Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (19 page)

Callen shook his head. “If she worked, it was under the table. No one by that name
has ever filed income taxes.”

“
How about her Social Security number?” Elizabeth tossed out there.

“
There are none tied to that name.”

Ethan dropped back down into his seat. “Then
I think we can safely assume that it’s not her real name.”

Elizabeth knew they were going to have to canvas the town
to find out more. Her plan was to start with Officer Murphy. Once they got the name of the shop, that would be the second stop on their agenda. “A victim with no family and no name makes me curious.”

Ethan began mulling over the oncoming profile in his head. At
some point, his wife would be asking for it and at this rate, it would be sooner rather than later.

“I did get
some information on the High Priest Arlen James,” Callen said. “Financials are in for the Church of Satan.”

Yeah, she’d definitely missed something. “When did we find a band of practicing Satanists?” she inquired
as she reached for her coffee, only to have it stolen from right in front of her. “Callen!”

He laughed as he
took a sip. “You were showering last night when we dug it up. Since we had the inverted pentagram, I ran with it.”

Blackhawk was proud of his brother. He was coming into his own as an investigator. No longer was there the green hue of inexperience, but
now he had the patina of a disciplined Fed. Lately, they didn't have to direct him where to take a lead, he simply jumped in and used his mind.

“Awesome, Cal,” Elizabeth stated, congratulating him. “You did a great job.”

“I’m not quite at the Ethan Blackhawk level of skill, but I’m getting there,” he admitted. His fondest dream was to be just like his brother. The man was simply his idol.

“It’s better than my skill, Callen. It’s yours. You don’t need to be anything like me, because I have my weaknesses too. Be yourself,” Ethan reassured.

As much as she enjoyed the lovey dovey good feelings that were bouncing around the room, she was excited. “I can’t wait to interview the Satanists.”

Both men stared over at her
with twin looks of displeasure.

“What?” she asked
laughing. “I know you never thought you’d hear that sentence at the table, but it’s going to be fun. You know how religion and I get along. We’re like two peas in the pod.”

That didn't calm either man. Here they had a killer
who was sacrificing women, playing a game, and calling out Elizabeth. Now, she wanted to mosey on into the Church of Satan and slap some believers around. Yeah, that just sounded like a horrible idea all around.

“No,” they said in unison.

Elizabeth found it amusing that they honestly believed that one word would make her stay inside the hotel all day. When would they learn?

“You should stay as far away from
the Satanists as possible. You just piss religious people off with your attitude, and then that makes you more of a target,” stated Callen.

Ethan had to agree. “Except it’s not a religion. It’s a crock of shit. Gee, what can I worship
now? Oh look, there are some trees and a few rocks. I want to pray to them and get my wishes to come true.”

Elizabeth
stared openmouthed at him. It wasn’t like Ethan to be so cynical. “Are you okay?” She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

He sighed. “Yeah, I’m just on edge with this whole thing. I know
that my feelings on this don’t matter, and that you’re going to do the interview anyway.”

Elizabeth hated that he was feeling this stirred up inside. She moved
toward his side to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Rarely was her big strong Native rattled like this. It unnerved her too, when the backbone of their unit was falling apart. “Your feelings do matter, Ethan, as do Callen’s. I just don’t have a choice in all of this. I’ll be fine, because my partners will have my back. Plus, I have dad’s mojo pouch and a nine millimeter. I think I’m golden.”

Callen understood why his brother was worked up.

It was time to lighten their moods. “I can carry holy water, silver bullets and a cross if you think that will help,” she added laughing.

“That’s vampires and
werewolves Elizabeth,” Ethan stated, finally grinning. His wife was trying to entertain him and as usual, it was working.

“Cowboy, it’s the same damn thing. All of it is a load of
crap. The Church of Satan is nothing more than make believe.”

Ethan wished that w
ere true. He had yet to be assigned a case where vampires had attacked, but right now, they definitely had Satanists. It was his experience that people could believe just about anything.

When it came to crazy, there were a whole different set of rules.

Cyra was up early, despite the late bedtime. It was all because of the man
who was coming to see her. She was feeling like a teenager again and as giddy as a schoolgirl.

There was that little
flutter of butterflies in her stomach, warning her of the path that she was heading down. There was no doubt in her mind that she could get used to being around Chris every day for the rest of her life. He had an easy way about him that made her want to be near him.

At first
, it was all about his sexiness, but now she saw that it was so much more. He was funny, smart, and very compassionate. The man was a gentle soul, and she was lucky to find him.

She was a little out of her element with him
. Yes, she had dated plenty of cops in her life, but never once did Cyra believe that she would date a man that played in dead bodies every day.

Then again, so many people didn't know how she
had done her job as a homicide detective either. It was pretty much the same thing. Cyra had to find the truth in death, and Chris worked the same way but only from the inside out.

At the knock at the door, her heart skipped a beat. He was here! Racing
to the peephole, she stared out to make sure it was indeed him.

Oh God, he looked adorable. Gone were the glasses this morning and his eyes were so very
enticingly blue.

Opening the door
for him, he stood there holding two coffees and a bag containing breakfast.

“I didn't know if you were hungry,
” Chris said, as he waited for her to invite him inside. “I hope you like blueberry muffins. There’s a bakery across the street, and they smelled really good.”

