Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (13 page)

It was perfect.

As they strolled around the town Elizabeth had grown up in, she showed him all the places that they never got to visit together. There was the high school football field where she was a cheerleader, the park where she learned to defend herself against a bully, and the little ice cream parlor where she once worked as a teenager.

Going inside, they sat at a table and shared
some dessert. Licking each other’s cones, they became reacquainted as they offered up sticky sweet kisses.

As for
the perfect day, this one was pretty high up there on the list. It was just what they needed in order to help heal the rift in their lives. Already, Elizabeth was feeling the tenuous strain between them healing.

Ethan was back, or
at least he was trying desperately to return.

When she raced dow
n the street, Ethan chased right behind. As he caught her around the waist and pressed her to the nearest tree, they were both out of breath. The making out that followed drew from him a sense of peace that had been long since missing.

Here was love, once batter
ed and bruised, and now found and restored to better than before.

This was a memory
that Ethan never wanted to fade. This one perfect moment needed to be preserved forever. Pulling out a pocket knife, he glanced around to assure they weren’t being watched. “You be my look out,” he whispered in her ear.

“What are you doing?” she
asked, as the giggles began to take over. Maybe it was the pregnancy, or the sugar coursing through her body, but something had her incredibly high.

Oh yeah, it was her sexy Native man.

“Cover me and don’t ask any questions,” he replied, as he went to work.

While she glanced around, he continued his mission. When he was finally done, he tapped her shoulder.

Elizabeth turned and stared at the bark of the tree, right outside the sheriff’s station. On the trunk, Ethan had carved her a work of art. It waxed poetic, since this place was what brought them together once before.

Now, here it was immortalized for all eternity.

                      
EJB Loves ERL

“I used your maiden name, since I should have thought to do this years ago
, on the day I first saw you.”

She was ridiculously touched by what he had just done. “Ethan, it’s perfect.”

“I left room for Callen’s initials if you wanted to put them there.”

Elizabeth stared up into his
eyes. “As much as I love Callen, and he owns half of my heart, this is our thing. It’s perfect as it is.”

Those words made him tumble
even more for her. She was giving him something that he could hold onto when the cold threatened to pull him under.

Pulling out her phone, she snapped a picture. “I’ll put it in a frame for our kids to see one day.”

Ethan couldn’t help it, or contain his feelings anymore. He pressed her back against the tree and invaded with his mouth. He wanted to devour his woman in greedy gulps at what she had just given him.

No one would replace her
, and he had been a fool to think their love had faded. It shone just as bright as it did years ago. He was only temporarily blinded by his fears and insecurities.

Here was his sun, moon
, and stars, all wrapped up in one beautiful package.

When her arms wrapped around his neck, he pulled her off her feet and held her against him as
their mouths went to war. This was the perfect way to heal him. When he returned to work, he was going to hug Doctor Gaines and thank her for saving his soul.

She was a miracle worker.
He may have been the profiler extraordinaire, but she was far wiser than he had given credit. In fact, Callista Gaines was a certified genius in his book.

When a car honked and someone yelled
‘get a room’
, Ethan finally let her go.

There was laughter in her eyes, even as she fought to catch her breath. “Wow
! That was some kiss, Mr. Blackhawk. Holy shit! You have some crazy mad making out skills.”

He dropped his arm over her shoulder and led her away
from the tree that would forever be theirs. “Yeah, well my wife brings it out in me.”

Elizabeth tucked her hand in his back pocket as they walked down the street. “How about we hit up the grocery store
, and then head home? Callen should be arriving in two hours. He’s already in the air.”

He was good with that. As much as
Blackhawk loved monopolizing her time, Ethan also loved having his brother with them. They were a united front against the world and an amazing couple.

“Sounds like a plan,” he replied, as he nodded at the people they passed on their way to the store. This time, he didn't care that they were staring at the ‘Indian’.

Finally, he was at peace.

It didn't take them long to fill a grocery cart. Every time Elizabeth mentioned something that sounded good, Ethan tossed it in. He was more than willing to spend any amount of money to please his woman and feed the little life she was growing in her body.

He’d been down this road once before, and knew that a happy pregnant wife was the best option for everyone involved. Secretly, he still wanted to tell the world that once again, he was going to be a daddy.

There was nothing sweeter to his ears.

As Elizabeth bent over the meat case to inspect something to make for dinner, he couldn’t help but check her out. “Tony was right,” he stated.

When she looked over her shoulder, she finally got what he was talking about. It was the lecherous eyebrow wiggle that clued her in to it.

“Well, if you help me pick out dinner, we can head home and you can check it out naked
, just to make sure.”

That had him focused. He began grabbing anything that he saw. “Meat is meat. Hurry up so we can get the hell out of here.”

She found that entertaining.

Then suddenly, her gut began warning her.

Someone was watching them.

