Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (75 page)

“Two minutes,” she said
, glancing down at her red splattered watch.

“I have plenty of time,” Chris stated, still clinging to his friend in hope that she would keep her word. He had no choice but to put his faith, hope and life in her hands.
He didn't want to lose his leg, but if that’s what had to happen, he would take it over dying any day.

“Okay, let’s go,”
a paramedic said as they lifted the man onto a gurney and tried to keep his leg stable enough that the woman didn't slip and release his artery.

“I love you, Cyra,” he called to his wife. “I’ll be okay.
I’m in really good hands!”

She watched him be
ing wheeled away, and she hoped that he was right.

Ethan dropped his arm around her shoulder
and pulled her against his side, reassuringly. “Callen’s going to drive you to the next town over and get you there as fast as possible.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you!”

As she raced out the door, he prayed his wife could keep hold of Chris’s life and keep her promise.

He didn't want to lose his friend
or his wife’s soul.

~ Chapter Twenty One ~

To say that it was a stressful flight would be an understatement. It was hard to hold onto Chris’s life, as her hand and arm cramped painfully. Yet, she wasn’t letting go.

If she failed, his life would be forfeited
, and on her shoulders for as long as she lived.

That
she couldn’t, and wouldn’t, live with.

The entire time they were in the air, neither spoke. Chris stared into her eyes and she did the same. Nothing needed to be said between them.

This was the ultimate trust.

As the helicopter landed, they gingerly removed their patient from the cargo hold and raced towards the building. Once inside, the doctors waited.

As one quickly clamped off his artery, freeing her hand, she gave him a kiss in the center of his forehead and told him that they’d be waiting for him.

When they wheeled him away, her heart pounded in her chest
, as she stood there watching him go.

As he approached the door on the gurney, Chris lifted his hand and saluted her. When the door closed behind him, the tears came.

For now, it was out of her hands.

Elizabeth had kept her promise and held on
, but now it was all up to her friend.

One Hour Later

She had tried to clean up as best she could, but her friend’s blood had stained her clothes and hands. It wasn’t lost on her that if he died, her soul would be tainted as well, since she made her promise.

Waiting wasn’t her strong point, and as she asked the nurse behind the counter one more time for an update, she was just about ready to pull out her badge and slap her with it.

Okay, maybe she was just hungry and cranky.

At the vending machine, she grabbed some candy and a coffee. If the men in her life were there, they’d shit a proverbial brick
at feeding the baby the high octane brew and sugar.

Yeah, well what was she supposed to do?

Walking back to the waiting room, she had just taken a bite of her candy bar when Cyra rushed through the doors with Callen right behind her.

When the woman saw Elizabeth, she raced towards her.

“Where is he?” she demanded.

“In surgery still,” she answered, sipping the coffee.

“You didn't…” How did she ask if Elizabeth let go?

Because she would have needed to know the same thing, she knew what Cyra was asking. “When we arrived, I was still holding onto him. He went in alive and clamped off.”

Her agent threw herself against her and hugged her. “I love you.”

That made her laugh. “I love you too.”

“I was dead serious. I’m naming our first born after you
and making you the Godmother for any children that we bring into this world! Hell! Callen and Ethan can be the Godfathers too!”

Callen grinned as he pulled the coffee and candy bar from her hand. “You don’t need the sugar, your hands are shaking already,” he stated.

Cyra was just about to offer to buy her anything that she wanted, when a doctor entered the waiting room.

“Mrs. Leonard?”

At her name, she spun and raced over to the man. They spoke and she nodded. When she turned, her eyes were filled with tears.

Elizabeth didn't know if it was good news or bad.

Cyra walked towards them and planted a big wet kiss on her mouth. “You’re my new best friend,” she said laughing, and then hugging Elizabeth as she let the tears fall. “Forget the girlfriend code. You’ve been upgraded to saint in my book.”

Callen found the entire thing entertaining, especially since it seemed to catch his woman off guard.

Yeah, it was funny to see.

Elizabeth held onto her and gently patted her back. “When can you see him?” she asked, knowing the kind of relief that
Cyra was feeling. When they finally let her see Ethan, after they had cleaned up his wounds, she had felt the same.

“He’s in recovery. They’re bringing him to a room. Will you come with me?” she asked, staring up into her friend
’s eyes.

“I tell you what. We’ll stop in tomorrow before we head out. I think that you and Chris need to celebrate him pulling through together.”

She hugged her again. “I will never forget what you did for him,” she paused and corrected the sentence, “for us.”

It was all her pleasure.

Callen took her hand in his, as they watched Cyra walk away. “Elizabeth Blackhawk, you’re bad ass,” he said, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

She didn't have a comment.

“Want to go home?” he asked.

“Yeah,
it’s tiring being a pregnant saint.”

Callen started laughing. “Oh, where to even go with that one,” he said.

She had no freaking clue.