It was official. Here stood the sweetest man ever
. “I love them. Come in,” she offered, moving out of his way. Her stomach fluttered even more. Cyra couldn’t remember the last man who brought her breakfast.

“How did you sleep?” he asked, placing the coffee and bag on the table.

Cyra contemplated that answer. What she wanted to tell him was lousy because she wished he was with her, but she went with the standard. “Really well and you?”

He laughed
at the torment that he had to endure the last six hours. “Let’s just say it was a rough night and leave it at that.”

Sitting beside him, she handed him a muffin from the bag and grinned. “You lost the glasses for today?”

Chris nodded as he sipped his coffee. His focus was entirely on the woman beside him. She was wearing sunny yellow and it only made her eyes bluer. “Sometimes, if I’m doing paperwork all day, it’s easier to not have them on, so I switch it up.”

Cyra leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I think you’re handsome either way.”

He wasn’t expecting that comment and had to struggle to find his bearings. The woman was really good at tying him up in knots. “Thank you for having dinner with me last night. It was the best date that I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Me too,” she replied
as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Chris was trying desperately to be polit
e. What he really wanted to do was kiss her good morning. “Cyra?” he began.

She looked over
and put down her coffee. “Yes?”

“I’m trying to be a gentleman, but I want to kiss you. How
do I bring that up without sounding too forward?”

It almost made her giggle. “You could just tell me you want to kiss me, or better yet, just do it.”

He really liked that idea. Standing, he pulled her to her feet and her body went against his. Without saying another word, his lips sought hers to taste and explore the depths of her mouth. The kiss was hot and steamy and showed her what was growing in him. Where there was the sheen of politeness on the outside, it was far from what he was feeling on the inside.

What he wanted was to take.

Steal.

Ravage.

God, she had him so twisted and knotted up he might never find a way to come undone again. The scent of her perfume was sweet and flowery and reminded him of some wild out of control garden.

Doctor Christopher Leonard was a man on fire. The woman in his arms had lit the fuse, and it was only a matter of time until he went off.

Cyra fell into the kiss and allowed it to take over all of her senses. The scent of his aftershave was intoxicating. The feel of his body beneath her hands was maddening and the taste of him was making her only crave more and more.

She prayed
that it would never end. What Cyra wanted was to stay exactly like this until the end of time as she remained in his arms and pressed against his body. Never had she wanted another man quite like this.

Everyone fell away, leaving
Chris to stand alone in her mind. Yep, she was falling. There were the telltale signs. Her heart was racing, she was all hot and bothered, and Cyra was willing to skip work just to stay in bed all day with him.

When he finally broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavily. “Wow.” It was all he could think of at the moment.

Cyra used her thumb to wipe the lipstick from his lip. “You could say that again.”

“Wow.”

She started laughing at his silliness and how it so easily caught her off guard. Before she could make a comment, there was a knock on the door. Almost immediately, the humor fell away, and her face must have shown the worry.

“Cyra, t
onight?” he asked, praying she knew he wasn’t just talking about dinner.

Trying to focus on him and not what was waiting outside her door, she nodded. “Yes Chris
topher, tonight.”

He
kissed her once more as he wanted to offer her reassurance. “Want me to answer it?” he asked, as the knock became angry pounding. Chris had no issue with facing down the man behind the door.

“No, I’ll get it.”

“I’m right here.” Chris watched her tentatively move towards the door, and that said it all in his mind. The woman was scared shitless.

As far as he was concerned, this was far from over.

Cyra knew she needed to just face it. “Yes?” she asked from the safety of the locked door.

“Open up. It’s me.”

Her stomach fell as she prepared to face her partner. Unlocking the door, she stood back as it was pushed open. In that moment, she was so very glad she wasn’t alone.

“I brought you coffee. We need to head over to the morgue and get our assignments from the
bosses,” Thomas Rickard stated. There was calm in his voice, as he had forgiven her for blowing him off last night. What he wanted was to just start a new day, and he was pretty sure that he was here early enough to beat the other man.

“I already
have some, Tommy.”

At that moment, Chris decided to make his presence known. He walked around the corner,
with both cups in his hand. “I’ll make sure she gets to the morgue, Agent.” Chris stated. “You can head in without her.” The look on Rickard’s face said it all, but regardless of that, Chris stood his ground.

As his
eyes flashed in fury, he opted to bide his time. He wasn’t happy to be taking orders from the ME, yet he knew he didn't have any choice. On the Fed power scale, medical examiner outranked special agent. Then, toss in that the man was one of Elizabeth Blackhawk’s lackeys, and he was screwed.

Cyra glanced back and forth
tentatively between the men. Gone was the easiness from Chris’s face and body. It was replaced with a hardness that she had never seen in him before. As he moved closer, he handed her a cup and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Agent Rickard finally spoke
, “I’ll see you at work.” With that, he stormed away from the door.

It was hard not to be nervous. Cyra didn't want to see Chris get hurt. When she turned to face him, his demeanor had changed again. Gone was the chill and back wa
s the gentleness that was there earlier.

“Want to finish our muffins and then get ready for work?” he asked, taking her hand
in his as he led her back to the table.