Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (59 page)

Callen couldn’t help but smile at how
lovingly Elizabeth had adopted the little girl and made Catherine her own. “I miss you too, sweet pea. I love you.”

Ethan couldn’t wait to squeeze her. “Kitty Cat, when I get home, I’m building you a little play house with shutters and a place to hide from the boys.
It’s going to rival their tree house.”

They both looked over at him.

“She’s six months old,” Elizabeth reminded him.

Ethan didn't care. She was part of his heart, and the only little girl. She needed
a play house and anything else that tickled her fancy.

Wyler focused the tablet at EJ, as he lay in his bouncy seat, trying to eat a toy.

“Oh, it’s one of the most handsome little men in the whole world,” she crooned, missing his little baby toes. “When Momma gets home, I’m going to chew on your chubby little belly.”

Ethan grinned. “God, he’s growing up so fast,” he said, already seeing the little boy changing. “I love you, EJ. I can’t wait to see you.”

When Callen saw his son, his heart skipped. “Daddy loves you so much.”

Last but not least was CJ, sitting in his booster seat beside Wyler. He was
trying to color on a piece of paper, but was a little off his target and instead was drawing on the counter top.

“There’s my little
love bug,” she said, waving at him. When he saw her, he started babbling and saying momma. “I love you, little Callen James.”

Whitefox loved CJ so much. “Hey big boy. You and
I have a date with the sandbox. I promise.” Callen’s heart melted when he started grinning and waving.

Then Ethan came across the screen. “Little buddy
, are you taking care of your brother and sister?” he asked as his heart swelled with so much emotion.

CJ held out his hands for the tablet. “Daddeeeeeeee!” he screamed and then planted one, right on the front of it.

Ethan loved him so much. This was why he wanted more babies in their house. “I miss you so much, and I promise when I get home we’re going to buy you a car.”

“Ethan!” she objected.
“He doesn’t need a car!”

“What? If I buy it, he won’t steal
it,” he teased, right before picking up the tablet and kissing it for his boy. He squealed with more laughter.

“Oh my God,” she muttered. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Ethan ignored her. “Dad, where’s the agent?”

Wyler turned the tablet
again to scan their living room. On one of the couches, working on a tablet was a man. When he saw his boss, he yelled.

“It’s all secure inside and out, Director Blackhawk.”

He was glad. “Thank you, Dex. Call for more agents, if you need them.”

Wyler came back on the screen. “I’m worried
about you three. Please be safe. You have kids that need you to make it home again. Plus, I don’t think I can handle losing any of you. I’m supposed to go next.”

Elizabeth loved the big teddy bear of a man. “Dad,
don’t you worry. It’s okay, and no one is going anywhere, including you.”

He
wanted to believe that with all his heart.

Callen wanted to
change the subject, since it was heading towards morbid and fast. “How’s the pie baking situation?”

The man shook his head. “Oh, my days are long done there. It’s been restricted from my diet. In fact, it’s been very chilly here.”

“Do you want me to hire someone new?” Ethan asked, willing to take one for the team and fire Bly.

“No son, I’m okay with it. I was honest with her, and if that’s not what she wanted to hear,
then she shouldn’t have asked. I don’t lie to women to lead them on and Bly and I discussed this before.”

“We’ll be home soon, Dad. Hang in there. If you need back up, call for help.”

The man smiled. “Your agent has been a great help. CJ loves playing blocks with him.”

Ethan was glad his family was safe. Now
, if he could just keep Elizabeth contained and away from the killer, everything would be perfect in his world.  

“I love you three,” he said
and meant it. “Some of you more than others,” and then he winked at Elizabeth.

The
men laughed.

“We are well aware,” Callen said. “She reminds
us of it daily.”

When Wyler was gone, they sat there
wordlessly.

Finally, Elizabeth broke the silence. “I miss our kids
.”

The men knew that b
eing away from them was always hardest on her. Whenever Ethan and Callen had to leave for work, they always assured that she was there with them as the remaining parent.

“It’s going to be okay. You’ll be going home to our
babies. In fact, you can go now,” Ethan suggested.

She laughed
at his attempt. “That was real slick, Cowboy, but there is no way in hell. I won’t let you two handle this mess alone.”

The
y each ran a hand reassuringly down her back. Suddenly, a box popped up on her tablet, where Wyler had once been.

“Our phone record search is done,” she said, focusing on that, and not the pain of being away from her children. As she scanned the information, she began laughing.

“What?” the men said at the same time.

Sitting up, she grinned wickedly. “Our third victim was having phone sex with someone at ‘
Mystic Memorabilia’
. Our happily married husband isn’t as doting as it appears. The woman didn't just have a crush, she was pursuing a married man.”

Blackhawk snickered. His wife was going to have fun with this, especially since she had a deep
dislike for people who cheated on their spouses.

“You’re going to eat him alive, aren’t you?”
Callen asked.

Elizabeth would enjoy every second of it. “Damn right I am. It looks like our suspect list just got a wee bit longer.”

They could now add a very wicked witch.

They were still watching the vile sex tapes from the Satan worshipping church, only now,
they had become desensitized. If you had seen one woman on an altar, you had seen them all. So, they began eating their lasagna and kissing in between bites like people in love.

