Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four) (71 page)

Once outside, Ethan Blackhawk stopped her by taking her arm in his hand. “Is there a particular reason that our
head lab tech thinks that I decided to save her life over yours?”

Elizabeth feigned complete and total innocence. “Ethan, I don’t think I understand the question.”

“Not happening Ms. Cornell. You’re too smart to not get that very simple question.”

Whitefox snickered. “I love watching you two in action. It’s like my own little soap opera. ‘
How the Lyzee Evades’
. I personally like the really erotic sex scenes. They’re very hot.”

Elizabeth elbowed him hard into the side. “Not helping, especial
ly since you were my accomplice, ace.”

“Oh you just didn’t toss me to the Blackhawk wolves, did you?” he said, laughing as he rubbed his side.

“Lyzee?” demanded Blackhawk. “Does she really think I rescued her over my wife? I grabbed the closest victim to the fire since I didn’t want my brother getting singed either.”

“
I’m aware, and you're aware, but Christina needed to be cheered up. I did allude to that little fact to give her a smile. Although, it didn’t work as well as the part about you cradling her in your arms.” Her husband lifted an eyebrow. “Which you were already aware of, might I add.”

Ethan
began laughing. “You’re a menace. What do I have to do to cheer her up?” he asked, willing to take one for the team to help one of his own feel better.

“Flowers would be nice. Don’t you think, Cal?”

“Oh yeah, a big cheerful bunch of flowers and a kiss would probably do it. I think that she deserves a kiss for almost being blown up.”

Ethan walked to the Escalade. “You know she’s going to be lusting after me even more now, right? AND you have no one to blame but yourself, Elizabeth. I don’t want to hear you bitch about it once.”

Elizabeth climbed into the back and buckled in. “Darlin, just to see this, I won’t complain for the next five years. Wait until I toss in the weekly ass grab.”

“If you even think of suggesting that
, there will be hell to pay, Mrs. Blackhawk, and I won’t be the one sleeping on the couch.”

“Okay! Testy! My
God! It was just a little grab.” Now she was laughing. “How about a pat?”

“Elizabeth Renee LaRue Blackhawk!”

“Oh shit, he just threw down your whole damn name, Lyzee, including maiden. You’re in the wife dog house,” snickered Whitefox.

She looked at Callen. “Seriously, Cal? When I’m riding the couch, who do you think is sleeping in bed with
you? ALONE?”

Whitefox didn’t like that idea
at all. “Hell no! We bunked together as kids at granddad’s and he’s a bed hog. I pass.”

Ethan
rolled his eyes at both of them. “Okay, let’s go cheer her up.”

“You’re a good man, Ethan,” she said
seriously, smiling at her husband. He was one of the best men in the world, she was convinced of it. The whole thing made him uncomfortable, yet he was still willing to do it for one of his team.

“
I don’t know about being good, but I do believe I’m damn crazy, that’s for sure!”

Waking into Christina’s room, all three of them were smiling. They’d managed to talk Ethan into flowers and a fuzzy pink bear that said ‘get well’. He tried to protest, but he felt bad that one of his own was hurt on his watch. If anything
, there was a sense of responsibility towards the woman. It was the least he could do.

“Hey Christina,” said Elizabeth, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her fingers gently in her
hand. “Look who came to see you.”

Christina looked up at her boss and immediately her eyes cleared and she cheered up. “Director Blackhawk!”

Ethan stepped forward and already felt the heat rising up his body. This was mortifying, but he was going to do what it took to be a good boss. “I think you can call me Ethan, since you’re not working.”

“Okay
Ethan,” she smiled a huge smile.

“I have something for you,”
he said, pulling the pink bear from behind his back and placing it in the bed beside her. “I also heard you’re having a bad day, so I got you flowers too,” he took the blooms from his brother, placing them on the table beside her.

“Wow, thank you! I love them.”

Blackhawk noticed his wife giving him ‘the look’, and he leaned down and dropped a kiss on the woman’s cheek. “Get better soon, Christina. The lab isn't the same without you.”

The woman looked like she’d died and gone to sexy Native heaven.
Elizabeth understood the expression, she lived there herself.

“They must be giving me some really good drugs, for me to actually
believe that my boss just kissed me, while his wife sat there and said nothing. Really.Amazing.Drugs!” She punctuated every word.

Elizabeth laughed and gently gave the girl a fist bump. “Just enjoy the moment, when you get back home it’s
never happening again. That’s for damn sure.”

Christina giggled. “Then I’ll enjoy this moment.” Then she went serious. “
When can I go home?” she inquired.

“Back to FBI West?” Blackhawk clarified.

“I’d like to go back to a hospital back there. Not that this isn't a great burn ward, but I’d like to be closer to home.”

“Let me see what I can do,” he offered, pulling out his phone and walking from the room.

Christina looked over at her other boss. “I know you made him do all this, because Ethan Blackhawk doesn’t buy his employees pink bears. I somehow doubt he’s ever bought his wife a pink bear.”

“Little over the top huh?” she said, grinning.

“Yeah, a little but greatly appreciated.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “How bad does it hurt?” she asked, looking down at the woman’s forearms.

“The cleaning is the horrible part. They scrub the dead skin and that’s the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life. They’re going to leave horrible scars,” and then her eyes filled with tears, as she began to sniffle.

Elizabeth felt for the woman. No one could blame her for being upset. Her arms were going to be marred for the rest of her life.

