It was a precarious position to be in and every decision mattered. There were days he wished to not be in charge and just another vote. This was his burden to carry.
Walking into his cabin, something didn’t feel right. There was a negative energy surrounding the place and immediately, he went on alert.
“Who’s here?” he shouted, staring around in the darkness. Walking to the nearest light, he flicked on the lamp and scanned the room. Horror filled him, making him want to retch right there.
“Oh no!” he muttered, taking in the blood soaked clothing, artfully lying across his furniture. It looked like bodiless visitors had come to visit. Across each set of clothing sat a white feather, dripping in blood.
“No!” he tried to back from the room, but when he turned he saw the words scrawled on the wall in dripping gore.
The truth is out. Everyone will know what you’ve done.
There was no longer a choice, now that the past had crept back up from the deep recesses of time. There would be hell to pay, and he had one opportunity to decide who’d be his judge, jury and executioner. There was no way he’d let the outsiders take him from his home.
They were his sins and he’d decide his fate.
Sitting down to the desk, he scrawled out his last will and testament and a goodbye to those he left behind.
When it was done, he dressed in his regalia and made his ultimate sacrifice, knowing that karma had caught up with him.
His life was exchanged in hopes of passing into the afterlife, forgiven, absolved, and pardoned.
* * *
Elizabeth was absolutely horrified that either of the men in her life could be a victim. Glancing over at Tori, she saw the same exact revulsion and finally spoke.
“The three of you go nowhere alone. Are we clear?” She wasn’t going to risk them. “Julian you stick with Tori non-stop, and you both are not leaving my sight. I’m not even kidding. I can’t handle either one of you getting abducted,” she pointed at Callen. “I’m getting too old to be chasing you through the woods trying to save you from a sicko with a skin fetish.”
“Hey! Why are you pointing at me and not him too!” he exclaimed, laughing.
“I recall the last time we had this conversation in this town, it was you that got yourself abducted by a cross dressing nut bag that wanted to cut out your damn heart,” Elizabeth stated. “You’re the green one most likely to be lured away.”
Blackhawk snickered and talked in a creepy voice. “Want to help me find my kittens little boy?”
He took a punch to the ribs from his brother.
“I’m dead serious. You go NO WHERE without me or paired up.” She pointed at Julian. “Are you going to argue?”
“If I say yes, will you handcuff me to Tori and lose the key?” he grinned, lecherously.
“You laugh it up. I’ll handcuff the three of you together,” she stated, pointing at the men. “You won’t be all giggly then when you’re walking around attached to two men, now will you?”
“She’ll do it,” warned Blackhawk, laughing.
Wyler sat in the corner and was concerned. “Lyzee Sweetheart, if they disobey, I’ll hurt them for you.” The last thing he wanted was to bury one of his boys.
“Thanks Dad.” For once it was nice to have back up against the twosome.
Blackhawk walked to his wife, pulling her against him. He kissed her softly on the neck and whispered reassuring words in her ear. When she nodded and looked into his eyes, he knew she’d calm down. “Let’s talk about the man’s physical attributes.”
Elizabeth didn’t have the words yet to talk. Her heart was still pounding in her chest at the mere idea they could be hurt.
Callen held out his hand, offering her support. Gently, he pulled her to the couch and she fell into his lap. He kissed her softly, promising her they’d both be fine.
“Okay,” she whispered, resting her forehead against his.
Rick Longtree watched the scene unfold and was fascinated with it. Both men seamlessly soothed and eased her pain without words. It was interesting to watch. For all intent purposes, it shouldn’t work so well, but it did. Two men were successfully sharing the same woman. He couldn’t even be in a relationship with one person; how they managed two boggled his mind.
“Tell me about him, Ethan,” she requested from the comfort of Callen’s body. She tossed him the whiteboard marker, and let him fill in the details. Right now, she needed someone’s arms around her for support.
Blackhawk nodded. “I’ve been thinking about the feathers. We believe the one found on Julian’s father to be real, but then why the fake ones. Is it a non-native planting them or a Native that doesn’t have access to them?”
Julian contemplated it. “You said he blends and isn’t going to stand out when we look for him, right?”
“Yes. He’s going to blend and be a man that draws no attention. That’s why he’s taken the identity of Skinwalker. He relates with it- invisible and able to watch unnoticed.”
“Then he probably doesn’t have real feathers he’s earned. They take acts of bravery and things that draw attention,” Julian added. “I know I have a few, but the only Natives I know that would sacrifice three feathers would be individuals with full warbonnets. Then the few wouldn’t be missed.”
Blackhawk knew Julian had a very good point. “That fits with the threads that Christina found. The feather found with your father was sewn into something.”
Elizabeth mulled it over. “We have a lot to digest on this tonight. My brain’s on overload.”
Longtree glanced down at his watch. “I’m on duty early tomorrow. I better run. Thank you for letting me watch this entire process. I’ve never seen the FBI work from the inside out.”
He shook everyone’s hands and waved to the women before walking out.
“I like him,” stated Elizabeth. “I know I can’t say that about many of the local law we run into, but he’s easy to get along with.”
