The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (33 page)

                            *   *   *

The crime team swept her house
. They began working on fingerprinting everything in sight. They questioned her, as she sat beside Blackhawk on the couch. He kept his arm over her shoulders and her body protectively tucked into his. The team obviously took the hint; they were being extra gentle with her.

Before they arrived, he managed to get a shirt on Elizabeth and himself. It was now hanging open, his hair loose around his shoulders, and he was pretty sure his team was trying not to stare at them both. The tattoos were a focal point, and he knew he looked completely different than what they saw daily, but it didn’t bother him. She was his concern now, and would be until they got through this.

Elizabeth just went through the
motions. Sometimes she faded in and out in thought, and had to be nudged by him to get her to refocus.

It was so hard to believe that he
r father had been murdered in his own home. The woman who lost her father at times overcame the woman hell bent on solving his murder, and she was glad she had Blackhawk beside her.

This amazing man
was her anchor. Her hand rested on his chest, and she absently stroked it, uncaring that their teams watched her curiously. If it wasn’t clear before, it was now. They were a couple.

When they stopped questionin
g her, Ethan got up from the couch to talk to his co-workers. Elizabeth took that time to walk out onto her patio. She felt useless, like she was suddenly broken and needed to regain control, before she spiraled out even further and became a victim like her dad.

Blackhawk
found Elizabeth on the patio, sitting on the edge, staring out at the flowers and lost in thought. He knew she’d pull through the melancholy; it would just be a matter of time. Sitting beside her, he took her hand in his just holding it, until she was ready.

“I have to take a little trip,” she said
, softly. “I have to go away for a little while, and I need you to run this on your own.”

“Where are you running to,
Elizabeth?” he asked, suddenly afraid not only for her life and safety, but that she planned on leaving him.

He’d stay and clean it all up, but he wouldn’t let her leave him.
It wasn’t an option at that point. They were going to navigate this and everything else together. Honestly, he could care less about his career.

Suddenly
he understood.

P
ersonal life appeared, and it overshadowed professional life. All it took was the mere thought of losing her. The FBI now came second and for that to happen, she had to be the one.

“I have to head back north
.” Elizabeth still didn’t look at him. She couldn’t or the tears would come in torrents.

Again he asked, needing to know. “
Where to Elizabeth?”

This time she looked up at him, and tears began the fall down her cheeks. “I have to go have my father exhumed and re-examined. I need the FBI to recheck his body, so I can find the killer.”

Blackhawk knew the sheriff was pushing back up, and fighting to be back in control against the lost child. He knew she’d survive, but he couldn’t let her do this alone. Just knowing that she would have to watch her father being pulled from the ground and checked, and having no one to lean on broke something inside him. Somewhere along the journey, he fell in love, and he wouldn’t let her be damaged more. “I’m coming with you and I won’t let you do this alone.”

She blinked
, whispering, “You can’t.” Elizabeth knew he had obligations to the town, and to the FBI. She handed him this assignment, and now he had to carry it briefly without her. “I’ll be okay,” she reassured him, knowing that was a blatant lie. One she didn’t even buy herself.

“Elizabeth,” he paused, taking her chin in his hand
and making her look into his eyes. “I trust my team with my life. They can continue on while I’m with you. It’ll only be a day or two and then we’ll be back, but I won’t let you do this alone.”

She was at a loss for words, and didn’t know what to say to him.

“We can leave in the morning
. I’ll call Quantico and get this taken care of I promise.”

Elizabeth nodded. S
uddenly, she was very weary and worn down. For now, she was willing to lean on him. “Thank you, Ethan,” she said softly, “for everything.”

“Come here,” he opened his arms.

She went to him and it felt natural, like she belonged. More importantly she felt safe, knowing he would do what he promised. She was right. Ethan Blackhawk was a very good man, and she trusted him completely.

Blackhawk held her on his lap, protectively
housed against his frame. While the tears fell out on the patio, he kept her hidden from the eyes of the FBI and her deputies. He let her be the daughter mourning her father’s death, and he let her just be weak for a few moments, knowing she needed it.

