He began whispering into the night air, calling for the one who owned his soul. “Beelzebub! Lucifer! The old mighty one, hear my plea! I offer this one up to you, in exchange for the ultimate gift of all. I want power. I want strength. I want all that is just outside my reach. Take her life and give me what I have earned!”
He listened for the voice that beckoned him to offer the woman as a sacrifice. It urged him to keep going with the plan. It was confirmation that he was doing the right thing.
The dark Lord wanted Elizabeth Blackhawk just as much as he did. It was obvious that he must have placed her in his mind.
It was meant to be.
Lust curled wickedly in his belly, as he forced his focus on the woman currently waiting for him to end her life.
Reaching down, he found the raven in its little cage. Pulling it out, he held it over the woman’s body. With his hands, he ripped the head clear off the body, and let the blood splash across the white material and her pale flesh. Dropping the bird, he leaned down to her ear. “You look lovely awash in blood, witch.”
With his tongue, he lapped at the fluid as her muffled sobs filled the night air. The burning incense and the taste of death mingled with his senses on his tongue and made him crazy.
It was time.
Grabbing her by the mop of blonde hair, he yanked it back as he stared into her scared eyes. “You are sacrificed for our Lord. Go be with him.”
Making the wicked cut, he watched as the blood exploded from her body in a spray worthy of any Hollywood movie, except this time it was very real.
The scent of copper pennies filled the night air as the woman personally met the master.
This witch was one more prize, and now she was very much dead.
He replayed it over and over in his mind, and it wasn’t lost on him that this one was even better than the last. They were growing in perfection.
It made him yearn for the final two before Elizabeth was placed on his altar.
The icy blue eyes would watch him with fear as he used her body to make her his blood and sex sacrifice to the darkness.
“It is done my liege.”
He dropped to his knees and began praying in Latin, as he begged for his favor.
Tonight’s sacrifice had to please Satan, for it gave him immense gratification.
Now it was time to finish setting the scene. There was one step left. After the note, he’d be free to escape home.
Once there, he already knew who he’d be fantasizing about.
It was his dream woman.
* * *
Wednesday Morning
Five days until Halloween
There was nothing like waking up between two warm, smooth, and sexy Native men. When they were all home and they slept together, by morning they were one big pile of limbs and bodies. Right now, her head was on Ethan’s shoulder, Callen’s arm was on her hip, and his face buried in her hair as all their legs were twined together.
It was probably a good thing that neither man had issues with general contact and being wrapped around each other.
At least asleep anyway.
She could feel Ethan’s heartbeat pick up, a sure sign that he was waking up. Then she could feel the lower part of his anatomy following suit.
Yippee! Someone was going to be enjoying two naked men shortly. Elizabeth took it back. Waking up between them was nice, being woken up with some Native lovin’ was even better.
Wiggling, she rubbed her bottom against Callen, trying to entice him into the morning romp. When his hand slid up her side, cupped her breast and began playing with her nipple, she was prepared to sing with joy.
God, she loved her life.
Both men moved even closer as they began to leave kisses wherever they could find a patch of skin unencumbered by all the hair.
“Lyzee,” Ethan moaned, as she ran her fingers over him.
Callen made some sound low in his chest as she ground her body against his erection. “Angel,” he practically growled in warning.
She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with the two sexiest men in the entire world for the remainder of the day. There was something about the mingling scent of the men’s colognes and their deep, lust-filled voices upon first waking up.
It turned her right on.
As her head moved lower down Ethan’s torso, she had one target in mind. It gave Callen a great opportunity to find what he wanted too. All he needed to do was slide forward.
It was like the powers that be knew her plans and were hell bent on destroying them. The second the tip of her tongue touched Ethan’s erection, his phone began ringing.
“God, don’t answer it,” Callen begged. “Ten minutes. We just need a lousy few minutes to reach heaven.”
Ethan knew if he reached for it, their morning adventure was going to be coming to an end.
“Don’t do it!” Callen warned as he wondered if he could slide into Elizabeth and forget it was all happening.
Then her phone began chiming. “Oh shit,” she muttered, weighing her options. She knew that for the three of them to have sex, it was going to be at least twenty minutes. A quickie with two men had a very different meaning than with one.
Finally, Callen’s went off and Ethan sighed in sexual frustration. Picking up his phone he answered it.
“Yes?”
“Director Blackhawk, I hope you’re not busy,” stated Police Chief Lowry.
Oh, this better be an emergency of epic proportions. “I’m just hanging out in bed.” Yeah, and I’m about to have my wife’s hot mouth all over me. It was probably best to leave that last part out.
Elizabeth climbed up his body and straddled him as she reached over to the night stand to grab her phone.
Ethan watched her full, delicious breasts bob before his lips and he wondered if he could just lick them while staying focused on the call.
“We found another body. You need to get to the police station and one of my men will lead you up. I have three of us here monitoring it to keep everything safe until your arrival.”
