Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (5 page)

Since they
were short on time, they would either have to make it fast, or one of them would have to be left out.

Elizabeth
shook her head. Obviously her admonishment of her being a prize was being completely ignored. She should probably be offended but instead decided to humor them.

Here they went again…

Since they were kids, rock, paper, and scissors was how they solved everything. The two of them acted like little boys to sometimes resolve adult dilemmas.

Ethan wasn’t planning on losing this one. Yeah, he knew what Callen was going to throw out first, since he’d studied him for months now.
Blackhawk had saved his knowledge for when he really wanted the prize, lest his brother would switch it up. It was part of being a profiler and he wasn’t above using that to his advantage.

Callen was about to be his prey.

When Ethan threw out the winning one, Callen groaned. “Shit! I can’t believe you beat me.”

Blackhawk
winked at Elizabeth. “Yeah, I must have just got lucky.” He turned and pointed at his wife, “Give him your coffee and hop on,” he stated as he turned his back to her.

Elizabeth laughed at their silliness. Racing across the kitchen, she
did as he asked to get her piggy back ride. Immediately, her hands wandered his chest and teeth nipped at his ear. Ethan went taut under her body.

“Come on! Seriously? I’m the one who carries her like that!
You’re stealing my seduction gig!” Callen objected and then it hit him. “Wait a minute! I think you cheated!”

Wyler laughed as his one son carried Elizabeth from the room. “He played you like a drum, Cal.”

Bly even joined in the laughter. Sometimes it was just easier to find the humor in her three bosses.

Callen was about to add something, when he heard his name
being called from the other room.

“Cal
darlin’, are you joining us?” Elizabeth yelled.

Immediately, his mood brightened. He too was going to get soapy with the girl.
With that glorious prospect, the day was already getting much brighter.

“Coming
, angel!”

Wyler watched him leave before speaking to Cat in the chair
, “Your daddies are out of control.”

Bly shook her head
, not nearly as amused. “I hope they realize that we can’t handle more kids!”

The older Blackhawk grinned. “Want to bet? I say bring them on.
We need another girl to balance this brood out!”

Monday Morning

Across town at Cyra Austin’s home

This was her favorite part of the day. Waking up and having that first cup of coffee was always
a welcome experience. When she was away at Quantico getting trained, she missed the easy familiarity of her daily routine.

Cyra was a creature of habit. She liked the same foods, the same patterns
, and the same comforts that life had afforded her. Since becoming an FBI agent, she’d found that despite the switch up in her life, it was all working out just fine.

The training had been hard, and
she’d arrogantly believed that on that first day she would have the upper hand. Since she’d been a seasoned homicide detective, Cyra assumed that it would be a breeze.

Yeah,
that wasn’t exactly how it all played out.

In fact, she’d
quickly found that the Blackhawks had warned the instructors and that made her a point of focus in the sea of trainees. At first, she had hoped to blend in by looking fairly young. Who would notice just another blonde in a group of at least one hundred faces?

She was tagged immediately
.

On day one,
much to her horror, they all knew her name. It was as if they were waiting for her to roll into Quantico.

It irritated the hell out of her. Cyra was very low key in life
and rarely did she enjoy having attention drawn to her. During the training, she wanted to quit and tell Elizabeth Blackhawk off in the worst way. That was until she found out that her boss had graduated at the top of her class. That little detail only made her want to work harder to match her boss’s skills. In the process, she’d learned something. On the last day, she was well aware of why they’d done it.

By making her the focus, i
t made her better at her job. They knew she’d coast and try to just get by, but Cyra had to fight for it and appreciated it that much more.

Did she graduate as high up the ladder as Elizabeth? No, but she was damn close to meeting all the pinnacles
that she had set. What she learned was she was tough, strong, and going to be the best FBI agent she could be.

When she arrived back at FBI West, she was greeted by Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time. Promptly,
she was assigned a new partner. For the next year, she’d be the probationary agent on the team. That didn't sit well with her, since she had just come out of a career where she had been lead detective, but Elizabeth told her that there was no doubt Cyra would rectify that in very little time.

Cyra knew she couldn’t blame the bosses
. FBI procedure was set into place for a reason. But, she also couldn’t help but ponder the other side of the coin. There was a little part of her that wondered if either Elizabeth was an evil genius, knowing how to get more out of her agents, or a sadistic bitch, who liked to torture.

That was still up in the air.

She hoped it was the former, but the jury was still out. All she knew was that she respected her boss for making her work for it.

Taking her coffee out on her porch, she watched the leaves blowing off the trees as the cool crisp air stole her breath. Fall was here, and soon it would be Halloween.

Cyra loved this time of the year. It always reminded her of being a kid and trick or treating. She had grown up with a brother and sister, and together they used to dress up and score up as much candy as possible in the neighborhood.

It became a contest
to see who the best was at procurement.

Cyra never won, because her brother was a big candy hog
, but that was okay. Cannon was a heavy sleeper, and she and her sister would sneak into his room and steal it away.

That was his fault for
not protecting his goods.

Cyra snickered at the memory.