Ethan
kissed the top of her head, reassuringly and could feel her relaxing into him as she fell into an exhausted sleep. Picking her up, he carried her back to the bed they shared. Protectively, he tucked her in and covered her up. As the tech team stared incredulously at their boss, he ignored them and focused on the woman he loved. Hustling them from the room, he stood sentry over her.

For the second time that day he dialed the private number, and this time it was answered on the first ring.

“What happened?”

“The killer was in her house, took her father’s laptop
, and left her a note.”

“What did it say?”

He told his boss everything, watching her from the doorway unable to walk away and trust that she’d be safe. He let the anger out in his voice, and the pain, knowing his boss would share in his revulsion.

“We need to exhume him,” he said, finally.

“She already wants to do it. Can you arrange it for this afternoon?” he looked at his watch, and it was already Monday. He knew Gabriel Rothschild had the longest reach in Washington, and if anyone could make it happen at this time of night, he could and would.

“I
’ll try or for Tuesday morning. There’s a great deal of paperwork involved in an exhumation.”

“She wants to get this over with as soon as possible. Can you get her a private flight courtesy the FBI?”

There was silence and it hummed between them. “I’ll get her booked; she’ll have the entire jet.”

“Get two seats
. I’m going with her, and I know I shouldn’t be leaving the assignment, but honestly Gabe, I don’t give a shit. Can you get us transport at the airport for when we land, to my house in Georgetown?”

More silence. “Station her team in her
home. By keeping them all together and safe, Lyzee won’t be worried. Then bring your team in there too, just as backup. I’ll make the flight arrangements. You just get on that plane, and for the record, Ethan, if you didn’t tell me you were going with her, I would have been pissed. Your vehicle and driver will be in their customary spot.”

“I’ve fallen hard for her, Gabe.” It was said simply, and meant everything. He just needed to get
her to see it, and feel it too. That was going to be the challenge.

“I want to see her when you come in
. Elizabeth knows where I live, and my wife will insist, so bring her for dinner. She will need to be around people that love her before, or after the exhumation.”

“I’m not going to let her watch it.”

Gabe laughed at that statement. If the man only knew he had a better chance stopping a tsunami with a bucket and shovel. He’d never seen anyone stop Elizabeth LaRue from doing what she planned on doing.

“You do what you think you can do, Cowboy,
and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Monday Morning

When Elizabeth finally woke from the restless sleep, the house was alive with noise. It was like everyone and their mother had moved in and were suddenly taking over. She opened her eyes and jumped. Tony was sitting on the side of her bed, newspaper, and coffee beside him. He was the last person she expected to see on her bed, or wanted to see.

“Where’s Ethan?” she asked, taking the coffe
e he held out to her, and thanking him. He looked like he had been run through the emotional ringer, just as she had, but possibly worse. 

“He
’s wrapping up some directions for the teams; he said you guys were leaving in a little while for Quantico.”

“We are,” she answered, sipping. “How are you doing?” Elizabeth could see the black rings under his eyes.

“I’m miserable as sin. I miss my job. I miss my friends, and I’m just lucky Agent Blackhawk is letting me anywhere near this operation and you.”

Elizabeth tucked
her hair behind her ear, and wished she could offer him more reassurance, but he made this mess on his own. “He’ll allow you back on duty while we’re away,” she answered, matter-of-factly. She knew him. Ethan Blackhawk would want every eye and ear open, including Tony’s. He wouldn’t be willing to waste a resource now that they would be down two more people.

“I heard about your dad,
and I’m sorry,” he muttered, not knowing what to say about her father. Then he panicked as the tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh crap! I’m sorry, Lyzee,” he said, taking the coffee cup from her and hugging her. Tony reached for the tissue box only to have Blackhawk hand it to him. Their eyes met, and he went to release her.

“
Don’t worry, Tony,” he reassured, sitting beside her, stroking her leg gently. “I missed you, baby. Did you get any rest?”

Elizabeth
turned at his voice and went into his arms, curling around him and kissing him on his neck. She held on, almost like a child would. It wasn’t far from the truth. Suddenly, she felt like a scared, hurt child.

