Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8)

by Kelley, Morgan

  There was this curiosity about her, and anytime a tech could get some juicy tidbit, it was like fuel for the fire.

  Sitting in the front row of seats on the jet, Chris and Cyra sat quietly. There were pleasantries, but neither of them was being exceptionally chatty. It spoke volumes as to the status of their pre-marriage mind set.

  Finally, Cyra couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Christopher, we need to talk.”

  Oh shit, here it came. Already, the dread was building as he was expecting the worst.

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “I received a call today from the church, florist and the officiant. It seems that your mother took it upon herself to cancel everything that I worked on for weeks.”

  Chris closed his eyes. “I know. She told me this morning, and I did tell her to knock it off. I just don’t know if she’s going to listen to me. You see how she is, and I can’t exactly kick her out of my life. I’m her only child.”

  Cyra felt bad about the position that he was in, and she could sympathize. Didn't she just get that shitty email from her brother?

  “I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered.

  Chris felt his heart sink and pretty much drop into his gut. This was what he feared in life, and once more, his mother had been the catalyst to it. He was about to get his heart handed to him by his fiancée.

  “Cyra, I know you’re upset,” he whispered back. He didn't want anyone else around him to hear him getting dumped by the woman he loved. That would be more than humiliating, and Chris wasn’t sure that he could handle it.

  Maybe working together on this assignment was a horrible idea after all.

  “I’m three days past upset into irate, Christopher. This isn’t working anymore.”

  “So, it’s over?” he asked, his heart breaking in pieces. Somehow, he knew that it would never be the same again. Now that he had found love and lost it, he may never recover.

  “This marriage debacle is definitely over. I can’t spend days and hours fixing what your mother tries to undo, so, I have a solution.”

  He looked up at her and found a slight glimmer of hope in her words. Could they still have a chance?

  “I know you wanted a wedding, but it’s just not going to work. My family and your family are not going to ever be a good fit. The only people who haven’t had a problem, were Elizabeth and my sister,” she said, and then paused as she built up the nerve to make her suggestion.

  “What are you saying, Cyra?” Now, he was confused as to where this was heading.

  “All I want to do is be your wife. Can we just say screw it and elope?”

  He stared at her, astounded.

  Cyra really thought that maybe she had pushed too far.

  “Oh sweetheart! That’s the best thing that I’ve ever heard in my entire life. I never wanted a wedding. I would have ran off and got married the day I proposed to you.”

  The stress immediately lifted from her shoulders. “Oh Christopher,” she murmured, running her hand down his face as she brought his lips to hers.

  The kiss was amazing.

  Both fell into it and forgot where they were, until Tony peeked his head over the seat to start clapping. Before they knew it, the entire lab staff was giving them a standing ovation, mid-flight.

  Immediately, Chris blushed a shade of red rarely found in nature. It even went to his ears as he glared at Tony ominously. “Karma is a bitch, my friend. You better watch yourself,” he warned.

  Cyra simply giggled. God, how she loved her sweet and gentle man. The flush creeping up his neck was sexy as hell.

  When Chris turned around, Cyra immediately held onto his hand. All the pressure was easing up off his chest, and he was beginning to slide back into his easy going nature. Now, if they could only find a solution with always working opposite hours and passing like ships in the night.

  “I feel so much better now,” Cyra said, cuddling against her fiancé. “It feels good to get this off my chest. I really thought you were going to get upset with it. I’m glad that I brought it up.”

  Chris was too, except he still had something bothering him. Going for it, he laid it on the table.

  “Cyra, I still have some problems with us and our situation.”

  Now, it was her turn to look worried. “What is it, Chris?” She hoped that telling him about his mother wasn’t going to build a wall between them.

  “We work opposite shifts. I need to work the night shift two weeks a month, and lately you’ve been away the other two weeks on assignments. It’s making me frustrated and worried that our marriage, once we tie the knot, won’t be able to withstand the distance between us.”

  She stared at him. “What are you saying, Chris?”

  He took a breath. “When you were growing up, who took care of you and your siblings?”

  She thought about it. “Before my mother passed away, she did. Once she died, Cannon was old enough to help us get on the bus and watch us until my dad got home from work.”

  “I want to start having kids right away.”

  She was okay with that. “I think that’s part of why eloping would be perfect. There would be less stress and that helps in the baby making department too.”

  “You can think about it, but I would really like for you to stay home with our kids and raise them.” And he also didn't want her out getting killed either.

  “And?” she said, waiting for him to continue.

  “If one of us is going to get shot at or killed, it’s more likely you. I know this is going to sound chauvinistic and caveman like, but I want you to retire and be a wife and mom.”

  She was speechless.

  “Please don’t get mad. I make enough money to support us, and then there’s the other thing,” he said, alluding to the money from his trust fund. Since only a few people knew, they never said it out loud. “I don’t want you to feel that you have to give up your job, but it would mean that I could see you more. We could have a semi normal marriage, and that would take the pressure off us too.”

  Cyra thought about it. What Chris was offering wouldn’t be a bad thing. She always wanted kids, and the luxury of staying home with them was something that she never thought she would be able to do. Now that it was a possibility, it was something to think about.