As her tablet beeped, Cyra glanced down.

“Search done?” Chris asked, nibbling on her neck and collar bone.

“Yeah, I have Ares real name. The department of records got back to me and sent me a copy of the marriage license.

This would be as good a time as any to have this conversation. “What do you think about marriage?”

Cyra
tried to remain very calm. “You mean, do I believe in the sanctity of marriage and two people coming together to make a commitment?”

“Yes.”

“I think that there is one person out there for everyone. Once you find them, you should stick together for the rest of your lives. Marriage matters to me.”

He agreed
with that wholeheartedly. “What about kids? Did you ever think about having some?”

She shrugged. “I love children, and if I were to get married, I’d want
to be a mother.”

“How many?” he asked, getting excited.

That she had to contemplate. “I guess as many as my husband and I could afford.”

Chris appreciated that
she was being responsible. “You’re very logical. I find that sexy in a woman.”

She started giggling. “Yeah, I bet
you do, Doctor.”

Leaning in, he found her earlobe and began teasing it with his tongue. Whenever she
giggled, it turned him right on. Her melodious laughter was filling him with so much pleasure and joy.

“
What are your thoughts on marriage and kids?” She turned it back on him, because two could play that game.

It was a no brainer. “I’m old fashioned. I think that I want to marry once and live my life to the end of my days with that person. I want to die with her in my arms of old age, so that she and I go together even into the unknown.”

He was so sweet, she wanted to weep.

“As for kids,
I happen to agree with your statement. I think people should only have as many as they can afford. They say it takes about one million dollars to raise a kid from start to finish, so I can have forty or so before I have to bat an eyelash. Although that number doesn’t reflect inflation, market value, or depreciation of stocks, so there could be more depending on my salary too.”

She
just stared at him, openmouthed. “Okay, I have to ask and forgive me, but what does your father’s family own?”

Chris took h
er tablet and pulled up a stock portfolio website. He entered his password and selected a list of holdings. He handed it to her and watched her face for the response. He found it amusing when she actually looked horrified.

“Now I know why your mother called me a gold digger. You’ve probably had that problem before
, if this is indicative of your net worth.”

Laughing, he closed the tablet. “On occasion
there’s been a woman or two that found out about it. Believe it or not, Cyra, I can tell when a woman is focused on that and not me. Besides, it doesn’t get out often and not many people know about it. At work, only Elizabeth and Tony Magnus know. Most people assume I drive a fancy car because I’m a doctor. I’m paid well for my services.” She was staring at him. “Any woman that I dated and discovered the secret always got a look of happiness on their face. You look mortified. That’s my signal you’re not after my money.”

In fact, she looked more than horrified.
He was worried she was going to start tossing her cookies at any second.

“
Christopher, I don’t even have words for how I feel. Oh wait, yes I do. That number makes me sick to my stomach, and I can see why your mother threw out prenuptial at me,” she pointed at the tablet. “That’s a ridiculous number and it’s shocking.”

Chris shrugged. “
If it matters, I don’t generally touch that account. Like I said, the FBI pays me well. I live off my income and save that for a rainy day.”

She
started laughing and it bordered on hysterical. “Christopher, that’s more a monsoon not a rainstorm.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I know. If it was all yours, what would you do with it?” Now
, he was curious.

“Throw up.”
When he started laughing, she stared at him. “I wasn’t kidding.”

Chris leaned over
and dropped a kiss to her lips. “Want me to give it back?”

“Yes. I think I do.”

That he wasn’t expecting, and now Chris knew for sure. Cyra Austin was most definitely the one. There would be no prenuptial or any other nonsense. He completely trusted her. It amused him that she was so nervous about it. Wait until Cyra saw the engagement ring that he was going to pick out for her. Oh, that was going to be a moment to record. He had found a new game that he was beginning to love. ‘
Freak out the girlfriend’
was going to provide years of entertainment.

She logged out of that stock account, not wanting to see it anymore. The idea that the man she loved was that wealthy
made her feel off balance. “I just want you to know that I absolutely love you, despite what you just showed me.”

He
started laughing. “Well, I love you too, what would you like me to buy you?” he teased.

She stared at him. “Nothing! Just pick me flowers from your yard. I’m pretty laid back.”

He could tell and he loved that about her. “It’s our yard now.”

Oh, that freaked her out too, but b
efore she could continue, something caught her eye. “Wait, reverse the video.”

They both stared at the image, and Cyra pointed.

“Holy shit!” Chris exclaimed. “Is that who I think it is?”

Cyra believed so. “I was going to tell them the Ares information tomorrow, but this little gem is too good to hold onto until then. We need to
show them this now!”

“I agree!”

She hugged him. “You’re an excellent porn watching partner.”

“For the record,
I do believe that I would be even better making it.”

                                *   *   *

She was easy to take, simply because she didn't suspect the outcome. Then again, who did?

Walking up to her,
he nonchalantly started a conversation. As he led her by his car, all it took was one swing to knock her out. She could thank her friend for inviting him to her home and sharing so many details about her.

Now, he was one more woman closer to his goal. Soon he
would have Elizabeth Blackhawk on his altar.