Blackhawk didn’t believe that for a second. “She loves you because of you, Callen. Not because of me. If we’re going to be honest, then let’s be honest. My wife loves you too. Don’t try to rationalize away the feelings we both know she has. ”
Whitefox wanted to believe that in the worst way. Everything he was building in his life was based on the love he felt for her. She was his strength and knowing she loved him the same way gave him the ability to keep going.
“Are you mad because of it?” Whitefox asked, knowing his brother had every right to be angry over the entire discussion. When he came back into his life, he’d told him that his wife was completely off limits, and now he was giving him a chance to touch and own something so precious in his life.
“Honestly?”
“Yes, since you’re big on honesty today.”
“I should be mad as hell. I should be beating the hell out of you, but I don’t feel threatened. When we’re together I feel warmth and the love of a family.”
Whitefox didn’t know what to think.
“Any man near her usually pisses me off and puts me into a rage, but for some reason I’m willing to stay calm with you.”
“Why?”
Blackhawk thought about that. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel wrong knowing she cares and loves you.” He didn’t tell him it was all because of his brother’s past and the wounds Callen had inflicted on his heart. The fact he always felt like an outsider because he was the ‘bastard’ in the family, or how his mother essentially threw him away for drugs and booze. “I’m trying to not look into it too much. Elizabeth is pretty logical, and I’m going to let her take the lead on this one.”
“I’m sorry I punched you.”
Ethan Blackhawk accepted that. “I’m sorry I knocked you on your ass,” he said grinning.
“So we’re okay, Ethan?” Callen couldn’t believe his luck. Having a brother was a really great thing.
“We are as thick as thieves, bro.”
It was a phrase their grandfather used frequently, when they were growing up. His eyes began to fill with emotion and unshed tears.
“Come here,” Blackhawk said, standing. The protectiveness was back, and he would do anything to keep the man in front of him in one piece emotionally.
Whitefox stood and went to his brother, and they wrapped their arms around each other. He could feel the strength in the man he called brother, and he allowed himself to take some of it as his own.
“I’m glad she’s your best friend, Cal. She’s ours, and I’m okay with trusting my blood with the love of my life. I told you once before that she wasn’t like the woman that broke us up. Elizabeth has so much love in her, that giving you half of it still leaves me with more than I deserve in this lifetime.”
Those words meant everything to him. His brother was allowing him to relax and care about the woman that healed them without retribution. He let out a ragged breath.
“Oh look at this! It’s a group hug, and I wasn’t invited,” said Elizabeth from the doorway.
Callen couldn’t speak; he was too choked up as he looked up at her across the room.
“My two favorite men in the entire world are hugging it out, and I don’t get an invite?”
Both men opened up for her, and she immediately went to them.
Elizabeth just had that effect on them. They were a family and a sturdy unit. They may fight and have their moments of stress, but when it came down to it, they were tight.
“I love you both,” she said, trapped between them protectively. “But the next time you beat the hell out of each other over something so completely silly, I will hand you both an ass kicking for being idiots.” Elizabeth willingly accepted the kisses on each side of her forehead.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” said her husband laughing.
“We’re Blackhawks, and that means we have each other’s backs.” Elizabeth loved them both and trusted they’d work it all out. “Nothing breaks us. Nothing will pull us apart and at the end of the day, we go home together or we don’t go home.”
“Like the Three Musketeers?” asked Blackhawk.
Whitefox interjected teasingly, “I get to be the French one.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I’m getting you that book for your damn birthday, because they’re all French. And you call yourself a literary collector?”
Now all three were laughing and were glad no one could see them in their big group hug.
“I specialize in collecting Seuss,” he muttered into her hair, as he felt the tears evaporating with just her being near.
Elizabeth laughed and stared up at her husband. She wasn’t sure what he did, but it brought the emotion out in Whitefox and the tension there earlier was gone.
