The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (39 page)

“Seriously?”
She looked over at the man with her husband at the grill. She wouldn’t have ever guessed.

“He’s like two men crammed in one body
. There’s serious FBI Ethan, and then sexy Ethan, who apparently can be wild and crazy when he wants to be.”

“Good heavens,” Livy giggled.

“I’m so completely in love with him.”

“Will you come back up
north with Ethan after it’s all over, or is he staying with you in Salem?”

Elizabeth shrugged and finished her wine. “I don’t want to come back to the FBI; it was burning me out, and making me a shell of a human being. Death after death, killers, and kidnappers, it made me see the bad in everything.
I like being in my little town with my job.”

“What about him?”

“I don’t know, but if I move back here, I won’t return to the FBI. I don’t know if I can,” she answered, and then realized she’d come back to just work with Blackhawk. That would be the only way she’d ever agree to it. “Do you miss it, Livy?”

“
Sometimes I do. Don’t get me wrong, the kids are the best, and I like that Gabe has a desk job,” she said, honestly. “The stress of him getting killed was tough to swallow, but I miss the rush and using my mind.”

“
Between you and me, I miss it too,” she added. Elizabeth watched him tuck a hair behind his ear and her heart fluttered.

“He’s very distracting, Lyzee. I find myself staring at him too,” laughed Livy.
“Maybe it’s those cheekbones.”

“I think it’s the tan skin and the hair
. It makes me nuts,” she commented openly to her best friend. “Then the eyes. I’m telling you, when the shirt comes off I’m transfixed by the tattoos. He has this giant raven across his chest, and all these other ones across his back. He reminds me of some Indian warrior coming back from battle. He’s primitive and sexy as hell, and it makes me all hot and bothered.”

Livy nodded in agreement and added, “He’s very exotic looking, and I have to admit, really sexy. Let’s keep that our girl chit
chat or Gabe will send him to Siberia.”

Both women laughed uproariously, knowing he absolutely would in a heartbeat. He was sadistic like that.

“Hey, what’s so funny, ladies?” inquired Gabe, suspiciously. He carried in the platter of cooked meats and eyed up both women.

“Nothing,”
they both answered at the same time, and then began laughing even more.

Blackhawk
followed and couldn’t help but watch her from the doorway. She was filled with peace, and he wished he could bottle it for tomorrow. When her eyes met his, he winked at her, and she immediately came to his side and into his arms. “I missed you,” he said, kissing her softly, missing how she felt against him.

“I missed you too, Cowboy. How was grilling with Gabe?”

“Both enlightening and terrifying at the same time.”

Elizabeth
linked her hand with his and walked with him to the table. “I think it’s time for dinner. Then I want to give the kids the surprise I have in my purse.”

“What is it?
” asked Livy, suspiciously.

“Oh, just some candy necklaces, bracelets and ring pops.”

“You wouldn’t,” she stared at her friend in horror. “Sugar, Elizabeth?”

She
grinned and added, “Oh, I so would and am. Right before bed, too.”

“What did I ever do to you?” she hugged her husband
, and smiled. It was good to have her with them. Elizabeth was so important to their family.

“
You beat me on the firing range, and I told you that one day I’d get even. Well, today is that day of reckoning, my friend.”

“You’re evil.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

                            *   *   *

Doc Trudeaux pulled up to the house and sat in his car watching all the agents running around working. It amazed him that just a few days ago, Salem seemed like such a quiet town. As he wandered into her house, showing the FBI agent at the door his ME badge, he noticed that there was no sign of Blackhawk or Elizabeth. He did spot Tyrell and Tony working on some spread sheets at the kitchen island.

“Hey Doc,” said
the deputy, waving to him. “Coffee?”

“Well, yes, I think I will. Where’s Lyzee
? She hasn’t called me in a couple days.”

Tony didn’t know if they were supposed
to say anything to him or not. His eyes flickered to Tyrell.

“They ran back up
north,” he replied, with no emotion as if it were just a car ride away.

“She left Salem, while there was an ongoing investigati
on?” That didn’t sound like her at all. “Is she okay?” he inquired, worried about her. It was the concerned parent in him coming out. 

“Yeah, you should give her a call if you need to check up on her,” said Tony, the guilt overcoming him that they just lied to a man they liked and trusted. He just wasn’t going to be the one to leak the details of where she was, not after the last thing that almost cost him his job.

“Maybe I will,” he replied, walking away without even touching his coffee.

                            *   *   *

It was time to leave and Elizabeth hugged her friend and kissed her old boss goodbye. “Thank you for everything, Gabe.”

He
nodded.

Livy
crossed to her best friend’s new love. After the hours together, she had decided she liked him very much. “It was so nice to meet you, Ethan. Please, no matter what, come back and visit us anytime. You’re always welcome in the Dragon’s Lair.”

Blackhawk laughe
d and hugged her. “I will, Livy. Thank you for making me feel welcome.”

He went to Gabe and shook his hand. “I
’ll see you tomorrow.” Both men knew it would be a lousy day, but neither was willing to let her do it on her own. They would both stand by her, and make sure she got through it. If he could, he would talk her out of it.

“Lyzee, I’ll see you tomorrow, but please reconsider,” asked Gabe, hoping she would listen. He even tried to get his wife to step in, and she wouldn’t. Something about the girlfriend
code, and how she wasn’t breaking it for her husband.