“I can handle the pain. It’s the scars that I’m not happy about,” she confided.

Elizabeth wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Christina you have nothing to worry about,” interjected Whitefox. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the other cheek. “I bet you can get tattoos to cover each one, and men dig chicks with tats.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah! I love a woman with tattoos. Elizabeth has a huge one on her back. Very hot,” Whitefox said grinning, as he let his fingers slide down her spine.

“You think my bosses will let me have tattoos in plain sight at work?” she asked, hopefully.
“It’s against FBI policy.”

Elizabeth smiled. “You absolutely can get them and wear them proudly. I think the idea of tattoos is absolutely awesome, but you cannot put Ethan’s name on your body,” she grinned. “Am I clear?”

The woman laughed. “Damn it! Clear.”

“Or Callen’s name
,” she added for clarification. “In any language, or techie symbols that I won’t understand.”

“Double damn
!”

Now they were all laughing.

Blackhawk entered the room to the sound of laughter and the woman in bed looked genuinely cheered up. “Wow, are we having a party?” he asked, smiling.

“Christina and I were just discussing getting your name tattooed on her body over her scars.” There was no need to tell him she told the woman it wasn’t happening. Why not mess with the man a little.

He almost dropped his phone.

Whitefox laughed at
his brother, who normally looked calm and unfazed. It was priceless to see and witness him this flustered. The red blush was creeping up his brother’s neck and it was fun to watch.

Blackhawk regained his composure. “Christina’s going back home
tonight. She’s being transported on the FBI jet with a nurse to make sure she can travel comfortably.”

“I can go home?”

“You get to go to a hospital back home. You leave as soon as the pilot is onboard and the jet’s fuelled up.”

Christina started to sniffle. “You are the best bosses in the entire world. I love my job.”

Elizabeth patted her cheek. “We’re the lucky ones Christina.” They had the best team in the world, and knew it. “Now lie back, and dream about whatever pops into your mind,” she winked at the woman, jerking her head towards the men and Christina started laughing.

“Thank you, Elizabeth.”

The three left their tech to rest. The trip home was going to be welcomed, but it was also going to be painful. She was going to need to be medicated.

“You’re a really good boss, Ethan,” said his wife. “She’s happy that she gets to go home.”

The three walked to the elevator. Once inside he finally spoke. “Is someone going to tell me why my tech wants to put my name on her body in the form of a tattoo?”

“Callen suggested it,” she winked at him.

“Poor thing is stressed about the scars. I merely suggested tattoos over the top of them and no one would notice the scars.”

“And my name?”

Elizabeth laughed and offered Whitefox a fist bump. Neither told him the real conversation. “Ethan, you recall telling me that people who tattooed names or initials on their body of other people were crazy, right?”

“Yes! Which is why this is absurd. You only put the name or initials of people that own your heart and are permanent parts of your life
on your body.”

There were more giggles
and laughter.

“You’re torturing me aren’t you
?” Blackhawk finally got it. There was no way in hell his wife would suggest to another woman to get his name on her body.

NEVER!

“You know payback is going to be swift and brutal,” he added. “I’m going to take you both down.”

Elizabeth wrapped an arm around each of their waists, connecting them together and making them one. “I can’t wait.”

Exiting the elevator, they got quite a few stares, but it didn’t matter.

“We need to get to the bed and breakfast
, so I can construct the whiteboard. I need to see all the information in front of me. Be ready, I need a baseline profile to point me in the right direction.”

Blackhawk pulled out his keys. “I’m ready to give it.”

“Then let’s go find us a killer.”

                                *   *   *

Desdemona Adare sat in the lab and watched all the techs working fervently to find the man who was stalking her and attempting to blow up members of their team. She appreciated every single one of them, and would miss them when they left.

“You don’t look so good, Doc. Are you feeling okay?” asked a tech that walked past where she was sitting.

“Stomach bug,” she answered. “Or I ate something.” Maybe it was the fact that her mother was found dead after twenty five years, her sister murdered and someone wanted her dead. Hey, an ulcer at thirty six sounded like a great way to top off the year. Oh, and don’t forget to add in that her ex-fiancé moved on in under a day, with a woman who was her friend.

“Feel better
, Doctor!”

“Thank you.” Desdemona hoped she would and soon. Looking around the ME lab in her home town, she came to a conclusion. Working there wouldn’t be too terrible. Yeah, the equipment wasn’t top of the line, but it wasn’t horribly outdated. Going back to FBI West
wasn’t an option, and she needed to cut her losses soon.

“Doctor Leonard,” she called to him. “I need to step out for a few. I’ll be right back.”

“Take an agent with you. You know the Blackhawks don’t want you out there alone.”

“Will do!
” Desdemona had a stop she needed to make. She was going to run down to the mayor’s office and see what she needed to do to apply for the position of town ME.

Finding a new job was step two in her plan of moving on.

Step three was to never look back.

                                *   *   *

        
Friday Evening

As the whiteboard was unfolded and set up in the Gardenia room, Ethan was worried about his wife. Elizabeth was lying on the bed, battered cowboy boots crossed at the ankle and staring up at the ceiling lost in thought. He’d worked with her enough in the last year to know that she was muddling through the pieces of information they had regarding the killer.

Her process was almost like constructing a puzzle, snapping together pieces in hopes they fit.
This was usually her first step in the process. Next would come the furious scribbling of information on the board. The only difference between the other assignments and this one was how this particular one was under her skin.