He smiled the famous Blackhawk grin, and was completely at ease with both of them. They were safe and in his arms and that’s all that really mattered.
“Now we need to get out in the field,” Elizabeth muttered into their shirts. It pained her to have to break up their little hug fest, but there was a killer to find.
Both men broke apart and started laughing. “You’re not going out in the field,” they said together.
“You know that the little conversation about you being my second husband wasn’t regarding you being able to boss me around too, right?” she stated, pointing at Whitefox.
“Let’s vote,” suggested Blackhawk. “All those in favor of Elizabeth going out in the field raise their hands.”
Elizabeth did just that.
“All those that are fervently against Elizabeth going out to risk her life, please raise your hand.” Both Whitefox and Blackhawk raised both hands, and opened themselves up for two sucker punches to the ribs.
“You know, I’m not going to be pregnant for much longer, and as soon as I’m baby free, I swear on everything that’s holy, I will kick both of your asses big time. I’m not an invalid.”
Both brothers laughed as they rubbed their rib cages.
Desdemona wandered into the room blowing a bubble with her peppermint gum, she was about to head down to start the autopsy, and she wanted to see if anyone was joining her. What she found was the beginnings of a fight.
“Uh, I can come back,” she paused in the doorway.
“No need,” answered Ethan Blackhawk. “We were just planning the rest of the day, and who wasn’t going out in the field.
“I’m going,” Elizabeth said continuing, “and the reason I’m going is simply this. No one is killing women, but someone is killing men. I also excel at the details and you do not,” she pointed at Ethan Blackhawk. “You are still a newbie and are inexperienced.” Then she looked over her shoulder at the doctor. “She has a body to dig through. The most logical choice is to go with me, so stop fighting me.”
“I don’t want to leave Desdemona alone.”
“Hey!” she protested. “I’m a grown woman.”
Whitefox started laughing and then realized doing that only worked for them and Elizabeth. The doctor looked pretty angry at his laughter.
Desdemona walked towards him and looked over her glasses at him. “For your information Callen, you may be bigger than me, but I assure you while you can only kill with that gun, I happen to know one hundred places on the human body that will kill a person and none of them take much force.”
He didn’t know what to say to that.
“Wow, looks like the doctor has a brass set after all,” snickered Elizabeth, fist bumping her husband. It was funny to watch the look on Whitefox’s face.
“I’m only borrowing yours,” she smiled at her friend. “I have ten lab techs downstairs, and all of them are armed. I’ll be perfectly fine!” She spun on her heel. “I don’t need a damn babysitter!”
Whitefox just stared after her, unsure what to say.
Elizabeth squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Callen this is where you chase after her and apologize and let her hand you your ass back,” she said gently. “Go on, and fix it before we all go ou
t in the field.”
Whitefox kissed her on the cheek and nodded.
As soon as he was gone, she looked over at her husband. “Want to tell me what the little pow wow was about between you and Callen?”
Blackhawk shrugged. “He’s tied up in knots over being in love with you, and I told him that its fine and I was willing to share your love.”
Elizabeth hugged her husband. There was no doubt how hard that was for him. “You're a very good man, Ethan Blackhawk.”
“Let’s face it. The safest person for him to lose his heart to is you. You won’t stomp on it and hand it back to him.” He told her all about Callen’s childhood and Charlene Whitefox. Just the look of abject horror on her face said it all.
“Oh God, poor Callen!”
“Yeah, he had it pretty rough.”
Elizabeth felt her own heart breaking for the man. “I’ll keep his heart intact the best I can,” she said, taking her husband’s hand in hers.
“I hope he’s not in over his head with the doctor.”
Elizabeth nodded, understanding what he meant. “Family sticks together, and we’ll get him through whatever is coming,” she answered, and led him to the door. “Now, where are the three of us heading first?”
“The diner, are you hungry?”
“Always.”