  Then dread struck. There was the other side of the coin that they needed to consider. Chris’s mother already thought she was a gold digger. Wouldn’t this just play into it more? Here, she quits her job to pop out kids and go shopping for their haunted mausoleum?

  This was a slippery slope. While her heart said yes, her brain was telling her to think about it.

  “That’s a big request, Christopher.”

  He decided to play the elopement card in his favor. “So was canceling a wedding and just getting married.”

  He had a point. After all, he was going to have to tell his witch of a mother that her precious only child got married behind her back.

  “I need a couple of days to think about it, if you don’t mind,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

  Chris kissed her on the forehead, and then tucked her against his body lovingly. “You can have as much time as you need, Cyra my sweet.”

  She allowed her eyes to close and the scent of his cologne to lull her into contentment.

  Cyra had a big decision to make and as of that moment, she was completely on the fence over which was right.

  It now had to come down to which part of her was going to win this fight.

  Her brain or her heart.

  * * *

  Thursday Afternoon

  Salem

  Waiting in front of the sheriff’s station, it was fun to watch the locals walk by and stare at them. Sitting on the bench, Elizabeth was safely housed between the large men. Some women stared at her, but most were checking out the Native arm candy. She would be lying if she said that it didn't turn her on to know she was with two very sexy men.

  As they sat there, a man began
crossing towards them from a building across the street. His focus was on the papers in his hand, and he wasn’t watching where he was going. As he approached, Ethan began laughing.

  The man glanced up when he heard the sound and stared at them, horrified.

  “Oh my God,” he muttered.

  “Look at who it is, Ethan. It’s Henry Forbes, or as I liked to call him, the weasel.”

  The man looked like he wanted to bolt.

  Ethan stood up and crossed his arms over his chest, making sure the badge and gun showed prominently. The man in front of them had published pictures of Elizabeth in the paper, making her a target of a killer.

  Henry stared at them. “What are you doing here?” he asked, backing up. Messing with those two had cost him his job, and nearly his sanity.

  “We came to see you, Henry,” Ethan stated. “Have you been behaving? I do believe you were told the FBI was going to be watching your every move.”

  All three of them saw the bob of his Adam’s apple. Yeah, this man was scared shitless. After what he pulled by helping Ethan’s ex-partner Lily Sanderson, he deserved every second of it.

  “I own a business, that’s it!”

  They all glanced at the building that he had just come out of, and Elizabeth laughed. “An internet café? Should creeps like you have access to things like that after they were stalking people online?”

  The man just looked like a deer in headlights. When he turned and bolted back the way he came, Ethan took his seat and explained it all to Callen.

  “Man, wherever you two go, insanity follows,” Callen teased.

  “Yeah, don’t we know it?” Ethan added.

  Just then, the rumble of the Denalis sounded, as they pulled into the square. Behind them were trucks acting as tech vans. If Elizabeth thought that everyone was staring before, now they really were gawking.

  In curiosity.

  Fascination.

  And awe.

  Hopping out of the one vehicle, Chris crossed towards his bosses, standing in front of the sheriff’s station. “Sorry we’re late. It took us a while to get in the air. Someone forgot some equipment, and we had to wait for her to go get it.”

  Chris wasn’t naming names, but Elizabeth was pretty damn sure she knew who he was referring to. God, what they all wouldn’t do to have Christina back at the FBI. As much as they missed her terribly, she refused to call her and beg. The girl deserved a little Native happiness of her own with Kane Redwolf.

  At that point, Elizabeth just wanted to get the show on the road. “Cyra.” She pointed at the agent. “You and Harper need to head over to where we found the remains. Take half the team and start searching for anything that might give us something. Maybe whoever dumped the bones left us a piece of his identity behind in haste.”

  Cyra waved at her partner and nodded at the new head tech, Veronica Lords. If she took the woman, it might give Chris a break. The gossip around the hive was fairly clear. Christopher was having a hard time getting the woman to pull her weight.

  As they drove off with one of the vans following them, Elizabeth directed her conversation to the men in front of her. “Christopher Leonard, I now dub you the new acting ME of Salem. You need to step in and take over.”

  “I can’t imagine that this place has a lot of death,” he stated. “Other than dying of boredom and old age,” he teased.

  She stepped closer, standing toe to toe with him as she tried to be menacing. “Let me give you some advice, Doctor Leonard. Don’t piss off a pregnant woman with pot shots at her hometown.”

  When the news finally registered, he grinned and hugged her. “Congrats, Lyzee! As my present to you, I’ll do it and not even argue, but don’t get used to that. It’s a gift and not the norm.”

  She patted him on the back as he hugged her. “I also need you to go through the last year of Doc’s files and check to see if there’s something there.”

  He pulled away and looked appalled. “The whole year? That will take me months.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “This is Salem, not the hood. Skip the deaths that were natural causes and there are probably three files left, and two of them are from the remains we have now.”

  That sounded plausible and like a cake walk. His day was looking up. “I’m on it,” he said, as she pointed to the building off to the right.

