Elizabeth sipped her hot chocolate and listened. Now it was clear why the woman was skittish. The poor girl was afraid and on edge all the time.
When Tori finished, she waited for Elizabeth to pull her off the assignment.
“Here’s the only thing I’m going to say to you, Tori. When I was having nightmares about my dead partner who died right in front of me, I trusted someone enough to lean on him. Ethan got me through it, because he listened to me when I’d wake up scared shitless. Whenever I have to go into an autopsy and see dead eyes, one of them hugs me and reminds me I’m here and not there. Maybe you should trust Julian and lean on him. He’s a really good guy.”
Everything she said made sense, but there was just that little disconnect that wouldn’t allowed her to do it. “Please don’t tell him what I told you. I didn’t tell him about the skeleton and him dying. I don’t want him to think I’m more screwed up than I am.”
“You’re not screwed up, Tori. You're a soldier that risked your life for our freedom. You just need a little help readjusting to being back home. I’ll do whatever I can to help you, as will Ethan and Callen. If you need anything please come to us. I’m not just your boss. I’d like to be your friend.” Elizabeth had been burned before on the friendship front, but she knew this woman really needed someone to trust. Putting it out there, she opened up her heart to get attached, and then possibly broken once more. Then again, Tori wasn’t Desdemona and the woman deserved a chance.
Tori was touched. “Thank you, Elizabeth,” she said softly. “You’re a really big surprise once you get past the scary boss persona. Oh, and don’t forget the rumors of how you kill people easily.”
She laughed. “Well, hate to burst your bubble on that one, Tori, but I do kill easily, and I’m a really tough boss for a reason. But I also know what it’s like to be a woman in the workforce with men all over the place,” she dropped her voice even lower. “They can drive you to madness.”
Her agent laughed. “Yeah, they absolutely can.”
“Now, how about we go have our hot chocolate on the couch and talk about death for a while. I’m missing work,” Elizabeth said, taking the woman’s hand in hers and offering her some of her strength.
“Hey by all means! Don’t let the crazy, strung out soldier hold you back from talking about dead hookers in your house on the most sacred day of the year for Christians,” she said laughing.
Elizabeth led her into the room, knowing all three men would be waiting, and Julian looked nervous. “Oddly, Tori, this isn't the weirdest conversation I’ve had here. So I just might be the crazy one, not you.”
Julian stood as both women came into the room. “Are you okay, Tori?” he was concerned about the woman. Both men tried to reassure him that Elizabeth wouldn’t rile her up, but still he worried.
She shook her head and took a seat right beside him. “Yeah, Elizabeth and I just had a little talk. Everything’s more than fine. I feel much better.”
“I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m the one that’s scary,” Elizabeth stated, sitting between Callen and Ethan as CJ played on the floor in his brand new baby walker. The boy obviously was in love with it and all the flashing lights. “We all know Ethan is the terrifying one.”
He started laughing. “Yeah, I’m the dangerous one.”
Leaning over she kissed him on the lips then offered a kiss to Callen. “I know we have a fairly strict rule about talking death in the house before dinner, but I don’t think we’ll have time tomorrow. So, can we maybe get a game plan for the morning? I need to hit this assignment head on, before any more women turn up dead.”
Julian was more than fine with talking death. Tori was by his side and looked calm. Whatever Elizabeth had said had calmed the nerves and worries. “I’d really like to head back to ‘The Pussy Cat Club’ to check the back of the building. The stripper said she went out for a smoke break. Maybe the killer left a little something behind that I can use to get us something.”
“I’ll go with you, Julian. In case you need backup.”
Julian grinned. “I don’t mind back up.”
Elizabeth glanced over at Ethan. “I need a profile on the killer tomorrow. I need some directionality on him. I can’t get my bearings until I find out more about him personally.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“What do you have for me?” Whitefox asked. “I know you and Ethan could probably handle this without me.”
