The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1))

by Kelley, Morgan

  “Wow, Garlic on our…second date,” Elizabeth laughed, cutting the bread into pieces and slathering it with butter and minced garlic. Being in the kitchen with him was very relaxing. She tried not to think about what he just said, instead focusing on just being near him.

  “We’ll both be eating it, so no worries,” he started tearing the basil. “So, I’m going to ask you some questions, but you can’t freak out,” Ethan said, opening the bottle of red wine. He added some to the crushed tomatoes and then filled their two glasses.

  “Ethan, I generally don’t freak out. For the record, that would be your area,” she answered grinning. “I’m more the ‘punch someone out’ kind of person. So go ahead and ask your questions, just duck if I start swinging,” Elizabeth laughed.

  He agreed to that, and he wouldn’t change a thing about her. “Do you ever see yourself having kids?” These were important questions to know the answer to when you planned on asking a woman to marry you. He’d never had this conversation before with anyone. This was new territory for him. Ethan watched to see if she would hesitate, and when she didn’t he relaxed.

  “Yes,” she replied, watching him roll up the cuffs on his sleeves. Elizabeth couldn’t help but find it sexy, but then again everything about him was alluring. “You?”

  “Until recently, I didn’t think I wanted kids, but the last few days, I suddenly do.” He waited to see if she panicked, and true to her word, Elizabeth looked calm as she sipped her wine. “How many?” he asked, stirring the sauce, studying her.

  “I don’t know. I would like maybe three or four, but definitely more than one. I was an only child for many years, and it wasn’t fun.” Elizabeth thought back to the yard full of boys running wild. A bunch of little Blackhawk men seemed very appealing. “If you were going to have kids, how many would you want, Ethan?” she asked.

  “I’d like a brood,” he said, adding some dry herbs to the sauce.

  “A brood? How many would that be?” she laughed.

  “I don’t have a number in my head. But, let’s just say I want to give Gabe Rothschild a run for his money in the children department,” he winked, and then went serious. The tension started building in his body.

  Elizabeth saw the change, and understood. “I think you’ll make a great dad.” Watching his face, she suspected one reason he didn’t have a personal life was his fear he’d end up like his father, deserting his wife and kids.

  “You think so?” Hope sprung to life that she believed in him, and would see no validity in his secret fear.

  “I know so. I can tell just by watching you, Ethan. You’re sweet, gentle, and very protective,” she smiled. “God help the boys that try to date your daughters though. I’d pay money to watch that go down.”

  He grinned wickedly. “If I ever have daughters, they’re going to the convent at sixteen. Boys are bad. I was one of those teens once, and I know exactly what they think about all day long.” Part of him wondered if they had girls if they’d be just like Elizabeth.

  “You do, huh?”

  “Yeah, the same thing I think about now,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “except I have more toys, and a lot more practice getting what I want. One day remind me to tell you about the tree house I had growing up.”

  “A tree house?”

  “Yes. It was the best damn thing ever,” Ethan joked, laughing and winking salaciously at her.

  Elizabeth laughed, offering up a kiss. She had no doubt that he was coming out of that professional life cocoon, and before long would be ready to commit.

  She just hoped it was to her.

  Blackhawk dropped the pasta in the water and watched it sink. Ethan couldn’t wait any longer. Them being there together just felt right. “Can you watch the pasta and stir it occasionally? I need to grab something,” he stated, walking away.

  Elizabeth got nervous as she thought she upset him. He wasn’t really big on talking about his memories. There was this wall built around him when it came to his past. She hoped he didn’t start to hide behind it again.

  Stirring the pasta, she took a sip of wine and waited for him to come back. It was hard to not think about everything he had just said to her and wonder where it was heading.

  In his room, Blackhawk opened his safe and took a box out of the back. Inside he pulled out a little velvet bag, and a simple gold ring slid out. It had some pretty stones on the top and it made him remember the woman who wore it previously. He slid it into his pocket and walked back out to find her. It was now or never, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  When he found her on her tip toes, in the tiny little shorts and tank top, trying to get down the dishes from the top shelf, his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to come home to this every night until he was old. It was the last thing he wanted to remember before he died, too.

  “Oh, you’re back!” Elizabeth couldn’t help but notice that from the look on his face, a freak out was coming. He looked like a nervous wreck. “What’s wrong?” she asked, going over to him, full of concern. “Why are you so nervous all the sudden, Ethan? Did I do something?”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Elizabeth felt sick. “What did I do?”

  “You made me fall in love with you.”

  She just stared at him, unsure where he was going with it.

  “Elizabeth,” he paused and prepared for the biggest moment of his life. “I know we’ve only been together for a few days, but I’ve known you're the one since I saw you in my dreams. I knew for sure when you punched my partner for slapping me. I had no doubt when you bought the neighbor cupcakes. I knew when you made me french toast in your kitchen on day two.” He took a deep breath.

  “I wanted to be with you forever when I found you in my kitchen wearing my t-shirt and making me breakfast. Nothing has ever been clearer to me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you see it now. I want to marry you, have a family with you, and spend the rest of my life loving you.” Ethan dropped to his knee, pulling out the ring. “It’s my mom’s. It means a lot to me, because I don’t have anything else of hers left in my life. I can’t help but want you to have it, wear it, and marry me with it.”

