Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four) (46 page)

Callen
could feel the reaction from the part of his brain that thought ‘yippee’ to his furthest extremities. Everything clenched and tightened, making him aware of her being this close. “I look forward to exploring your collection.”

Elizabeth laughed
, as she watched the look on his face. “You're allowed to add to the collection. I do and will wear anything you bring home. That’s why Ethan loves to shop, but don’t tell him I told you.” She winked at him. “Girly things magically appear in my dresser.”

Dear
God, he was going to suffer today. “Anything?”

“If it’s lacy and pretty I’ll wear it, or even borders on risqué. I like
to keep you boys on your toes. Sex should be fun and crazy. I like to push Ethan as far as I can in bed, and I’ll probably do the same to you. Just a warning,” she grinned, wickedly.

Callen prayed for control.
“All done. I’ll go get you a new shirt and your jeans. If I don’t get out of here and away from you, I’m going to jump you, so I’ll move to the other room.”

Elizabeth laughed. “You’re just like your brother.”

He grinned wickedly over his shoulder. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Elizabeth shook her head.

Yeah, it definitely wasn’t.

When Blackhawk returned from getting ice, he found his brother digging through his wife’s suitcase. The look on his face said it all. Callen was frustrated, and not over the assignment.

“Walk a mile in my shoes,” he
stated, laughing. “Now you see what I live with every day of my life. It ranged from her risking her neck, to just finding yourself staring at her lost in complete thought with a dopey grin on your face.”

“How do you do it?”

He grinned. “I have the blessing of having a wife who has a very high sex drive and a lock on most doors in the house.”

Whitefox pulled out a shirt and a new pair of jeans. “The worst part is before I never saw her naked,
and now I have that replaying over and over in my head. Add to it I now know that she wears lacy girly things under her clothes.”

Blackhawk patted him on the shoulder. “I feel for you.” He took the clothes from his brother and walked them to the bathroom door and opened it to hand him to his wife.

“When you’re at work think about work as much as possible and at home don’t. That’s the best advice I can give you on the topic. That’s why there’s the no kissy-face rule. If I started kissing my wife at work all the time,” he started and she stepped out of the bathroom, finishing for him.

“We’d be having sex in the office too.”
Elizabeth started laughing, because they just broke that rule, but it was entirely her fault and she knew it.

“Elizabeth!”

“Okay, speaking of work,” she said, slipping on her boots. “If I didn’t take Trinity Adare’s journal, who did?” Elizabeth snapped her belt buckle and clipped on her gun and badge. “I doubt that it disappeared accidentally. We have her mother on the slab, and then the journal goes poof. So, I have to think that something in that book has something to do with all this.”

“So we head to the sheriff’s office, then we swing by the lab, and then back here to scour the journal?” suggest Blackhawk.

“Pizza and beer for dinner?”

“Hell yeah to that.” Then Elizabeth paused. “Before that I have to tell Desdemona about her mother.”

“Want me to do it?” asked Whitefox.

Elizabeth shrugged. “Do you want to?” If he wanted to do the deed, she’d let him. After all
, maybe this was closure for him too. Anything to help him get over what was once between them.

“
I really don’t want to, but I need to face her at some point.”

Both Blackhawks nodded.

Elizabeth grabbed the keys from the table in their room and strolled between both men, slapping them both on the ass and then turning to wink at them both.

“Saddle up boys, we have us a jackwagon sheriff to rustle up,” and then she walked out the door laughing.

It was time to get back to work.

~ Chapter Eleven ~

They
crossed the parking lot, bounding up the steps into the sheriff’s office. No one expected them to get fanfare and accolades as they approached. In fact, if past experiences said anything about what was bound to happen, they’d be pretty much faced with complete opposition and anger.

Blackhawk was used to it. Generally
, his wife poked the hornet’s nest, and he soothed the stings after. It’s what he did. Out of the three of them, he was the diplomat, his brother the mediator listening to his instinct, and his wife the hell raiser and door stormer.

He wouldn’t have it any other way
, because it was the perfect blend between them.

Once inside
, the tension was nothing but at a full simmer. The sheriff stood his ground and his few deputies stood behind him, as if trying to put on a united front.

Elizabeth grinned.
Hell yeah, bring on the show.

“Sheriff Denton, how the heck are you on this fine day?” she
inquired, leaning against the counter and smiling at the man with her best debutant grin.

“Hello, Agents. I hear you had a mishap in town a little while ago,” he grinned, satisfactorily. Maybe the woman would learn that her place wasn’t standing toe to toe with a man.
“I bet you get a lot of people trying to run you over, Director.”

Elizabeth smiled and tipped her head to the side. “Yeah, I do and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Must mean I’m really good at scaring the criminals. Bet no one’s trying to run you down, Sheriff,” she drawled right back. “Hmmmm. Curious.”

Sheriff Denton turned red.

The deputy behind the
sheriff leaned over to whisper to his buddy. “She’s a dick tease,” he said, grinning.

Ethan and his brother both stepped forward
at the words, ready to rip both men to pieces.

“That’s funny
Deputy,” she drawled. “I do declare that it only took you three seconds to come running, so that makes you the what? The dick that got teased? I do believe a girl likes a man to hold out longer than three seconds.” Elizabeth went right for his masculinity and didn’t break the smile. “Well, it’s my requirement.”

