The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (38 page)

“She never did listen to me,” he shook his head. “She played fast and hard with the rules too, but she was
worse. She makes you look tame in the field, if you can believe that.”

Blackhawk wanted to know. “She was worse than me?”

“You’re a controlled reckless. Elizabeth was just reckless and a danger to herself,” he laughed. “But the best damn agent I ever had,” and it was the truth. “I hate to tell you, Ethan, but before you were the cowboy in our unit, Lyzee had the title.”

Elizabeth snorted.
“And you thought the boots were just a fashion statement. Gabe bought me my first pair for a reason.”

Ethan laughed, finally getting it.

Livy kissed her husband, nodding in agreement. “Oh, the stories I could tell you about them both, Ethan,” she giggled when he bit her neck. “Together they were scary and intimidating in the field.”

“Could but won’t,” Gabe added.

“Oh, I know how reckless she is, and that’s what scares the hell out of me.” He looked at her completely serious. “I don’t want you there either, but I know you need to do this, and I accept it,” he kissed her before continuing, “I support your decision, baby.”

She
brought her lips to his, grateful for his support.

“Awww Gabe, remember when you used to look at me that way?” inquired Livy, smiling at them both.

“Yeah, that’s how I got kid one, two, three, four, five and now six,” he said, laughing as Elizabeth didn’t get it at first.

When she understood, she jumped
up and kissed her best friend, right before she burst into tears. “I’m so happy for you!” She wiped her eyes and hugged Gabe, still crying.

Elizabeth sat back down and Livy handed her a tissue. “This wasn
’t supposed to upset you, Lyzee,” informed her friend. “We’re incredibly happy! We wanted more kids!”

“I’m sorry
, but it’s been an emotional few days. Someone’s killing people, I find out my dad has been murdered, you’re having another baby, and I fall in love. I’m on an emotional rollercoaster; I may need medication before the week is out or therapy, possibly both at this rate.”

Blackh
awk pulled her against his body and kissed her on the forehead. “You can cry all you want. I promise we’ll get through this together.”

She put her head on his shoulder. 

Livy watched her friend and the man who she was clinging to and couldn’t help but smile. At first, after the Ray incident, she never wanted her friend to be near another agent again, and now she saw how she needed this man. It was funny how it all went full circle. She had been introduced to her husband by Elizabeth, and now she had no doubt that Elizabeth had met her future one through Gabe.

Blackhawk kissed her again, catching the foam arrow in his peripheral vision
, as it sailed onto the porch hitting Gabe. They both laughed. How could they not? It was priceless. The man so in control of so many agents, had no control over five little girls.

“Laugh it up!
One day if you have kids, you may have all boys,” he said, tossing the arrow back over the porch rail.

Elizabeth felt him tense at the mention of kids, and she wondered if he even wanted them at all. God
, she hoped so. In her mind, she pictured five little boys with black hair like their father and tan skin, raising complete hell in their back yard. It gave her absolute happiness at the thought. There was something endearing about some Blackhawk boys running wild.

Livy stood,
offering her best friend her hand. “I say we go get the meat, and let the men do the grilling while we go catch up.” It was girlfriend code for ‘
talk about the new man’
.

“Deal.”

“Ethan, I’m leaving you in charge of the grill. The Dragon Slayer is grounded. He likes charbroiling things a bit too much,” she winked, walking towards the house as she laughed over her shoulder.

“Wow, she’s tougher than you,” he grinned, finishing his beer.

“She has to be. We have five girls, and hopefully a boy for the next one. Between me and you,” he looked at the house, “If I don’t get a son soon, I may go out of my mind.”

Both men
laughed.

When his wife returned
, he took the platter of steaks and other meats from her and kissed her on the cheek. As she opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off, “Yes dear, to whatever the question is.” Gabe winked, as Livy stuck her tongue out before retreating.

As they stood at the giant grill overlooking t
he yard, Blackhawk suddenly understood why the place outside the city and away from Quantico. “How long have you been married?” he questioned his boss, still having a hard time believing any of it.

“Almost nine years.
” He slapped steaks on the grill like a pro. “You're shocked that I’m happily married?”

“Well, honestly, I didn’t even know you had a wife, let alone a house full of kids
. You don’t seem like the type,” he replied, picking up the tongs to roll a hot dog over.

Gabe observed the quiet demeanor of his agent. There was no doubt in his mind he was a perfect match for Elizabeth. They were polar opposites, muc
h like he and Livy with the exception of their recklessness. That was a trait they shared. “So what type am I, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“You're more the ‘
runs his team with an iron fist’
type, storming the castle and slaying the dragons. I can’t seem to picture you as suburban, carpooling dad. This just seems too normal for you.”

“At one time Livy was an agent.
In fact, she and Elizabeth went through the academy together and tied for top of their class. They were both handfuls right out of training. They were assigned to me as partners.”

“I bet that was fun to watch,” he laughed, only imagining how chaotic that would have been.

“You have no idea. I worked with Lyzee on a few assignments before she partnered with Livy, when I was still out in the field. I fell madly in love with her,” he watched his agent flinch. “Not that kind of love, Ethan. She’s like a sister, and I’d kill to protect her. She’ll tell you the same. The only thing that’s ever been between us is camaraderie, and brotherly/sisterly love. You have nothing to worry about. I found the woman I’m supposed to be with,” he jerked his head towards the house.

“I understand
.” Ethan relaxed immediately, as he was completely grateful she didn’t have a past with him.

