Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (71 page)

She’d follow him anywhere. “I would love to, Christopher.
” When he took her hand in his chilly one, she was awash in a sense of contentment.

Inside the office, he pulled off the scrubs top and dropped
them into the laundry bag. Cyra was holding his shirt for him as she stared up into his face. “Thank you.”

“You’re
very welcome.”

Pulling off the
drawstring scrubs, he took his dress pants from her and slipped into them. “After we get some coffee, can we talk? I need time to decompress before we go right back at the death thing.”

She didn't mind. “Absolutely, Christopher,” Cyra replied
as she picked up his medical kit.

When he finished dressing, they
each made a cup of coffee in the office and then headed out.

“Have a good night,” Pat
rick said, washing up his tools. “Oh, and tell the Blackhawks that I placed them in the same drawer together. I hope they don’t mind. I just thought it seemed fitting that they rest together.”

Chris didn't believe anything about this was fitting or right
. He really hoped Elizabeth found this asshole and made him pay for the carnage.

“Want to walk back to the hotel?” she asked, pointing in the direction. “It’s on
ly a ten minute walk, or are you too tired? You have been on your feet all day.”

He didn't feel tired when she was around. In fact, he felt alive, warm
, and very fulfilled.

“I think
that would be really great.”

As they
strolled side by side, she carried his medical kit, and he draped his arm lovingly over her shoulders. “What are you thinking about, Cyra?”

She was lost deep in thought. “I’m feeling a little off balance by what happened. It had to be hard to deliver the bad news and then walk out to have the man eat
his gun. I don’t know if in Elizabeth’s situation, I could handle it as well.”

“She’
s really good at compartmentalizing things like this. We’ve seen a lot of death together. There have been some cases where I stood there next to her at a crime scene and wanted to puke myself.”

“That bad?”

Chris laughed sardonically. “Yeah, they were that bad. The worst, I think, that she and I ever worked was a man that kidnapped his own kids. He ended up killing them and then taking his own life. That one was inhumane and gave me nightmares for almost a year.”

She was glad
that he had friends who got him through it. “That father taking his own life must have pissed her off. I’ve heard rumors about Elizabeth Blackhawk and killing.”

He shrugged
at her implication. “They’re probably true, and I have no doubt that if she caught the man that did that to those kids, she would have taken his life first.”

Cyra didn't know how she felt about that.
“Isn’t that what we’re not supposed to do? You know, justice and innocent until proven guilty?”

They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and
he sighed. “I think coming into this job, there’s this belief that everything is black and white, and it isn’t. In this job, there is a lot of gray in between. Do I advocate shooting every criminal? No, but when you hack five innocent kids to death just because your wife and you have a fight and she asks for a divorce, I’m going to lean towards shooting first and questioning it later. Elizabeth is old school when it comes to ‘
an eye for an eye’
. Can it be construed as crossing a line? Yes, but in some cases, even I find it justifiable. Those that are appalled by the notion of pulling the trigger have never had to stand ankle deep in blood and guts.”

“I couldn’t imagine hurting a child like that.”

Chris smiled, completely believing her. “You and she are a lot alike, minus the two men thing, because I’m not even entertaining that route. Elizabeth is very gentle like you. She’s even sweet and very compassionate too. I’ve seen her weep over the dead. You’re just more apt to wear your true self on the outside, where Lyzee’s not.”

“She’s like a sister, huh?”

He laughed. “Yeah, and I’m glad I have her. For a long time, it was very lonely. She took me under her wing when I was fresh out of med school. When I would screw up, she’d lovingly boot me back into line.”

She stopped walking
and looked up into his eyes. “You’re not alone anymore, Chris. When you have a bad day, you can come home and tell me all about it.”

He loved how
kind and tender she was and how her heart was huge.

“I want to tell you something Cyra. I plan on marrying you. I’m not going to ask now, because this isn’t the place. I want it to be special and memorable, but I’m going to be popping the question. I don’t want to
ever be away from you at all. I finally found peace, and I’m very happy that it’s with you.”

She grinned
up at him. “Christopher, you realize you’re supposed to surprise the girl, right?”

Now
, he was laughing. “I have a few surprises up my sleeve, but I want you to know exactly what’s in my heart for you. I want to make you my wife, have a boat load of kids, and live happily ever after in our haunted mausoleum.”

Cyra giggled. “Okay, well we can work on the details another time, because I’m not having forty kids, just because you can afford them.”

“Why not? If you do it in threes and fours, it won’t take as long.”

She stared at him, until he
began laughing.

“I love you, Cyra.”

What was she going to do with this man?

“I love you too, Christopher.”

~ Chapter Eighteen ~

Arriving at the hotel room, there was a sense of urgency and tension floating around everyone. It was subtle, as they all
continued to push through with work, but none the less it was still there.

Ethan was sitting
against the wall, his tablet on his lap and his phone in his hand as he scanned some data. The serious look on his face showed that he was racing the clock to get anything he could on the man stalking his wife.

Callen was leaning against
the headboard. He had the dog beside him and was flipping through a file of papers that had been printed out. Every now and then, he’d absently patted Rex on the head, and then would go back to reading. Despite his peaceful exterior, there were nerves present below the surface.

Then there was Elizabeth. She was
silently pacing back and forth as she contemplated something that was spinning in her head. After she had let Chris and Cyra in, she went right back to trying to figure out the puzzle in her brain.