Elizabeth patted Gabe on the cheek. “You're a good friend, and I owe you a lot. You gave me something special by sending me Ethan, but I need you to know
that I have to do this. I have to get justice for my dad, and then put him back with my mom.”

“I
would do the same, and I understand.”

Blackhawk opened the passenger door for
Elizabeth. After she climbed in, he closed the door and took his place in the driver’s seat. Elizabeth had more to drink than him, so there was no point letting her get a DUI. Not in his car, and not how she drove. The Capital police would see her coming a mile away.

“I thought we could go home and
have a heart-to-heart,” he said, starting the mustang and backing out of the driveway, gently.

“Are you going to try and talk me out of going to the cemetery tomorrow?” she asked,
staring over at him as she waited for his answer.

“No, I wanted to talk about random things
. Possibly have a glass of wine and eat cupcakes naked,” he said, smiling and continuing, “This is after all, a date, isn’t it?”

“It is, and that sounds like a perfect evening,” sh
e said, taking his hand in hers. Just the connection with him gave her peace.

When he pulled up to the townhouse, he slid easily into the parking spot and came around for her. “Want to take a walk with me? It’s a gorgeous night.” he offered her his hand.

She slid into her sandals, and took the outstretched hand. “I absolutely would love to, Ethan.”

Blackhawk wa
lked down the sidewalk with her towards where she had lived, and he wanted to know all about her life before Salem. As they walked hand in hand, she pointed out little things that once had mattered to her. When she said she literally lived a block away, she wasn’t kidding. It amazed him, that in the years they lived that close, they never once saw each other.

Fate must not have been ready for them to cross paths.

Elizabeth was enjoying their walk. He tucked her under his shoulder, and they slowly just wandered down the sidewalk in his neighborhood. It seemed very normal and very sweet. This she could easily get used to every night. When they approached the park, she finally spoke.

“Right after Ray died, I put my brownstone up for sale and ran to Salem.
I didn’t even come back to sign the papers. I did it all via fax. I couldn’t return here because I wasn’t ready.”

“
Would you like to tell me about it?” he gently pushed, wanting to get her to open up to him. They took a seat on the bench in the park and he didn’t know if she would ever tell him about it, but he could always hope.

Elizabeth knew if she was going to tell the man she loved him
, and sleep with him, that she needed to trust him with all her secrets, including one of the biggest ones. “You want the official story? Or what really happened that day?”

“I prefer the truth,” he said softly, handing her words
back to her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if it was painful and arduous to remember that night
. She had to trust him to understand all of it, and just let her get it out.

“I guess I’ll start at the beginning then. Ray and his wife filed for divorce, or that is what he was telling everyone. We just finished
a particularly nasty assignment, and the team went for a beer. One became four, and we were all feeling good. I left to walk home, and he followed me to make sure I was safe. Long story short, two people, just both out of relationships, opted to throw caution to the wind. We had a one night stand, and then it became a two night stand, before I realized it wasn’t what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good guy. Ray just wasn’t the guy for me. The chemistry wasn’t there between us. There was no explosiveness like there is with us. Sex with him was… it was just there.”

“I understand, Lyzee. It was the same thing with me and the flight attendant.
Before you, I didn’t know what I was missing,” he paused, “So you were going to break it off?”

“Yeah, imagine how ugly that got, especially when I asked to
be transferred out.”

“You wanted a new partner?”

“I did, except Ray had already spread the word he slept with me and my reputation was tanked. From that day on no one would see Elizabeth LaRue the FBI agent, who was damn good at her job. I would forever be seen as, Elizabeth LaRue, the woman who slept with her married partner. I wanted out of here to a new city. I was willing to go anywhere since I made the mistake.”

He felt the anger build that the man talked about it to others and trashed her reputation.

“I liked Ray a great deal. He was a friend and my partner. I put my life in his hands and his in mine, and we had a great chemistry, but as partners only. It was the same as it is with you and me. We could play each other off a suspect with ease. We just worked in the field. Then I screwed it up by feeling sorry for him and for myself.”

He kissed her cheek.

She laughed. “I ruined my career all because of having really horrible sex. Trust me as it bears repeating.” Elizabeth looked up at Blackhawk when he laughed. “I wasn’t willing to compromise myself for a relationship that was going to fizzle in a few months.”

He
related, and now he understood what he’d been missing before her. Sex with her was all consuming, and he now couldn’t go back.

He wouldn’t
go back.

“Anyway, I confess
ed my sins to Gabe, and he told me he’d get me reassigned, but in the meantime a new case popped up and we’re on deck.”

Blackhawk could feel her demeanor change. Now there was an underlying tension coating her body.

“Our assignment was to watch this money launderer, and help the state build a case. We were warned that there were possible mob ties and to watch our backs. It was supposed to be simple. Sit and observe the heavy hitters and just be invisible. Simple enough, we’d done plenty of stakeouts. The day I received the file, I read it and had a bad feeling about it. When we went out, I put on my Kevlar and even double plated the vest, front and back.”

“He didn’t?”

“No, he was in a mood, and still angry at me for bailing on being partners. The only concern he had was that it made him look bad. He was convinced it was my entire fault. I had wanted him and initiated it. You know the routine. I was the slut, and he was the hapless man that I lured him into my bed.”

“He was an asshole,” he said, angrily.