“This is totally unfair!” muttered Tony, as he glared at his friend. “I want to see what the Blackhawk hotel looks like! No one ever gets to see your homes.”
Everyone laughed, because he was right. Few people were ever invited there, especially now that they were more paranoid about being stalked.
“Why can’t I stay too? I’m a doctor. I’m high up on the rank scale! Come on! I don’t take up much space, and I’m really neat. Think of me as a fly on the wall.”
Elizabeth shook her head, because that’s exactly why he wasn’t going to be staying there. “Have you finished that paper on us that you were doing for the anthropological review?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you don’t need to study us in our natural habitat,” she replied, without missing a beat. “You shouldn’t have been such a go getter. In this case, it bit you in the ass.”
“But…”
Ethan continued, “Besides, Hotel Blackhawk isn’t that big. Trust me when I say that you wouldn’t be impressed. We just don’t have the room, and we also need someone to babysit the tech team. Tag, Doctor, you’re it.”
Well double shit!
“We’ll wait outside for you, Doctor Leonard,” Ethan said, grinning. When he smiled at Cyra, she had to hide a laugh behind her hand.
As the bosses headed out, Chris packed up his tools. “I hope that you have a good night’s rest at the roach coach,” he stated, neutrally.
“How did you pull it off? They don’t let anyone into their house. What do you have on them? You’re blackmailing the Blackhawks, aren’t you?”
Chris hated to burst his bubble, but Cyra and he had been at their home a few times for dinner and to watch a game. Chris opted to let that go, or his friend might take the bridge, knowing he was excluded. “Remember when I was kissing my fiancée on the plane, and you made it a spectacle?”
“Yeah?”
“I told you karma was a bitch,” he replied.
“Yeah, but I didn't know her first name was Elizabeth,” Tony replied.
Chris took Cyra’s hand and carried his case with the files. “You better hope she doesn’t hear you,” he replied, as they laughed all the way out.
He looked around nervously, hoping she didn't either.
~ Chapter Eight ~
When they all met up outside in the parking lot, Callen opted to head to the local pizza place to pick up dinner first. No one was really in the mood to cook, not tonight.
Not after finding out they had a cannibal.
While he left to take care of dinner, the rest of the team headed back to their home. Ethan drove Elizabeth, while Chris and Cyra followed in a spare vehicle.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, staring over at her in the darkness.
“Yeah, I think so,” she replied. “I’m just a little shaken up, right now. I was fully ready to accept that Doc was dead. I wasn’t ready for that little twist.”
“Baby, no one ever expects something like that. In all my years doing this, I’ve never pulled an assignment that was related to cannibalism.” Immediately, his hand went to her belly, and he began rubbing it soothingly.
Elizabeth had to admit that his touch was offering her so much calm. It was how it always was with Ethan. He was her rock in any violent storm, and the clouds on the horizon were telling her it was going to be a rough one.
“We’ll get through this,” he promised.
She leaned over and dropped a kiss to his cheek. “I know we will. I just need to stop thinking about it.”
Ethan took that as his sign that the conversation was over. The last thing that he wanted to do was stress out his pregnant wife. “Tony was all worked up into a tizzy.”
That made her smile. “Yeah, I loved every second of it. I’m sure that is horrible of me, but I do like messing with the man. We’ll have to invite him over for a game some night. I trust him, but let’s mess with him first.” Then, she paused before continuing, “We need to do something about Veronica. I don’t think she’s able to do this job to our standard, and that worries me. Out in the field, Chris can only carry so much of the weight. Yes, it’s his job to oversee the lab, but he can’t babysit someone who just doesn’t get it.”
Yeah, he knew that was the truth.
“How about tomorrow I deal with it?”
Elizabeth was good with that. “It should be your problem, since the tech rats fall under your jurisdiction.”
Ethan laughed at how she effortlessly threw him under the bus without batting an eyelash. “Yeah, because you don’t scare the hell out of them when they hear your boots clicking on the floor at ten paces, Tex.”
