He laughed.
It was the first time in hours, and it sounded good to him. It felt even better.
“I don’t want to go to work without you both anymore. It erodes at our relationship. It kills me to head out before the sun is up, missing our kids, and missing my spouses. I want to have breakfast with my family, or coffee with my loves. I don’t want the job to suck me under anymore.”
“What are you saying?” Callen asked. He really hoped his brother wasn’t giving up his career. He was meant to run the FBI. This was a bump in the road.
“I plan on telling Gabe that if he wants me to stay, I need a few concessions in my day. The first being I don’t start work before you both. When you’re here, we go in together—as a couple. I don’t want to be without you more than I need to be. I know you’ll be heading out on assignments, and there will be times I can’t go, but I really need this. It grounds me.”
She teased his earlobe with her teeth. “Handsome, that works for me. I hate going anywhere without both of you.”
“He’ll agree to it. Gabe rides in with Livy,” Callen stated. “I’m sure you can ride in with us.”
“What’s next?” Elizabeth asked.
“I want your office moved. You and Callen are coming upstairs. I don’t want to be four floors apart. I want to have coffee with you both, much like I used to. I feel so alone when I walk out of my office. I can’t hear your laughter anymore, and I can’t see you sitting on a desk being your crazy self.”
She grinned. “If you move me closer, we can have sex in the closet.”
“Okay.”
She looked around the room frantically.
“What?” he asked.
“You just agreed to do it in the office. You would NEVER go there before. I had to trick, manipulate, and whip out the sexy submissive voice to get that to happen.”
He laughed. “I didn’t say it wouldn’t make me uncomfortable, but something has to change. I can live without the FBI. I can’t live without my family. I have to find a way to make them a happy couple.”
She understood.
It was about balance.
They each placed their heads on his shoulders.
“I also need a promise from both of you.”
They listened.
“If you see me slipping, becoming addicted to the job and ignoring our relationship, I need you to tell me. Carrying the FBI is a tough job, but I need a family life to ground me. I need you both.”
“Deal.”
“You got it, Cowboy.”
“Now, to address the obvious.”
They both lifted their heads. “What?” they said at the same time.
“I think we need to have a statement drawn up, and we need to go to the media with it, explaining our relationship.”
They stared at him.
“What?” Callen stated.
“You’re already in the news. So is Elizabeth. We can continue to let them say she’s a hussy and cheating on me with my brother, or we can give them what they want.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“I’ll write it up and we can do a press conference. Think about it. Eventually, it’ll have to be done. I’m sick of hearing you’re cheating, and I’m sure Callen is tired of being the third wheel.”
“I am.”
“Well, then we do something about it. We come out of the closet.”
“Wow. You should have a breakdown every day. This has been a really interesting morning.”
He laughed as she brushed some of his dark black hair from his cheek. “Thank you, I think.”
Elizabeth got it.
He was sick of this destroying the foundation of their lives. Did it matter if they were honest with the vultures? No. The media already had them in a relationship, so why not admit it?”
“I say do it.”
“Elizabeth! Ethan! You’ll both risk your careers. While it’s out there, it’s hearsay. If we come out, it’s going to be fact, and we don’t need that.”
“What about your career?” she asked.
“I have my handy dandy alter ego. I’m good. You two are the career Feds. What if it stops you both from moving up the ladder?” Callen asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t care what people think. I’ve already reached the pinnacle for me. I’m maxed out as a director of a division. There is no way in hell I’ll move up. People already think I slept my way to this position. Women don’t get the same shot as men do, and we all know that. Even if Ethan and I had the same background, same arrest rates, and closures, he’d get the job because he’s one of the boys. I’m the outsider.”
It was true.
Elizabeth had a far better education, was smarter than he was, and her record for solving cases beat his. Still, he was the Deputy Director and not her. She was a woman trying to survive in a man’s world.
“It is what it is,” Elizabeth stated.
Ethan agreed. “Gabe picks his replacement for Director. If he says I’m promoted when he retires, the only one who can stop it is the President, and rarely do they care. They have more shit to worry about than who I’m shacked up with.”
He had a point.
“Are you in, Callen? Do you want to come out of the closet and let the world know that you’re a kinky pervert married to your brother’s wife?” he teased.
He didn’t have to think about it.
“Yes, yes, I do.”
She kissed them both.
“Write it up, Ethan. We’ll stand beside you in a press conference.”
“Tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes,” they said together.
Callen grinned. “I can’t believe I can stop pretending. I know they’ve seen me kissing Elizabeth, and they’ve seen me with you two all the time, but it will be nice not to have to pretend I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
She grinned. “I can finally drop my full name now all the time. I can be Elizabeth Whitefox-Blackhawk across the board.”
There was never a more beautiful thing to any of them.
