Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four) (66 page)

Blackhawk
checked the time on his watch. “I need to shower, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, dropping a kiss on his wife’s lips and grabbing his coffee.

“Julian, get out to the swamp, find me something useful, and then get back into the bed and breakfast. I don’t like the swamp to begin with, but I don’t like the team sloshing around in it alone either.”

He nodded and headed for the door, Christensen following.

When they were gone, Elizabeth spoke. “They're sleeping together,” she
stated, nonchalantly, sipping her coffee.

“How the hell could you tell that
?” he said, walking to the other shower.

Elizabeth followed. “It’s a girl thing
. I just know by the way she watched him,” she drawled.

“I think you have ‘
Native man on the brain
’ syndrome,” snickered Whitefox.

“Cal, care to make a friendly wager?” she asked, smiling sweetly at the man as he stripped.

Whitefox couldn’t help it. “The usual?” he inquired, turning on the water and waiting for the right temperature.

“Twenty it is,
ace.”

Callen
stepped under the shower spray. “Want to join me?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Elizabeth laughed and walked away. “I think I’m going to take a pass on that, Cal.
I’m Blackhawked and Whitefoxed out from last night.”

He snickered at her creative use of verbiage.
“Well I’m not Elizabethed out yet!” he stated emphatically, as she closed the bathroom door. Callen grinned wickedly as he showered. God, he loved her to death.

The three directors strolled down the stairs to the dining area to meet with the team. They were all milling about and being loud as usual. Elizabeth took it all in and smiled. It was good to be back to work. One day down was sheer hell.

When her husband cleared his throat, no one acknowledged his presence
. Elizabeth whistled and they all paused, like deer in headlights.

They knew that shrill whistle, it belonged to only one woman
, and that meant that she was back in the saddle.

Whitefox snickered
at the look of panic and terror.

“Ladies and gents, oh how I missed you
all,” she stated, stepping forward. “Everyone close your mouths, yes, rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. If you thought a concussion was going to give you all a break from dealing with my smiling face, then you aren’t as bright as your resumes say you are.”

Blackhawk truly loved his wife. When she scared her minions, it was always entertaining
as hell.

“Okay, bomb crew step to the left, dead body crew to the right.” She waited until they figured it out. “
Your left and right, not mine!”

Blackhawk
laughed, as he drank his coffee. He tried not to, but it was just too damn funny, watching them bump into each other.

“
I want the dead crew to go to the ME office and do some detecting of incoming evidence. I then want the bomb crew to remain until I’m completely debriefed and satisfied with the information you have for me. You had twenty hours of uninterrupted detecting. It’s time to shock and awe me with what you all discovered.”

They stared at her.

Elizabeth looked around her like she was looking for something. “Are you all checking out my stitches? Yes, I’m aware they’re totally bad ass, and you’ll all have a set of your own if you don’t get yourselves moving.”

Chris Leonard walked towards her and gave her a fist bump before passing her. Doctor Magnus grinned at her and followed suit. “Good to see the drill sergeant is back in charge.”

Desdemona Adare stopped in front of her. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Director.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Are you okay? You look a little pale today, Desdemona.”

“I’m okay. I think I have a stomach bug. My big concern is that I’d really like to get the bodies of my mother and sister released today for burial, but I was told you had to approve it.”

Elizabeth looked back at her husband and
Ethan nodded. “Tell Chris I said release them. I think we’ve learned all we can from their remains.”

“Thank you.” She walked past Whitefox without even looking at him and out the door. Now maybe she could bury her family and move on with her life.

It was time.

She made a promise to herself when she saw Callen cradling Elizabeth in his arms after the explosion
. Once they all left Cypress Grove; she was NEVER contacting any of them again. After all three were gone, it was going to mean a new life for her, and she was starting over. It was evident that he’d moved on and was deeply in love with Elizabeth. It was best for all of them if she moved on too.

That was her promise to herself
and she swore on her own life. No more was she going to dwell on the past. From now on she wasn’t going to be a spider or a fly. She was going to be the person who crushed them both.

Desdemona would come first
.

It was going to happen
because it was about damn time. Other people’s feelings didn’t matter anymore, just like hers never did.

This was the new leaf she was turning over.

Whether they all liked it or not.

~ Chapter Sixteen ~

Elizabeth sat
listening to her bomb team debrief them on what they suspected and discovered. They were concise and to the point, once again proving they were very good at their jobs. The verdict was in and the conclusion was that the bombing was done by an amateur.

All three directors were grateful for that.
His mistake saved their lives. Had they gotten into the Escalade and turned it on, all three of them would have been blown to kingdom come. It had been their lucky day.

Yeah, they had a guardian angel that day,
and Elizabeth couldn’t help but believe it was Timothy staring down at his family from the great beyond.

Ethan was grateful that the killer was incompetent, as he looked over at the two people he loved.
Few were closer to his heart and soul; only his son.

“
All of you are dismissed to the ME lab. Start with helping them process the incoming evidence. I want something by the end of night. If this wacko is going to be trying to blow us up, I also want all the vehicles scanned before we leave every morning.”