Whitefox ran down the stairs and caught up to the woman. She was moving pretty fast, and he assumed she was furious with him. “Desi, wait!” She spun at his voice and looked up at him.
“I’m not a child! I’m a full grown woman and you need to remember that. I go where I want, and I do what I want. I don’t think I need you to put an armed guard on me in the lab. The deputy is dead, and I’m safe.” She pointed at him and had him backing up.
Wow, she was pretty pissed. “I just wanted to…”
“Zip it. I know why you wanted to do it. Let me just put this out there Callen, but maybe I don’t like to be bossed around. How would you feel if I bossed you around?” she asked, now on the landing with him, and not far from his body. “Everyone assumes because I’m not an Amazonian warrior like Elizabeth Blackhawk that I’m harmless. I can take care of myself, and I can decide where I go and what I do.” She looked over the top of her glasses at him. She was angry for so many reasons, and the pot picked now to bubble over. Most of it had nothing to do with his bossiness, but how he viewed her as less than Elizabeth.
Before he could speak, she walked up against him and grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to her lips and kissed him. Fury and anger came out in the kiss. She kissed him hard, deep and with everything in her body. Pressed against him and standing between his legs, she invaded his space and owned the kiss. It wasn’t a meek, mild kiss; it was one of frustration, pent up aggression, and sheer lust. Callen let her control it, because he owed it to her. Slowly Desdemona broke away from the kiss and looked up into his eyes.
“I know I’m not Elizabeth, but I’ll be fine.” Desdemona wasn’t sure what came over her. “Now, if you don’t mind I’ll go autopsy the deputy. See you later,” she said softly, as she made her hasty retreat to dwell over what she just did.
Whitefox didn’t know what to say and wasn’t quite sure what she was alluding to either or maybe that was his guilt ridden conscience talking. He hoped the truth wasn’t written on his face every time she stared at him.
The three agents rode in the Denali on their way to the diner. They figured it was as good a place to start questioning possible witnesses. There were lots of people coming and going and maybe they’d get a lead for the assignment. When Callen Whitefox’s phone rang again and he ignored it, both agents looked back at him.
“Who are you dodging?” asked his brother.
“Granddad called again,” he said, shrugging. “I’m not in the mood to have a confrontation regarding the woman I’m sleeping with,” and then he snapped the gum and realized he gave it all away.
“Oh, look Ethan! Callen has taken up chewing blue peppermint gum. That seems familiar to me, and yet I can’t quite place my finger on it,” she teased.
“Well, let’s back track. We hugged and I didn’t smell peppermint did you?”
Whitefox started getting red.
“No. I smelled his woodsy cologne, your spicy cologne, and then soap. Pretty sure none of it was peppermint. Then in came Desdemona, and she was chewing that same gum. Now I guess we need to deduce how that gum went from her to Callen.”
“Maybe it’s magical jumping gum,” snickered Blackhawk.
“Maybe I just wanted a stick of gum,” Whitefox added, and starting to grin at how they were teasing him. “And she shared.”
“Darlin’ we don’t doubt she shared, but the more likely reason is you kissed her so deep you ended up with her gum in your mouth,” Elizabeth fanned herself. “I do declare that must have been some kiss!” Now she was teasing him unmercifully with her southern belle accent.
Callen yanked on her ponytail and earned a punch in the leg. “Shit that hurt,” he said, rubbing his thigh.
“You bet it did,” she said, winking.
“For the record she kissed me,” he added, grinning. “But I did learn that kissing technique from someone in this vehicle.”
“Don’t look at me,” said Elizabeth. “You’ve kissed me plenty but you’ve never ended up with my gum.”
Whitefox snickered. “Can I try?” Just the idea caused his heart to pound.
Ethan pulled into the diner and looked up into the mirror. “If you’re alluding I taught you, I’m pretty sure I’ve never shared gum with you, Cal.”
“Eww! Not you kissing me, you kissing the ladies.”
