Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (12 page)

Elizabeth directed the questions back at the most obvious thing that she and Ethan had to be thinking. “How did you get to be sheriff? Last I heard, Chris Santana had the job when I left.”

Tony tipped his hat and grinned wickedly. “I was just the man for the
position, ma’am,” he drawled. “I’m bringing sexy back to the job, since you left.”

It was hard for Blackhawk to not picture himself beating the man
into a bloody pulp outside the café. Then, it occurred to him that he hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Immediately, he smiled.

This was one more sign that
Ethan was coming back. He wanted to commit homicide when men were sniffing around his girl.

Good to know.

Elizabeth snorted. “Yeah, okay, Tony. How did you really get the job?”

He sighed. “Okay, well Chris was offered the mayor position when the council couldn’t fill it. You were their first and only choice. He really wasn’t into being
sheriff. When Sara died, I think she took a little piece of his heart with her.”

Didn't she know how that felt?

Elizabeth suspected that Chris and Sara had a little thing between them, and that her murder forever broke a piece of him. In fact, she could relate, since she carried that death on her shoulders too.

“How long are you in town?” he asked. “We’re about to kick off the Spring Fling festival. We’re running it early this year, since it’s been so damn nice out. You should check it out.”

Ethan considered it. “We’re here until Sunday.”

“That’s the first day. You can at least get some really awesome barbeque and maybe hop on a few fair rides.”

Elizabeth liked the idea of that. “Maybe you and Callen can be my official dates.”

“Who is
Callen? And if you need a date, I’m available,” Tony teased.

Ethan practically growled.

It was music to Elizabeth’s ears. She hadn’t heard him respond like that in a while. It made her want to do cartwheels.

“Callen is my brother,” Ethan stated.

Taking it one step further, Elizabeth added the truth. “I’m also in a relationship with him. Ethan’s my husband on paper, and Callen’s my unofficial one.”

Tony looked appalled, then fascinated
, and then finally the joking began. “So, you’re bed hopping with two Native men? That’s priceless.”

She happened to agree
and refused to be anything less than proud of that fact. “I believe it is.”

Tony had so many questions, but he could tell by Ethan Blackhawk’s face, now wasn’t the time. “What are your plans today?” he inquired.

Elizabeth popped the last piece of her muffin into her mouth. “We’re going to grocery shop, take a walk, and have copious amounts of sex on our couch.”

It was funny how the man started choking on his coffee.

Ethan winked at his wife. “That’s the perfect day, if you want my opinion.” In the back of his mind, he was already planning on sneaking out tomorrow to get a Valentine’s Day present for Elizabeth. Ethan would need Callen to run interference. Already, he knew what he needed to do.

“I better get back to work,” Tony stated, as he pushed away from the table.

Elizabeth knew that they freaked the man out, and that gave her a deep sense of satisfaction. Tony liked to flirt and rub Ethan the wrong way, and while she promised not to baby him, she didn't plan on not defending him like crazy.

Some
things would never change.

She was the protective raven, and Ethan was hers to guard until her final days.
Elizabeth already dropped that ball once before, and it wasn’t happening again.

“How about a walk around town, Lyzee my love?” he asked, dropping money on the table and holding out his free hand. “Can I take my fetus and baby momma for a stroll?”

She snorted. “Well hell. If you ask like that, how can I refuse?”

He knew she wouldn’t.

That’s what made it perfect.

                        *     *     *

Across
The Country

    FBI West

Mid-Morning

Callen missed his partners more than anything. Who would have thought that this much anxiety would be present as he worried about grown adults?

Over the last few weeks, he had been taking care of them, and now they were off on their own. As of yet, there had been only a few texts, and everything seemed to be going well.

At least that’s what they were telling him. In the back of his mind, Callen couldn’t help but worry.

What if they were unhappy?

What if Ethan was breaking her heart?

God, all of this stress was giving him an ulcer. How the bloody hell had his brother handled all this
, and so seamlessly? The pressure that he was facing was almost daunting.

His brother
was a miracle worker to pull this off every day. There were reports to sign, agents to send out, and the general chaos that ensued at the second biggest FBI hub in the world. He couldn’t wait to get on that plane and head out.

Seriously, he needed a vacation.

At the knock on his door, he glanced up, and actually prayed that it wasn’t going to be bad news.

“Director, where are the other two bosses?” Christopher Leonard asked
, walking in. He liked coming into this office. It was a serene blue and had a lot of collectables. Most of them were personal little trinkets that Chris liked to stare at. Often, new ones appeared and Whitefox was never even aware they were there, until you pointed them out.

Callen leaned back in his chair and pointed to the one across from him, offering their ME a seat. “How many times do I have to tell you that
calling me by my name is fine?” he asked.

Chris laughed. “Sorry, it’s habit. I forget sometimes that you three aren’t scary anymore.”

While in Circle Rock, they had become closer, all because they had been the ones who had to find Ethan. Callen appreciated Chris and Cyra, because they held up when he needed them most.

