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

by Kelley, Morgan

  She was his embodiment of love.

  Watching Elizabeth in her running gear, and how it hugged her body made him want to run his hands all over her. If anyone could break his carefully constructed control, it was his Lyzee. When they arrived back at the house, he was pretty sure the shower was going to be eventful.

  Glancing over at his brother, just the wolfish grin on his face said it all. He too was enjoying the spectacular view.

  Callen’s gaze flickered over, and the silent message was sent between them. As closely knit brothers, there was no need for words. Yeah, they’d let her pull away, only to catch her in the end.

  Ethan silently lifted a brow in signal and went back to focusing on her, as he planned his method of attack. He knew he could outrace her, but he couldn’t do it for long. It would have to be timed perfectly and as they approached the home stretch.

  It was as if she knew they were watching her. Glancing back over her shoulder, Elizabeth winked as they were just about at the end of their run. Her laughter broke the silence as she shot off, trying to get to their porch first.

  As with anything in life, the men made chase. Ethan would be the one who would have to catch her, since he was the faster of the two.

  When she sensed him closing the distance, she fought hard not to laugh at the determination on his face. Now, he would try and exert his dominance. It flashed her back to the first time they ran together in Salem. The memory still warmed her body.

  “If I beat you, I’m claiming my prize,” he muttered as he briefly pulled ahead.

  His words only made her focus more. She knew what either of them winning would entail, and Elizabeth was going to be victorious and teach them both a lesson.

  Callen watched the two people he loved ahead of him. Yeah, he was slower than both of them, but he was also well aware that he could come in third and still take part in the fun. They underestimated him, and that was fine. He’d still enjoy in the festivities and the view of Elizabeth from behind.

  He focused on the woman he cherished, and his heart swelled to capacity. The love that the three of them shared made him whole. It was more than just lust and sex. It was a sense of completeness. Elizabeth and Ethan gave him solace and filled his life. When he was with them, he could be himself and find total acceptance. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn't thank God that his brother had forgiven him for his betrayal.

  He was definitely a better man.

  Ethan coming home had been his salvation. Had the tables been turned, he wasn’t so sure that he could have been as forgiving. Here, his brother had opted to share the most precious thing in his life, and with a man who had so viciously wounded his heart.

  Ethan had set the bar high in life, and if anything, it gave Callen a role model to aspire to mimic and idolize. His big brother was a God among men.

  He wanted to love like Ethan.

  He longed to be protective like him.

  And most importantly, he desired to be just as strong.

  It wasn’t odd for the younger brother to want to emulate the older one, but Ethan was his roadmap in life. Callen was learning everything from him, and for that he was grateful. Growing up fatherless, there wasn’t that person to look up to, until he found his way into Timothy Blackhawk’s life. Now, he knew what it was to be a man, father, and husband.

  Without Ethan, failure would abound. With him, he’d found himself striving to be better at everything, just to make him proud. Now that he was part of something so amazing, he had welcomed the opportunity to grow and become the man he was meant to be.

  Callen had no doubt in his mind; he’d die for them.

  They were the loves of his life.

  The boy who grew up alone and became a rebel without a care in the world was now finding his way into life. Callen had children, a family and most importantly, love.

  It was all thanks to the people ahead of him.

  Once more, his eyes focused on the swing of Elizabeth’s hair and hips as she raced alongside Ethan, and the X-rated fantasies filled his mind. It was both heaven and hell at the same time. He enjoyed the curve of her ass and the long legs. Then he saw the symbol that called to him.

  The glint of the ring on her left hand in the morning sunlight was forever his beacon back from any darkness that chased him. His heart skipped, and he found himself pushing harder to be beside her. Suddenly, third place wasn’t enough. If they were going to finish this, it would be at her side.

  Catching up, he pushed hard until he was right next to his woman. Grinning over at his brother, they both saw the porch and gave it all they had.

