Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (19 page)

“Shoot.”

Elizabeth broke it all down. She told him about the bones and the missing man. The emotion was clearly present in her voice, and it spoke volumes as to what was brewing in her heart.

“What do I do, Gabe?”

He thought about it. “Do we have full remains?”

“No. We have bits and pieces.”

“Before I authorize anyone on the ground, I want the river dredged. It might just be someone who drowned, or Native remains could have accumulated in the basin. If you find any more bones, or complete a skeleton, then you can call in your team.”

“You don’t want this one?” she asked, watching the faces of her
men. Neither looked bothered, and that helped her relax.

“No, you’re right there. If three directors can’t figure this one out,
then we have a problem.” Then, he paused. “Is Ethan going to be able to handle this?”

She stared right into her husband’s eyes. “If there’s an investigation, I have no doubt that Ethan will be up to it. He’s already his old self.”

Her belief in him was astounding, and it gave him the strength to believe in the man he was, then and now.

“Okay,
then you three have fun swimming in the river.”

“I’ve been in
that water. It’s a bitch. You can’t see a thing in front of you. Nasty critters live in there too.”

“Better you than me,” he stated
, disconnecting the call.

“Well,” she said, hanging up. “We dredge and if we find more bones,
Gabe gave us the authorization to begin investigating Doc’s disappearance.”

“Well, then we better get moving,” stated Callen. “We’re burning daylight.”

Ethan held out his hand. “I’m glad we thought to bring our guns and badges,” he said, as he escorted his wife upstairs.

“Yeah, you’re quite the planner,” she replied.

Blackhawk grinned. “When your wife attracts death like bees to flowers, you need to be ready for anything.”

“Why
, Ethan, you’re a sweet talker,” she drawled, patting him on the ass, as they climbed the stairs.

“
The shrink did tell me to be more romantic...”

Once they
clipped on their badges, loaded their guns and headed to the sheriff’s station, each of them was feeling something different. Ethan was still a little bit nervous about going back into the field, adding to it, the stress of Elizabeth being pregnant.

Callen was worried about his family and how this may or may not affect them.
In his mind, he was still visualizing how at ease his brother was last night, when he arrived. Callen didn't want Ethan to lose that.

Elizabeth was a ball of nerves. Her foot was tapping, she was now snapping gum, and it was all because of what might come out of all of this. She genuinely was worried about Doc.
Inside, she was praying that he was off somewhere fishing and just forgot to tell his staff.

As they pulled up in front of the building, the three stood there and waited for someone to make their move.

“Here’s where it begins and comes full circle,” Ethan said, taking Elizabeth’s hand in his.

Callen joined him as they prepared to get started.

“We have your back, baby,” Ethan reassured.

“Always,” replied Callen.

Elizabeth nodded, and headed into the building to face the ghosts of Lyzee’s past. All that she could hope was they would take it easy on her, and the men in her life.

For one damn time!

Once inside the building, nothing had changed
, and it all came flooding back to her. This one place had offered her solace after what had happened in DC. This was where she came to find herself, in the process she found love, life renewed, and a second chance.

Before she could brace for it, Martha came racing towards her and threw herself against her body. If it wasn’t for Ethan standing behind her, she would have hit the floor.

“Martha, it’s good to see you too,” she said, hugging the woman tightly. This was the woman who offered her a motherly touch when she returned broken and battered. Her secretary was a force to reckon with.

“What is this? You don’t call? Not even an email to let me know that you’re coming?”

She laughed. “I’m sorry! I’ve been a little busy.”

“You don’t even send me pictures of your kids
anymore.” The woman pulled away and grinned at the one man behind Elizabeth. “Ethan Blackhawk, welcome back,” she said, hugging him next. When her boss ran off and married him, many thought she was crazy, but Martha knew it was a perfect fit.

She could see it in his eyes.

These two were made for each other.

“Thank you, Martha. I’ve missed you too,” Ethan said, hugging the woman warmly. Anyone
who his wife called family, he did too. This spitfire of an older woman was definitely one of them, plus he owed her. When he and Elizabeth had a fight, and he thought she was out being stalked by a killer, Martha called him to tell him where she was.

When
the spry older woman pulled away, she stared up at the other Native man in the room. “Well, well, who is this fine specimen?” she asked, checking him out. There was something sexy about his white button down shirt and beat up boots.

Callen took it upon himself to
make the introductions, since both Ethan and Elizabeth were grinning. “I’m Callen Whitefox.”

She smiled wide. “It’s nice to meet you,” she offered, holding out her hand. “Whenever an eligible man rolls into town, I like to be first in line.”

The absurdity of that was clear, which made it that much more endearing to them all. Here was a seventy year old woman, hitting on a MUCH younger man.

“Actually, I’m taken,” he said, holding up his left hand.

“Well shit, that gal is one lucky woman,” Martha said, shaking her head.

Callen left it up to Elizabeth to say more. This was her old territory and her family.

“I certainly am,” she replied, instantly.

Martha stared at Elizabeth. “What’s that supposed to mean, missy?” she asked.

The woman had a way of making you squirm, unfortunately for Martha, this was one topic that she wouldn’t be made to feel guilty about. Her love for the two men was nothing but a source of pride, never embarrassment.

