They watched.
When there was a knock on her window, they both jumped as the back door slid open.
It was Harmony.
“What the hell?” she asked. “I could have shot you in the ass!”
“I live about three blocks from here,” she said, checking her sidearm.
“Uh, how did you find us?” she asked.
“You’re in a federal vehicle. GPS. I hacked into your protection details server and…”
Elizabeth glanced over at Callen and stopped her. She didn’t want to know. Then Ivan would be pissed when she didn’t rat out her friend.
“Next time, I’ll steal one,” Callen joked.
“You can’t do this alone,” she said. “Fill me in.”
Elizabeth told her.
“He’s the killer?”
“Yeah, he is.”
“I’ll be bait.”
“What?” she asked. “Are you insane?”
“Well, you can’t go,” she stated. “You interviewed him, right?” she asked.
Shit.
“You need him to come after someone to get him in to interrogate him. He’s never seen me.”
She had a point.
“Harmony, he’s making a death strike to the back of the head.”
“So, I don’t give him my back. You head around to the other street. That alley has an entrance on the other side. Like I said, I live around here. Callen, you come in the opposite direction. We have him covered.”
She wanted Carson.
It was trust this woman, or…
“Okay, you’re in.”
She grinned.
“I’ll loop around and head into the clinic by the back entrance. I saw your security guy go in. Have him open the back door for me. Then I’ll have him shut the lights off. It’ll make it dark, and he’ll think it’s closed for the night.”
“Okay. I just don’t know why this place.”
Harmony pulled a paper from her vest.
“I printed this out. O’Banion sees a Doctor Beth Hardwick there.”
Bingo.
There it was.
“She’s a brunette like me. I’m going to fit in just fine,” she said, slipping out of the ride and heading out.
Elizabeth sent Heath a text.
They watched Harmony get into the back of the building before it was time to move.
“Callen, drive,” she said, as they watched to make sure Carson hadn’t moved. He was tucked into the alley for his next victim.
He pulled out, and they drove around the block.
They ditched the van.
“I’ll go through, you go around,” she stated, pulling out her phone so she’d have some light.
“Be safe!” he ordered.
Callen gave his wife a kiss, and he backtracked around.
Oh, she’d be fine. It was time to catch the small fish, and then see who was baiting the hook.
They were about to catch a killer.
And his boss...
He was a dead man.
Chapter Eighteen
T o say she wasn’t nervous would be one hell of a lie. Harmony knew what was on the line, but she was more than willing to make sure that another woman was safe when she walked down the street.
This was her thing.
Protect and serve.
Now it was time to do her job once again. This was just like any other operation. It was about timing, being observant, and doing her job.
So, Heath shut off the clinic lights, and she began the walk down the sidewalk. She pretended to be on her phone, ignoring everything around her.
In that moment, she was Doctor Beth Hardwick, and she was talking to her mother.
“Yeah, Mom, I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you,” she said, as she was approaching the alley.
Before it, she dropped her phone and bent to pick it up. When she did, she saw his shoes in the alley. He was close. She could almost see him nervously moving from foot to foot.
A few more steps.
She tucked her phone away and got ready to do the dance.
As she reached the mouth of the alley, she was ready for it. He reached out, grabbed her arm, and she mock-screeched as he pulled her into the alley.
Only, when he tried to spin her to get to her back, she didn’t give him the leverage. She punched him in the gut, and he let go.
He fought like a crazy person.
He lunged for her, slamming Harmony off the wall, off the dumpster, and then back off the wall again. The only thing she hadn’t seen coming was his rage.
This fucker was one pissed off scumbag.
She fought and could hear footsteps.
When he brought up the Bowie knife, ready to eviscerate her, there was that one single gunshot.
The knife went flying as he screamed in pain.
Harmony gave him a shot to the neck, and he went to the ground a bloody mess.
Elizabeth slid to a stop.
“Good shot, but you missed his head,” Harmony said, catching her breath. She was banged up.
Her lip was cut.
She had a big-ass abrasion from where her face hit the brick and she’d left some skin behind.
“I need him for questioning. I hope that wasn’t a kill shot,” she said, pointing at the downed man.
“Nah, he’s out cold.”
Callen came running in the alley.
“Jesus! Are you both okay?”
The women didn’t get to answer. Heath came barreling into the alley, too, and he asked the same damn question.
It made them laugh.
“We’re good, Heath. Can you restrain him?”
“Did he put his hands on you, Mrs. B? You know I have to hurt him if he touched you.”
She patted him on the arm.
“No, but look what he did to Harmony.”
Heath kicked him in the balls.
They all cringed.
“My bad. My foot slipped.”
Yeah, well, she needed him alive. She didn’t give a shit if he couldn't reproduce in his future. That might be for the best.