She twined her fingers with his. “You and I are going to go talk to Fire Investigator Wells. I doubt that this killer just started burning things recently. Maybe we can get the details and dive into them. Hate to dump it on you, but you’re my paperwork partner.”
“Anything for you, beautiful.”
“Thank God, I get out of file duty,” said Blackhawk, laughing. “I’ll shake up the team and get us a positive ID on that woman. At some point we may need to re-question the strippers.”
“Is the bouncer and bartender that tried to kill you both still on ice?” asked Julian, and then he realized that Blackhawk wasn’t privy to all the details.
“Someone care to explain that to me and fast before I lose my damn mind?” he ordered, staring over at his wife and brother. “I expect her to hid things like that, but not you, Callen.”
“Honestly, I forgot about it, Ethan.” He broke it down for his brother telling him how Elizabeth handled the man and then he handled the woman. “It all worked out.”
Blackhawk let out a long breath. “You two are a menace.”
Now they laughed. “Don’t worry, when we go anywhere near the clubs, I promise we’ll both be suited up.”
It took them a few minutes to get back on track with their discussion. “I think that the killer having a past of burning things is a likely scenario. Most of the arson cases I’ve handled for you both were proof of that,” Christensen added.
“Okay, I have something on my mind that’s been bugging the hell out of me,” said Elizabeth. “The fire inspector gives me the wrong vibe. While we were all in autopsy, he just seemed too…”
“Happy?” offered Tori.
“So I wasn’t the only one that noticed?”
She’d seen it too. “I think he probably just likes his job, but it comes across as just way too much fun for him,” added Tori.
Blackhawk thought about it. “We can put him on your ‘secret’ short list,” he said grinning.
For some reason, she found that funny. “Hey, in this job the gut instinct matters. Chris has been working with him a little more closely than we were. Maybe I’ll ask him for his impression.”
Whitefox nodded. “At least the killer has been quiet the last two days. It gave time to regroup.”
Blackhawk had seen the case files. “If he’s escalating in the manner of killing, then it’s likely he’s going to start killing more often and more violently. If we’re going to catch him, we may have to be creative and think outside the box. Arsonists get away with it because it’s a hard crime to catch them red handed. Most evidence gets destroyed in the fire.”
“We need a break in this assignment, because as of now all I have is a fire inspector that rubs me the wrong way.”
Just then CJ let out a scream for attention. Elizabeth went to get up, and Tori stopped her.
“May I?” she asked.
Blackhawk grinned. “Absolutely, but let me warn you, he likes pulling hair. He gets that from my wife.”
Callen laughed and both men got elbowed in the ribs.
“Come here, buddy. Do you like redheads?” she said, picking the chubby little boy up.
CJ laughed and immediately went for her hair. The boy just loved the stuff.
Tori grabbed a few chewing rings from the walker and moved back to sit on the couch beside Julian. “Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked, laughing. “I worked in the daycare on a military base as a teenager. I happen to love kids,” she stated, as the little boy took the toys from her hands and began gnawing on them.
Julian watched her with the little boy and something in him went all mushy at the sight. His girl liked kids. Wasn’t that an important thing to know? Maybe someday… Julian pushed the thought back into his brain. No point torturing himself with the idea. Right now he needed to figure out how to make her want to be with him on a long term basis first.
Just then, Wyler meandered down the stairs, to find them all sitting on the couches. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I just rested on the bed for a few seconds and fell asleep.”
Elizabeth stood. “Dad, sit down and let me get you some hot chocolate. It’s granddad’s recipe.”
“I knew it tasted familiar!” Whitefox exclaimed. “He used to make it for me all the time when I was a kid.”
“I didn’t know you had the recipe, Elizabeth,” Wyler said, sitting between his boys. “He swore he was taking it to his grave.”
She walked towards the kitchen. “He tried, but I convinced him when he made it for me one day. I told him I needed it for Callen.”
“I feel so cheap that you used me to manipulate an old man,” Whitefox said laughing. He knew why she did it. When the old man was gone, it would give him a piece of him remaining from his childhood. Elizabeth continually did little things to touch his heart.