Hey, it was a skill. “Don’t be a hater,” she teased, and then got serious. “It’s your team and if I have to deal with it, she’s going to be demoted or gone. You know I have a limit to my bullshit tolerance.”
He didn't doubt that for a second. “I’ll handle it, baby,” he said, rubbing her belly.
After all, she was right. They were his responsibility, and he had been shirking his duties for far too long.
Chris Leonard drove the Denali behind the Blackhawks and was taking in all the nature. “Holy shit, they have a house in the middle of nowhere.”
“Maybe they like hiding here. Despite the whole dead body thing, at least Salem looks quaint. I kind of like it. It’s like some little town in a magazine.”
It was probably time to clue her in, before she got attached to Salem. “We’re looking for a cannibal.”
She stared over at him incredulously. “What? Seriously? I take it back. This place just got less attractive.”
He nodded and understood completely. “Yeah, and Tony is pretty sure that the last victim we found is Doctor Trudeaux. All that we need is confirmation from the medical records and his DNA sample that we requested. They’ll be here tomorrow sometime. I didn't tell Lyzee that we sent for them. I just couldn’t bear to make her think about it overnight. I’d rather wait and see before I break her heart.”
His compassion touched her. “Man that sucks.” Cyra had heard that Elizabeth had a close relationship with the town ME.
“Yeah, she’s taking it kind of hard,” he said.
“Who wouldn’t? Losing someone you love is hard enough, but to have it happen with a cannibal? That’s horrible.”
Chris changed the subject. “How about you getting props from the boss lady on being super-agent?” he teased.
Cyra laughed at that and glanced over at him suspiciously. “Did you put her up to that?”
He glance over, genuinely surprised. “Why would I do that?” he asked, shocked that she thought that he would use his relationship with Elizabeth to win his babe accolades.
“Because you love me, and the Blackhawks wouldn’t be letting me anywhere near their humble abode without you.”
The sound he made was between a snort and a laugh. “Sweetheart, here’s a little fact. No one can make Director Elizabeth Blackhawk hand out little bits of praise. The woman gives them out to those that earned them. Plus, she made you lead agent.” He let the house part go, because if Ethan said it was because of seniority, then that had to be the reason why. He didn't lie to his team or play favorites with anyone.
Cyra thought about it. “Yeah, she did, and it’s a full time job on top of the work itself. I wouldn’t mind if I wasn’t already babysitting a newbie. My partner is taking up a lot of my focus, right now. I can’t leave her alone for too long, or she might hurt herself.”
He sympathized. “How is the new lab tech doing in the field?” he asked, hoping that the little performance in the morgue was just nerves. Since he was in charge of the tech team, she was his responsibility. God, he missed Christina. Even when she was focused on Kane, she still didn't make this much of a mess.
“You have your hands full. You should have seen her out by the river. It was like her first day on the job. I swear she was wandering around taking pictures of birds and scenery.”
Oh, that wasn’t
good. “Shit.”
She laughed at the panic in his voice. “You have a lot of work to do to get her up to Christina standard, and before Elizabeth boots her ass to Unemploymentville.”
“Yeah, tell me something that I don’t already know.”
Before she could say anything else, a big driveway and house loomed up in front of them. “Holy crap! Didn't the boss say the house was small?”
Chris started laughing, because this house was just as big as the Blackhawk fortress back home. “Yeah, he was lying big time.”
“Yeah, he absolutely was.”
Inside, the house, the doctor and agent looked around. It was certainly something, and it totally reminded them of Elizabeth Blackhawk. It was laid back and very comfortable. It was the epitome of what a house was supposed to be. From the pictures on the mantle, to the bright cheery colors, it was welcoming.
Elizabeth dropped her gear by the door and walked over to them. “If you want, I can show you around Hotel Blackhawk,” she offered.
When they both nodded, she led the way.