Tori agreed. “He’s really a nice guy,”
Julian lifted a brow. “Oh is he?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
She kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Jules. I don’t need a nice guy, I have you.”
He stared at her, and then glanced at a laughing Whitefox. “I think she just insulted me.”
Blackhawk grinned. “Get used to it. You marry them and they get mean. It’s something about hearing the proposal.”
It was the perfect time to discuss the topic she was thinking about. Tori stood, pulling Julian with him. “Ethan? Callen? Can I ask you a question?” she inquired, getting a reassuring look from her friend.
Both men waited, a little wary of why she seemed nervous.
“Sure, what’s up?” Blackhawk asked.
“I spoke to your beautiful wife today, and we discussed Julian and my upcoming wedding. She already said you’d do it, but I figured I should probably ask you anyway.”
The men looked at each other unsure where this was headed.
Julian squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“Will you both walk me down the aisle? I don’t have family, and it would mean everything to me.” Tori hoped they’d do it.
Ethan was touched. “You have family, and I’d be honored to escort you,” he stated, hugging her.
Callen followed suit. “Sign me up!”
Tori’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you so much,” she answered. When they closed their arms around her, it was reminiscent of something her brother would have done. Yeah, family was an amazing thing to have.
“Come on Honey, let’s go home.” Julian nodded at his friends, grateful for what they just offered the woman he loved. Leading her to the door, he too was overwhelmed.
“Watch your back, Julian,” warned Elizabeth.
“Always,” he grinned, dropping his arm around his girl. Nothing was taking him out. He had a wedding to plan with the love of his life.
Wyler stood and yawned. “I’m off to bed too. I�
�m crashing beside the kids,” he stated, hugging his boys and kissing Elizabeth. “Sleep tonight and I’ll handle the children with Bly. You three need to be focused and not exhausted. I love you all, sweet dreams.”
“Love you, Dad,” all three chimed at the same time.
He bounded up the steps.
“How about we head to bed?” she asked, yawning herself. “I’m exhausted. How am I going to do three kids?” she asked, waiting for Ethan to lock up and turn off the lights.
“We’ll figure it out and handle it,” reassured Whitefox.
“We always do,” answered Ethan, sweeping her up into his arms. “I have you, Baby,” he whispered, as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“I know you both do.”
* * *
Christina turned off the last of the lab equipment and cleaned up all her papers and files. It had been a long day and all she really wanted was a long shower and bed. An hour before, Officer Kane Redwolf started to look incredibly bored, and she did the logical thing; she kicked him out of the lab.
Having him sitting there was incredibly distracting, and that was making the work take considerably longer. It wasn’t odd that she was the last one done for the night. After all, that seemed to be the rule more than the exception. Christina loved her job, but she wondered what it’d be like to leave and go home to a human being. Granted she had a really great dog that was currently with her neighbor, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to return home to a man- a very sexy man that looked like Kane Redwolf and made her heart pound in her chest.
Hitting the lights, she strolled out of the makeshift lab, through the morgue, and up the concrete stairs. The night air was cool and the crickets were chirping a song. Christina took a few minutes to enjoy their melody, before pulling out her keys and walking through the parking lot. As she disengaged the locks on the Denali, she felt the wave of awareness just before someone grabbed her arm.
Christina spun, jumping into FBI mode and nailing the assailant in the gut, before kneeing him in the groin and pointing her gun at his chest. Then his identity finally dawned on her.
“Oh my God!”
He stared up at her shocked.
“Officer Redwolf! I’m so sorry. You scared me when you came up behind me. Did I hurt you?” she asked, dropping to her knees beside him.
He started laughing once the pain began dissipating. “I should know better than to walk up behind an FBI agent in a dark parking lot, but I never expected you to move so fast. Here I didn't want to shout your name and scare you.”
Christina stared at him horrified. “I’m so damn sorry.” Yeah, this was pretty much how it always ended in her book. Girl meets boy, boy is sexy as sin and girl humiliates herself by doing something so utterly ridiculous that boy runs like hell. “How hard did I knee you?” she inquired, trying not to stare at his lower body where they made contact.
He was still laughing as he laid on his back staring up at her. “I think I’m okay. Nothing is broken or permanently damaged,” he teased, trying to get her to smile. “I may still have kids one day.”
“I don’t know what to say. What can I do to make this up to you?” she practically pleaded.
Kane grinned mischievously. “Have a drink with me. Patch up my ego, since I was just taken down by someone half my size.”
Christina stared at him like he lost his mind. “I just knocked you on your ass and you want a drink?”
He stared up at her and laughed more. For the life of him, he had no idea what it was about this tiny little spitfire, but he was intrigued. “Yeah, I do.”
She pinched herself really hard. “Ouch!”
“What are you doing?” he inquired, sitting up.
Christina offered him a hand and stood. “I’m checking to make sure I’m really awake, because this has to be a dream. I just manhandled a guy, and he still wants to spend time with me. Now I know how Elizabeth Blackhawk feels.”
