True Love Lost (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 3)) (47 page)

“It sounds really nice.”

“We played football in the yard. Elizabeth and my dad were one team and we were the other. You’d think a nearly sixty year old man and a girl would lose, but Elizabeth plays dirty.”

“Sounds
like the perfect day, but the pilgrim outfit?” she asked.

“Elizabeth is probably the only woman on the planet that could pull that off with my grandfather. He’s old school and he doesn’t like outsiders. But the first day he met her, he fell in love with her
, and he thinks her Indian references are entertaining. When she walked into his house dressed like that, it was funny. I think my granddad laughed for about twenty minutes, and then when she proceeded to take her gun out of the pocket and place it on the counter, it was just too much. When it comes to the four of us, she’s very protective and very territorial.”

“The pilgrim garb is pretty funny.”

“The original Indians helped and protected the settlers. I think she decided to wear it as a statement. Payback if you will. The Pilgrim is now protecting the Indians.”

It never occurred to her that Elizabeth’s little actions were deeper than just humor. “That’s pretty deep.”

Whitefox nodded, wishing Desdemona didn’t keep thinking Elizabeth was anything but intelligent. This was the second time she seemed amazed. “Everyone thinks she’s tough and of average intelligence. I think only Ethan, you and I know that she has a degree from Cornell. She likes to come across less intelligent. It helps her control the situation better. People tend to respect people that are more like them, and see them working hard. Once she lets people see who she really is, Elizabeth is amazing.”

“She’s hard to not like.”
Yeah, it was easy to see how Callen felt about Elizabeth. Desdemona knew it was territory that she’d have to accept. Just the way the man was talking about her and holding the picture in his hand, she knew that Elizabeth was going to be a constant in his life, and that wasn’t going to ever change. She and Elizabeth had the talk, and she wasn’t kidding. Callen was hers in more ways than one.

“Every man in my family is in love with her.
She’s the only female Blackhawk and in our culture the family has a patriarch. My grandfather didn’t hand it down to one of us, or even my father. He passed it on to Elizabeth and probably for good reason. I mean any woman who can get an eighty-eight year old man to get her initials tattooed on him is just pure magic.”

She wondered if she were to meet the
man if he would like her or hate her. Somehow she figured she’d not be accepted like Elizabeth was, because she was just… Elizabeth. Desdemona took a deep breath, trying to not be jealous of the woman that was now her friend. Her ONLY friend, but it was hard.

“We all have that picture. She gave us the frames and picture for Christmas along with some other funny things. Everyone thinks she’s bad ass all the time, but that’s just a show. Lyzee’s pretty soft and gushy inside, and if you're a Blackhawk she’s a puddle
of love.”

She picked up another picture. “Who’s this?”

“That’s my granddad, Timothy.” He loved that picture of his grandfather. “It was taken the night Ethan and Elizabeth remarried on the Rez. He’s the shaman, and did the ceremony.” He ran his fingers over the picture and smiled. In the picture he was wearing his ceremonial robes, and had his sleeve rolled up showing his tattoo on his arm of Elizabeth’s initials.

“Elizabeth told me all the men had the same tattoo,” she said, and then looked over. “
Sorry, I saw your back and had to ask.”

Whitefox didn’t know if that was a bad thing or a good thing. He did have another woman’s initials on his body and
usually a new woman was going to look at it unfavorably.

“Callen, it’s okay. I can see that she’s important to you.” The look on his face was one of worry and
nervousness, and she hated to see him suffer. Whether it bothered her or not, it wasn’t going to wash off and what’s done was done.

“I want to be honest with you right now, before what’s going on between us goes further. Elizabeth has half my heart and she always will, Desi. I love my family,
Elizabeth included. They matter a great deal to me.”

She thought about it and then grinned up at him. “I don’t have a lot of family, and who am I to try and make you live
without the people that matter to you. I can see that you two have something special and unique together and I’m really okay with it. I happen to be fond of Elizabeth myself.” Yeah, she was jealous again. But not only because he loved Elizabeth, and because he had an amazing family and she wanted to know what that felt like, to belong. God, all she wanted was a family like that to call her own. The safety appealed to her.

Callen
could feel the relief flood through his body. The new woman would be accepting of the other woman. His chest loosened up and he genuinely smiled at her.

“
This has to be your father. He’s really handsome, and I see where you and Ethan get it from,” she continued, picking up another picture and changing the subject. “It’s funny, you look at Timothy and can see what your dad will look like eventually, and you can look at your dad and see what you and your brother will look like, well mostly Ethan,” she said. The man in the picture had dark black hair, like the wings of a raven, and his eyes matched and were pure black. Ethan Blackhawk was going to be handsome even into his later years, but then again all the men in the family were attractive.

“Yeah, I look more like my mother’s side of the family, or so I’m told. I’ve only met my maternal grandmother once
and then she died and my mother followed.” He kept the pain from his voice. “I only have my granddad, dad, Ethan and Elizabeth.”

She knew how that felt. “I only have my sister
, Cordelia, and my grand-mère, so I completely understand.”

He led her to the couch. “You look exhausted. Why don’t you lie down, and I’ll make you some coffee, and something to eat
?”

When he tucked her into the couch, and covered her with a throw, she smiled at him. “Thank you,” she accepted his gentle kiss, and then watched him walk away. She could see him moving around the kitchen, and when he put on an apron with flowers all over it she laughed.

“Are you laughing at me, Desdemona?”

“I am Callen, becau
se of the apron and the fact you look lost in the kitchen. Do you need my help?” she asked.