“Here’s the kitchen, so if you like to cook, use it. The pantry is off to the side, and Ethan just stocked it. Across the family space is our office and a spare powder room. “
They followed her into the great room and looked around.
“Out there is a patio. It’s still relatively warm this time of the year, so it’s a really great place to work, or just have coffee in the morning. Feel free to use it.”
“Your home is lovely,” Cyra said. She could tell that her boss wasn’t emotionally in balance. Her eyes were generally filled with laughter or happiness. Now, they looked empty.
“Thank you. Charlie bought it for us when my mother died. I’m glad that I can call it mine. I hope my kids love it one day and use it more than we get to.”
Following her up the stairs, they stopped in front of a door. “This room is ours,” she said, pointing. “But the other three are almost as large. The second door down is all pink. It was my bedroom as a kid. The one beside it is a guest room, and the last one is too. I suggest the one furthest away.”
Cyra blushed at the implication.
Chris cleared his throat. “We can abstain from sex in your home, Lyzee.”
That brought her first laugh in the last few hours. “I suggested it because it has its own bathroom. The other two rooms share one, but thank you for making me picture you two going at it a couple of doors down. That wasn’t creepy or awkward at all.”
Chris snickered and offered her a fist bump, and when her eyes filled with tears, he hugged her instead. “You can do this, Elizabeth. We’re here to get you through it if you need to lean on us. We love you and will be your crutch.”
When she pulled away, a single tear slid down her cheek and Chris wiped it with his fingers. “I got you, Lyzee.”
All she could do was nod, or she was going to crack more. That’s the last thing that she needed at this moment.
Cyra’s heart ached for Elizabeth, and she hugged her too, hoping to drain away some of the pain. “We’ll help you find this person. If you need anything, or just to talk, I’m here too.”
She quickly wiped her cheek and tried to gain control. “I’m so sorry. This is a really bad time to be hormonal,” she offered, and then she changed the subject. “Callen is getting pizza, so we should head down and get ready.”
Following her down, Cyra glanced over at her fiancé and mouthed one word. ‘Pregnant?’
Chris nodded.
Cyra really sympathized now. They were trying to recover, celebrate a baby, and having to deal with this too. No wonder Elizabeth was close to cracking under the pressure.
As they arrived downstairs, Ethan stood in the kitchen making Elizabeth a cup of tea. When she came into the room, he lobbed an apple her way. Effortlessly, she snagged it from the air.
“If you both don’t mind,” Chris said, taking a seat on a stool as his boss passed him and Cyra a glass of wine. “We need to tell you something.”
At first, he wasn’t going to bring up their personal business, but it might lighten the mood.
“Okay,” Ethan said, sipping a beer. “What’s on your mind?”
“Cyra and I are canceling the wedding.”
Both Ethan and Elizabeth stared at them openmouthed, and then looked at each other.
Cyra elbowed him. “Christopher! That sounds like we’re not getting married,” she chided. Turning to explain, she faced her bosses. “We’ve decided to elope. It’s just become one big hassle to pick a date, agree on a caterer, and fit it into our work schedules.”
Elizabeth relaxed and ate more of her apple. For a second there, she was worried for her friends. “I completely understand. I didn't have to plan my first or second wedding. I just had to show up.”
Chris had been invited to the one on the Rez, and he was well aware that Ethan had done the work. Yeah, the man had far more patience than he did.
“If you need someone to witness it on the night you do it, Elizabeth, Callen, and I would be more than happy to stand up for you,” Blackhawk offered.
That made Chris grin. “That would be great. I’ll let you know when we’re going to do it, but just don’t tell my mother. She’ll go all witchy all over me and probably curse me for life.”
“Then, I’ll have to beat the hell out of her,” muttered Cyra.
Chris kissed her on the cheek. “Ahhhh, that’s my girl. She’s violent, but all mine.”
