alone—not for you, or anyone else. I heard about what happened,” he stated. “While we were in Salem, I saw the news too. You’re an asshole for putting her through this.”
Ethan sighed. “Why is it that everyone assumes that I couldn’t keep my dick in check for seven measly weeks?” he asked.
“You’re a man. We think with them. The odds are NOT in our favor.”
While that was true, there was one thing he was forgetting. Ethan had already been given the prize. He wouldn’t risk it.
“I didn’t do it.”
Ivan stared at him.
“Yeah, that’s not my business. She is, so let me just put this out there. If you make her cry again…”
That had his attention.
Did his wife’s security, someone he’d handpicked for her, just threaten him?
Seriously?
“You’ll what, Ivan?”
“I’ll stop being so damn nice.”
That hung between them.
What could he say?
Blackhawk knew there was a time and a place to do battle, and now was not either of those. He had to find his wife, and help her through this.
So, Ethan let it go.
He got it.
The man had a personal attachment to Elizabeth, and that was fine by him. It meant he’d put himself in front of her to save her if the shit ever went down.
“For the record, I didn’t cheat on my wife. I’m tired of saying that to every single person on this freaking planet.”
He shrugged. “Don’t tell me, tell her that. Everyone else doesn’t matter. She should be the one who does. That’s my point in all of this.”
Well, that had been the plan.
Ethan had to get to her.
Before he could even get past Ivan, they had company. Callen exited the house, and Ivan took that as his sign to escape. The look on Callen’s face said it all.
The big man wasn’t happy.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 37