They were happy for Callen and Elizabeth. Coming out was going to be a sweet reward for years of hard work. Whatever happened in the end, they’d be fine. They had Callen’s income to fall back on in case something went down.
“I’ll call Gabe later and tell him. He deserves a heads up over this.”
They both agreed.
Elizabeth was about to says something when Callen’s phone began ringing. He picked it up off the nightstand and glanced at the number.
“It’s Leslie Jefferson’s assistant, Logan. I can’t imagine why he’s calling me this early on a Sunday.”
He placed the call on speaker.
“Callen Whitefox.”
“Mr. Whitefox, we have a huge problem. We need you to get down to Leslie’s office, and fast.”
“What happened?” he asked, his heart skipping in his chest. The urgency in the man’s voice worried him.
“We got a call from the alarm company last night that someone broke into the office. They ransacked the place, and just now we realize what was stolen.”
“What?” he asked.
“Your book has been taken. The official copy is gone. Someone came in here and stole it.”
“What?” he asked. “What do you mean they stole it, Logan!”
“It was on a zip drive, the main computer, and we had one proof copy to approve. We just got the proof specs back, and it’s gone. Leslie is beside herself. She feels horrible. We think your book was pirated.”
He stared at the phone in horror. It was like someone kidnapped one of his children.
“Hurry, Mr. Whitefox.”
Callen looked sick when he hung up the phone. “What does this mean?”
Ethan patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it. It just means that your book is coming out earlier.”
“By pirates. Who steals a person’s book? There’s something very wrong with that,” Callen stated. “It’s my hard work, blood, sweat
, and tears. That’s how I feed my family. How does a person justify taking what’s not theirs?”
Elizabeth leaned over and gave him a kiss. “It’s okay, Callen. When things like this happen, it only means one thing.”
“What?” he asked.
“You’ve hit the big time. People are stealing your work to get it before you publish it. Yay you!”
He stared at her. “That’s just wrong.”
He knew she was teasing to make him feel better, but it stung. It made him feel horrible inside.
Elizabeth saw the anguish. “Callen, don’t worry about it. People who do those kinds of things will get payback in the end. Karma is a bitch. They should be ashamed of themselves for stealing.”
He closed his yes.
All that work, and someone destroyed it by stealing what was his. His heart ached.
“Want me to go with you?” Ethan asked, trying to help his brother feel better. He knew nothing would make it right, but he had to try.
“Will you? I feel sick. I can’t help but think about all the work I put into it. How I had to be up all night, missing you both to do that book, and someone took it. What was next? People reading it and returning it? Don’t they get that it’s theft? It hurts my family?”
Apparently not.
Ethan hugged him. “We got this, Cal. I promise. It’ll be okay.”
“I’ll head into the office,” Elizabeth stated.
They stared at her.
She knew what they were thinking. It was clearly written all over her face.
“I’ll not shake Igor the Terrible. Chris worked all last night on the autopsy. I’ll stop, get him some coffee, and head in with Boone and Merry. They’re the ones in danger.”
“About that,” Ethan stated.
“What?”
“If you shake your protection duty again, I’m going to have to request more, and that will mean someone riding in the back seat with you as you’re trying to work.”
She stared at him.
“You wouldn’t.”
Ethan laughed. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like me. Why would I want to ensure you stay alive? You’re right. Take that chance.”
“Ethan Jackson Whitefox-Blackhawk.”
Callen started laughing.
She pointed at him.
“Now that we’ve cleared that up,” Ethan stated, “there’s only one more thing to add to it.”
“What now?”
“Don’t get shot.”
She laughed.
They didn’t.
“What?” Elizabeth asked, getting out of bed. “That bullet wasn’t meant for me.”
Somehow, that didn’t make them feel any better. It never really did.
“Lyzee, please?” Callen asked.
“Just get your issue settled. I won’t go out in the field without you. I promise. You have my word.”
They weren’t sure they believed her.
They’d been down this road before, and it never ended well.
Never.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
When Boone woke up, his heart was still pounding in his chest. The previous day’s events had rattled him, and to say he was freaked out would be an understatement.
He was damn scared.
He’d nearly lost Merry and his unborn child.
As she rolled over, her eyes gently flickering open, his heart skipped in his chest.
“Hey.”
“Moring, cher.”
Merry loved the French Creole lilt to his voice. When he said ‘cher’, it made her body heat up.
“Have you been up long?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not really. I was lying here thinking.”
“About?”
“Yesterday.”
“You aren’t going to tell me we have to run and hide, are you? If you are, Boone, I don’t think I can do it. I’m so damn tired of running, and I really want this to be over. I want to find him and put him away for a long time.”
Oh, he’d thought about that.
It was his first thought.
Now he was thinking something else.
“Merry.”