“
Elizabeth ordered me to ask Livy out on a date. Then she pressured me, nagged me, and I still managed to stand my ground. Then one day, Livy threw me off balance. She walked right up to me out of the blue and kissed me, and then proceeded to tell me we were going out for dinner,” he looked toward the house. “I picked her up on time, broke the rules, and here we are today. It’s all history.”

“She gave up the FBI to get married?”

“There’s always a way around the rules, Ethan. That’s from Gabe your friend, not Gabe your boss. We could have both worked in the field together. There are loopholes. After all, it is the government. We decided to get married and have kids. Honestly, her going out in the field without me, scared the shit out of me. I have the safer job. I wasn’t out getting shot at anymore, but she was, and I couldn’t do it. I think she knew deep down that I wasn’t going to be able to handle it. The proposal came up, she left the FBI, and that’s how we got to this point,” he said, catching a foam ax one of his daughters whipped at Blackhawk. “We wanted to both come home alive at night for our kids and each other.”

“Logical.
”

“Oh, she is,” he laughed at that, continuing, “
For the record, she asked me to marry her, not the other way around. I jumped at it. Honestly, she’s the best thing in my life. I love my job, and my career, but Livy’s the other half of me. She keeps me stable and grounded. If she asked me to quit tomorrow, I would in a heartbeat to be with her.”

“Now this sounds like the beginning of a lecture.”

Gabe laughed, patting his agent on the back. “I’ll be straight forward. Did I know this would happen between you both? No. Am I glad? Yes. I personally think you’d be a terrific husband, once you yank that stick out of your ass, and stop being so damn uptight about everything.”

“Hey! I let her drive my car
. I’ve never allowed any woman I’ve dated or slept with behind the wheel. Elizabeth’s the first, only and last. I just held on and prayed the entire time.”

“Funny, that’s how I feel about being married on most days.”

Blackhawk would love every second of that.

Gabe continued,
“I’ve been her passenger, and I would’ve prayed too. You’re a brave soul.”

Blackhawk grinned.

“In your psych eval at the academy, you had a high tendency to lean towards the career aspect of life. It’s what makes you a damn fine agent, and a piss poor partner in personal endeavors. You need to learn to balance in both your career and personal life.”

“I’m learning,” he
replied, opening up to his boss. “I brought her to my home to see if she’d fit there. She saw it, and said pretty much the same thing.”

“You won’t be able to bull
shit her, Ethan. I’ll warn you right now. She’ll see right through the smoke and mirrors, and call you on it.”

“So I’ve noticed,” and he had. “I was afraid she’d hate my home and not be comfortable there with me.”

“Let me guess, all black leather and shiny furniture.”

Blackhawk stared in amazement. “Is it that obvious to everyone, but me
, that I was creating this illusion?”

“To those that know you, yes.”

“I can’t be that readable.”

“You are
, and it’s blatantly obvious that you hide behind your badge, because you’re afraid to have a commitment in your life. It’s also apparent that you're afraid to lose what you love because you have in your past. I didn’t think you’d come here tonight without a tie and a black dress shirt. I told Livy you’d be all stressed out and too worried about what I thought.”

Blackhawk would have, if it wasn’t for her.

“Stop hiding the man you are, Ethan. He’s a good guy, or she wouldn’t have you here. I protect my private life fiercely, and Lyzee knows that. If she didn’t think you could fit perfectly in her life, she wouldn’t have told you about her family. You certainly wouldn’t be standing here having dinner with us. Livy and I are all she has left, and she guards us as much as we guard her.”

He didn’t know what to say, but he knew it was true. From the start, she’d welcomed him easily. Like she just knew he’d fit.
Deep down, it gave him hope that she could love him forever.

“I know about your past. I completely
understand why you’re the man you are, but I’m telling you with her, you’ll be safe. Stop making yourself pay for what happened before today.”

“What should I do?” he asked his boss, valuing his opinion, especially after seeing how well he balanced professional and personal
lives.

“Marry her
and just say yes to whatever she wants, like every other smart man on the planet. A happy wife is a happy life.”

Both men laughed,
and toasted each other with beers.

~ Chapter Twelve ~

Livy sat watching her from the kitchen stool. Her friend looked different. Elizabeth seemed lighter, and that made her happy. At one time, they were fierce rivals, fighting to be top of the class and disliking each other along the way. Once a random assignment made them roommates, they teamed up. Together they ended up taking the top two spots in the academy, beating out one hundred other people. Since that day, they loved each other like sisters.

“You’re staring,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“Tell me all about him,” she said, drinking her water and wiggling her eyebrows. “He’s gorgeous in that unusual, exotic sort of way!”

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at Blackhawk, and when he laughed at something Gabe said, her heart skipped a beat. “What’s there to say
? Your husband sent him to help, and since that day, I’ve been screwed royally.”

Livy snickered at the
meaning behind her words. “You are a lucky girl.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she grinned, but it was pretty darn close.

“Seriously, is it the big ‘
L
’?” 

Elizabeth nodded, sipping her wine. “I’d marry him tomorrow,” she answered seriously, looking outside to make sure he couldn’t hear her.

“You have it that bad, huh?”

“Oh my God
, it’s worse!”

“What do you know about him, personally?”

“Ethan grew up on a reservation, and I know he bounced from foster home to foster home after his mom died. I know he has no ability to have a professional and a personal life at the same time,” she corrected, “I’m working on that presently. On the outside he looks serious and all business, but underneath the shirt he has over twenty tattoos across his very defined body. It’s sexy warrior tribal art.” Elizabeth fanned herself.