“Agreed,” Blackhawk stated, looking at his team.

“Head on out, team!” Elizabeth waited for them leave, and then observed her partners. They had that title in the field and in life, and there was a fear she’d lose them. Life would be devastating if she lost one, but both? How would she carry on alone?

Whitefox knew the look. “We’re going to be fine. We stick together, keep our eyes open and watch each other’s backs.”

She nodded, unable to discuss it further. Somethings just needed to stay buried deep and this was one of those things. “Where are we headed to now?”

Blackhawk took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles
over both wedding rings. Part of him warmed at seeing them sitting side by side, like they belonged. “We need to interview the minister of the church. He’s not returning our calls, so I think we need to get some outside help on this.”

“
How about the sheriff?” suggest Whitefox. “He screams ‘good ole country boy’, and I’m betting he’s lived here his entire life.”

“You think?” she retorted, grinning.

Ethan stood and readied himself for the oncoming fight. “I’ll go get the car. I’ll meet you two out there.”

Elizabeth started laughing. “
That’s happening over my dead freaking body, Cowboy. You think I’m going to sit here and wait to see if my husband goes ‘kaboom’?”

“Well one of us has to go, and I don’t really feel like arguing with you.”

Elizabeth stood to stand toe to toe with her husband. She wasn’t quite as tall as him, in fact even with her cowboy boots on, she only came up to his chin. “You aren’t making yourself our sacrificial offering to the bomb gods, Ethan. We have a child at home, and I don’t plan on telling our son that you took one for the team, because you’re the man.”

When her eyes filled with tears, his temper cooled. “Okay
, baby. It’s okay. I’m sorry that I upset you.”

“I happen to agree with Elizabeth on this. We all go together.” Whitefox
moved closer to them both, leaning against Elizabeth. “The bomb team is outside; let’s let them do their job.”

Immediately she wrapped one arm around him, and one around his brother, connecting them together.
“I won’t risk either of you.”

The owner of the bed and breakfast came around the corner and stopped dead in her
tracks. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” She backed out of the room with a horrified look on her face.

Elizabeth started giggling.

“I think we just freaked her out,” Blackhawk said, laughing.

Whitefox kissed Elizabeth on the neck. “Then it’s a good thing she didn’t see last night’s performance.”

He took an elbow right to his rib cage.

“Come on boys, we have work to do,” she
stated adamantly, grabbing her papers and heading to the door. “No more kissy-face or touchy-feely until we’re off duty, and I’m serious.”

Both men followed her out of the building
not buying that for a second.

“Gentlemen, this is what makes me smile as a boss.” Elizabeth pointed at her bomb team sweeping the cars. “I didn’t even have to scare them
a second time. They heard us say it once, and they actually complied. Now if only I could get the ME and body retrieving teams to do that, life would be so much easier.”

Blackhawk grinned. “
Don’t get too excited. The bomb techs probably know if you blow up, you’ll be haunting them from the great beyond.”

Whitefox laughed and gave him a fist bump.

“Damn straight I will, and you both, too.”

                                *   *   *

Sheriff Louis Denton stood at the counter, observing the three agents walking across his parking lot. The woman was back on duty, and she didn’t look too worse for the wear. What had him confused is why they were there. Each time they came to his station, turmoil followed. Now he just hoped he could keep them from knocking out any of his deputies or arresting them.

“Directors
, what can I do for you today?” he asked nodding, as they entered his building.

“We came for some information,” answered
Blackhawk, looking around the quiet station.

The man
glanced over at Elizabeth Blackhawk. “You seem to be one tough broad, Director.”

Both men stepped forward, and Elizabeth opted to not get angry, but laugh it off.

“I’m not that easy to kill, if that’s what you mean,” she said, smiling. They needed to play nice and get the information they needed. She could ass kick him into the swamp at a later time. Right now they needed to put this one to bed. “Better criminals have tried, but I do appreciate that he attempted to blow me up. Now I can cross that off my list. Been shot, abducted, blown up and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Both men tensed at her making light of their worst fears.

Sheriff Denton stared at her, unsure if she was yanking his chain or dead serious. Either way
, he decided to let it go. “What kind of information can I possibly have for you three? I don’t know anything about explosives, or who is perpetrating these crimes.”

“Have you lived here your entire life?”
inquired Whitefox.

“Born and raised here in Cypress Grove.”

Gee, that was shocking news.

“You have a big church in town
, and we’re curious about it. Is it the only church?” Blackhawk threw the next question out, watching the man switch focus.

“
It’s pretty much the only church. Why? Do you think this is a religious hate crime against the Adare family?”

Elizabeth gave him credit. The man was fast. “We need to speak to the minister, but he hasn’t gotten back to us. Is there any way you can point us in the direction of who is in charge there?”

The man laughed. “I think God runs the place.”

She gave
the sheriff his moment to laugh, then continued. “All the heathens in the room that don’t worship at a Christian church, please raise your hand,” she retorted back, and the three of them all raised their hands.