“I was his favorite,” she said, coming back in with a mug for her father-in-law. Before she could continue, the timer on the oven chimed. “I hope you’re all hungry,” she said, returning to the kitchen. “It’s time to start the annual Blackhawk Christmas gorge!”
Ethan knew that was the absolute truth. He went to the kitchen to help his wife. “I’ll assist you in the binge-preparations, Lyzee,” he said, pulling on a girly apron.
Callen wasn’t too far behind. “Count me in!”
When Julian saw them both tying very feminine aprons around their waists, he sneered. “You both look pretty.”
Both men were used to it. Callen pointed up at the sign that said;
‘Lyzee’s kitchen – Lyzee’s rules’
“She’s sadistic,” he whispered, looking around. “Run for your life!” He fought to keep a straight face.
She gave him a look and crossed her arms, trying not to laugh.
Callen actually swallowed. “But sadistic gets me hot and bothered,” he added quickly, saving his ass or hoping to at least.
“Why don’t you go help,” suggested Tori. “Your mom said you’re really skilled in a kitchen.” It was fun to throw him under the boss bus.
Elizabeth started laughing. “Yeah Julian, saddle up. You're on kitchen duty with Callen and the Cowboy.”
Julian started laughing. “I’ll get you later, Tori,” he growled. When he got to the kitchen, Blackhawk was holding the most feminine apron Elizabeth owned. It was pink with bows and black lace. “Really?” He was entertained.
Callen merely pointed to the sign again and then at the woman. “She can make two, six foot six men cave and dress like this in front of company. You better suit up and just smile. Don’t make her go all CIA operative on you.”
Julian took the apron and grinned at Elizabeth. “I’ve seen her shoot, I’ll do it.”
Before he noticed, Tori was standing in the doorway with CJ in one arm and her phone with the other. Just as he turned around, she took the picture.
“Lovely. This just made my holiday even brighter,” Tori snickered wickedly.
“Hey, what was that for,” he demanded, appalled.
“Blackmail of course,” she said, knowing he’d understand how he’d tried to blackmail her with Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
Julian walked over to her and kissed her soundly on the lips. “Just wait, Tori. I’ll get even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Elizabeth snorted. “I’ve seen Tori at the firing range. Tread lightly, Julian. Or she may let the big kitties lick you tomorrow.”
He looked confused. “Big kitties?”
Tori got it and started laughing. “I think she means all the strippers at ‘The Pussy Cat Club’.”
Now everyone was snickering.
“Yeah, and you don’t know where that kitty’s been,” Elizabeth added, giving both men a fist bump and a wink to her new friend and agent.
Julian blanched, thinking about all the potential disease floating around the club. “Do I have time to update my shots?”
~ Chapter Fourteen ~
Monday Morning
Dinner the previous night went super smooth. Everyone sat around the table late into the evening, enjoying the camaraderie and friendship. Wyler told stories of the Rez and his sons when they were little. He may not have had a lot of contact with them as boys, due to his mistakes, but he had some funny antidotes.
Tori opened up and talked about herself a little more personally, and became comfortable with the people in the room. Everyone spoke freely and relaxed, and it turned out to be the epitome of a really great ‘family’ Christmas.
After cleaning up, Julian and Tori excused themselves and headed back to her house to get some sleep. Work would come early, and chances are so would death. Elizabeth knew there’d be a new victim soon. Time wasn’t on their side, and she was racing the clock to find anything to give them a lead on the maniac.
Climbing into bed after dinner, exhaustion overwhelmed Elizabeth and both men simply curled around her. As she fell into sleep, the men continued to discuss house renovations for the coming child. The plans of making Callen’s bedroom a playroom were temporarily on hold, unless the babies shared a nursery. Elizabeth left it up to them to control freak it. In the back of her mind was still the little bit of worry that one of the men was going to have an issue with not being the father.