Deep down
she hated that she was this weak, but she couldn’t stop the flood of pain. “I missed you too, Ethan. I slept a bit. It would have been better if you were with me.”

Blackhawk kissed her cheek. “I was a little busy, but next time. I promise.”

Elizabeth nodded.

“Tony, you're back on duty, effective immediately,” he decided,
holding her against him and offering her comfort. “There’s a member of my team, Brice. He’s a genius, but he’s going to need help navigating all the information in constructing a timeline. I need you to sit with him and assist.”

“Am I still off the street?”

He nodded and spoke honestly, “Just for now, but give me some time. I have to make sure Mr. Cory doesn’t want to kill you if he finds out you were the one with his daughter. Fathers are very protective of their daughters, but fathers who are looking for a scapegoat for their daughter’s murder, can get mean. It’s for your own protection. As of right this moment, Lyzee’s job is in the clear, and that was my first priority, protecting her. Records show you came to me as soon as it was handed over to the FBI, you have been questioned, and your alibis will be checked. I just can’t let you out on the street if information gets leaked to Mr. Cory. He’ll come looking for you. My priority now is to keep you alive.”

Elizabeth moved away from him, wiping her eyes. Her heart wa
s filled with love for this man. He wasn’t only honorable, but he was just compassionate. After everything that went down between the two men, he could have let Tony fend for himself, and yet he didn’t.

“I didn’t think about that,” he replied. “Thank you, Agent Blackhawk.”

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks. I get to think about all the details,” he said, smiling and Elizabeth laughed. She was well aware what the ‘
big bucks’
amounted to and it was indeed funny. Once upon a time she made them too.

It was the first laugh she had heard in hours, and it made her feel a little better, At l
east that wasn’t broken in her. She still could find humor. Knowing what was coming was hard, it was going to be a miserable thing, and she would need the random happiness to get her through it. Well, that and Ethan Blackhawk. He was all that was holding her together, and she couldn’t imagine not having him.

“My team is ready
. I have people going back over everything we touched on, and they are going to dig into everyone’s past that was killed, or involved in this. Something will pop, and we’ll be back on track. As for us, we leave shortly, there’s a jet waiting to take us back to Quantico.”

Elizabeth hopped out of bed. “I
need a shower then. I’ll be ready in thirty minutes.”

Tony turned his attention back to the agent. “You’ll keep her safe?”

Blackhawk nodded as he started pulling clothes from his suitcase. “She’ll be safe. We’re going to be staying at my place for a night or two. As soon as we get through the exhumation, she’s going to see Gabe. He ordered me to bring her there and don’t worry, I’ll guard her with my life.”

“Okay.
” Tony slid off the bed and smiled. “You better hurry, she’ll be done showering soon.” He laughed when the agent lifted his eyebrow. “Come on, like you weren’t thinking it yourself.”

“Lock the door on your way o
ut,” he said, amused by the man. Oh, he was most definitely thinking it, even with a house full of people, and yet he knew he wouldn’t pursue it.

Ethan
wanted to make sure Elizabeth was safe, protected, and he wanted to put her first, doing what was best for her. Blackhawk tossed around the options, and he decided to join her, just keeping his hands to himself.

Elizabeth stood under the hot spray, and it felt delicious across her body. It eased the stress, and relaxed her muscles. She rolled her shoulder, checking the stiffness and pain. Before this was all over she hoped it was healed just in case she needed to use her arm.

“How’s the mobility?” he asked, watching her carefully.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned, “You scared me!” Elizabeth noticed he was naked, and ready to join her.

“
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to frighten you,” he grabbed the shampoo from the ledge and joined her. He would forever buy this same shampoo just because it reminded him of her. “Let me help you,” he said softly, running his soapy hands through her hair, caressing her scalp, and enjoying how she leaned back against him, almost naturally.

“You're really good at that,” she sighed. “Lots of practice?” she
asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but suddenly feeling a pang of jealousy that he would share this with anyone else but her.

