Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (51 page)

He was going to find her. That had been his plan.

“Go! Stop her, Christopher! You need to do it now. She’s the one. GO!”

His mother had done some kooky things in his life, but now she was acting like a nut.

“Just go stop her!”

Walking towards the door, he
made a mental promise to himself to make sure he had the locks changed when he returned. Right after that, he was going to kick his mother out of his life.

Belladonna’s eyes filled with tears, as she hel
d the funeral scarf in her hand. It told a story that terrified her. “Oh, what have I done?” she whispered, as she prayed that it wasn’t too late. She had inadvertently put fate in motion and possibly caused what was left of her own heart to break.

Chris
arrived outside just as she closed the car door. He ran down the steps, trying to get to the cab as it began pulling away. As it left his driveway, she didn't turn back to look at him but Rex did.

His heart ached
as the taillights disappeared down the road into the night and were swallowed by the darkness.

“Cyra, please come back. I love you
!” It came out in a choked sob. “Damn it!” he yelled, heading back into the house to fix the mess his mother had once again created.

Why couldn’t he have a normal life?

Pulling into her driveway, she paid the man, exited the cab and thanked him. Rex remained by her side and watched her anxiously.

“You feel the tension too, huh, Rex
-y? Want to go for a run?” she asked, unlocking her door. When she entered the room, she could smell Chris’s aftershave. “God, I miss him,” she whispered as she dropped her things. “Let’s go get changed,” she said, heading to her room for her running clothes. It was getting late, but with Rex by her side, she’d be fine. Plus, she was going to take her gun with her.

Tying her sneakers after fully dressing, she headed for the door. She’d face Chris tomorrow, unsure where they’d take this, but she was aware she couldn’t live with him if he thought she was only after him for his money.

She wanted something so much more valuable and priceless.

His heart.

As they hit the street, she let the run comfort her, calm her and refocus her attention. Rex stayed by her side and kept the pace as she chased away her demons with good old sweat.

Cyra struggled to not think of the witch and her vicious words, but it wasn’t easy. The harder she tried to forget, the more she was
wondering if love would be enough.

Circle Rock

Middle of nowhere

As she was led into the opening, she could feel the energy ch
ange. They had been walking for a decent amount of time. Maybe it was because she was blindfolded and had to move slowly that it seemed to take forever.

The entire time, Ethan and Callen
were reassuring her in the earpiece that they were there and able to see her. While she was blind, they became her eyes. It was just one more thing they did to complete her.

When it came to trusting your partner in the field, there was no doubt these men would always have her back.

“We’re here,” said Artemis.

Ares removed her blindfold and Elizabeth struggled to adjust to the
bon fire not far from her. As she scanned the faces around her, she tried to recognize and memorize as many as possible. It was going to be her one shot at it.

“Merry meet my family,” said Artemis. “We welcome Elizabeth into our circle. She has asked to meet with all of you to discuss what is happening in our town.”

“Yes, High Priestess,” they answered.

That intrigued Elizabeth. The woman was more than just a practitioner, but the leader.

“Ares and I ask that you listen to her and allow her to speak freely.”

They all stared at her.

Elizabeth thanked them for allowing her the opportunity before addressing the twenty women and men. “Someone is hunting you. We don’t know why yet, but we will find out. All I ask is if you were with Scarlet Red, Dyana Carlos or Harmony Wilcox, the last nights of their lives that you come to me. Call me, or just slip a note under my hotel door. We need anything at this point to find the one that has done this.”

Ares moved forward. “We ask you assist the FBI. We do not wish to lose anyone else.”

“Yes, High Priest,” they all said in response.

She continued,
“He’s taking a victim each night that there is a circle. For all we know, he’s going to grab one of you tonight. We need you to stick together. Don’t walk home alone and assume that you can’t be a victim. It’s not true. You can be.”

They murmured to each other
and made their plans to travel home in groups. Elizabeth relaxed marginally, since they were taking it serious.

“We believe
that he’s making sacrifices to Satan.”

Som
eone called out from the coven, “We don’t worship him.”

Elizabeth
reassured them, “I have no doubt about that, but in his mind, he believes that he is doing just that. I need you to think about anyone that was once part of this group that left. Even if they were your best friend, neighbor, lover or anything. They could be the killer.”

She didn't point out that any of the men sitting there could also be the killer.
Elizabeth would let them draw that conclusion on their own.

“
We need you to be aware of your surroundings and possibly cancel anymore circles.”

There was a gasp.

Artemis spoke up, “We have been hunted before, Elizabeth, for being witches. This is nothing new to us.”

She stared at her. “Yeah, but he knows you. He watches and stalks you. The killing times were
a different situation. None of those innocents were witches. You have a big problem here.”

“We will take what you ask into consideration,” Artemis replied.

“I too, am marked to die,” she offered, hoping that it might sway them to come forward. “I have a vested interest in him failing. He’s already stated two more people here will be killed, and I’m going to be the third. In order to save me, I have to save you. I’m not just coming to you as a Fed. I’m here because I too, have a life. I am a mother and a wife. I need your help before it’s too late.”