  Elizabeth started laughing, as they passed her in desperation. The giggles overtook and she lost her momentum. It was well worth it though. It was funny to see two large Native men jumping up and down in victory. You would think they’d just won a gold medal at the Olympics and not a street race against a girl.

  “You both realize this proves nothing,” she snickered, between gasps of air.

  Ethan grinned triumphantly. “I do believe, baby, that it proves a great deal. We won and outraced you.”

  Callen offered him a fist bump on victory.

  “One day you won’t be faster than me, Cowboy,” she answered, as she allowed them their moment of gloating. “I’ll be the one doing the victory dance.”

  “Will you be naked at the time?” Callen asked. Of course he went there, that was just how he rolled.

  Elizabeth shook her head in exasperation. “I’m in love with two perverts.”

  Ethan wasn’t giving her an opportunity to escape so he lunged at her and tossed her over his shoulder. “I won, and I plan on getting all soapy with you in the shower.”

  She laughed as the world tipped upside down. “Okay, put me down! We don’t need our kids seeing how you brutes manhandle me!”

  Ethan didn't care. The Blackhawk and Whitefox men would grow up and hopefully take after their fathers. They’d find a woman and love her with all their hearts.

  What better legacy could they leave behind?

  Callen opened the door for his brother and then grinned wickedly at Elizabeth. “That’s a really good position for you,” he teased, slapping her on the ass as Ethan carried her past him.

  “Callen James!” she objected and tried not to laugh at his antics.

  Ethan always found it funny when she used their full names. It was entertaining to see her flustered, since their Elizabeth was unflappable. To punctuate it, he too followed suit.

  Elizabeth began cursing, in their Native tongue, which only caused more male snickering. As he carried her to the kitchen, he found his father there with their house keeper, feeding the kids. CJ was toddling around with a handful of O’s, Cat was in her highchair being fed baby cereal, and EJ was having his morning dose of formula.

  Wyler Blackhawk looked up at the commotion. “Boys, you put her down!” he ordered sternly, unsure if they’d even listen. “You can’t be tossing your woman around like she’s a sack of potatoes.”

  Ethan dropped her to her feet.

  Immediately, Elizabeth scurried away from them, just in case they decided to try it again. Leaning down towards the children, she dropped a kiss on each one’s forehead. “Mommy loves you all,” she crooned, as she loved on all the little birds in her nest.

  “Elizabeth, would you like coffee?” asked Bly Cocheta.

  God, would she ever? “I would love it, thank you!” Since coming back from Red River, everything had been fairly easy going between Elizabeth and the woman they hired to help out Wyler. In fact, there was a romance going on between her father-in-law and Bly, and it gave her great joy that he was finding happiness.

  “Morning sweetheart,” Wyler said, accepting her kiss. “Are they beating up on you again?”

  “Yes, Dad, and I’m going to have to hurt them.”

  He laughed.

  Ethan snagged two cups of coffee and handed one to his brother. “I won fair and square, Elizabeth. Don’t try and get out of our littl
e reward.”

  There was a very unladylike snort that followed.

  “You both finally beat her in something, huh?” Wyler asked as he went back to feeding his granddaughter. “Well sadly, I know it had nothing to do with using a gun. I can’t believe that two men that share my DNA can’t outshoot an outsider.”

  She crossed her arms and taunted them. Oh yeah, she could school them both on the firing range and without breaking a sweat.

  “That’s a fluke,” Ethan teased. “I’m pretty sure that Tex cheats,” he added.

  That only made her laugh more.

  It didn't happen often in their house that either man could best her. Elizabeth could outshoot them, out speak their own Native tongue, and probably out think them too.

  “I’m not a prize, boys,” she drawled, winking at them both. “You want something for a shelf, get yourselves a shiny trophy.”

  “You three better get moving,” Bly admonished. “You’re going to be late.”

  Yeah, it was the story of their lives. They were always late for work, and lately, they were justifying it by saying it was the kids.

  Except they knew better.

  Callen held out his fist. “One round?” he asked his brother as he threw down the challenge of ‘rock, paper, and scissors’.

  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, it 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.