Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (60 page)

“I feel like I am responsible. I hate knowing that he died not knowing that I loved him.
My last call to him was fast and for him to just open up our home. I never took the time to talk to him, or ask him what was up. I was in such a damn hurry that I didn't even care to ask.”

He
ran his hand up her bare leg. “He was absolutely thinking about you as he died.”

She stared into his face. “What do you mean?”

“Since you called him, he knew that you were coming here, right?” he asked, trying to help her navigate through the grief.

“Yes.”

“Then as he was dying, I’m sure that he was thinking about you. Doctor Trudeaux knew how ferocious you were when a challenge landed in your lap. There was no doubt that he knew you would get him justice, because that’s what you do. You fight valiantly for the people who no longer have a voice. Doctor Trudeaux knew that the little girl, who he and Charlie had raised, was a warrior. You will beat this killer, you will return the victims to their families, and you will win, because your heart is dedicated to the dead.”

“Sometimes, I want to quit.”

He laughed. “I would hope you would. If you ever wake up and don’t feel the hurt and emotions that this job brings, it’s time to pack it up. You stand for the dead, and that comes with a heavy burden. You were born to do this, Lyzee. It’s your calling.”

She stared at him, and his words offered her so much peace. In fact, they chased the darkness away and offered her the first glimpse at respite that she had
seen all day.

“Callen,” she murmured, staring at his lips.

“Yes, Lyzee?” he answered, going still beneath her.

She leaned in and placed her mouth over his, in the most delicate of kisses. Just that lip to lip contact healed a little piece of her. Pulling away, she stared into his chocolate-y brown eyes, and fell in love even more with him, if that was possible.

“Make love to me?” she asked, hoping that he would chase the rest of the demons from her soul with his own warrior heart. The broken had become the brave, and she needed him now more than ever. “I need to feel.”

There was no need for words. Pushing them up off the couch, he carried her up
the stairs to their bedroom. Once inside, he closed the door and placed her delicately in the middle of the bed. She was a treasure to him, and he knew that while sometimes what grew between them was wild and out of control, it could also be soft and gentle.

Love was more than heart pounding sex.

It was moments like this too.

She came to her knees to watch him strip out of his clothes, and she admired his body. The lines and angles that she loved so much were there to offer her comfort. Just running her hands over the familiarity was cathartic.

It offered peace.

It gave love.

It healed.

Callen took her hand from his flesh and placed a kiss in her palm. It showed the affection that was there, under it all. Then, without speaking, he gently pulled her shirt from her body. Here was his woman, and the mother of his and Ethan’s children. No one would ever matter more.

Ever.

Unbuckling his belt and jeans, he let them drop as he climbed onto the bed to lay beside her. Q
uickly, she moved into his arms. Her body twined possessively around his, locking him to her.

Mouths met, as the two lovers shared everything inside of them. It was slow, steady
, and full of adoration.

Love was healing, even as moments before it had been the dagger to her heart.

“Oh Callen,” she murmured, as his hands stroked, soothed and slid delicately across her body. When they came to rest on her belly, she stared into his eyes.

“I love you, Elizabeth, and I’ll love this child as my own.” Callen took the vow and offered it to her
, just as his brother had done for his children.

The love swamped her, as his mouth went back to worshipping her. His lips left a trail across her collarbones and to the vee of her breasts. When his hands slid to her back, he gently removed the bra that held his treasure captive. As he set her free, once more
, his mouth took the lead and offered so much pleasure that it that threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

Lower he moved, lips kissing and tongue swirling
, as he created a path to help her forget. When he reached her navel, he whispered to her belly, and the small little life burgeoning into existence there.

“I will guard you with my life, and you will never be afraid or alone,”
he promised little Charlie. “I already adore you.”

His words offered her comfort.

Each time Ethan or Callen had created life within her body, there was always that wariness that the jealousy would take over and destroy what love made. Yet, the men in her life loved with everything that they had. There was no room for anything but absolute trust and adoration.

Slipping her shorts down her hips, he found her ready for him. Gently, he began teasing and tasting her to give the woman he loved so much pleasure. Today
, there would be no doubt in her mind that she held his heart forever.

“Callen,” she gasped, as he
tormented her. When she shook beneath his lips, he shoved her off the edge just to help her forget. He must have known that it would fill her with the warmth that would scare away the darkness. This was the best medicine for her heart.

Moving up her body, he poised himself in position, bracing his body with his arms, as he stared down into her face. When her eyes opened, and cleared from the fall into the bliss, he slid into her slowly.

“Oh God,” she moaned, arching into him and wrapping her legs around his hips.

It took him a second to focus. Sliding into hi
s woman was like sinking into a seductive warmth. It made it hard to think straight, let alone remain in control.

Her hands wandered into his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers so they could be fully immersed in the kiss. As he began moving in and out of her body, she met him,
over and over.

Pleasure
built as her body claimed his. The gentle love making was filling them both with warmth and so much more.

Pulling her mouth from his, she stared into his eyes, as Callen drove them to the top and prepared them to tumble together.  “I love you, Callen James
Whitefox,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

“I will never love another woman but you, my love,” he said, offering her the term of endearment that she always gave him when he needed it.