Kane took her hand and stood. “Nope, not a dream,” he grinned, “I’d offer to drive, but I’m afraid you’d kick the shit out of me.”
She blushed. “You have something in your hair,” she said, reaching up and pulling a twig from the silky black strands.
He leaned forward, so she could reach him easily. It wasn’t lost in either of them that he towered over her small frame.
The minute her fingers ran through his hair, Christina thought she’d burst into flames. Yep, this was what it felt like to be her boss.
Kane enjoyed the way she touched his arm as she freed the debris. This woman smelled really great too. Damn outsider was screwing with everything in him. “I know a great bar. Follow me there, and I’ll make sure you get back to the hotel safe.”
Christina was going to ask how he knew where she was staying, but she was too surprised by the whole night.
She went for it. “Okay.”
* * *
Sunday Morning
Morning came fast, but it always did when you were on assignment. There were never enough hours to sleep, and far too many spent worried about death. This morning was no different than any other, except no one wanted to venture out of bed. The three were cuddled up and under the blankets, much like young kids would hide.
“Can we stay in bed all day,” whispered Elizabeth.
Callen muttered something into her hair that amounted to him agreeing.
Ethan ran his fingers gently up her leg and side, until she giggled. Next he let his lips find a path to her throat. “I have better things we could be doing right now,” he stated, teasing her earlobe. “Want to guess what they are?”
Elizabeth curled into him, and traced her finger across the tattoo on his chest. “I happen to have an idea what you might have in mind, Mr. Blackhawk.”
“Good,” he answered, meeting her mouth with his and kissing her deeply. It was a mating of tongues, as hands explored and found all the familiar spots that called to him.
She moaned at the delicious familiarity of Ethan’s hands. The man’s skills were wicked as sin, and he could get her hot and bothered in an instant. Rubbing seductively against him, Elizabeth could feel him becoming more excited. “I love you, Ethan,” she whispered, as his mouth found a trail to her breasts.
Callen took that moment to fully come awake. It was the scent of woman and her breathy moans that drew his attention. He began leaving kisses across her shoulders and neck, while his brother slid down the front of her body.
Elizabeth was in heaven. Two very sexy men doing very erotic things with their mouths amounted to her being in complete bliss. Callen was whispering in her ear and rubbing his erection across her body from behind, promising what was to come. Ethan was sliding lower and lower until he found his intended target.
Rolling her to her back, Callen began kissing her like it was the last time their lips would meet. It was steamy and filled with so much lust, it made her crazy. Almost automatically, her hands went into his long brown hair, using it to control the kiss. When he moaned deep in his chest, Elizabeth wanted more. “Touch me, Callen,” she whispered as he obeyed, allowing his hands to rub, touch and stroke delicate flesh.
She gasped as Ethan finally found his way to her lower body. He was tracing intricate designs across the most sensitive part of her. Using tongue and teeth, he drew her to the edge and pushed her off, enjoying her plummet into the pleasure.
“Ethan!” she gasped his name, only to find he wasn’t even close to being done with her. Her one hand found his hair too, and she held on through his delicious assault.
Callen began his descent down her body, taking his time to enjoy every inch of silky flesh. At her breasts, he tormented and teased until she was pleading for mercy. His masculine laughter filled the bedroom. “I want to watch you shake, Angel,” he answered, sliding lower.
Elizabeth quivered under both their mouths. When one was finished with an area, the other would take over, giving her little to no respite.
Ethan abandoned his feast, allowing
his brother to take over. Sliding up the long length of her, he began worshipping her breasts. One of his favorite things during her pregnancies was the way her body filled out; specifically her chest.
“You’re delicious,” he whispered, teasing and nipping at her already sensitive flesh. “I want to spend hours devouring you, Baby.” Within seconds his words and his brother’s mouth pushed her back over the edge into the warmth of pleasure.
“Callen! Ethan!” she gasped, breathlessly.
Both men grinned as their woman begged and pleaded. There was nothing in the world like hearing their names on her lips.
Pulling her up his body, Ethan situated her above him and waited for her eyes to clear. “Ride me, Elizabeth,” he demanded, placing his hands on her hips, assisting her.
Callen took his place beside them in the center of the bed. His erection was desperate for her attention. If he didn’t feel her lips on him, he’d lose his mind. “Use your mouth, Lyzee,” he whispered in complete lust. “Please.”
The pleasure of one man buried in her body and the other begging made her heart pound faster. Taking Callen in her mouth, she offered him the pleasure she was feeling.
This was more than heaven.
This was absolute perfection.
Ethan groaned from his position beneath her, watching her pleasure his brother. It’s something he’d seen so many times before, and yet each time it made him that much more excited. “Harder,” he urged, as she complied, slamming down on him and drawing gasps from his lips.
Callen buried his hands in her hair, controlling her mouth and the pleasure he was experiencing. “So good,” he mumbled, and when she slid her teeth lightly against his erection he shivered.
“Not going to last long,” mumbled Blackhawk, as she ground down with every stroke.
Elizabeth could hear his breathless pleading, and she released his brother to focus on the ride.
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 45