Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (40 page)

“Yeah, I saw the rose on the desk out there
, and the size of that ring,” she grinned. Chris had told her that he liked to fluster her with his wealth. Most women would use it to their advantage, but Cyra was the opposite.

It freaked her out.

“God, I have dreams that I lose it all the time! I swear he loves torturing me. I want to trade it in on something less…”

“
Hope diamond-like?” she finished for her, busting her ass.

“YES, but he won’t let me!”

Elizabeth grinned at that. Yeah, this woman was genuinely a good person.

“So, Chris and I are here in Salem, and I want to do something romantic and sweet for him
for Valentine’s Day. I could go out and buy him something, but let’s face it, he has everything. So, I need a grand gesture, and it’s not a huge town, so I don’t know what to do. If you were me, and you wanted to have a special night with the man you loved, what would you do?”

She thought about it. Knowing what she did about Chris, it was best to go simple. Other than his predilection for buying cars, he was fairly laid back and loved sports and nature.

“I happen to have a little lake front land attached to the house property. It used to be my brother’s, but when we demolished the house, we kept the land.” Ethan had decided to tear the place apart when she wasn’t able to deal with it. Once more, he was her strength and handled all the things that she couldn’t.

“It’s not cold, but an evening swim is a bit too
chilly for me.”

She smiled. “There’s a fire pit and some trees. In fact, there’s a little shed there with all the things you’d need to just hang out and look at the stars together. Ethan set it up, but we’ve never had the chance to use it. Doc used to go there to catch fish.”

When her voice caught, Cyra took her hand, in spirit of the new girlfriend code. “I’m sorry.”

Elizabeth nodded. “It would make me really happy if you
used it and left the spirit of happy memories there. When I do go there, I’ll know that something good happened instead of sad.”

She liked that idea.

“You should go to the grocery store down the street and ask for Tom. He’s the owner. Tell him you want the LaRue special, and he’ll fill a picnic basket with delicious goodies. He’ll take good care of you.”

Cyra was getting excited.

“There are blankets in the shed. You can light a fire, spread one out, and have a make out fest over really good cheese and wine.”

“Won’t it be too chilly out?” she asked.

“I’m sure Doctor Leonard has a cure for that,” she stated, winking at her. “Don’t you think?”

Cyra
could get used to this girlfriend thing. “Yeah, you’re right. I think he’ll be up for that.”

Elizabeth started to say something, but she didn't need to finish. Cyra got the point.

“Head out for the night. Go get the picnic set up, and then send Chris a text to meet you at the house. Tell him that you want to talk. It’ll catch him off guard, and I’ll make sure he gets there.”

The woman stood. “Thank you, Elizabeth.

She didn't mind helping a friend. Standing, she hugged Cyra. “Go get your ME fix. You earned it today.”

It wasn’t like she had to tell her twice.
Cyra was out that door fast. After thinking about Doc, it did her heart good to talk about life again.

When the men didn't come back in, she headed out to make sure that they weren’t causing mayhem with the locals. Two sexy Natives could be sheer chaos if they were let loose.
It was the story of her life. Just the Blackhawk grin alone could start a women stampede.

At Martha’s desk, she found the sixty something woman flirting up a storm. It wasn’t surprising, since she had seen
her in action many times. Martha was still dating men and living life to its fullest.

When she grew up, she wanted to be her.

“Hey now! Are you trying to pick up my love bug and love monkey?” Elizabeth asked, propping her hip on the corner of the desk.

Callen groaned at the nickname.

The older woman fanned herself. “Hell yes I am! I’ll take this one tonight and that one tomorrow,” she quipped, pointing first at Ethan and then Callen.

Elizabeth took each one of their hands in hers. “Yeah, that’s going to have to happen over my cold dead body, darlin’
, and I thought that you would know that.”

The woman grinned at her old boss. “Yeah, well they were interrogating me, and I got all hot and bothered.”

Ethan focused on his wife. “I was confirming what we learned from, Cyra,” he answered. “She did swear on Bubba’s grave too.”

Martha
leaned forward. “I don’t know what is going on in that boy’s head. I tried to warn him not to play hard and fast with the rules, but the penis is mightier than the brain.”

Elizabeth snorted. “What?” she
said when both men looked at her. “Come on! She said it, not me.”

Both men shook their heads in admonishment.

It only made her laugh even more. “Martha, where is Tony anyway?”

“He called in and wasn’t happy. The boy cut out early for the day.”

“Yeah, that’s always a good idea during a serial killing investigation,” stated Elizabeth. “Better yet, since he knew I was going to tear him three new ones for the stunt he pulled today.”

Martha shrugged. “If he’s got his mad on, Lyzee, its best he’s not here anyway. That’ll just end badly all around. You know how Tony is. He’s got a heart of gold, but unfortunately, sex gets him in a lot of trouble.”

She was well aware. “Yeah, I know,” she answered.

“You three should cut out. Go on home and have something for dinner. Tomorrow will be a better day all around.”

God, she hoped so.

“Yeah, it’s Valentine’s Day
, and who knows what could happen.”

They all stared at the woman
in horror.

“What?”
Martha asked, as she tried to decipher the looks on their faces.

Callen said what they were all thinking
, “You know that you just cursed us, right?”