Ethan went to say something, and he waited for Elizabeth to stop him. That’s generally how they did their banter. When she didn't, he was concerned. The storm was definitely getting close.
“If it’s okay with you, I’m not really hungry, especially if Callen brings home a pizza with meat. I think I’ll just head to bed.”
As she got up, she hugged Ethan and buried her face in his neck. “Night, Cowboy. Tell Callen I love him,” she said, heading towards the stairs.
When she was gone, Chris finally spoke. “She’s not doing so well. She was crying upstairs.” Normally, he wouldn’t rat out his friend, but Chris really believed that Ethan should be aware of it.
Blackhawk didn't like this one bit. Despite coming there to fix him, that became the least of his concerns. All of his pain was nothing compared to what he believed was coming. His wife was barely back on her feet after he was taken, and now there was one more hit coming.
Chris figured now was the time to spill it. If he was going to share that she was upset, he might as well go all in. Quietly, he told him about the medical records.
“Can you use them to find the identity of the last victim?” Ethan asked.
“It depends. If he had a fracture just like the bone that we recovered, then yes. I will tell you that Tony already believes that the last set of bones are much older than the first two sets. He’s putting the bones up in the seventies or eighties. Plus, we have the foot and much of the flesh was intact. It may pop as Doctor Trudeaux’s or it may not.”
Ethan mulled it over. “As to the injuries, I can’t give you that. I didn't know the man well. This is more Elizabeth’s area, if you know what I mean.”
They did. Chances were that he was going to have to ask her, and that didn't bode well for any of them.
“If we could find a skull, it would make it so much easier. Then, we could do facial reconstruction or dentals to get the ID. Without a full skeleton, we can’t even be one hundred percent sure if it’s male or female at this point. Tony needs the pelvic bones, and we didn't find anything.”
“Doctor Magnus has a lot of work set out for him on this one,” Ethan said.
“Yeah, he does, but he lives for a puzzle. He’ll get obsessed and figure it out, one way or the other. In fact, there will be some bet and prize too, I’m sure.”
That reminded him of something. “Cyra, I need to ask you a question.”
She sipped her wine, and was relaxing as she sat in their home. “What do you need to know?”
“I promised
Elizabeth a Rex-like puppy if she got pregnant. I think that this would be a good surprise right about now. Can you point me in any direction?” he asked, hopefully.
That was an easy one. “My sister’s two dogs just had puppies. They’re Rex’s parents. Want me to give her a call and have her save one?”
“Are they old enough to be weaned from their mother?”
She did the mental math. “Yeah, I believe so.” She pulled out her cell and sent a text. Within seconds, there was a reply. “She has two left.”
Handing him the phone, he stared at the adorable balls of fluff. “I know I’m going to regret this, but I’ll take them both.” Why go with one dog, when you can have two destroying your home?
Man, he definitely fell off the crazy train on this one.
Cyra called her sister and spoke to her. She vouched for the family who would be getting them, and told her about how Rex fell in love with Elizabeth.
There were some ‘uh huhs’.
A few nods.
And then finally a grin.
Putting her hand over the mouthpiece, she looked at Ethan. “They’re yours.”
He grinned. “Can she drop them at our house? I want to get my dad to assimilate them into the family, and then on Valentine’s Day, we’ll tell her about them.”
This was bound to cheer her up.
Cyra took care of it.
Chris shook his head. “Man, two dogs to destroy your home. You must really be in love.”
Ethan shared one thing. “Chris, if you want a really calm, peaceful, sex filled life, you buy your wife anything that she wants. You can try to play hard to get by bargaining, but ultimately, you take one for the team and just go with it.”
Chris laughed as Cyra offered her boss a fist bump, as she hung up. “Learn it Christopher,” she said, winking at him.
Before he could make a comment, the door opened and Callen came in carrying boxes of pizza. Putting them down, he stared at the three people laughing. “What?”
“I just fulfilled a promise that I made to Elizabeth.”
Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) Page 20