“What can we do?” Chris asked, dropping his messenger bag and preparing to help them dig into this assignment. He too was worried about Elizabeth. His friend was next on the list. It was another reason he was there. They all wanted to surround her and make it hard
er for the killer to snatch her away. If he could get her while three Feds and an ME stood guard, he was a regular Houdini.

“Can you tell us anything from the autopsy of Artemis LaFay?” she asked, stopping her pacing for a moment to give the man her full attention.

Chris sat at the table beside Cyra. “I can tell you that he was in a hurry this time. The pentagram was done with less accuracy and Christina confirmed that there were no smelling salts. He didn't revive her during it. Unless, she was strong enough to stay conscious the entire time, but that would be an amazing amount of fortitude.”

Elizabeth was glad he was making errors. That meant he was going to leave them something.

Right now, they needed it.

“Her body was pretty bruised up.
He’s escalating in the violence, and that’s alarming,” Chris stated. The last thing that he wanted to see was Elizabeth taken and then abused before dying. What Chris wanted to say was ‘
God help the next person he takes’,
but he knew the reaction it would pull from the men. They were his friends now too, and that would hurt them.

Besides, he was pretty sure
that they were already well aware.

“We had the team search the
shop, and they didn't find any sign of her being abducted from her home. Although, Ares had just spread brains all around the room and that might have hidden something.”

Ethan spoke up
, “When we arrived, the place was fairly clean. We were looking for a crime scene to see if he hurt her personally. There was no sign of that.”

“Then your guess is as good as mine as to where he got to her. There was no sign of break in, so she let him in or he tracked her.”

Elizabeth already knew how it happened. “He stalked her. The man wouldn’t just walk up to her door, knock and ask to come in. In his head, this is a sick game of cat and mouse. Artemis must have left the building for some reason, and that’s when he took his chance. Maybe she went looking for her husband? I know if Callen, Ethan and I were in the middle of a huge fight, I’d go looking for them if one didn't come home.”

Ethan had to agree
with her. “I’d be out tearing the town apart if Elizabeth was gone all night.” It was exactly what he had done when she went missing, after their big fight they’d had when she was pregnant with CJ. “This man is a predator. It’s his nature to lie in wait and then make his move. Elizabeth is correct in believing that he wouldn’t take the frontal approach.”

She started pacing again. “He’s a coward. It all points to that. He hunts in the dark and takes them then to
o. He may be switching up the crime scene, but he’s not going to change how he looks for and takes his victims. If it ain’t broke…”

It was both terrifying him and filling his bod
y with pride to watch his wife work through it. “Soon, you’ll have no need for your profiler,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

“
That’s never going to happen, Cowboy. Without your insight, I’m only a portion of the Blackhawk crime team.”

“
I’m glad to see that I’m invaluable.” When she stared at him, his heart skipped in his chest. He believed every word she said, since the sentiment was echoed in his own soul.

“I found bruising around her throat, so at some point he used that to control and get her manageable.”

“Did he screw up and leave us anything to trace?” Callen asked, finally speaking.

Chris shook his head.

“I really wish I had that DNA evidence,” Elizabeth said, pacing again.

Callen glanced down at his watch.
“Dinner should be coming soon. I ordered it a while ago.”

At the word dinner, Rex began whining.

Cyra stood from the table. “I have more food for him out in the Denali, I’ll go get it,” she offered.

Standing, Ethan got her attention. “I’ll go. While I’m paying for dinner, I’ll swing out there and get his food. It’s going to be a very long night of working, so I should probably feed all
of you,” he teased. Ethan knew why his ME and agent were locked up with them, and he appreciated it greatly.

Callen spoke up,
“Want me to go with you?”

Ethan paused
to give Elizabeth a kiss. “No, you stay here.” The meaning was clear between the two men. Under no circumstance was he to leave Elizabeth’s side. She was now his to protect while he went out to get their food.

“I love you, Ethan,” she said, hugging him.

“Mmmmmm hmmmmm. Same here, sweet cheeks,” he teased, walking towards the door. “Hold down the fort,” he stated, winking at her.

She laughed as he closed the door.

Out in the hall, Ethan headed downstairs to the lobby. Already, the delivery guy was waiting with the food. Handing him some cash, he headed outside to get Rex’s food from the Denali. It was hard not to notice that it was a beautiful night. There were stars in the sky, and it was peaceful.

What he’d really love
to do was have dinner and take a late night stroll, with his love, under the twinkling perfection. In reality, he was well aware he wasn’t even going to entertain that thought. She was untouchable inside, and that was where she was going to stay.

Part of him was hoping that Ares had somehow fooled them all, and part of his suicide was out of guilt for being a killer and not wanting to go to prison. Yet, he knew it probably was
n’t going to work out that way.

Still, it
would be real nice.

Approaching the Denali, he hit the remote
to get the locks to click open. As he went to place the keys in his pocket, freeing up his one hand, he heard it.

There was a soft tinkle of wind chimes. Even as his body went on alert, he saw the shadow in the window of his vehicle. The blinding pain followed, as his hand went to the source on his head. Confusion followed, burying his awareness of what was happening under the intense throbbing. Staring down at his hand, he saw the blood and knew he was in trouble.