“Callen and I are a couple.”

Martha stared at Ethan. “Did you get divorced?”

All three shook their heads
and watched as she put two and two together in her head.

“Holy shit, your father would either be laughing his ass off or beating you men silly.
Charlie would have out his shotgun and a load of buckshot with both your names on it.”

Ethan shrugged. “I’m married to her. I think they’d be the two he was chasing.”

Elizabeth snorted.

“Yeah, you’re Mr. Innocent,” Callen added, snickering.

They all found that humorous.

“I’ll show you pictures of our kids,” Elizabeth said, trying to get the bright red shade on Martha’s face to come down a little. At the mention of kids, it seemed to work.
Elizabeth wasn’t sure if she was stirred up because of the two men or because she was picturing what went on in her house.

“Show me what you got,” she said.

All three pulled out their phones and showed the woman their wallpaper. On Ethan’s, there was CJ coloring. On Callen’s, there was Cat and EJ sitting at the table in highchairs. Then on Elizabeth’s was her with the three little ones surrounding her.

“They are beautiful,” Martha said.
“You have your own little Native tribe.”

“I’m also pregnant right now,” Elizabeth added. “Ethan is going to be a daddy again. Now
, they have two a piece.”

Martha hugged her. “I’m so happy for you.” Who was she to judge how her old boss found happiness, as long as she did
? That was all that mattered to her. “Charlie would be proud of you,” she stated.

At his name, Elizabeth felt a wave of sorrow wash th
rough her. Her greatest wish was that her dad was there to be a grandfather.

“I believe
that he would be,” she replied. When both men moved closer to her, sharing a simple touch, Elizabeth managed to keep it in check.

“Now, why are you here?”

“I need to see Tony,” she said. “Where is he?”

Martha pointed at the office. “He’s been hiding out in there for the last hour or so. I don’t know
what’s wrong with that boy, but he looks plum scared stupid.”

Great.

Babysitting was just what they needed.

“We need to talk with him. You don’t need t
o announce us. I’m sure that he knows we’re coming.”

Martha simply nodded and watched them head to the office door. It wasn’t lost on her that they had their badges and guns on too. That meant they were here on business. Something was definitely up.
It was a matter of waiting and seeing what was going on in Salem.

Or, true to form, she could just snoop and dig it up!

Yeah, that was more her style.

Opening the door, the three headed inside. Tony wasn’t behind the desk, but pacing nervously back and forth. He had redecorated the room, and it looked more like a bachelor pad than a sheriff’s office. It was packed full of sports memorabilia and other man treasures.

The sexy women calendar was a bit much.
Don’t get her wrong, she would plaster half naked pictures of Ethan and Callen all over the place if she could, but there was a time and a place.

This wasn’t it.

“I love what you did with the place,” Ethan said, beating Elizabeth to the punch on that one.

Tony immediately stopped pacing. “Thanks. What did you find out?” he blurted, heading right to the heart of the matter.

“We need to dredge the river.”

He stared at her. “Do you think Doc is in there?”

Elizabeth didn't know what to think at this point. Her mind was going a mile a minute, and she was a little thrown off balance by the office that once meant so much to her and her father. It once had stood for something, and now it was simply a mockery. Tony was making it a spectacle, and in more ways than one. Yet, she held her tongue and tried to play nice.

“I can’t answer that, but I do know you need to call up the dive team and send them into the
location where you found these remains. It’s going to be a shitty job, but someone’s got to do it.”

Tony thought about it. “I just assumed you’d be handling it.”

Blackhawk hoped the man didn't think that Elizabeth was going into that water. If he did, he was in for a rude awakening, and a boot in his ass. Check that. Make it two boots in his ass; Callen looked just as perturbed.

“No, this is your mess and your town. Unless we find something in the water, I can’t step in and handle this. For now, you’re the sheriff. Grow a set and man up.”

Tony was trying to not get angry. He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't approve of his office, or the job that he was doing.

He picked up his phone and paused to flip through the rolodex to find the number of the man in charge of the water team.

Elizabeth didn't want to see him look even more embarrassed then he should be, so she hit speed dial and number nine. Immediately, it began dialing.

They waited as the man gave the instructions. When he hung up the phone,
Whitefox began asking him questions.

“Was anyone bothering Doc? Did he have any concerns about his safety?”

Tony shook his head. “No, he never said anything to me about someone bugging him. If he did, I would have handled it. I’m sorry, but I’m at a loss with this one.”

They stood from the chairs and headed to the doors.

“Where are you going?” he called after them.

Elizabeth turned and looked at him. “This is your rodeo, darlin
’. I think that you need to haul your sheriff-y self down to the river and watch your men dredge it. We’re going to grab a coffee and meet you there in a little while.”

“
Seriously? You mean you’re not coming to run it?” he asked, his voice filled with angst and nerves. “I thought you were yanking my chain.”

She shook her head. “There comes a time, grasshopper, when you have to step up and take the reins.”

“I have been! I’m running this town.”

The whole time she was in his office, she tried to hold her tongue and play nice, not because she was worried, but because the man had once been a friend. “Tony, you may wear the badge and sit in the office, but you have a lot to learn
about doing the job.”

He watched her walk away.