“No, but if you want to come watch me destroy Elizabeth’s kitchen, feel free. She’s been teaching me to cook, and I don’
t know if I’m just a lost cause, because I really don’t have to practice. She takes over when I start destroying everything around me.”

“
So cooking lessons and your own chair? Do you have your own bedroom here too?” she asked, laughing.

“
Yes I do.”

Oh boy, he did practically live her
e.

Desdemona went into the kitchen and took the cup of coffee he offered her. “Why the apron?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. Here was this big sexy Native man wearing a gun and a flowered apron.

He pointed up at the sign above the kitchen window. “I made the mistake of having my father carve it for her for Christmas and now it’s law,
” he said smiling.

Desdemona read it.

‘
Lyzee’s kitchen- Lyzee’s rules’
.

“
You three are really close.” It wasn’t a question, just an observation. Yeah, he’d said it a few times, but the man donned an apron in Elizabeth’s kitchen, and that said it all.

“
Ethan’s my blood. I’d die for him. Elizabeth and I just clicked from day one. Some people just wiggle their way into your life and stay there forever,” he said honestly. If he was going to try and start something meaningful with this woman, she deserved the truth. “I’d do anything for her,” he paused. “Three musketeers.”

“
Ahhh a literary reference. That I completely get,” she said, winking. She wanted to remind them that they didn’t have a relationship. One night of sex wasn’t a relationship or anywhere close to one, but why ruin the mood because she was dwelling on that one important fact?

“I’m
very close to my family, and anyone that I’m having a relationship with should be aware of that and be able to accept it. I won’t decide between them and a partner.” Maybe he told her that as a warning, and maybe he told her to see how she’d respond. As he cracked an egg into a bowl he glanced over at her. “They’re my foundation and I want the woman I date to be part of it.”

Her heart started pounding in her chest. Just the idea of them having a relationship made her a nervous wreck. She wanted it more than anything. Just being near him gave her a sense of peace and she’d fallen in love with him. “Are
you directing that at me, Callen? Are we having a relationship?” Now she held her breath and she only hoped he’d answer before she turned blue and fell backwards off her chair.

“
I think we’re already having one, unless for some reason you’re not interested in starting one with me.” He watched her face, first came the fear and then the calm that followed and he had to take it as a good sign.

“What about your grandfather?” she asked, he mentioned he didn’t like outsiders.

“I wouldn’t worry,” he answered, smiling. The smile was a complete front. Right now he needed to listen to his brother and pray his sister-in-law had the magic touch once more. Right now he was placing all his faith in her and laying it at her feet. The ball wasn’t in his court anymore; it all came down to exactly how much influence Elizabeth had over their granddad.

“Sure you don’t need my help?” she evaded.

Callen walked around the counter and lifted her chin in his fingers. “Answer me, Desdemona. Are you interested in being in a relationship with me?” Now he pushed harder.

Desdemona’s breath caught in her throat. “I
’m interested in beginning one.”

Whitefox grinned, and brought his lips down to hers, possessively. The kiss was slow, deep and showed ownership. Callen
was thinking about the next step in the plan. Finally he’d gotten her to agree to the first step and that was huge. She didn’t bolt. Now he was going to lock her down and ensure she never had the chance to run away. This would work. It had to work. He found he was desperate to achieve his goal. He may not get another chance to mimic what his brother had found.

Desdemona broke the kiss, and found herself pressed against his body and trapped. “I think I like the way this relationship is starting,” she said, softly.

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Whitefox began planning their first date re
-do, and he knew just what he was going to do. Elizabeth said do something special and he knew what would impress her.

“I can’t wait,” she answered, accepting another kiss and for a brief moment allowing herself to forget what was happening at her house across the back yard. Callen was good at making her forget.

Now she hoped he was just as good at keeping himself safe.

Elizabeth read the rest of the tech reports and looked up at her
husband; he was reading something on his smartphone. “What’s up?”

“Callen just got to our house
. The alarm has been deactivated,” he said, putting his phone down. “At least they got there safe.”

“Desdemona sent us an email,” she
replied opening it, reading it, and then passing it to her husband. “It seems they found two very angry blondes last night.”

“Well what do you know? It l
ooks like the sheriff knows one of them personally. Maybe when we head into the station we should start there,” he said grinning, and then he stopped when he noticed she wasn’t smiling or listening to a word he was saying. In fact, she had the work look on her face. “What did you just figure out?”

“Something’s been bothering me about the victims, and it’s been nagging the crap out of me, but until now, I didn’t figure it out.”

He leaned forward and she had his full attention. His wife was really good at picking up the tiny details that usually solved the assignment. If it was bothering her, then it had to be important. Sometimes he wished he had her skill, and would swap the profiling job any day. It was incredibly stressful, but then again, so was having an entire assignment resting on her figuring it all out.

“What is it, baby?” he asked.

“We have five original victims, right?”

“Yes.”

“We know all of them aren’t from around here, so here’s what’s bugging me. Where are all the cars they were driving?”

This was one reason why he loved her. He hadn’t even thought about that, and she picked it up. As a team, he was the definite lucky one to be her partner.

“If we figure that out, then maybe we can sweep the vehicles and find more evidence, and that may lead us to the killer.”

“I think we need to discuss that with the
sheriff too, when we head into the office.” Blackhawk stared at his wife and felt the overwhelming need to hold her. “Come here, Mrs. Blackhawk,” he pulled her into his lap and kissed her long and slow. “Have I ever told you that I think your mind is incredibly sexy?”