The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (41 page)

“Lily!”
Elizabeth was furious that the woman put her hand on her man.

“You!” she screamed turning on
her. “This is your entire fault! He sleeps with you, and you get him to have Gabe reassign me!” Lily stormed towards her, ready to strike. “You are such a bitch! Everything Ray’s wife said was absolutely true!”

Elizabeth saw it coming and braced herself, taking the slap, and then she did somethin
g she hoped she wouldn’t regret. Elizabeth pulled back and punched Lily, square in the face, as hard as she could. There was a telltale breaking noise.

The room went completely silent for that brief second.

“Son of a bitch that hurt,” she muttered, opening and closing her fingers, as the woman crumbled to the floor. When she rolled to get up, she was warned, “Stay down, Lily. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell down. If you think I’m going to let you slap Ethan, when he can’t defend himself against you, you're wrong. You’re lucky that was my bad arm, or I would have really knocked you on your ass.”

The woman screamed from the floor.

“Keep your hands off Ethan!”

Gabe cleared his throat
, as he saw the scene play out.

Elizabeth glanced up to see
Gabe standing in the doorway. “Morning Gabe. I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, but you should drag her ass back to Quantico and get her retrained. Slapping is for girls, not FBI agents.”

“Good thing I’m always early,” h
e commented, looking from agent to agent, and then to sheriff.

“She broke my fucking nose,” whined Lily,
as the blood poured from behind her hand.

Gabe walked in and took her by the arm, leading her out. “I
’ll take Lily to the hospital, and be back for you two. Don’t leave without me.”

Blackhawk just stood there
with his mouth open, unsure what to say. He was entertained and horrified all at once. He turned his head when Mrs. Feinstein came out of her brownstone to see what the commotion was in their hallway.

“You better marry her
! She’s a keeper! Elizabeth has a wicked right hook. Good shot!”

Blackhawk just
started laughing and kept laughing, as he closed the door. “Are you okay, baby?” He couldn’t help it. He was concerned about her hand, but the entire thing was just too comical. His dark eyes sparkled at how she defended him, and Mrs. Feinstein’s comment.

“Yeah, I don’t think anything is broken.”

There was only one thing he could do.

He kissed her.

No one had ever defended him like that, let alone took another woman down with a face shot for him. If there was ever a doubt in his mind, it ended right there.

When he
’d seen his partner in his doorway, Blackhawk didn’t know how he was going to handle it; he couldn’t put his hands on her. That wasn’t the man he could ever be. Leave it to his wild hellion of a woman to take care of it for him.

Blackhawk led her to the kitchen and lifted her up to sit on the counter. “Let me get you ice.” Ethan began dumping cubes in a bag.

“How’s your face?”
She was concerned, turning his head to the side to look at his cheek, and the red mark that remained. She leaned in and left delicate kisses across it. “How mad are you that I just knocked your partner on her ass in front of your boss, and your elderly neighbor, all while dressed only in your t-shirt?”

He laughed more
, “Lyzee,” he answered, placing the ice on her knuckles. “I’m so far from mad. In fact I’m entertained, and oddly turned on by your cavewoman-like behavior.”

Her
eyes were filled with laughter.

“What am I supposed to do with you, Elizabeth LaRue?” he asked, kissing the red mark on her own cheek.

“I couldn’t let her hit you, Ethan. You wouldn’t defend yourself against a woman. That’s not a fair fight.”

Blackhawk
kissed her, slow and deep before breaking away from her lips. “I’m okay, baby. She isn’t the first woman and probably not the last that will get a shot in at me.”

“Oh,
Lily was the last. I won’t ever let anyone treat you that way, Ethan.” Elizabeth tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. “For the record, you would lead a very boring life without me, Mr. Blackhawk.” She accepted another kiss, and it was slow and delicious.

Blackhawk
was touched by the way Elizabeth defended him, and he wasn’t lying. It did turn him on completely.

Elizabeth felt the tone of the kiss changing, and when he deepened it
even more, it made her all hot and bothered. Blackhawk’s body went hard and taut, and the need began pouring off him in waves. Her sexy FBI agent was warming up.

Ethan
broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. “Before you Lyzee, I actually believed my life was exciting. Now I know I had absolutely no clue,” he grinned wickedly as she traced the tattoos on his shoulders. “Want to shower with me, Sheriff LaRue?”

“Hel
l yeah, Special Agent Blackhawk. You better believe I do,” she grinned and wrapped both her arms and legs around his body, holding herself to him. “Since I made you breakfast, you get to carry me to the shower,” Elizabeth whispered in his ear what she wanted to do in there. As his body reacted to her words, and she knew that in that instant, gone was every thought in his head but her graphically descriptive words.

“Hope you can be fast, Agent Blackhawk. Gabe’s going to be back soon.”

Blackhawk could be fast, or he could just take his time and thoroughly distract her.

Yeah, Gabe could wait.

                            *   *   *

In the car, Gabe handed his agent a box of tissues. He had seen her strike Elizabeth first, so nothing she could say at this point was going to save her. It was going to be a matter of defusing it and sending her on her merry way to another FBI location. If he had his way, she’d be far away from Blackhawk and his territory.

“She broke my nose, Gabe!”

“You struck her! Elizabeth was only defending Ethan and herself. You’re lucky she didn’t really hurt you,” he said looking over. “I’ve seen her kick the shit out of men twice her size. You’re very fortunate she didn’t beat you into the ground for putting your hands on Blackhawk.”

Lily looked over, nervously.

“Now, tell me what happened? What’s your version?”

“I went there to talk to
Ethan. He called you after I leaked the media the serial killer information, and I wanted to tear him a new one for getting you to pull me out. This is on my official record.”

