Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (76 page)

The life that he feared was over began to blossom once more in his body.

Maybe he owed karma an apology.

A huge one..
.

                                *   *   *

When they arrived at the fair, Elizabeth was back to her normal vibrant self. She made the men take her on some rides that spun them around until they were dizzy, and nearly wanted to puke. Then, she forced them to eat copious amounts of sugary foods in celebration of life.

Both loves of her life
, enjoyed every second of it. There was no doubt in their minds that this was her way of coming down off the adrenaline high of nearly losing a friend. Hey, if a carnival was the solution, they were game.

No one would ever say that they didn't try to distract her.

When they both tried to win her prizes by shooting over bottles with water guns, she laughed outrageously. This was what life should be all about, and the men were glad to be able to do it.

When Callen and Ethan both won, they handed her two stuffed pigs.
Why not have mementos of the whole thing? They picked them because they were silly and one of her favorite food groups.

“How about we go get something that’s
a real food?” Ethan suggested, dropping his arm over her shoulder as Callen went low around her waist.

“Hell yeah! It’s chili cook off day! I want some southern goodness!”

The men could smell it permeating the air and were good with
that. At least with cheese on top, she was getting protein and some calcium.

As they meandered over to the stands
, where the cooking was going on, there were people surrounding the one booth. There were smiling faces and happy patrons, devouring full bowls of chili.

Listening to the crowd sing of
its praises, they moved closer. To their surprise, it was Justine’s booth.

She may have been gone, but obviously her meatless chili was a hit.

“You have to try this. It’s the most tender and juiciest chili that I’ve ever had,” one woman said, feeding a big spoonful to her husband. “It’s made from some secret non-meat ingredient.”

That set off alarm bells.

Elizabeth thought back to the conversation that she had with her agent. “Did we have the chili tested that Cyra found in Justine’s house?” she asked, as the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up.

Ethan pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to his tech team. Immediately, they replies began coming back in. “Yeah, it wasn’t meat. It was soy based.”

Elizabeth watched as the woman’s employees dished out more and more chili. “If we confiscated it, where did they get that one?”

Neither man had an answer.

Something was creeping her out, and she needed to ask some serious questions. Walking up to the booth, she squeezed past the patrons, only to get angry comments and stares.

“Excuse me,” she said, pulling her badge. “Where did you get the chili?”

Brandon stared at her. “Our boss made it.”

“So, she delivered it
before she went missing?”

He
shook her head. “No. I swung over to her house and picked it up.”

“When?”

He answered her question, and Elizabeth knew that something was very wrong. “When you went, was she there?”

He had to think about it
. “No, there was a note and two pots. It said ‘chili cook-off winner’, so I took it.”

Yeah, she felt like tossing her cookies.

“Stop serving the chili,” she warned.

“What? We’re going to kick ass
in that competition. Everyone loves it, besides, it’s just about gone.”

“So you sold it all?”
That horrified her beyond words. This was like some sick twisted story that didn't end well. If her suspicions were right, there was going to be one hell of a mess to clean up.

“Yeah. I wish Justine could see this.”

When the men reached her side, they had figured out what she was thinking.

“We need the rest of the chili,” Ethan said, pulling out his badge.

“Why?”

Elizabeth didn't want to start a stampede. “Just hand it over and close up
the stand.”

Finally, Brandon
did what he was told.

Using some
paper napkins, she lifted the pot, being careful not to touch it. They were going to not only test the chili, but run it for fingerprints.

As they walked through the crowd, the people booed and hissed at them, since they were taking the
beloved pot of goodness. At their car, she held it on her lap.

“To the lab?”

“Yeah.”

Callen was a little sick to his stomach over all of it. “Do you really think…
?”

The tech team was still checking the flesh that was found in Xavier’s freezer. Now, it looked like they would be checking this too.

“Yeah, I do.”

Blackhawk drove them there. “I don’t think I’ll ever eat chili again,” he said, horrified at the possibilities.

No one in that vehicle would.

That was for damn sure.

Tuesday Morning

After dropping off the sample, they waited for the tech team to check for fingerprints. What should be there, wasn’t. Since Justine was the one who supposedly prepared the chili, you would think her trace would be all over the pot.

They weren’t.

What they found were Xavier Jensen’s instead.

Yeah, that pretty much said it all.

The Feds had no doubt that they were going to find human remains cooked down and passed off as chili.

It looked like the sick bastard had got the last laugh after all
, on the people of Salem.

Once they
discovered this little horror, the rest of the night was shot to hell. How did you go home and have copious amounts of sex when you just found out that people at a fair had just eaten a person?

Did you tell them?

Cause a wide spread freak out?

What exactly were the proper protocols on this one?

Once at home, they called Gabe, and he told them to bury it. It wasn’t like they were shocked, but the FBI didn't want to get the blow back from not stopping it sooner, or any other mess that might come up. So, like good employees, they had the lab destroy the samples.