Even today, she had a really good relationship with her family. Her brother didn't live far from her. In fact, he was only two houses down the street. When it came to being a tight unit, the Austins were just that.

Sitting on the hammock, she lounged back and thought about her life. Everything was going to plan, except the most important part.

When it came to men, she was a disaster.

Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. When it came to one man, she was a mess. For some reason, she was in lust with Doctor Christopher Leonard
, the FBI medical examiner. Maybe it was the glasses or the sandy brown hair that often stood up in spikes, or possibly the innate sexiness of a very smart man. Whatever it was, she had found herself thinking about him over and over.

They’d had one date
and that had been a disaster. Chris had met her and the next day invited her to his Christmas party. She’d believed it had gone well, until the end.

Yeah, she’d thrown herself at him. Maybe
that wasn’t the best route to take, since they’d both been drinking, but at the time it felt right. They’d shared a few intimate dances, kissed a few times, and she’d believed that they were on the right track.

Then she invited him to her place.

The intent was to get him into bed. Why pretend that wasn’t her plan from the start? Something about him drew her attention and for the life of her, she was helpless to fight it.

Normally, she wasn’t that forward, but something about him in his white doctor’s lab coat
jacked her blood pressure. No, it was far worse. It had her tied up in knots and after almost a year later, they were still there.

Every time she saw him, her tongue froze up, her heart pounded
, and she wanted to kiss him again.

Yet, the fear of rejection lingered, and she didn't want to go there again. No one liked to be turned down, and that was her big worry. Now
that she was an agent, her behavior needed to be above integrity when it came to work. How could she justify stalking the sexy doctor to her bosses?

Yeah
, she knew the truth. Elizabeth would have her head on a silver platter. This was both of their faults. She moved too fast and he dragged his feet. Maybe the time just wasn’t right.

Great, she was trying to justify it to herself now. Cyra thought
back to the call from him a few days later. Christopher Leonard had told her that he didn't do one night stands, and that he was sorry if he hurt her.

Okay, and?

Exactly. There had been zero follow through.

Where she thought he’d ask her out again, he didn't. The call ended and Cyra was even more puzzled than before.

Did he like her?

Was he completely turned off at her aggressiveness?

Cyra was beginning to feel like she was back in high school
and trapped in some teenage romance. Maybe, she should slip him a note and have him circle yes or no.

It was beyond frustrating
, especially since she didn't do one night stands either. What she was feeling towards the man was so much more.

After returning from training, s
he’d hinted, waited and prayed that he’d get the picture. Cyra wanted a second chance to fix the impression that she had obviously given him.

She wasn’t some sex maniac
who wanted into his pants.

Again, she began laughing in the hammock. When it came to the doctor, yes, she definitely was…

Maybe if she hadn’t headed off to four months of training in Quantico, they could have kept that spark alive. Now, she was desperately trying to figure out a way to rekindle it.

Apparently, aggressive women weren’t his thing. It was shocking, since he and Elizabeth worked so damn well together. Maybe that was because they’d been together a
s a team for over eleven years.

God!
Cyra prayed that she didn't have to wait that long. Closing her eyes, she made a wish. All Cyra wanted was one more chance, and the possibility of working with him again. Maybe, she’d get him as her ME on the next assignment.

Lately, she’d been pulling the new ME
, and while that was great too, he didn't really grab her attention. Doctor Zane Legend was a great medical examiner, but he wasn’t the man she wanted to focus all her attention on at the moment.

Chris Leonard
simply got her all worked up. It had everything to do with the man and the way he carried himself. Never before had she met a gentleman like him and that appealed to her on some deep level.

Heading back into her house, she dropped her cup into the dishwasher and moved towards her room. It was time to get dressed and ready for the day ahead. She was sure
that her partner would be arriving shortly to pick her up.

Special Agent Thomas Rickard was a nice guy. He was funny, easy going and a flirt.
There were far worse partners who she could have been paired with on day one. Yet, from the minute they met, Cyra was off balance. Right off the bat, he hit on her, and she shut it down fast. Although Cyra appreciated it, she wouldn’t date her partner.

There were a myriad of reasons that flooded her mind as to why it wasn’t ever going to happen.
While Elizabeth could manage working with the men she slept with, they were directors, and Cyra wasn’t. As a probationary agent, her partner was her superior. That just screamed disaster. Second, she didn't really feel anything for him. He was like her brother- a blonde, green eyed jokester to the core. That didn't appeal to her at all. There was a different kind of man who had gotten under her skin.

Cyra sighed.
She considered herself a patient person and could wait him out. At some point, they’d have to sit down and have a discussion about it. Hopefully, it would be after sex. Maybe then she’d get him out of her mind, if she could just climb all over the sexy genius.

Maybe it would be a one-time thing…

Forcing her mind off of her personal life, she focused on her job. It wasn’t a hard transition from detective to agent. Well, the training was, but once out in the field, it was relatively the same, except the Feds had more resources at their command.

Yeah, and there was the better salary.

Far more interesting crimes.

And the sexy ME.

Damn it! He was back and tap dancing around her brain.

Crap, crap, crap
! This wasn’t convenient at all. Slipping her gun onto her hip and tucking in her badge, she stared into the mirror.