“On our way,” he said, hanging up. “We have another victim. It looks like our killer is making his move.”
Callen was already out of bed and reaching for a pair of jeans. “And here I can’t even take a cold shower to fix my sexy wife problem.”
Ethan was feeling the same pain, as he too jumped out of bed and reached for his pants. “Think about the crime scene. That’s what I do.”
There was laughter as they dressed. “There are days I’m glad I’m a girl and don’t have to deal with half the issues you two men have to handle. However do you survive?” she asked sarcastically. She’d been pregnant, shot at, abducted and most of all, worked to exhaustion because she’d been up all night playing sexy Native games.
They needed to toughen up. If morning wood was their biggest issue, they had it pretty damn easy.
Callen pulled out his phone and texted their ME and agents. If he had to suffer, so did they.
After all, it was only fair.
Ethan growled at her and tried to grab her. “You better behave today or the question won’t be how we survived, but if you survive.”
She laughed. “Boys, do your worst.”
Chris stared at his very rumpled and sexy bedmate. Her hair was a holy mess, her lips were pink and swollen from make-out abuse and her skin had patches of brush burn from his five o’clock shadow.
They were a wreck, and he never felt better.
Even though they barely slept, he was ready to do it all over again. In fact, he was so full of adrenaline that he could probably stay awake for two days, as long as she was in bed with him.
God, this was amazing.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He had plans of taking her again, then maybe in the shower, and then more sex tonight when they came back to the hotel. How he was going to pull it off, was another story.
The telltale aches were beginning to push through the euphoria. Oh wait, he knew how to take care of
that little issue.
Leaning over, he lowered his lips to hers to kiss her awake. It started slow, and as soon as she began to stir, her arms were around his neck and they were locked at the lips once more.
Cyra was so glad it wasn’t a dream. Here she was in bed with the sexiest man ever, and he wanted her over and over again. If she was dead and this was heaven, well, she had lived a good life and this was her reward.
“Morning, Agent Austin,” he whispered, finally pulling his lips from hers.
“Hello there, Doctor Leonard.”
“Last night was spectacular. It was quite possibly the best night of debauchery I’ve ever had in my life.” And it was. Yeah, he had sexual relationships with other women. Some were in college and the rest through his life. After all, he was a man with urges and needs, but Cyra had easily managed to unlock each and every desire in one night.
Now, he was a man on fire.
Cyra began laughing. “I’m glad I could accommodate you and help you reach your pinnacle.” Cyra was trapped beneath Chris and never wanted to be set free.
“Do you think that we can do it all over again later?” He waited nervously for her reply. She was his ultimate in dream women. If he could repeatedly score with the hottest babe ever, his life would officially be complete.
She stared up into his blue eyes. “I do believe that I told you that I never wanted you to go, and I was serious.”
Shit!
Chris figured that it was just some post coitus conversation and didn't mean anything. Knowing that she seriously meant it, released every fear and worry in his mind.
He’d scored a babe!
Holy crap!
What did he do now?
Oh yeah, he knew the answer. It was time to simply score.
Lowering his mouth to hers, he let the heat seep lower, until his brain was no longer doing the thinking. Just as he was about to head down her body to his ultimate prize, he heard it.
“NO! Oh, come on! I play in the dead for a living. Now, I want to play with the living!”
Cyra started laughing at the horror on his face. It was priceless to watch a grown man go from excited to terrorized in a matter of seconds.
“Please higher powers don’t let that be my boss. If I’ve ever done anything good in my life, let there be no bodies today but the naked one beneath me,” he prayed.
She was brought to tears, as she reached for her now beeping phone too.
Chris stared down at the code. “Crap!”
“We better shower. We’re covered with more trace than a crime scene,” she added as she raced into the bathroom before he could grab her.
Following, they rushed through their showers. They needed to be out the door in five minutes. Back out in the room, Cyra was about to start dressing when there was banging on her door.
Chris watched her as the calm disappeared and the fear was back. “I have this,” he stated, walking to the door with just a towel slung low around his waist. When he opened it, he found Cyra’s partner standing there.
“Yes?”
The man didn't look happy in the least.
“I’m here for Cyra. We have to hustle to the crime scene. The Blackhawks are expecting us.”
“She’s showering,” he stated. “I’ll get her there, since I’ve also been summoned. You can head there without her. I assure you that she’s fine.”
“You do realize, Doctor, that she’s not your partner. Cyra is mine,” Thomas Rickard spit out. The man was monopolizing her time, and it was damaging their partnership. He had to get her alone to have a little talk.
There was no point in even arguing with the man, but he did want to clarify one little thing. “What you’re absolutely right about is that Cyra is your partner in the field, but she’s my girlfriend, and that makes her my partner outside of work. Personal time trumps work related issues for most situations.”
The man spun on his heel and stormed away, leaving Chris to close the door with a shrug. When he turned around, she was staring at him.
“You called me your girlfriend.”