“First off, bad idea even going there and worse idea was slapping him
, and then going after Sheriff LaRue. That’s going in your official record too.”

Lily fumed.
“Yeah, well she got Ray killed and ruined his marriage. When it happens to Blackhawk don’t be shocked. Elizabeth LaRue is a home wrecking menace and nothing but trouble.”

Gabe
pulled over, slamming on the brakes. “Let’s get this straight Agent Sanderson, you weren’t in that car with Ray, but she was. Elizabeth was also the only one in Kevlar, and it saved her life and almost his. Elizabeth threw herself over him and then fought to save his life. When I got there she was covered in their blood,” he paused. “It was a mess inside that vehicle. So, before you play judge, jury, and executioner, start thinking logically. You’re taking one side due to what a disgruntled wife said, and I expect better from my agents. I hope you don’t work like this in the field. Oh wait, I know the shit you pulled there. Consider yourself on write up, and suspension for striking a fellow agent and a civilian in my presence. If you think you can appeal, you can’t. I saw you do it, this is staying on your record.”

“But Gabe…”

“I don’t want to hear it. You better hope the review board doesn’t hand you a pink slip. I’ll tell you right now, I’m going to recommend it.”

Lily just sat there, saying nothing.
Damn that woman, she may have gotten her fired.

“
It’s a good idea to keep your mouth shut, since you just screwed up.”

Blackhawk left her alone for twenty minutes, after he had dressed in a pair of black dress pants, and a black dress shirt. Today was going to be hard on Elizabeth, so he gave her some time alone to gather her thoughts.

He ran down the block to the florist, grabbing a dozen red roses and a dozen white. He didn’t know her parents, but he was pretty sure with the tough woman they created
, that they had to be pretty awesome. He had to wonder if they would have approved of him dating their daughter. Lost in thought, he had just started back up the front stairs of the brownstone when Gabe pulled up, and parked behind his car.

“Are you both ready?” he inquired. 

“Yeah just about, can you take these to the cemetery? I’ll drive Lyzee over and meet you there. I want to talk to her first,” he replied, leaning in the window.

“Sure thing,” he said, taking the roses, and pulling away.

Inside, she was waiting for him. Elizabeth was sitting on the couch, her hair pulled up on top of her head in a pile of curls, and in a simple black dress with sandals. She was ready to pull off one of the worst days in her life, and he planned being at her side no matter what.

“Hey
gorgeous are you ready?” He held out his hand for her. 

“I’m ready, Ethan.”

“I picked up the flowers. They’re in the car with Gabe, and we’ll meet him there.”

“Thank you, for remembering,” she said softly, going into his arms. “In case I’m a wreck later, and don’t say it, thank you for doing this with me. I appreciate it more than words will ever express
,” She kissed him.

Blackhawk just held onto her, and let his body
offer her support; he would be the rock in this storm. As long as she needed him, no matter where they went in life, he would do this for her out of love.

“Let’s go,
baby,” he finally said, taking her hand, and leading her to the front door. He set the alarm and walked out with her hand in hand. Opening the car door, he helped her get in. Part of him almost wanted to beg her to just stay home.

Anything at this point to spare her from what he knew was coming. Yet, Ethan knew she’d never go for it. She was too honorable a daughter.

The drive there was silent, as neither knew what to say. Elizabeth couldn’t speak. If she did, she’d cry. When she said goodbye to her father, she mourned him and wept brutally as she lost the only parent she had left. Now she had to pull him out of his grave, letting them cut back into him.

She
was sure if she saw him that she would be horrified. A year in the ground wasn’t going to be pretty. She thought back to all the bodies that she’d seen in her past, and how many of them had remained hidden in the earth. Gratefully, most were just bones. Charlie’s body was housed in a steel coffin and locked in a concrete vault, so decomposition would be much slower. She didn’t know if she could do it. How could she stand in that autopsy room with a white mask and watch as they pulled him out? Let alone all the tests, as they tried to figure out what the first ME had missed.

Really, she couldn’t blame Doc Trudeaux
for not catching it. He had to autopsy his friend, and that had to be hard. It didn’t upset her that he might not have been as thorough in his exam. How could she blame a man who just loved her father as much as she did?

She saw the sign for the entrance of the cemetery in the distance, and she knew how it was about to become her worst nightmare
. Elizabeth had to relive the death of her father all over again. For that alone, she vowed she would make the killer pay, and she was angry enough to follow through.

Blackhawk stopped the car behind Gabe’s, and he walked from the driver’s side to the passenger
’s, escorting her to the site.

Beside the plots
where her mother and father were laid to rest, sat a machine. There was a crew waiting to break into the grave, and she felt the tears starting to build. The manager of the cemetery came over, clipboard in hand and ready to proceed. He took her ID and matched it to the relative on his forms, and let her sign the paper. It would begin as soon as she was ready.

“Can I just have a minute?” she asked
Gabe.

He simply nodded, going
to the cemetery staff to make sure they gave her the privacy that she needed.

Blackhawk
was immediately at her side, two bunches of roses in his hands. There were red for her and white for him, as he held out his arm for her to use to steady herself.

Elizabeth looked up at him and gave him a weak smile, and then kneeled in front of her parent
’s graves. She touched the engraving on her mother’s tombstone and spoke to her.

“I miss you
, Mom. I know I’ve been away for a long time, but I’m doing okay. I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry we have to disturb you both. I don’t have a choice. I have to find who killed daddy.”  She laid the roses against the tombstone, kissing it as she choked back a sob. “I love you, Mom, and I hope if you’re watching me that you're proud.”