Elizabeth lifted a brow. “Oh, do tell all, Cal.”
“Callen, you’re going get me killed. You’re just giving her ammunition against both of us. Sit there and stare straight ahead and say nothing,” he said laughing, as he earned a punch in his leg too. “Hey!”
“I get cranky when I’m hungry,” she retorted, grabbing the files and hopping out of the Denali.
Both men followed laughing. When they hit the door, the humor was gone and back was the hard ass FBI agents on the job.
Elizabeth slid up to the counter and stared at the fat bald man perched behind it. It was the same man that was ass slapping his waitress the other day. Already she disliked him. “Excuse me, can you tell me who owns this place?” she questioned, civilly. Despite what she was feeling, she’d play nice.
“I do little lady. You interested in a job? You’re a little chubby with that baby belly, but you can tote trays just as good as the rest, I guess.”
Blackhawk went to move forward, but his brother put his hand on his arm. Elizabeth could chew this man up and spit him out in big meaty pieces and if she didn’t, THEN they’d kill him for insulting her.
Despite his comment he looked up and down her body, lecherously. “Come on back to my office, and we can talk about the job requirements.” He stood and started heading back.
Elizabeth knew her husband was ready to go shit wild and beat the hell out of the man. “I’ll be fine, split up and start asking the waitresses if they saw the victims.” The man was going to be sorry he called her chubby.
Blackhawk let out a breath. “I hope she rips his balls off,” he muttered under his breath, and then moved his focus to the woman waiting tables. “Let’s grab a seat, order, and then cage in the waitress,” he looked back at the door his wife had gone through, and couldn’t help but worry.
Elizabeth took the offered seat and took off her jacket. She looked around at the sparse office and the messy desk and looked back at the bald, fat man. Yeah, it suited him just fine.
A pig in his pen.
“I’m Joe Lemar. I own this place, so ask what you need to ask.” It wasn’t lost on him that she had a really nice set of curves on her and a great rack. She may be pregnant, but he’d still do her, in a heartbeat.
“Have you seen any of these men in your establishment before?” Elizabeth placed the pictures across
the messy desk and waited for him take them all in.
“This one.” He picked up the picture. “Wilma waited on him. I don’t know much about him, just that.”
Elizabeth picked up the picture of victim three. It was Torrance Delmar, and he’d definitely stopped into the town. “Anyone else you recognize from the pictures?”
“No sugar, no one interesting there, but I have to say,” he looked at her chest and licked his lips. “You interest me a great deal.”
“Trust me, Mister Lemar, you want to shut that down right now. Because one, you can’t handle me and two, my husband out there will break every bone in your body.” Elizabeth picked up the photos and put them back into the folder. “Thank you for your time, Sir.” She turned and when he slapped her on her ass she sighed. “Oh Mr. Lemar, you’re going to wish you didn’t do that.”
Blackhawk ordered his wife lunch, a big meaty burger with extra bacon and mayo. He figured she was going to be hungry and dead cow always made her very happy. After his brother ordered his lunch and something to take back to the doctor, he pulled out his file and read the name tag on the waitress’s shirt. “Wilma May, can I ask you a few questions?” he smiled his smoothest smile. It was the one that charmed women and got him answers from the opposite sex. Usually he whipped it out whenever his wife wasn’t around. If she caught him, someone would die and that meant paperwork.
“Depends on what you’re asking darlin’.” She snapped her gum and slid the pencil into her hair. “You two boys police?”
“Yes the FBI, and we’re here trying to find a murderer. Can you look at these pictures and tell me if you remember seeing any of them in here in the last few months?”
Wilma May looked down at the very exotic man. Oh, he was delicious looking and his smile was sexy as sin. “For two sexy men, certainly,” she winked at the man with the brown eyes. She’d always been a sucker for a brown-eyed man, although his partner was just as delicious.
“Thank you, Wilma May.”
True Love Lost (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 3)) Page 28