“Take him in, Heath. I want him in an interrogation room. The fun…it’s about to begin.”
Elizabeth dropped her arm over Harmony’s shoulders as Callen followed them out.
“And to think, everyone calls me reckless,” she said, busting the woman’s ass. “I do believe there is a new queen in town. I’ll get you a crown.”
Harmony grinned.
“I do like crowns.”
Callen rolled his eyes.
God help the universe.
There were two badasses on duty.
DC would never be the same again.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Hoover Building
Ten P.M
Sunday Night
When they brought him in, Ethan and Ivan were waiting for them in the lobby.
In fact, the whole team was there.
A detective.
Two agents.
And a partridge in a freaking pear tree.
The second she walked in, and without a speck of blood on her, the money began exchanging hands.
Why was she not surprised?
“Seriously? Are you all batshit insane? Who bets on shit like that? Someone did get hurt,” she said, pointing at the off-duty marshal.
When they glanced over at Harmony, she began laughing at the looks of concern.
“You have them terrorized. I need to do that. The men in my building are a pain in the ass.”
Before Elizabeth could say anything, Detective Chase was heading their way.
“I’ll get you cleaned up,” he said, wanting to help her. There was blood on her shirt, and she was pretty scraped up.
“I’m good,” Harmony said, trying not to blush. The man was adorable, and it was hard not to feel overheated. She was thinking about the flowers and his note.
Oh, she wanted to call him then and there, but duty called. She had to be a ma
rshal.
Elizabeth saw the blush.
“Take her,” Elizabeth said. “Get her patched up, and get her something to eat.”
Harmony glared at her.
“What are you doing?” she hissed under her breath. “I’m perfectly fine!”
Oh, she was playing Cupid.
“Let the man clean you up,” she said. “NOW. Be a girl for a change,” she whispered back.
Harmony rolled her eyes but headed past security with the detective anyway.
“Well, Tex, you caught your man. How did it go down?” Ethan asked, giving her a kiss.
It was damn nice to see her unbruised, un-battered, or unhurt.
She gave him all of the details, from the second Carson exited the apartment building to the minute Harmony kicked his ass in the alley.
Ivan looked ill.
“Jesus! Heath wasn’t supposed to let you out of his sight! He knows better! You’re a menace! He needs to be on you and on guard twenty-four-seven!”
She pointed at him.
“He did well. Cut him a break. Besides, you have lipstick on your neck, and I’m sure you weren’t testing the color to see which was best for you.”
He growled.
“I’m good. I shot Carson in the alley, so have someone look at his hand. Make sure he’s locked down. Callen, help him contain the cuckoo. I’ll grab my files and I’ll be there in a few.”
Oh, her security would ensure the man couldn’t do anything to hurt her.
Ivan headed off.
“I didn’t see this one coming,” Ethan offered. “This was a surprise.”
Yeah, she was aware.
This part was surprising, but she was putting mental bets on who was behind this. Honestly, she had it almost figured out. Once more, it looked like her gut was winning.
“What did you find out?” she asked, following him to his and Gabe’s personal elevator.
“I can’t find the leak in the US Marshals. I thought maybe it was the guy on stakeout duty at night, or during the day, but nothing.”
She said nothing.
Elizabeth suspected he was chasing his tail.
After all, she’d been.
When the elevator doors closed, and they only moved a floor, he hit the stop button and was all over her. Ethan’s mouth found hers, and they shared one hell of a kiss. It involved him pressing her to the wall, his hands grabbing her ass, and his mouth…
He let that speak for him.
She moaned.
When Elizabeth pulled away, she was breathing heavily.
“What was that for?” she asked, “And, there are cameras,” she reminded him.
“That was because I missed you, and seeing you come back from battle like some Goddess gets me all hot and bothered. As for the cameras, there aren’t any in here. Gabe and I are the only ones with access. They don’t film in here. We discuss top-secret things in this elevator.”
She lifted a brow.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Home.”
That was all she needed to hear.
She pushed him against the wall, and he looked shocked and then hornier than he was a minute ago.
“Well, then, Mr. Director, let’s have some fun.”
Elizabeth was on him so fast, he didn’t have time to react. Ethan only had time to brace himself for the assault.
The delicious.
Wanted.
Assault.
“Jesus,” he muttered when she dropped to her knees and began frantically pulling at his pants.
“We don’t have much time,” she stated.
Oh, he was down with a quickie.
When she got him from his pants, and into her mouth, he moaned in absolute bliss.
His wife’s touch always gave him this peace, and a blowjob…yeah, it had been a shitty day. It was looking vastly better at that point.
The only sound in the elevator was the wet sucking of her mouth on his dick.
He moaned.
“Baby, I need more,” he said, yanking her up. “While I love you blowing me, I want to be in you. I want to find my way home.”
Her heart skipped.