That made
Martha break out into laughter. “Oh, you’re too damn cute, love monkey.”

He glared at Elizabeth. “That nickname is going
as of this moment. It’s bad enough when you use it, but now it’s spreading.”

Elizabeth winked salaciously. “Don’t bet on it.”

Ethan snorted and shook his head as the three headed to the Navigator. Maybe Martha had a point. Tomorrow could be a better day.

Yeah….

Right.

             
                  *   *   *

Chris was packing up for the night and sending Cyra a text, when he received one from her. As he read it, he wasn’t sure what she had planned.

             
Head to Hotel Blackhawk.

            Wait for your instructions there
.

When he replied and received no response back, he didn't have any other choice but to do what Cyra asked. He had to admit that he was a little more than curious.

The entire drive there, he was getting more and more nervous at what could be happening. They did just have a fight, and he probably deserved to be yelled at. Wait, there was no probably in there. He definitely deserved it.

Crap!

Now, his imagination was running away with him, and he was coming up with all the worst case scenarios. He really hated when he did shit like this.

As he pulled into the drive
way, he found the house all lit up. Walking up the front stairs, he knocked. When Callen came to the door holding a beer, he hoped the man would tell him what was going on.

“You don’t have to knock, Chris,” he stated.

“Oh, okay. Where’s Cyra?”

Callen started towards the kitchen. “Follow me.”

Once there, he saw that Elizabeth was perched on the counter while Ethan was making them something to eat. Cyra not being there made him nervous.

Maybe she had opted to leave.

“Where is she?”

No one spoke, they simply handed him a piece of paper.

Now, he was getting sick to his stomach. This couldn’t be good. Was this his ‘
Dear Chris’
letter? Now, he was sincerely wishing he could take back his outburst this afternoon.

“Read it,” Elizabeth said, as she kept the serious boss face intact.

Dear Christopher,

Leave your things there and follow Ethan’s

instructions. He will tell you what to do. Follow them

exactly.

Cyra.

“I don’t get this,” he said, nervously. “Someone tell me what I’m supposed to do or say.”

Ethan handed his wife the spoon and picked up the flashlight from the counter. “Watch the sauce, baby,” he said, giving her
a kiss on the lips.

Turning to face Chris, he motioned him to follow. This was probably the most fun that he had all day.
Part of Ethan felt sorry for him. That was, until Cyra told them what she had planned, then he was filled with regret that he didn't think to use their lake side site first.

A
t the back patio door, Chris dropped his medical kit and followed Ethan outside. “Where are we going?”

Again, the man said nothing. He walked them across the property and to the edge of the trees that headed towards the lake. “Follow this and don’t deviate from the path, or
we won’t find you until morning.”

He didn't like this at all. “No way. I’m not doing this
, or playing this game.”

Ethan shrugged. “Cyra is at the end of this path.”

Okay, maybe he was going to do it and play the game.

“Is she okay? Is she hurt?” God! He had so many questions and was frustrated that no one would answer.
“Please, Ethan,” he practically begged, placing his hand on the man’s arm. “Tell me I didn't screw up, and she’s not dumping my ass when I get to her.”

Ethan grinned. “Would Elizabeth ever let you get hurt?”

It was all that he had to say and offered him enough reassurance that nothing bad was going to happen.

“
Chris, just head down the path and be patient. It’s maybe a two minute walk, and you’ll be there. When you can hear and see the lake, you’re close.”

With that, Ethan handed him the flashlight and headed back to the house. When he was far enough away from
Chris, he began chuckling.

Yeah, the man was in for a huge surprise.

And his friend deserved it.

Chris
hesitantly headed down the trail, unsure what to expect. His heart thudded in his chest. At almost the two minute mark, the trees began clearing out, and he could see some glowing light. It looked like a fire.

In fact, it smelled like one too.

As he broke through the trees, he found her standing there, and he had to blink to make sure that he was seeing things right. Before him stood Cyra, and she was waiting for him. Her back was to a roaring fire, and it was giving her an ethereal glow. Along the entire area, there was more flickering lights, as she had set up candles to illuminate the area. Some sat on the ground, and others hung in lanterns from the trees. In the water, she had floated some and it made the space look enchanted.

“This is incredible,” he muttered. Okay, he had set up the perfect engagement, but this
was pretty spectacular. From the stars in the sky, to the flickering ambiance, he didn't know what to think. “What is all this?” he asked, staring at her.

“You always do really incredible things for me, so I wanted to show you how much I love you and appreciate them
for Valentine’s Day.”

“Cyra, I know you do.”

“I wanted to take some time to just be alone with you and have dinner.”

Stepping to the side, he then saw the picnic basket and food waiting for him.

“A moonlight date with a beautiful woman is a pretty spectacular way to end the night and kick off the holiday.”

When she held out her hand, he immediately went to her. Chris allowed himself to be led to the quaint checkered blanket
that was all set up. When she sat, he stayed beside her. Chris didn't want to be away from her for even a second.

Cyra began pulling food out of the picnic basket. She handed him a bottle of wine and a corkscrew. “Will you open this for me?” she asked, as her fingers lingered on his.

“Absolutely, sweetheart,” he answered, still enthralled with how beautiful she looked by the firelight. They had laid on their couch in front of the fireplace many times, but now, this was different.