“Aren’t you?” he inquired. “I mean if you have a problem with that terminology, there are so many other terms that we can use, like, significant other, partner, woman, bed buddy.”
It made her want to laugh. “How quick do you think we can do it, Christopher?”
He grinned wickedly as he dropped his towel to show her the evidence of his need. “As fast as you want me to be.”
Walking across the crime scene, the three directors were taking in the situation and weighing their options. Each knew their role as it was unfolding. Elizabeth’s job was to handle the cops and run the scene. Ethan was in charge of his tech team, since they tended to stay calm when he was there, and Callen was on bodyguard duty. Both he and his brother decided that no one was getting close to their woman. Essentially, that meant that someone was going to be her official shadow, even when surrounded by FBI agents and police officers.
Now, they only had to pray it all went down without a single hitch. They both knew that wasn’t likely going to be the case.
Elizabeth was a magnet for trouble and a wild card.
Ahead of them stood Chief Gena Lowry, and she was flanked by two of her men. In fact, it was the same two officers who had been on the last crime scene.
“Directors, I see that you arrived pretty fast,” she stated, holding out a plastic bag with a note in it.
Elizabeth noticed that all three of them had gloved up. Maybe a little ass chewing would go a long way after all. “We’re used to early morning wake up calls and getting out of bed in seconds.” Yeah, that was more than enough of the pleasantries. In all honestly, she didn't have anything else to say to the woman, so why fake it? “What do we have?”
The police chief spoke, “I was notified by Officer Marsh that as he was getting into his patrol car this morning and there was a note on the hood. Immediately, he followed proper protocols to assure it was preserved for the FBI.”
Taking the bag from her, she analyzed the message.
I left you another. Here’s where you’ll find her.
Elizabeth made note of the handwriting. It wasn’t printed out, but done with pen and ink. “Christina,” she called and then whistled as loud as possible.
The brunette hustled over. “Yeah, boss?”
“Place this in evidence.” Her focus shifted. “Did anyone touch this?”
Marsh shook his head. “I put on a pair of gloves from my cruiser. I dropped it in a plastic bag and called it in first thing. We all came up here together. I wanted to make sure all my bases were covered.”
Finally, there was someone who had a freaking clue with how to run a scene. It was like a miracle.
“I appreciate your fortitude, Officer. Would you like to help out on the scene again?” Elizabeth was willing to play nice, especially when she found a cop who wasn’t useless. Since he had assisted last time and Christina didn't tell her that he was a hot mess, Elizabeth could use the man power.
“I’d like that, ma’am.”
The head tech motioned for him to follow, and they headed off together to get down to business.
All the focus was now directed at the chief of police. “I’m going to assume that in light of our last conversation, you have already questioned your officer,” Elizabeth stated.
The woman nodded.
“Lyzee baby, I’m going to make sure the team runs it right. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Blackhawk said, dropping a kiss to her forehead.
“Ethan! No kissy-face at work!” she hissed, trying to be horrified but it was a half assed attempt, even by her standards.
He simply laughed as he walked away to take care of the team.
Callen, in response, moved closer to her frame, just in case. He was now fully alert and scanning the predawn area for anything that might try to jump out and hurt her.
The police chief watched as the man walked away. “We don’t get many Native American’s in the
town, and I can say I’m sorry about that.”
Elizabeth snorted. Since the woman didn't drop the ‘Indian’ word, she was feeling a little more magnanimous towards her. Maybe they just got off on the wrong boot. “So, break it down for me,” she stated.
“My officer was just beginning patrol this morning. He was stopping for a coffee and breakfast. When he came out, there it was on his windshield. After your visit, I had a little impromptu meeting, where I explained the ramifications of handling evidence improperly.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Don’t. It was a long time coming and important. If we ever have this situation happen again, I don’t need a screw up on a scene. I’m not calling the Feds in again unless it’s pretty much a murder free-for-all.”
Well, so much for playing nice. Someone still had her britches in a twist over a little verbal altercation. The woman needed to get a thicker skin. She wouldn’t make it a day as a Fed.
“Where was he?”
“Officer Marsh was at the town coffee shop.”
Elizabeth had to wonder if the killer was using that place for a reason, or he just knew where to find a cop hanging out.
“Officer Murphy and I would also like to assist, if you wouldn’t mind.” The woman waited to see if the director was going to play hardball or bend a little. After all, her team had just done everything right.
Elizabeth contemplated it. “Officer, you can head on over to Director Blackhawk. He’ll give you something to do.”
They watched the man hustle away.
“If you’d like to stick with us, Chief, we’re about to begin focusing on the victim.”
The woman nodded and allowed Elizabeth to lead the way.
“What can you tell me about this location? The last one was an abandoned mining camp, but this one looks even less used. What do we have here?”
She looked around and wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I can do some research for you, but as far as I know, it’s just some land. I’m not even sure if it’s owned or not. This is a pretty isolated area.”
Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) Page 20