             
                  *   *   *

Ethan was there when they pulled up. He watched from the front porch as the two people he loved most walked towards him. Callen shrugged as Elizabeth jogged up the stairs
, not saying a word.

“She was quiet the entire way home,” Callen offered.

“This must have her really rattled.”

They both could sympathize with that.
The outcome could have been vastly different.

Once inside, they didn't find her, but they could hear the water running upstairs in their bathroom. Obviously, she wanted to
get clean and ready for bed.

“We’ll give her some time,” Callen stated. “
Then she’ll pull through.”

Ethan hoped so.

When they both had popped the caps off their beers, they waited for her to join them. Getting lost in the conversation, they didn't hear Elizabeth at the top of the stairs. As she approached, they finally saw her and both of them stopped drinking.

“Are we going somewhere?” Ethan asked, as he noticed that she was dressed. Gone was the blood
stained clothing and Elizabeth appeared to be going out.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

If that would help her, both men would take one for the team, even if they were beyond tired.

“Where to, angel
?” Callen asked.

“Well, tonight’s our last night here, right?”

Blackhawk nodded.

“Well, I thought that my two men could take me to the Spring Fling
, and try and win me some ridiculous large stuffed animal. I want to eat cotton candy, and then when we’re done we could come home and have really hot cheerleader sex.

That had their attention.

“So, is it a date?” What she wanted to do was forget the entire week of stress. Elizabeth needed to let go of the loss of Doctor Trudeaux and almost losing Chris Leonard. For now, she needed to lean on the men in her life.

She needed to let go of it all.

Both men laughed, since she had them at fornication. Who in their right mind was going to turn that down? Then, add in the greasy fair food and it was a man’s night made in heaven.

“Are you kidding?” Callen asked, leaving the beer bottle on the counter. If their girl wanted a date, they were going
on one.

“Besides, the baby is hungry and I want food.”

Blackhawk laughed. “I think that she’s using us for dinner.”

Elizabeth patted them both on the ass as she headed past them. “I’ll let you use me for sex later.”

When she was gone, Callen stared at his brother. “I love pregnancy hormones.”

“Amen.”

At The Hospital

Slowly, he began to pull away from the darkness. Everything around him was a little hazy. Then, from out of nowhere, he could smell her.

Chris didn't even have to open his eyes. His wife’s perfume filled the air and tickled his senses.

“Am I alive?” he asked, grinning.

Cyra jumped from the chair that she had been lounging in and began dropping kisses all over his face. “Holy shit, Christopher! You nearly killed me!”

Now, he could laugh, since he was with the living and not someone’s dinner.

“I’m okay
, sweetheart,” he answered, pulling her down for a kiss. It was soft, gentle, and incredibly sweet.

When they broke apart, her eyes filled with tears. “I love you, Christopher.”

“I love you too, Cyra.”

Delicately, she fixed the spikes of hair that were sticking up on his head. “If you ever get taken again, I’m going to be pissed.”

Chris touched her cheek. “I’m sorry that you were scared,” he offered, knowing that it had to be hard for her.

“It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Sliding over in bed, he was careful to not move his leg. “What did the doctor say?” he asked, as she climbed in next to him.

“That you were incredibly lucky that someone was there to pinch off the bleeding. The belt that Elizabeth put on your leg and her holding that artery saved your life.”

He knew it. How he was ever going to repay that was beyond him. Because of her, Chris would have the rest of his life with Cyra.

“I knew
that she wouldn’t let go.”

“I promised her that I would name our kids after her.”

That made him laugh. “I’m okay with naming a daughter after her. Elizabeth is a pretty name.”

“Um, I have bad news.”

“What?” he asked, looking down at her as she curled against his good side.

“I told her all of our kids, and she told me that she was going to hold me to it, just to make you nuts.”

That made him roar with laughter.

“Um, Chris. I also did something else.”

“What?”

“I may, or may not, have kissed her right on the mouth when I got to the hospital and found out that she didn't let you die.”

He grinned at the worry in
her voice. “I would have kissed her too if the roles were reversed.”

Now
, she laughed.

“Where is our heroine?”

Cyra told him.

“
Great. I want to thank her tomorrow. I don’t know what I can possibly say that will follow up what she did, but I’ll come up with something.”

She didn't doubt it.

“I also need to tell you something else.”

“Yeah? What more could have possibly happened?” he asked, as the nurse came in and checked
the pulse in his ankle. When she gave him the thumbs up and walked out, he waited for Cyra to continue.

“I’m done with the FBI. This was my last case. I decided that I’m going to be a wife, mother
, and apparently your keeper.”

He relaxed and didn't mind in the least. “Perfect, how do you feel about playing nurse?”

“Will that entail some skimpy outfit and paper hat?” she asked, bringing his lips to hers in a warm kiss.

Yeah, he was so damn glad he was alive for this.

“It could, if you play your cards right, Nurse Cyra.”

“I hope you
need a long recovery from this,” she purred in his ear.