Whitefox snickered and covered it with a cough. God, he loved her.

J
onathan Delray turned bright red and clenched his fists at the words, and to what she was alluding.

“Truth is a bitch
, boys and so am I. Welcome to the world of the FBI. If you can’t handle a little federal agent, then I suggest you get a new career. I hear mailmen only have to watch out for rabid dogs. So much safer than dealing with me and my partners.”

Both men behind her smiled
ferally.

The
sheriff stepped forward before it got out of hand.  “What do you want, Director Blackhawk?”

Elizabeth grinned
, getting down to business. “We have ID’d the first victim, and we’re about there on number two, and we need to see all your missing person reports that were filed for the last twenty five years.”

He laughed. “Oh well let me get right on that for you.
Come on back in a month and pick it up.”

Elizabeth got the hint. “Well, that’s fine Sheriff. You’re up for reelection when? This year? Next? You see, before I started ball busting for the FBI
, I ran a sheriff’s department in a small town myself. I know how valuable public opinion can be, so I’ll be sure to make mention of it at my press conference later.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded. “What press conference?”

“Oh darn it, did I forget to mention it?” she said, smiling at him with her big ‘fuck you’ smile. “My partners and I are going to be telling the public about the victims today. I guess when asked if I’m getting any cooperation from the local law, I have to tell the truth. You know us Feds. We love to just tell the damn truth, no matter whose job it costs.”

Both men behind her
grinned, because she was lying her ass off. Elizabeth hated press conferences and would rather wade through the swamp again, than deal with the press.

The
sheriff glanced over at his deputy. “Get her the damn list.” Now she had his attention again. “Have a seat. It’ll take a few minutes,” and with that he went to his office and slammed the door.

The three of them sat in the chairs, Elizabeth between them. She didn’t say much, but kept smiling at the deputy when he gave her a dirty look every few minutes.

“He hates you,” muttered Whitefox. “He must not appreciate that the bikini was a thing of beauty.”

Elizabeth snickered. “I’ll try harder next time.”

Blackhawk didn’t think so. “Over my dead body will there be any more bikini in public opportunities. The next time I see you in that bikini, it better be in the privacy of our back yard.”

Elizabeth waved at the man and it pissed him off more.

“Now you're just trying to push his buttons. What’s up?” inquired Whitefox.

Ethan
grinned behind his hand. “Don’t draw blood,” he whispered. “She wants him to do something stupid, so she has leverage over the sheriff that one of his deputies screwed up.”

“You know, you're pretty devious.”

Elizabeth winked at him. “Just sit back and enjoy the show boys.”

The deputy
rounded the counter, holding out the report. Elizabeth smiled, sauntering towards him, taking it from his hand. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Deputy. Don’t worry, your secrets safe with me.”

He looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“How you ran across that drive way after a woman in a bikini, allowing seven people to sneak right past you with two corpses. That was very first day on the job, if I do say so myself.” She blew him a kiss and turned, and knew it was coming.

Deputy Jonathan Delray got pissed and made a huge
mistake; he reached out and grabbed her by the bad arm.

Elizabeth reached for his wrist, twisted, spun him, and foot swept him off his feet.

He hit the ground with a thud and a look of surprise on his face at how fast she moved.

“Three,” she said, holding up three fingers
, and then punched him in the neck on the pressure point and knocked him out again, for the third and hopefully final time.

The other deputy came running and actually put his hand on his gun, and that caused both brothers to stand and do the same.

“Don’t do it. Drawing a weapon on a federal officer is a very stupid and dangerous thing,” ordered Blackhawk.

Elizabeth stood up when the sheriff ran out of his office at the commotion.

“What the hell?” He stared over the counter at his downed deputy.

“He put his hands on me, Sheriff. I do declare that’s assault
, and I could have him arrested. I’ll let him wake up, and you can tell him the ramifications of what he just did. The backlash on him and your department could be immeasurable. I’ll be back Sheriff, and next time maybe this can go a little more smoothly with less attitude.”

Sheriff Louis Denton went even
redder. “Get him off the floor!” he yelled at his other deputy.

“Have a good day,” nodded Blackhawk
, as they walked out of the office. Once outside he started laughing. “Mrs. Blackhawk that was the sexiest display of manhandling I’ve seen yet from you. I love how you just completely emasculated that man. When he wakes up and remembers that you did that to him three times, he’s going to be impotent for a month.”

“Little thing I like to pull out of my bag of tricks when I need to switch it up a little bit. Sometimes a girl gets sick of breaking noses and needs a break.”

“The best damn part, baby was when you held up three fingers and then knocked him out. That was priceless and very hot.”

Elizabeth touched his cheek. “I aim to please, boys.”

“Is it wrong I’m completely turned on right now?” asked Whitefox, helping her up into the Escalade.

“Cal, you’ve been turned on all day,” she said
, snickering. “But I’m very glad I could keep it going.”

He ran his
knuckles down her cheek and couldn’t believe his good fortune. Here he’d found love and pleasure with the most wonderful woman ever. God he was so damn lucky, and would be lost without them.

“You ok?” she asked, noticing his face change.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking.”