“You can have anything and everything.”
Oh, he didn’t mind cumming down her throat, but he wanted his scent on her.
She smelled like Callen, and he knew his brother had some fun. Now he wanted that same fun.
When he had her on her feet, he flicked open her pants. Someone was going to be bottomless.
Elizabeth was so turned on that her ‘by the rules’ husband wanted sex in the FBI elevator, that she’d crawl over glass for this moment.
She pushed her cargo pants off, and he was on her. His fingers found their way into her panties, and then into her body.
She moaned and nearly collapsed when his fingers stroked her.
“There’s my girl,” he whispered. “My sexy, warrior girl.”
“Ethan, hurry,” she begged.
His dick was out, and he was ready for one hell of a quick ride. Without warning, he ripped off her panties.
“I’ll hold these for you,” he said, shoving them into his suit pocket.
She moaned again when he rubbed his rock-hard erection against her.
“I want you.”
“Then have me,” he whispered.
He boosted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. His gun and badge fell with his pants to the floor as he pressed her to the wall of the elevator.
Then he drove himself into her.
His mouth swallowed her shout of pleasure at the rough invasion.
Then he took her.
There.
Against the wall.
In the elevator.
Ethan pummeled her body, burying himself so deeply in her that they became one. His balls tightened, as her gaps of pleasure filled the small space.
“I could fuck you all day,” he muttered, as her hands tangled in his hair, and she begged for more.
“Ethan, my love,” she whispered.
He didn’t quit.
God!
He’d been so worried about her.
If he didn’t burn this off, he’d die.
As he worked his hips, Elizabeth trapped against the wall, he never wanted that feeling to end.
He could feel her shake as his fingers dug into her legs as he held her pinned and his captive.
“Wait until we go to Vegas,” he whispered in her ear. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I’m going to do things that would make Callen blush.”
She came.
His words were enough to shove her off the edge. Her whole body broke apart as she pictured her straight-laced husband being wicked and wild.
He drove into her a few more times, but it was when she whispered in his ear all the filthy things he only fantasized about that he lost it.
Ethan couldn't fight it anymore.
He came too.
How he didn’t drop her was a miracle.
Together, they rested their heads against each other as they fought for their breaths.
“I love you,” Ethan stated.
She held onto him.
“I love you too. Right now, you’re my favorite. You just boned the babe in an FBI elevator. You get sexy bonus points for that.”
He snorted.
“I missed you. What can I say? Plus, it’ll make Callen jealous that I conquered this on the bucket list.”
She tucked his hair behind his ears.
“You don’t have to conquer anything. You’re entitled to being alone with your wife.”
He lowered her to her feet and pulled his pants back up. After he tucked himself away, he helped her get presentable. When he finished, he fixed her hair, and then gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
“I’m a lucky man,” he said.
Tears filled her eyes.
Here was the man she married all those years ago. He was back, and he was better than ever.
“Want to help me inte
rrogate a killer?” she asked.
He blinked.
“Me? Not Callen?”
She touched his cheek.
“You let him think he’s my favorite because his heart needed it. He won’t mind. Tag, Profiler. You’re it.”
He grinned wickedly. It was these little moments that he missed. Ethan craved them.
“I’m in. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
She was glad.
It was going to be…interesting.
“I’m going to check on the team. I’ll meet you there,” she said, as he hit the button on the elevator. When it opened on the floor with the interrogation rooms, she blew him a kiss.
“For the record, Ethan?”
“Yes?” he asked.
“I’m a damn lucky girl. Right now, I couldn’t love you more.”
She made a heart shape with her fingers as the door closed. He stood there for a few seconds in the hall until Callen’s laughter broke the silence.
“The elevator, huh?”
He smiled.
“Yeah, our bed, huh? And with candles,” he said, picking some red wax off his brother’s ear.
“Holy shit! That’s been there all-night?”
Ethan laughed like an idiot.
“Let’s go get Carson ready.”
“She’s going to tear him apart,” Callen stated. “She’s going to dig into him until he weeps like a baby and tells her who trained him to be this sicko.”
“I think she already knows.”
Callen glanced over.
“Really?”
“Yeah, she’s ready for what’s coming. I can feel it.”
Callen hoped so.
This case…it was one big mess from the start.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Magnus
Residence
When she heard the doorknob rattling, she assumed it was Tony coming home from work. She’d just texted him, asking him when he was coming, and he’d yet to return her message. Jaxon was getting tired, and she wanted to wait up for him, but she didn’t know how much longer she could wait.
When she heard the door, she got excited.
Her man was home, and she needed to be cuddled and soothed. It had been a rough case.
She waddled her way to the door and shut off the alarm system. Then Jaxon unlocked the door and pulled it open, expecting to see Tony.
Dead are Forgotten Page 58