The tears slipped and began sliding down her face, even as the pleasure built.

“Fall with me, Elizabeth,” he said, sliding into her one last time, and finding that exact spot that he knew would push her into the abyss.

She shattered apart, and her body tightened down on his, taking him with her.

With shouts of each other’s names, they fell together, wrapped as one.

When their breathing slowed, and their heartbeats returned to normal, he lifted his head and stared into her eyes, knowing what needed to happen next. “It’s okay to cry. I’m here.”

At his words, the dam broke and the salty tears fell. Trusting him, she let him roll, pulling her into his arms as he cradled her against him.

“I have you, angel. It’s okay.”

In that moment, she didn't doubt it at all.

Elizabeth knew that after the mourning came the anger, and with that would come the strength to get past this to find justice for the one she had lost.

The killer made a mistake.

He picked Salem and Doctor Trudeaux, and now, it was personal.

At that moment
she may be wounded, but soon, like the phoenix that symbolized their family, she would rise from the ashes and send that bastard straight to hell.

                                *   *   *

The hardest part about running a crime scene was making sure that your team found everything. You would only get one shot at it, and this was their opportunity.

Sheriff Donnell’s dive team pulled up bone after bone, and he helped carry them to the doctors. Together, Tony Magnus and Christopher Leonard put the bodies back together again.

Well, as best as they could.

When there were no more pieces, he sent them to the morgue to begin the long and arduous task of making the dead talk. Soon, they would need their story.

That meant autopsying what was left of them and giving the investigator part of the team a lead and direction. Having worked with them before, there were no worries as to when they would find something.

His team was the best.

He had no doubts
.

As the tech team packed up, he noticed their head tech heading his way. Stopping, he waited for her to approach him. From the look on her face, he somehow doubted that it was going to be good news, although the woman just nearly drowned
, and that could rattle just about anyone.

“Can I talk to you, Director Blackhawk?” she asked, as she stared up at him.

“Yes, what seems to be the problem, Veronica?”

“I need to discuss my job with you.”

Oh, yeah, this didn't bode well.

“I can’t do it,” she said
, simply. “I know that I had pretty big shoes to fill when Christina left, but I honestly think that you and Director Blackhawk are expecting me to be as good as she was, and I can’t be her.”

He stared at
Veronica.

“I feel like I’m losing an uphill battle. I try my best
, and the work environment is stressful and puts me on edge.”

Still, he let the woman finish
before he added his sage, director wisdom.

“I don’t think that I will ever be able to live up to the ba
r that Christina set for anyone who followed her. I know she was your favorite tech, and I don’t think that I’m ever going to be able to give you the results that are acceptable.”

Now, he was ready to discuss it.

“First of all, she wasn’t my favorite tech. You can ask anyone who works for me. I don’t play that game. To assume that I do, or that I treat anyone differently based on some skewed ranking of self-perceived favoritism, is insulting me as your boss. Not to mention to your intelligence, as the head tech.”

She opened her mouth, and he held up his hand to silence her.
“No, you had your chance to tell me how you feel, and now it’s my turn to reply.”

Veronica shut her mouth.

“At no point have we ever expected you do anything but your best work. No, you’re not Christina, because there is only one. Yet, we hired you for reasons that we thought were also important. You never missed work. You were able to get along with everyone on staff, and you appeared to care about the quality of work you produced. Those three things gave you the edge over the other applicants. If anything, you were allowed favoritism when you were given the position, since Christina recommended you. I can see that was a mistake on my behalf.”

Now
, the woman looked surprised.

“To address the bar that Christina has set. Yes, it
is high, but the reason it appears to be at that level is because she truly loved her work and dedicated her life to it. This wasn’t a job for her, but a passion. Where I think the problem lies, is not with the bar, but with the amount of love you feel for what you do. I personally am insulted that you are pushing this off on us being ‘too hard’ on you or expecting too much. If you can’t do the job, or simply feel that it isn’t what you thought it was going to be like, own it. Making excuses also insults my intelligence and tests my patience.”

“I didn't mean…”

“I am going to assume that you’re having a rough moment because of the earlier situation when you fell into the water. I will take that into account and not allow myself to get angry that you’re trying to blame us for your desire to quit in the middle of a field assignment. That alone shows a great lack of professionalism. Now, that being said, what is it that you really want to do, Veronica? Do you wish to be demoted? Are you looking to go back to your old position?”

She stared at him incredulously.
This wasn’t the response that she assumed she would get. Generally, Ethan Blackhawk was quite calm and the techs sang of his praises. “I…I…I don’t know.”

“Well, let me make this easy for yo
u. Your old position is filled. You no longer want to be head tech, by your own admission, so I will get you a flight back. You can turn in your badge, and I hope that you find something that isn’t such an uphill battle and so stressful. May I suggest to you that it’s not working with a unit that deals with death and serial killers? That’s the epitome of stressful.”

He waved at another tech and the man came over
, immediately.

“Yes
, Director?” he asked.

“Can you transport Veronica to the hotel for her things
, and then to the airport? She won’t be staying with us on the team anymore. She has quit.”