Ethan and Callen said nothing.
Her words ripped emotion from them and caused their hearts to ache. It was all true. If she could stop him, then she would live. If she couldn’t, it would possibly mean her end too.

When no one spoke, she knew it was a dead end
. “Thank you for listening to me.”

Turning
from the group, she prepared to leave so that they could openly discuss it. Right now, it had to be up to them. As for her dying, that wasn’t happening.

“Wait Elizabeth!” called Ares. “You’ll get lost
in the woods.”

She stopped
and glanced back over her shoulder. “We all have our own magick, Ares. You’re about to witness some of mine,” she stated as she walked into the trees, knowing they would be there for her. As soon as she was far enough into the trees, both men appeared from the shadows.

“We’
re here, baby,” Ethan said as he swept her up into his arms. They’d be able to move quicker this way and get her away from danger.

Callen ran his hand
down her leg reassuringly. “You tried, Lyzee.”

She shrugged
and wrapped her arms around Ethan’s shoulders. “I know.”

“Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here,” he stated, carrying her over the brush and bramble towards the town. “We
need to get some down time and crash,” Ethan stated. “We’re going to be awake for days.”

It wasn’t anything that
they didn't have to do before. It went with the territory.

“Hey, maybe this time will be different,” Callen stated
as he scanned the area, trying to spot anyone whocould be waiting for them.

“Maybe,” she offered
. She snuggled into Ethan’s throat and began to leave kisses across his neck. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens. This one isn’t up to us right now. The killer has the upper hand.”

“For now
,” Ethan promised.

“Yeah, for now.”

             
                  *   *   *

He dressed as
quickly as possible and kicked his mother out of his home. He warned her to not be there when he returned. If he didn't manage to get Cyra to come back with him, there would be hell to pay. In his head, he began formulating a plan. What he needed was to get her back, drag her home, and make sure she never left him again.

In his car, he swore
that if she came home, that he would make it right. If she refused, he’d do anything she wanted. Let’s face it. This was entirely his fault, and he was willing to pay whatever price she asked.

Finally arriving at her house
, he expected to come up against resistance. What he didn't expect was no one to answer the door. He stared in windows and tried to spot her, hoping she was only hiding inside.

When there wasn’t even a b
ark from Rex, he knew the truth. She was gone. The woman he loved was driven away, and he didn't know where to even look for her.

Damn it!

Everything in him flailed and faltered. Before her, he’d dealt with rejection just fine, since it was part of life. He’d find someone, and it was always short lived. Then there was Cyra, and life sprouted and flourished. Now, he couldn’t face anything else, unless he got her back.

His heart and mind were in agreement. Cyra was his.

Screw what his mother said or thought. This was all about what he wanted and needed, and that was Cyra. She made the dark and gloom shine for the first time in his life. She was the sunshine in his dismal existence. Never before had it bothered him to be a ‘Doctor Death’, but now it did, since he’d seen what else there was out there. It didn't have to be twenty hour work days of nothing but sadness and loss. There could be a lifeline back from the despair.

If he could find her
, Chris could begin to live again.

Taking a seat on her cozy porch, he began to think.

Eventually, she’d have to come home, and he was willing to wait her out.

For the rest of his life.

It was only an hour run, but her body already felt better. It helped work out all the demons that were chasing her. As they both bounded up the stairs, Rex immediately went wild and lunged at the darkness for the intruder.

She pulled her gun
as her eyes quickly adjusted to the shadows.

“Hello, Cyra.”

Her heart skipped. “Down, Rex-y. It’s only Chris.”

Was that what he was relegated to now
being? ‘
Only
’ Chris? Like some worn out pair of shoes that she happened across accidentally?

“Why are you here?” she asked, opening her door. Rex ran in to his water dish, and when he made no move to enter, she paused
, “Are you coming?”

He didn't think
that she would let him in and that surprised him. After how rude his mother had been, she wasn’t offering it back. Chris expected to bleed for his mother’s transgressions. “I came here for you.”

“Want something to eat?” she offered, knowing neither of them had dinner.

This was all catching him off balance. “Uh, sure. Do you want me to order something?”

Cyra
dropped her keys and gun on the counter. “Let me go shower fast, and I’ll make us something. It’ll take less time.”

He watched her walk away, unsure why she was being nice, when she’d just had her heart handed to her at his place.

It was confusing.

I
t was hard to understand.

I
t was… offering him hope. 

Taking a seat,
Chris examined everything in her kitchen. It was warm and full of life. In her window, there were plants growing and for some reason that charmed him. He wasn’t sure what they were, but he suspected that they were little pots of herbs. Somehow, that offered warmth. Never once had he ever thought of putting anything living in his place, only Cyra.

Oh, and a Christmas tree.

Before her, he never wanted one.

Staring at her shelves, there were bright and sunny dishes and coffee cups. For some reason, it too offered comfort. There was life here.
It was everything his place wasn’t, and Chris desperately wanted that in his life.