Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (70 page)

“Hey, Lyzee. Do you three want coffee?” he asked, coming down off the porch to greet her with a hug.

“No, we can’t stay, Tony, but I did want to tell you that if you want your deputy job back, there are going to be some conditions.”

He honestly didn't believe that she would be able to pull it off.
“Like?”

“No more drinking, you head to rehab
, and you get therapy,” she offered.

He placed his coffee on the porch rail and hugged her
again. Picking her up, Tony spun her around.

Ethan practically growled. “Put her down, before I break your arms.”

Callen was with his brother on this. “That’s enough, Tony!”

When he placed her on her feet,
he was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. “I won’t ask how you did it, but thank you, Lyzee,” he said, gratefully.

“It’s okay, Tony. Just do the work, and you’ll be back on duty.” Motioning to the men, she headed back towards the vehicle
, and then paused. “I don’t want to come back here for your funeral, Tony. It’s time to grow up and move forward.”

His heart skipped.

“I promise I’ll get better,” he said, watching them
climb into their rental and pull away. He couldn’t believe he was getting another chance.

This was like a sign from God.

Taking his coffee, he headed back up the stairs into his cabin. At his desk, he picked up the picture that he saved of Elizabeth from high school, and he kissed it.

After all, what would it hurt?
Maybe one day, he would get to experience the real deal…

                                *   *   *

Well, it was official.

Cyra wouldn’t miss doing notifies when she was done with the FBI. They had to be the worst thing ever. When they arrived at the pig farm, Duke’s wife was so distraught that she began wailing. They almost had to call for an ambulance, for fear that she was going to have some sort of episode and die herself.

Then
, she asked where he was found and the weeping stopped. It was like a switch was flipped and it was time for the tirade and cursing to begin. She was convinced that the filthy ‘Injuns’ had something do with his death. No matter how much they tried to convince her otherwise, her mind was made up.

It was a Native
who had perpetrated this crime.

When they were finally able to escape that grief
and anger filled home, they still had to head to Marjorie Willard’s home and repeat the process. Neither woman wanted to do it, but they had no choice.

Sitting the grieving husband down, they told him that they found the rest of her remains. When he asked to see her, they had to tell him the horrible truth.

Once the man found out that his wife had been decapitated and taken apart, his world began to crumble around him once more. His sobs were almost as bad as Mrs. Williams, only he tried to mourn his wife while holding onto their child.

Cyra’s heart broke for the man, and while her partner offered
him some solace, she took the crying little one from him and tried to soothe the baby. When the little girl placed her head on her shoulder and immediately began sucking on her fingers, Cyra wanted to weep.

This poor
child wouldn’t ever see her mother again. She would never have those moments with her that every girl deserved. It reminded her of the life she led, once her own mother had died.

In her heart, she couldn’t bear it.

Cyra made a decision. She had told Chris that once they had kids, she was going to retire. This case had changed all that. When this assignment was over, she wanted to quit her job. Being a wife was something that she always wanted, but never thought would be possible. Now, her dear, sweet man was giving her the opportunity at the best job in the world, and she wasn’t going to squander it.

Cyra was about to get a raise and promotion to a brand new career.

She wouldn’t be bored, because she could open a dog training business on the side, and work around Chris’s schedule. Lately, she couldn’t bear to not be by his side. Risking her life, it just didn't seem right anymore.

It was time to
open a new page in their book, and that meant starting anew. She could still head to FBI West to see him while he worked, or have dinner with him. Dedicating her life to one man, and a family, was something that she watched her mother do, until her life was cut too short.

She remembered the happiness and the moments of joy on her father’s face. There were home baked cookies
, and arts and crafts for her siblings.

Suddenly, she wanted that more than anything else in the wor
ld. Finally, her brain and heart met up and decided. Later, she was going to tell him and give him the surprise of his life.

“Hey,
are you okay?” called her partner from the doorway.

Cyra shushed her, as she placed the sleeping baby in her crib. Tucking her in, she wished the little girl well in life, and she prayed that everything would
work out for her. Out in the hall, she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Are you crying?” Harper asked, incredulously.

“Yeah, that little girl lost her mother. That’s heartbreaking.”

“I didn't think it got to you anymore,” she answered, staring at her partner. “You always look so calm and collected.”

Outside the house, she glanced at her partner. “Here’s my advice, Harper. The day it stops getting to you, is the day you find another career. You can’t be a good detective, FBI agent, or cop if you don’t have compassion for the dead you stand over, and the living who you’re protecting.”

The woman didn't say anything.

“Come on. Let’s grab a coffee. I need a little mental health break.”

Harper kept her mouth shut and silently observed her partner. She wasn’t sure what to think about the woman’s comment. Part of her wanted to say it was the emotion talking,
but maybe it was more.

Harper squirrelled it away as sage advice.

             
                  *   *   *

When the threesome pulled up to Barbara Harris’s house, the woman was tearing into the groundskeeper and raging around like a lunatic. When they got out of the vehicle, no one said anything, because they wanted to watch the woman in action.

Apparently, she not only had it in for the gardener, but the plants too, because she was ripping them out at an alarming rate.