Sitting at her desk in FBI West, her brain was a foggy mess, as she tried to focus on so many things rushing though her head.
Blackhawk stood in the doorway watching his wife with her beat up cowboy boots sitting on the edge of her desk. Today she was dressed in her usual FBI apparel. Once again out came the Momma belt buckle. Ethan purchased it for her when she was pregnant with CJ, and now it had found its way out of the closet and back onto her body.
“Where’s Callen?” she asked, sensing his eyes on her, as she stared out the window overlooking the gray valley. The view from her office always took her breath away. The scenery reminded her of the men she loved.
“He had a call he had to take from the police chief on the last assignment he was working earlier in the week. Something came up and he’s trying to mediate it over the phone between the law and the Natives.”
She simply nodded.
“I came in to see if you wanted to grab some coffee and then head on down to the autopsy suite,” he said, watching her carefully. “But you’re worried about something.”
Elizabeth dropped her boots from the desk and turned in the chair to face him. “Can we talk about something open and honestly? I need the truth from you.”
Blackhawk didn’t like the sound of this at all. “Yes,” he answered, closing the door. “That’s always been our policy, hasn’t it? Truth and no lies.”
She thought about how to bring the topic up delicately. “Ethan, if the baby isn't yours will you really be okay?”
It wasn’t surprising that she was bothered by the situation. “I’ll be okay, Lyzee baby. I won’t lie to you. It’ll be hard at first, but I’m willing to swallow it for Callen. Just be patient with me. He needs this more than I do right now. I have CJ, and I see how he looks at our son. He loves him completely but there’s still this emptiness and longing there.”
“You know I love you, right Ethan?” she said, standing and crossing to him. Once in his arms, she ran her hand over the tattoo on his chest, hidden by his dress shirt.
Ethan tipped her chin up to look him in the eyes. “Not once have I ever doubted what’s between us, Elizabeth. You live here,” he tapped his chest. “You’re my heart and mother of my child. Giving Callen the chance at fatherhood doesn’t diminish what I feel for you. It feeds it and makes it stronger. Would I like
another child? Absolutely, but we’ll have more I’m sure, and I’ll have another baby to call my own eventually.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and just took in the scent of his cologne. “I’m a very lucky girl,” she said, patting him on the ass.
Blackhawk snickered. “Spoiled is more like it.”
“Call it how you see it, Cowboy.”
Ethan rubbed his chin across the top of her hair. The silky black strands tickled him and gave him a wave of familiar heat. “How about some one-on-one time soon? Just you and me?”
She liked the idea of that. “Deal.” Taking the last few minutes to just enjoy the feel of him against her, Elizabeth finally sighed. “Okay, Ethan. We’re done with touchy-feely in the workplace. Now we head on down to the lab. I need you to get your tech supreme, Christina to get me an ID.”
Blackhawk dropped a kiss on her lips. “Let’s go.”
Leaving her office, they stopped at the coffee machine and grabbed two cups of coffee for the trip down to the autopsy suite. In the elevator, Elizabeth held his hand, and leaned against her husband. He was still the center of her world and always would be.
Once the doors opened, the bosses headed into the lab. It was filled with chaos as usual. There were techs working on other assignments for other agents and talk of the holidays.
As soon as their presence was known, the quiet started to settle in. No one wanted to tangle with a Blackhawk. Elizabeth was legendary to be tough on her tech teams, demanding only the best, and Ethan was silent and just plain intimidating. Now that Christmas was over, it was back to business as usual.
Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow and glanced around the room at her teams. “What? No saluting?” she stated, and then laughed as most of the team did exactly that. It was a little game of cat and mouse they played. She laughed, shaking her head. “Okay, now we all go back to work team.”
Ethan was highly amused at his wife and the employees that worked under them. Half saluted out of being smart asses and the rest out of fear. “Where’s Doctor Leonard?” he asked, and most of the staff pointed at the office that he and Doctor Magnus shared. “Thank you,” he said, leading his wife there.
Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) Page 38