Was it
the right thing to do?

Maybe.

They were pretty sure that if they
accidentally ate someone, they wouldn’t want to know. How does one overcome that?

For now, this was just one of the things that would go unnoticed by the public, and the Federal government would claim it was done to protect the welfare of the town.

Yeah, call it what you wanted, but sometimes a cover-up was a good thing.

A
damn good thing.

As they pulled up to the hospital, the
ir house had been closed up, and they were ready to head home. Some of the tech team, including Doctor Magnus, would stay to handle the wrap up of the case, but for them, it was time to head out of Salem.

There wasn’t much left to
manage.

Doc’s remains had been shipped off to be cremated. When they were done, they were being housed in a special urn and interred in a marble plaque outside the Salem morgue. When it was ready, they would fly back and bid him farewell
in a ceremony that Christopher Santana would be presiding over. In fact, the whole town was going to bid the man a fond farewell.

Tony had admitted
himself to facility in the next state, and was preparing himself for detox and a twelve step program. It seemed that he was ready to begin his life, renewed. When he was released, a job would be waiting for him. It looked like he would have his happy ending too.

Once more, his career was saved.

Now, for Elizabeth, Ethan and Callen, it was time to focus on the living.

Heading into the hospital, they wanted to say goodbye to their ME. He was going to be stuck there for a few days, and then when he returned home, there would be therapy. When Xavier Jensen cut his leg, he severed some nerves and did some long term damage.

Chris would be okay, but he may have residual effects like a slight limp.

But hey, he was alive and that’s all that mattered.

Walking into the room, they found him lying there. When they entered, he sensed their presence and opened his eyes.

“Hey, Doc, how’s it going?” Elizabeth asked, going to stand beside his bed.

“Lyzee!” he said, hugging her when she leaned down.

“Are you doing better?” Ethan asked, shaking his hand.

“Hell yeah, I am!”

Callen patted him on the shoulder. “We hear
that you’ll be up and around shortly.”

He placed his hand on his leg. “Yeah, before you know it. You can’t keep a good ME down.”

Then, he got serious.

“Before Cyra gets back, I need to say something.”
He took Elizabeth’s hand in his.

Somehow, she knew it was going to be emotional.

“I will never forget what you did for me. I’m so very honored to have you three as my family.
From here on out, you’re all part of my life, and I will do anything for the people I love.”

She patted him on the cheek. “It’s the path we’re meant to be on, Chris. I’m just glad that I was able to help you. Our lives would be empty without you in them.”

He smiled.

“Now, you just have to get better, head out on your honeymoon
, and get your wife pregnant.”

As if timed,
Cyra walked into the room.

“Don’t tempt him. He
would be trying, right now, if the doctor would let him. He’s supposed to keep that leg completely immobilized.”

Blackhawk and Whitefox offered him a fist bump for that one. You deserved props if you were still thinking sex after nearly dying.

“When we get home, we’re having a reception at our place. Will you be our guest of honor?” Cyra said, sitting beside Chris on his bed.

“We can’t wait,” Elizabeth
replied. “For family, we’ll clear our schedule.”

“Are you heading out?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, we have to get back to FBI West. This little cannibal funfest gave us a lot of paper work to do.”

They told him about the chili.

“Holy nastiness!” Chris stated.

Cyra looked grossed out
too.

Then
, they told them it was being buried.

On this one, Chris agreed. “The people
who ate it will be physically fine. It was only a one-time thing. If they find out, it could mean long term psychological issues, and that might be a whole lot worse in the long run.”

Yeah, this
time a lie was for the best.

“We have to go, Lyzee,” stated Ethan, standing. “Our flight leaves soon.”

Elizabeth hugged her agent. “Cyra, it was good working with you, and if you ever decide to come back, just let us know.”

The woman didn't say anything
. She only glanced over at her husband. How her boss knew she was done, she’d never know. Maybe, Elizabeth was just that damn astute.

After the men said their goodbyes, they headed out, giving Elizabeth a moment alone. At the door, she turned to look at her ME. Their eyes met, and she didn't need to say a word.

This time, she saluted him and winked.

Then, she was gone.

“Wow,” Cyra said, smiling. “I’ve never seen her do that before.”

Chris was wrought with emotion, because neither had he.
That one simple action spoke volumes of what they shared. In life and death, he had a bond with Elizabeth Blackhawk that was forged in something stronger than steel.

It was created in love.

What she just gave him so willingly meant the world to him, because so did she.

He wouldn’t forget this day.

Ever.

For as long as he lived.

Doctor Christopher Leonard had made a journey, found a family, and got his dream to come true.

He found love on many different levels, and that meant everything.

It was now time to start his life with his Goddess.

“Are you okay, Christopher?” she asked, wiping a tear from his cheek.