“Don’t let Elizabeth hear you say that. She’ll make an example of you in front of the whole building,” he teased.

He didn't doubt it.

“Ethan and Elizabeth are taking a break.”

That worried Chris. “Are they okay?” he asked, lowering his voice.

Callen hoped so. “I don’t know. We’re trying to hold it together, but Ethan is having a rough time
, emotionally.” Callen knew that he could trust Chris Leonard. After all, they were friends above everything else.

“He’ll work it out,”
Chris reassured. “Ethan’s a man of his word, and he’ll find his way back to center. What he went through was tough for even the strongest of men.”

“Yeah, I know. Is there something that I can help you with before I head out?”

“Ethan asked me to update him on the new head lab tech, that’s all. It can wait.”

Callen clicked his pen. “How is she doing?” he asked
. A part of him was curious himself if the woman could actually replace Christina. She had been a force to reckon with.

“She’s making a few rookie mistakes, but I really think that it’s nerves. She’s worked for the FBI for a while, but being in charge of the lab isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
It’s one thing to work on one job at a time. Christina used to do ten at once.”

Callen found that funny
and could sympathize completely. “You should try being in charge of everything. It’s like a warzone. I’m waiting for the next explosion.”

“Well, since Elizabeth isn’t here, chances are you’re golden for the time being,” he
added, reassuringly.

Whitefox snorted and offered him
a fist bump. “Amen to that.”

“If you need anything while we’re all away, I want you to contact me, not
Ethan, or Elizabeth,” he stated. “They needed time to regroup and heal in peace.

“Gotcha,
boss man.”

Callen found that entertaining. He never sa
w that coming in all his life. He never believed that he would be one of the power players for the FBI. Yeah, he was in charge of the Rez police at one time, but this was so much different.

This was the big time.

Fate was funny like that.

“Carry on, Doctor,” Callen stated, as he went back to signing the last of the papers. Yeah, he couldn’t wait to get his ass on that plane and back to his family.

For now, Callen planned on continuing to take one for the team, but when he saw his partners, he was going to be ready for a break.

                              *     *     *

As he sharpened the tools that he would need to do the job, he stared at the prone man lying bound on the table in his shed. He must have knocked him a little hard on his noggin, since he still wasn’t awake.

That was a problem.

This need to eat was growing in him, and he was feeling out of control. Part of his brain told him to just kill him, but there was a little piece that told him to do the right thing.

The honorable thing was to f
ace his victim and thank him for the sacrifice.

So, that was what he planned on doing.

As he grabbed a bucket of ice cold water that he intended to use to cool the internal organs with, he dumped it on the older man. It got the reaction that he wanted, and the man was pulled from unconsciousness.

“Where am I?” he gasped
, as the water shocked his already distressed body. The pain was growing from his chest and radiating outwards.

Doc knew the truth.

He was in trouble, and not only because of the man who had abducted him. He was having the telltale signs of cardiac distress.

He was dying.

“I brought you to my place, Doctor Trudeaux,” he answered.

“Why?”

“Because I’m hungry and need to eat.”

That confused the bound man. “I don’t unde
rstand. I have food at my place. You could have had all you wanted. This wasn’t necessary.”

He laughed sardonically. “You misunderstand me, Doctor. I don’t want
your
food. I want
you
as the food.”

Cognizance dawned and horror
flittered across his face. “What?”

“You heard me. I plan on killing you
, and then harvesting your flesh as my future meals.”

Doc struggled through the chest pain as he tried to understand what the man was saying. Surely, he was confused. Did the man just tell him that he was going to eat him?

He was a meal?

“I have a little rule. Before I kill someone, I like to make peace with their souls before they die. I believe it makes the meat taste sweeter. There is no bitter taste of guilt to taint the
meal.”

Okay, this man was insane.

No, that may not even describe it.

“Why me?” he whispered, as it was getting harder and harder to breathe.
The time was ticking away as his heart was failing.

“You were starting to dig around where you had no business.”

Immediately, he knew and understood what he was saying.

The bones.

He was right!

This was all about the bones that they
dredged from the river. Now, it was all going to come down to Tony putting it all together. His heart sank, and then he remembered the woman who came back to take a hiatus.

Elizabeth would figure this out!

He prayed that he left enough breadcrumbs for her to follow. Once they realized he was gone, it was just a matter of time. His disappearance would set Elizabeth on the trail.

“Don’t eat me. Just let me go,” he murmured
, hopefully.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I do promise to respect the gift
, which you’re about to give me, and savor every bite.”

When he picked up the meat cleaver, Doc prayed to go quickly into death.

“Okay, let’s get cooking!”

It didn't take long for the screams to fill the air.

When they stopped, there was only the gleeful laughter and the growl of an empty belly.

It looked like
death was just in time.

                        *     *     *

The afternoon that they shared was amazing. After breakfast, they walked hand in hand, doing what they didn't get a chance to do the first time that they were there. It was a beautiful day. The temperature wasn’t too warm or too cold.