  Elizabeth LaRue had never been more surprised in all her life. She was shocked and she was speechless. “Ethan, I…” she didn’t know what to say. Her heart pounded at his words.

  “I love you. Say yes to me and a future together. Marry me, Elizabeth LaRue and give me a chance. Help me prove that the past doesn’t matter.” He honestly believed he’d die if she said no. His whole body tensed, waiting for the most important answer to the most important question of his life.

  She took the pretty ring and slid it on her finger. It fit perfectly. “I absolutely will marry you, Ethan Blackhawk. I love you.”

  He wasn’t quite sure what to say, he was so ecstatic he wanted to run around like a maniac and tell everyone that he finally got the girl! In fact, he still might.

  “I want to spend my life with you,” she whispered, going into his arms and kissing him. The kiss was full of love and passion. It screamed of their future together.

  He paused from the kiss as he had an idea. “Marry me tonight.” The impulsive Ethan took a chance and came to the surface, wondering if he’d be welcomed or pushed away.

  “What?” she broke free eyes filled with laughter. “Tonight?”

  “Yes, tonight. I know some people that could pull some strings.” He watched her face, and he thought he pushed his luck for sure. Maybe this was a bad time for his wild side to make an appearance.

  “Ethan, if you can get the license, a judge, and me a dress, I’ll marry you tonight. I don’t know why you look so surprised. I told you I’d run off and marry you in a heartbeat. Twice and I believe, and I was serious. I would have married you a couple days ago.”

  It was like winning the lottery, he didn’t know what he did to deserve it, but he wasn’t letting her change her mind. “Done,” he said, taking his phone out of his pocket, and dialing the private number to Gabe
. When he came on the phone he sounded worried.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I need a huge favor.”

  “Okay, shoot.” Somehow he didn’t think it was work related, Blackhawk sounded too excited.

  “I just asked Lyzee to marry me and she said yes.”

  “Congrats!” and then Gabe paused. “What do you need a favor for?”

  “She said she’d marry me tonight if I got us a license, a judge and a dress.”

  “She doesn’t think it can be done, huh?” Gabe got excited. He loved a challenge.

  “I don’t think so, she’s laughing right now.”

  “Give me twenty minutes.” He disconnected the phone.

  “You know that only crazy people do things like this in the middle of a murder investigation, and at night.”

  “Yeah, but you’ll never forget our anniversary now will you? Think of the story for the kids and how we met and a week later we were hitched.”

  Elizabeth laughed and warned him, “You may not want to lead in with that one. I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules of parenting to promote a week of dating and sex then marriage, especially if you have girls.”

  Blackhawk was going to agree but his phone rang. “We’ll be there,” he said, hanging up the phone.

  “Let’s go! We have to make it to the courthouse in thirty minutes. There’s a federal justice waiting to marry us.”

  “I have to wear something other than this,” she said laughing.

  “Dress fast,” Ethan said excitedly. He was about to get married to the woman of his dreams, literally.

  * * *

  Doc Trudeaux sat at his desk in the ME’s office. It was later than usual for him, and he rarely stayed late. Salem was usually a slow death town. Maybe they would have an older person pass, or a car accident, but more often than not he was out the door by six every day.

  But today he was bothered.

  Elizabeth LaRue went back up north, and she didn’t even tell him she was going. Not that he was her father, but still he had been a surrogate since his best buddy Charlie had died. It stung a little and the deputies were being misleading on purpose. It made him want to know what was going on. He was still part of this, and he needed to know.

  Looking at the clock, it was late, but he was going to call her anyway and check up on her. Charlie would want him to make sure Elizabeth was safe. As he dialed and waited, it rang the customary six times and went right to voicemail.

  “Lyzee, I’m worried about you. Give me a call when you get this. I went by your house, and it’s a hive of activity but no you. I’m concerned. Thanks, Doc.” He hung up the phone and grabbed his keys.

  Hopefully she would get back to him soon, and then he could finally stop worrying.

  * * *

  Elizabeth stood in the ladies room, as her best friend helped her get dressed. She fixed her hair as she stared into the mirror. “I can’t believe you got a proposal, and then married in under two hours. This only happens with you, Lyzee!”

  She laughed as she checked out the long white dress. “I’m more than surprised myself, and the fact you just knew someone that owned a dress shop willing to open this late at night.”

  “You look gorgeous, Lyzee. I’m so happy for you!” Her friend began to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m just hormonal,” Livy sniffled, wiping her eyes. She was so glad she could find a babysitter for the impromptu wedding.

  “Am I doing the right thing, Livy?” Elizabeth suddenly hoped she was, but needed someone to reassure her. Both her mother and father were gone; Gabe and Livy were her surrogate family.

  “How does it feel in here?” Livy tapped her best friend over the heart. “Because that’s all that matters, the rest will work itself out, promise.”

  “I love him and I know it’s crazy. I barely know him, but I just feel…”

  “Safe? Protected? Loved? Home?” she added for her friend completely understanding. When you knew, you just knew.