“I don’t care how much they cost,” she yelled at him. “I wanted them in maroon not yellow!”

“But M
rs. Harris, they don’t come in yellow. You wanted a plant that was rare, and I got the only one that I could find,” he pleaded, as he watched her rip the plants from the ground in a tirade. “It’s not the right season for what you had in mind.”

“It looks like someone is having a bad day,” Elizabeth said, softly.

The men agreed.

“Get them out of here. I don’t want
God awful plants that look horrible in my front yard! I tried to like them since you planted them, but who could? They’re hideous!”

Xavier Jensen grabbed the plants and ran for
his and their lives.

When she turned around, all three FBI directors stood there smiling at her
, and it pissed her off even more. “What do you want now?” she snapped.

“We had to speak to you, but we figured that you would want us to let you finish your hissy fit. Good one by the way,” said Elizabeth. “It takes a tough woman to scare a man that handles plants all day
, and to beat up on some pretty flowers.”

She snarled
in anger. “This is private property. If you want to question me, then you can call my lawyer. I have nothing to say to you.”

Elizabeth wasn’t put off by bitchy people. In fact, she love
d when they threw down attitude. It gave her an opportunity to do the same.

“Yeah, we don’t have any questions.”

“Then why the hell are you here? This is harassment and I’m going to file a lawsuit against you and the FBI.”

She started laughing. “Yeah, go ahead and try. I’ll call my buddies at the IRS and have them investigate every tax
return you filed for the last twenty years. They’ll freeze up your bank accounts, and you’ll be stuck without any money until they finish up their witch hunt. Try me, so I can have some fun this week. Oh, and by witch, what I really meant was stark, raving bitch.”

The woman said nothing, but the look she gave Elizabeth was nothing short of shooting ice daggers at her.

“We came here,” she began, as she pulled out her tablet and flipped to Jefferson Harris’s autopsy photo, “to tell you that we found the rest of your husband.”

She flipped it over callously, trying to gauge the woman’s response. When
Barbara stared at the severed head, and then started to smile, even Elizabeth was caught off-guard.

“He’s really dead?”

Uh, someone needed some meds. This woman’s emotions were all wacked out. Who was happy to see a person’s decapitated head?

Well, other than a murderer.

“Yes, he is. We at the FBI are sorry for your loss. If you need anything, we will be happy to help you out in this time of grieving.”

The woman started laughing and calling for the gardener. When he came running, he looked just as befuddled as they did. “Order whatever flowers you want!” she shouted. “I
’m mega rich, and you’re getting a raise! Put those ugly flowers back in or in your own yard! It’s time to celebrate!”

The man
stared at her like she was crazy. When she hugged him and began jumping up and down, he glanced over at the FBI, his face showing his confusion.

“They found Jefferson’s carcass!”
she sang in glee.

The man looked appalled at her exuberance.

“I want roses!” she said, releasing him. “Go order lots and lots of them. That bastard never let me have what I wanted, and now we’re going to make this estate my home!”

Xavier stared at her for a second, as if trying to figure out what to do.

“Really! Go! I’m ready to help you plant a zillion roses.”

The man raced off to do what she wanted.

Elizabeth watched him leave. He was the lucky one, since this woman was apparently out of her mind and needed medication.

Elizabeth looked over at her husband. “You said the killer had no empathy
. Does this count?”

Blackhawk had never seen anyone happy that their partner or spouse was dead. “Now
, I’m questioning my profile. Maybe it is a woman, because she’s actually giddy over this.”

“I can’t believe that she laughed at the autopsy photos,” stated
Callen, as he watched her spin in gleeful circles. “That has to be a first.”

The woman
stopped her celebration and focused on them. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch to y’all. I was under so much stress. Now, I’m as free as a bird. Would you like some sweet tea?” she offered.

“NO!” they all said at the same time.
The woman was definitely looped.

“Now, I don’t have to file a million papers to get him declared dead. I have the coroner’s report
, and that’s all I need to make my day!”

“So, you feel nothing?” Elizabeth asked.

“I feel light and free. I was married to a bastard. He was abusive. Jefferson slept around, and he gave me an STD. This is poetic justice. When you find the killer, I’m going to contribute to his defense fund. Trust me when I say they did the world a favor.”

Well, she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell the woman her husband was eaten. That might make her throw a party.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go call my attorney. He has papers to file, and I have money to inherit. I was his only living heir!”

With that, she ran off towards the house.

“Holy shit, that was just wrong on so many levels. I don’t even have the ability to be sarcastic right now,” Elizabeth said, staring as the woman actually did a cartwheel.

Callen shook his head. “I do believe that is living proof of what I believe they call a gold digger.
Apparently, they do exist.”

Blackhawk shook his head incredulously. If he had lost his partner, God forbid, he wouldn’t be having a party. He would be deep in mourning. “Just add this to my list of why I dislike blondes.”

That sentiment made her laugh. “Okay, well, how about we head into town and get something to eat? Baby Blackhawk is hungry, and I want to meet up with the team and start working on what we’re going to do next.”

The men hopped into the Navigator
, and they all buckled in. There was nothing but silence as they drove to the pizza place. What could anyone say after what they just witnessed?