He laughed
, his voice full of humor, “That’s a dangerous question and if I answer it, keep in mind the best crime scene team is downstairs, and they will find the proof you murdered me.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but laugh
, even as she felt such intense jealousy like never before in her life. Stepping under the water spray she let the shampoo wash out of her hair, and down her body in a soapy stream. There was the awareness of his eyes watching her, and it heated her body.

He tried to not think abou
t it, as he closed his eyes to wash his hair. It wasn’t easy as he willed his mind and body to not go there. Right now, she was an emotional mess. What she needed was someone to hold her up, not jump her like a horny teen in the shower.

Elizabeth watched him, blinking the water from her eyes. She couldn’t understand why he was trying so hard to not touch her; after all
he joined her in the shower. Now he was drawing away, trying to pretend she wasn’t there. Maybe he didn’t want to deal with the broken and unfixable mess she had become.

Could she blame him?

“Why are you pulling away from me, Ethan?”

Her words shocked him.
“What?”

Her lip trembled and the tears came as she spok
e, “You’re pulling away from me. I can feel it. What did I do?”

Damn it!

He
didn’t want her to feel that way. He was just trying to be cautious, giving her some space and letting her get over the previous night’s events. “Elizabeth, you just found out your father was murdered. I’m just giving you time to adjust.”

“
Thanks,” she muttered, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body. “I’ll meet you downstairs, Agent Blackhawk.” Her words hit their mark and his eyes gave him away for the briefest moment, and then it was gone again.

Watching her walk away
, he felt the anger building as he rinsed himself off, and then followed her out into the bedroom. Elizabeth stood, drying her hair and ignoring his presence in the room. Part of him saw the vulnerability, but the rest of him was just angry about everything else that was going on around them.

“We need to talk!
” Blackhawk could feel the tension building as he stood inches from her.

“There isn
’t anything to talk about. You said it all. My father was murdered, and I shouldn’t be able to feel peace and comfort with…,” she almost said the man she loved, and caught herself.

Why add to
the embarrassment of the moment? It obviously wasn’t reciprocated and probably never would be.

“Never mind.”

His temper was ready to break, and he could feel his carefully constructed control starting to fray at the seams. He hadn’t slept in what felt like days, he couldn’t remember when he last ate, and now she was pushing him, almost daring him to lose it and he just might.

“Lyzee, I only meant,
” he started, trying to explain, but when she turned away from him, it was the end of his control. It became the straw that broke the agent’s back. He had enough and snapped.

Elizabeth started to walk away, she needed to p
ack, and then they had to leave. Her heart was broken. She couldn’t believe this man would emotionally desert her, but then again she didn’t own him or his heart. She didn’t know what she expected, but she found herself profoundly disappointed, because she wanted so much more.

When he put his hand on her
arm, yanking her around, there was the startled look on her face. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you need to knock it off,” his voice vibrated in anger. “I haven’t slept in forever; I’m tired, scared and afraid of what’s coming. What I wanted in that shower and what I was going to do were two different things. It wasn’t for me, Elizabeth, but for you. I was giving you time to heal, not putting space between us, and if you can’t see that, I don’t know how to make you understand.”

Blackhawk grabbed his clothes and
slammed back into the bathroom to get dressed, and get away from her. What he needed now was the space.

Elizabeth
stood there unsure what to do. This was a new thing for her. Although she didn’t want to make him mad, she didn’t want to leave a growing void between them either. It was scary to feel this emptiness. She had come to love him and needed him so much that it terrified her.

Taking a chance,
Elizabeth went to the bathroom door and knocked lightly. When he didn’t answer it hurt her, but she didn’t give up. Turning the knob she found it unlocked and she entered, ready to face him.

When she saw him
her heart broke. He stood under the spray of water, hands braced on the wall, face in pure anguish. She hated herself for hurting him. This man was holding everything together and holding her up too. The pressure on him had to be crushing. There was no doubt in her mind that she owed him an apology.

She
dropped her own towel and went to him. Maybe she should have been afraid he would reject her, but she didn’t care. Right now, Ethan needed someone to heal him, and he was just as raw inside as well.