  “The morgue is in the basement and Doc’s assistant is named Harry Fillmore. He’s waiting your arrival.”

  They waited until Chris headed off, motioning at the remaining lab techs to follow.

  Elizabeth snickered. “He’s like the damn pied piper leading the mice.”

  Callen stared at her. “Better him than you.”

  “Amen to that,” muttered Ethan, offering his brother a fist bump.

  She chose to ignore it and focus on the most important part of their team.

  Their anthropologist.

  “Tony, Doctor Trudeaux had some burr under his saddle over the bones. He called the sheriff and had questions. I think we need you to get out your equipment and tell us what had the man all twitterpated.”

  He laughed. “I love coming down south. I especially adore your hometown. We’re going to paint it red tonight.”

  She crossed her arms. “Yeah, you think? So you want to raise some hell?”

  Ethan knew where she was taking it. He could see the set up a mile away. Being married and working with the woman had given him an insight on how her mind worked.

  “Yeah! I want to be up all night!”

  She didn't bat an eyelash. “Well, as for hell, you’re in the sleaziest, cheapest dive of a no-tell motel that FBI money could buy.” Elizabeth relished the look on his face. “Now, for the being up all night part, the bugs in that God forsaken roach coach will keep you company, and chatter in your little bone loving ears all night long.”

  Callen and Ethan both offered her a fist bump.

  “God, I love a sadistic woman,” Ethan said, grinning. Here he was worried about the team being upset, well now he didn't have to break the news. Tony Magnus would.

  “Come on, boss! I was yanking your chain. You wouldn’t do this to me.”

  She shrugged. “You saw the size of Salem. We have one motel here. We didn't have a choice, but please know that we’ll be in our nice roach free home thinking about you.”

  “Shit,” he muttered.

  “I want you to look at the newest bones. The missing ME was over seventy and stood for long periods of time for the last forty years or so. I’m sure the bones will tell the tale. Find out the identity, because I need to know ASAP!”

  He headed towards the morgue.

  “You’re the worst boss ever,” he muttered, as the men laughed.

  She simply watched him go. “Wait until he finds out that his lab buddy isn’t staying there and is going to be living under our roof. There are days that I love being in charge. The best part is that HR can’t say a single thing to me either.”

  Ethan grinned and lovingly placed his hand over her belly. “If you’re a girl, please don’t be sadistic like your mother. We can’t handle two evil geniuses.”

  Two could play that game. “It’s a scientific fact that the first child tends to be more like the father, and the second, the mother. You’re screwed.”

  They stared at her, unsure if she was yanking their chains.

  “Lyzee,” Callen said, warily. “Are you serious?”

  Part of the fun was ignoring them and making them wonder. “Okay boys. I want to hit up Mayor Santana’s office, and then drop into the sheriff’s. We have lots to do before it’s time to call it a night.”

  Both men were hoping that the trip to the office wasn’t going to be fraught with drama. Maybe for once, something would work to their advantage.

  What were the odds?

  “Elizabeth, we need to talk,” stated Ethan, following his wife.

  His only reply was her melodious, maniacal laughter.

  Walking into the office, they stood in front of the may
or’s secretary. She was busily answering the phones.

  Holding up one finger, she signaled to them to have a seat. When they crossed the room and got comfortable, they noticed that all the calls were pertaining to them.

  Well, not them specifically, but the FBI.

  Apparently, word had travelled fast that the Feds had just dropped anchor in town and were ready for the long haul.

  “Damn! We should know better with all the black vehicles,” teased Blackhawk. “Next time, we should get sunny VW Bugs to throw everyone off.”

  That was one hell of a visual.

  “Funerals use all black too, and I bet no one calls their elected officials when they roll through town to the cemetery.”

  Ethan was about to make another comment, but he was interrupted by the woman behind the desk.

  “Mayor Santana is available now, and expecting you. Please head on into his office, Mrs. Blackhawk.”

  If the woman had been snide, Elizabeth would have corrected her and put her in her place. For now, she’d ignore that the woman dropped her title.

  Opening the office door, the three strolled in and it brought back memories. It was the same décor, but a different man, and wow, Christopher Santana had filled out in his time as mayor. She prayed that her face didn't give anything away.

  “Boss lady, how the hell are you?” he said, coming around the desk to greet her warmly. The hug was exuberant and friendly, and for that she was glad, especially since he had to know that they rolled into town already.

  “I’m great, Chris. It’s good to see you. You’re now running the whole circus, huh?”

  He laughed. “Yeah. Once you left, I couldn’t take the job anymore. I was over it. I couldn’t see myself dealing with that shit every day. I see why you ran for the hills.”

  That made her laugh. “Yeah, the FBI is ten million times worse. On the other side of the hill was a pit of quicksand,” she replied. Deep down, she understood why Chris Santana walked away. They had to bury a friend, and it all seemed so damn senseless.

  “Well, Mayor, I’m damn proud of you!”

  He motioned to the chairs. “Thank you, Elizabeth,” he said, grinning. “I remember Ethan. How are you?” he asked.