After years of being a Fed, she
knew to listen to her instinct, and especially now, since ignoring it almost got Ethan killed. As she tensed, so did Ethan. He had obviously become good at reading her body language.

“What’s up?”

Elizabeth scanned the area around her, and finally found the man who was quietly observing them. From the look on his face, she knew he wasn’t thrilled to see them.

Honestly,
the feeling was mutual.

“Well, look
ee here, Cowboy. It’s the ex-mayor, William Argot. How’s parole, Will?” she asked, leaning against Ethan. She wasn’t afraid of the man, but she also knew that Ethan needed her to rely on him to heal his heart. He didn't want to be babied, and she was giving him the lead on this one.

Blackhawk held her protectively against his body. It was instinctual, but also because his Elizabeth was now carrying his child. Nothing was getting near her.

The old protective Ethan roared back to life, as that primitive need kicked in.

The man turned bright red.

“I see that you’re working here,” Elizabeth said, pointing at his apron. “I hope that doesn’t violate your conditions of release. I do see young kids walking around.”

He stalked towards her. “I’m not on parole!” he hissed. “I served my time for my crime
, and I’m trying to start my life over again. Unfortunately, that takes a job, and no one will hire me, thanks to you, bitch! Do you think I like working in a grocery store?”

Ethan was ready to tear the man limb from limb. He probably
should have kicked the shit out of him the last time they were in Salem.

Lesson learned.

Elizabeth’s melodious laughter broke free. “I think that’s funny, Will. You see, I wasn’t the one that was chasing young girls and blackmailing women to have sex with me. You were your own worst enemy on this one.”

“I’m screwed because of you arrest
ing me! I was once in charge of this town!” he raged.

Elizabeth shrugged. “Hey! We’re not the perverts who were dipping our sticks in all the
underage female townsfolk. You did this to yourself.”

He took a step closer and Blackhawk intervened. “If you even think about it, there won’t be enough of you left to throw back in jail.
I’ll make sure of it.”

The man must have believed Ethan, because he took a step back and walked away. When he headed to
the meat room and away from them, Blackhawk grinned.

“Wow! All the oldies are popping up today. First
we get to see Tony and now the ex-mayor. It’s like a strong wind shook the tree and all the nuts and squirrels fell out.”

She was entertained. “It’s like some really jacked up high school reunion
with the creepy men crawling out of the woodwork. It’s odd how all the crackpots think they’re perfectly normal and the Feds are the bad guys.”

He considered it. “You know, you were wrong about one thing,” he began.

“Oh, really?”

“He’s not the only pervert hanging out around you,” he whispered in her ear.

The chills raced up her flesh and made her flush with heat.

“I’m thinking about some truly
depraved things, and I’m pretty damn sure that they’re illegal in this state.”

She swallowed. “Well then, let’s get home so you can get your
debauchery on!”

Blackhawk gave her the grin that he’d perfected years ago. “You have yourself a deal, Lyzee.”

Yeah, she couldn’t wait.

There was something to be said about a lecherous husband on the prowl.

~ Chapter Four ~

   
Two Hours Later

This was his favorite time of the day.

Dark was just starting to fall, and it was almost suppertime. Soon
, he would be heading back to his place to a nice roast in the oven.

He could already smell it now.

As his mind pictured the delicious meal waiting for him, he began to salivate like crazy. All he needed to do was dump the carcass, and he could call it a night.

It wasn’t easy to filet out the entire body.

In fact, the older man was probably a little too tough for the meals that he had planned, but that was life. After this roast, if he was a tough old bird, he would likely have to tenderize him in a crock pot and as barbeque.

Hey, whatever! As long as his belly was full, he would be more than willing to accommodate.
Maybe he would even whip up a batch of his homemade jerky.

Nothing would go to waste
, and he wouldn’t even need to go scrounge up some wildlife.

Schlepping the burlap sack across the woods was enough to build up an appetite, and that’s why he wanted to get it done.

There was nothing like a hard day at work to truly appreciate the meal before you.

As a small boy, his father had instilled in his mind
that if you wanted to eat, you had to work. Today, people wanted the easy way out and didn't appreciate the small things in life. Everything was a convenience.

Finding your meal and having to prepare it was an art.

And he was an artist.

At the river, he stared into the dark murky waters and was grateful that they were swallowing his scraps. The fact that the ME and police had found other bones didn't concern him. He took off as much flesh as possible and kept the skulls.

The bones would be unidentifiable.

He was in the clear.

Dumping out the bag of bones, he watched as they sank into the black water of the river and disappeared into the muddy depths. The water temporarily stained red, as the rest of the blood seeped into the water, mixing with the decay filled murk.

Once it was finished, he turned to head back home. Now that this was done, it was time to check on his dinner and
maybe grab a few beers at the bar. The waitress he liked was working tonight. He began wondering if she would like his cooking.

Then again, it didn't matter.
Tonight was all about celebrating.

It was all about death winning out over life.