  “Yes, it’s all that and so much more too.”

  “Then it’s right, don’t over think it. If you were making a mistake, Gabe or I would stop you, not help you rush into it. Gabe is super protective of you, like a sister, and he trusts Ethan. So do I,” she pulled a necklace out of her pocket. “Here, borrowed and blue,” she draped it around her neck. The stones matched her eyes.

  “It’s gorgeous!” Elizabeth touched it lovingly.

  “Do you have a wedding band for Ethan?”

  Elizabeth did something she swore she never would. She slid the wedding band that had been half the set to her parents, off her thumb. “Yeah, I do.” She handed it to Livy to hold until the judge needed it. Gone was her ring Blackhawk had given her, It too was waiting, but with Gabe.

  “I’m glad I got to see this,” she sniffled. “Now let’s go get hitched,” said Livy, taking her friends hand and walking out to meet the men.

  It was time!

  Ethan Blackhawk stood with his boss; he had put on a tie, a fresh black dress shirt, and was ready. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn’t help but feel incredibly giddy over the entire thing. He was about to get married, and it just didn’t seem comprehendible.

  “Scared?” questioned Gabe, who was watching him play with the knot of his tie nervously.

  “Know that feeling right before an assignment, after you review the files and are going in to do the job?” he answered, knowing his boss would understand.

  “Yes, I vaguely do,” Gabe replied, grinning. He remembered what life was like in the field, once upon a time.

  “It’s that feeling I have. It’s nervous anticipation.”

  “But does it feel right?” he asked softly, touching his arm. He didn’t want either of them rushing into anything that didn’t feel one hundred percent right.

  “Completely.”

  Before Gabe could impart any words of wisdom, the ladies room door opened and both women stepped out. He studied the man’s face and grinned satisfactorily.

  The look said it all.

  Blackhawk watched speechlessly as she walked toward him. Elizabeth was more beautiful than he ever thought possible. She wore white with her hair in an intricate twist down her back. His eyes went to the pretty blue stones hanging around her neck and he noticed they matched her eyes.

  “Elizabeth,” he whispered. The smile on her face gave him peace, and he knew instantly that they were doing more than the right thing; they were completing what was meant to be.

  The judge stepped out of his chambers, “Ethan and Elizabeth, are you both ready?”

  Both nodded and followed him.

  First, they signed the papers and officially filled out their marriage license. When that was complete, they readied themselves for the important part.

  Their marriage vows.

  The judge went through the formalities, and then allowed them the time to speak their hearts and share their words. They held hands and Elizabeth went first, looking into his eyes her gaze never wavering.

  “I take this day very serious, Ethan Jackson Blackhawk,” she smiled. It was funny she just learned his middle name, and was marrying him at the same time. “I promise you an eternity of laughter, a future of excitement, and to always make you see life for what it’s worth, joy. I promise to drive fast, make you nervous, and to always be there by your side despite the danger, the fear, or the trouble.”

  She held out her hand and Livy handed her the ring.

  “This was my father’s wedding band, and he wore it on the day he married my mom, promising never ending love to her. I make you that same vow. I’ll love you unconditionally, for the man you once were, the one you are today, and the one you’ll be tomorrow.” She slid the ring on his finger, and it fit perfectly. It was simply one more sign to her that it was meant to be. “I love you, Cowboy.”

  Ethan watched Elizabeth place the ring on his finger. All the words made his heart skipped in his chest. This woman was his all, and he would spend the rest of his life showing he
r what a treasure she was to him. Finally, he had love that was his and wouldn’t abandon him.

  “Your turn, son,” said the judge.

  “I take this day serious too, Elizabeth Renee LaRue,” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I promise to hold on to you never letting go, to protect you, and make you feel safe for the rest of our lives. I vow to always look at you with the same love I have now and with the same awe that you watch me with daily. I will forever honor this ring, promising to cherish it and you.”

  He held out his hand, taking his mother’s ring from Gabe.

  “I held onto this for years, never thinking it would see the outside of the safe, but in a matter of days you made me fall in love. I now believe in fate and know that I had been holding onto it for only one reason, you. I pass it onto you, hoping you will forever wear it until one day we pass both our rings onto our children. I love you, Sheriff.” He slid it onto her finger, and looked over at the judge.

  “Congrats kids,” he said, leaning down and signing the papers. “Kiss your bride! You are now legally married.”

  Elizabeth stepped into his arms, and accepted the kiss that sealed them together forever. Her hands went to his neck and into the silkiness of his hair, as she enjoyed the feel and taste of her husband.

  When they broke apart, they both had tears in their eyes, and love in their hearts.

  The drive back home had been full of laughter and joy. Elizabeth held her husband’s hand, and couldn’t help but smile; they now were married and a couple.

  Together they were an unbreakable unit.

  Nothing had ever felt so right. She couldn’t wait to get home and spend their last night in Georgetown wrapped around him as husband and wife.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked, almost afraid to ask. He could tell she was lost in a thought, and he hoped it was about them and not what was waiting for them in Salem.