She cut him off.
“I love you, Boone, but we can’t be afraid of him. He’s ruled my world for too long. Yes, those bullets came close,” she said, touching his cheek.
He kissed her palm.
“Yes, they nearly ended us, but they didn’t. Maybe the spirits you love so much saved us for a reason. Maybe they have a plan and we don’t know it.”
She had a point.
“Why don’t we ask them?”
“Merry.”
“Please, Boone. I can’t run anymore. I want this fixed before we give birth to our son or daughter.”
He did too.
Boone wanted this over more than anything in the world. He hated she was scared.
He wanted Derek dead.
In fact, he wanted to be the one who drove that point home, when he put a bullet in the man’s head.
No one was hurting his Merry. She was his woman, and enough was enough.
“Merry.”
“Boone, please.”
He started laughing. “Will you let me tell you what I was thinking?” he said.
She blushed. “I’m sorry.”
He gently kissed her on the lips. “It’s okay, cher. I know how riled up you are over this. I’m not going to suggest we run. In fact, I have something else in mind when it comes to us.”
“What?” she asked.
“He’s not going to stop if we run. He’ll find you, and then he’ll take a shot at you. While we’re here, we’re safe.”
“I felt so safe last night.”
So did he.
It was the first time, in a long time, that he didn’t have to keep looking over his shoulder all night to keep them safe.
“So I say we take a stand.”
She watched him get out of bed. When he crossed to his bag, he pulled something out.
Then he returned.
“Merry?”
“Yes, Boone?”
He held out the little black velvet box. “I want to make a stand with you as my wife. I don’t want our child born before we’re married. I know this isn’t the most romantic thing I could do, but will you marry me, Merry? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”
He went down on one knee.
She gasped and covered her mouth when he flicked open the box. It was the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen.
“Our tribe color is red. I wanted to incorporate that into my gift to you. Black is the color Voodoo practitioners use to offer protection, and the diamond in the middle is our love. It’ll last forever.”
Tears filled her eyes.
She lifted her hand. “I’ll marry you, Boone. You make me very happy, and that is the most amazing ring in the world.”
He slipped it onto her finger, and then leaned in to kiss her.
Merry pulled him onto the bed and locked her body to his.
“I can’t wait to be your wife.”
He couldn’t either.
“We’ll have our love forever,” he vowed.
In his head, there was that fear, and it was constantly reminding him that it might not be true. He had to do one thing first.
Keep her alive.
Chapter Nine
Leslie Jefferson’s
Office
When Callen got there, he wasn’t the most freaked out person in the room. Leslie, Logan, and Jewel were even more riled up than he was, and Callen knew why.
They’d lost his book.
They’d dropped the ball.
As his agent, and promoter, Leslie Jefferson’s reputation was on the line when it came to protecting her clients’ assets. Losing his book was a huge deal.
Granted, it wasn’t her fault, but still…
She’d lost his freaking book!
The liability on that was ridiculous.
&nbs
p; “What happened?” Callen asked when he walked into the office.
Leslie and Logan were sitting on the leather couch in her office and they looked like hell.
“We got a call around eleven last night that the alarm went off here,” she began.
Logan finished when she started crying.
“We came over to find the glass shattered in the door, the computer missing, and Leslie’s zip drive gone. Your one and only copy of the book was locked in her desk. They busted the drawers open and took it.”
Well, that sucked.
Callen looked around, as did Ethan.
It didn’t look like it was aimed at Callen. Whoever had been there didn’t know what they wanted.
The place was ransacked.
“What else was taken?” Ethan asked, pulling a pair of latex gloves out of his jean pocket.
“Money, our awards were smashed, and someone broke all the pictures of us.”
“That sounds personal.”
She sniffled.
“You think someone is targeting Leslie?” Logan asked. “Why? She’s super nice. We promote books. Who hates a literary agent?”
Callen knew the answer. Just about every author she would have turned away.
He didn’t go there.
The local cops would work that angle. He was a Fed, and the author of the absconded book. That was his first priority. As Jackson James, he had to do damage control.
“This is bad, Leslie. My book getting out will sink your reputation. Give the cops a list of all the authors you declined taking on as clients.”
She nodded.
“Now I have to focus on the facts. Our contract is breeched. In it, you’re responsible for making sure my book is safe.”
She started crying.
Callen felt bad, but he couldn’t ignore this.
Granted, it wasn’t as if it was her fault. She’d been robbed. All he could hope was the person who did it was just taking shit and not trying to get to his book.
“How pissed is the publisher?”
“Pissed,” Logan stated. “They said if you dumped Leslie, they’re never working with her again. You’re one of their biggest sellers. They don’t want you unhappy.”
Callen began walking around. He met his brother by the file cabinets.
Act of Blood (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 16) Page 24