Moving to him tentatively, she
wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his shoulder blade. Leaving kisses across his tattoos, Elizabeth just offered what she had to give.

Love.

Blackhawk was experiencing such emptiness, as he stood alone in the shower. He couldn’t believe he put his hands on her in anger. She just found out her father was murdered, and instead of care and calm, he lashed out at her. If she never forgave him, he’d understand.

As he retreated and stood under the shower
, hoping to wash away the pain and anger, he felt her near. It was as if his heart just knew when its owner was close. He stayed very still, wary of what was coming and he accepted his fate. There was no way he would fight back if there was an argument. Right at that moment, he was too empty of all emotion.

When she laid her cheek on his back and hugged him, ev
erything inside him broke apart into a million pieces and never fixable to anyone but her. She held the last piece; Elizabeth LaRue was the cornerstone that held everything together in his heart.

His
life wouldn’t stay together unless she was the center.

Elizabeth slid around to the front of his body, bringing her lips to his, gently, lightly, wit
h all the tenderness she had inside her for this man. She coaxed him into the kiss, making him melt with all she felt for him. When he didn’t push her out, but gave her total access to him, there was relief.

“I’m
so sorry, Ethan,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him to her body. “I’ve had a rough night. I’m edgy and short tempered, but you didn’t deserve to be the target of my frustration. Please forgive me.”

Could he be this lucky?

“I always want you, Elizabeth. I could die from all the want I feel for you.” His words said it all. There were just the last three words he wanted to hand her. Part of him was unsure if she was ready to hear how he felt. He never said them to anyone, ever. The only woman who ever heard them from him was his mother, as she was dying.

Saying ‘
I love you’
was a gift from him. The words meant commitment and forever. Those words would be the one thing he could promise her that no one else would hear but her. In all his life he never felt compelled to say them to anyone, but her.

There was a battle brewing deep within him over letting them out, or keeping them locked d
eep inside.

“
Don’t worry Ethan,” she replied, leaving little kisses across his chest, and shoulders. She was hurting inside, and so was he. Elizabeth just didn’t see it until now. Blackhawk was just as wounded by his past, and she felt the need to fix him. “I want you, and always will,” she deepened the kiss, offering him more, offering him all.

When they broke apart, he lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. He felt like he was watching from outside his body, as he positioned himself to take he
r. All he could do was pray he would be gentle, and that she would understand how he felt about her, without hearing the words.

Before he could give her that last piece of him, she had to know everything, and he was scared shitless. Over the last two decades
, he built the man he was, and only this woman had ever made him feel vulnerable. He needed to bring her to his home, and see what she saw there.

His attention was torn back to the kiss
, her wandering hands, and the woman he held pinned to the shower wall.

Elizabeth
welcomed the invasion of him pushing into her, as he braced her back against the cool of the shower tile. He moved slowly in and out of her, achingly so. For now, Ethan was drawing out the pleasure and the passion as long as he could last. Her hands found his hair; they buried themselves in it, holding his mouth to hers as his did the same. Both were trapped until they found what they needed in each other.

Blackhawk
could feel her shaking with every glide in and every pull out; she whispered his name against his mouth until they were moans.

It undid him
and she felt so good, like he found his way home after years of being lost, hungry, and desperate. He didn’t understand how he knew from the dreams that this woman would be the only way to find peace, and happiness, but he just knew.

He was pulled back to focus as she tightened
around him and then shattered. All her inner muscles pulled at him, luring him over the edge with her. At the precipice, he let himself fall, because ultimately, there was no one he wanted to be with more than her.

  
                            *   *   *

The killer watched from the tree line, binoculars in hand.  He could see all the FBI agents milling around, and then he saw the sheriff, loading her suitcase into the back of her Jeep. The FBI agent followed suit, and he felt rage.

The man she was whoring around with was taking her somewhere
, and it infuriated him. She was leaving, running away again, and he had to find a way to bring her back. This destroyed all the plans; she was to be the next victim, taken out much like her nosey father had been, but this time more painfully. He would break her first and make her feel pain.