Elizabeth could still see in her mind, the look on his face.
This marriage thing was pretty damn terrific.
For now she needed to focus on her mission. As she walked into the bakery, she needed to take care of one little task.
Elizabeth placed her credit card on the counter. “Is it possible to have a red velvet cupcake delivered every day for a year to an elderly woman down the block? She has no family, and I want her to have a special moment every day.”
The woman smiled and nodded answering her, “We can take care of it. Want a message?”
Elizabeth smiled, “Nope, just make sure she gets it. I also need four more today to go.” She scribbled the address down on paper and paid, then took the cupcakes and headed for the florist. It was a quick errand, and she headed home. It was funny to think of it as home, when she felt the same about Salem.
At some point they needed to discuss it, and she hoped it didn’t put a wedge between them.
Blackhawk heard the engine of the car, and swore he wasn’t going to look. He needed to trust his wife and believe that the woman wouldn’t do anything to wreck what was now their car.
Was his attachment to the car silly? Yes, but when he was a boy growing up, there was only one car that he ever wanted in his entire life. He had made a promise to himself, that if he ever became successful, it was going to be his first major purchase. It gave him hope and a dream in an otherwise desolate life. When he made it a reality, he had been incredibly proud of himself. So, the Mustang was a symbol of what he overcame in his life, more so than anything else.
It was a big deal to let her just take it, but then he remembered that she loved him, and wouldn’t do anything to wreck it. When she left like a bat out of hell, the tires squealing, yes fear filled him. But then was replaced with such love for his raven haired hellion.
Blackhawk didn’t worry long. The worry was replaced with complete contentment as he found a note sitting on the bathroom counter. It just showed how well she knew him. Just leaving him a note to reassure him meant so much. It reconfirmed the woman he married would always try and keep him safe.
~Cowboy,
Take your shower and shave. I promise I’ll bring your
mistress back in one piece. Now she’s my responsibility now too.
Don’t worry. I love you
~The Sheriff
After finding her little note he smiled and tucked it away in his safe. It was saved with the first note she ever left him, and he wanted to cherish it forever.
Blackhawk didn’t hear the engine anymore, and he wondered why it was taking her so long to get into the house. Curiosity won out, and he peeked out the window in time to see her bent over from the passenger seat removing her packages. He loved watching her, especially when she wasn’t aware he was there. Jeans were his favorite thing in the world since meeting her. Staring at her as she bent over was just a purely masculine response. He couldn’t help it. Yeah, he couldn’t wait to meet her at the door. Then he heard her knocking and curiosity definitely got to him.
“Hi Kay,” she said, kissing the elderly woman’s cheek, after she opened her door. “I have cupcakes for you,” she handed the woman the box. “Today it’s your favorite- red velvet.”
“Oh, you remembered. You are the sweetest girl. I hope that man marries you and soon. If he doesn’t, I happen to have a grandson your age, and he’s available since his divorce. He’s a nice lawyer, works for the government.”
Blackhawk opened the door quickly. “Hey now! She’s a married woman, so no trying to set her up with eligible bachelors. Lyzee is officially off the market.”
“You got married?” she looked at them both full of happiness.
Elizabeth laughed. “We did last night.” She held out her hand, showing her the ring. “Ethan, asked, and I said yes.”
“I am so happy for you both!”
“Not as happy as I am.” Blackhawk exited their brownstone to kiss his wife.
“But you eloped? Here I thought I’d have a wedding to go to,” she said kissing him. “Good boy,” she whispered in his ear. “I told you she wouldn’t say no.”
“Yes, ma’am, you did.”
“Don’t worry about the wedding part. The best part of the shindig is the cake, and I took care of that already.” Elizabeth loved how they both looked confused. She winked at her husband. “It was errand number one, Ethan.”
“I’m so happy, and when that horrible girl comes around that you were dating, I will be sure to tell her you got married. She’ll be back when she realizes what she lost!”
“Oh boy,” said Blackhawk, knowing where this was heading.
“Oh, Mrs. Feinstein, I’m going to leave you my number. You call me if she comes around, and I will gladly speak to her,” said Elizabeth. “Did I say speak? What I meant to say is kick her frigid scarecrow ass out into the street and beat the hell out of her bare fisted until she cries for her mommy.” When the older woman laughed she continued, “There are days I’m glad I have a gun,” she smiled, patting her husband on the cheek.
“You don’t get your gun back until the plane lands,” he said, laughing. There was no doubt she’d do it.
“Will you two be back?” asked Mrs. Feinstein, hopefully.
Blackhawk looked at his wife. “We’re not sure, but you’ll be the first to know, once we work this all out.”
“Now go enjoy your cupcakes,” said Elizabeth, taking her husband’s hand and leading him back into their house. “We have one more stop to make.”
When he closed the door, Blackhawk smiled at his wife. “What did you do?”
“We just had a cupcake delivered every day for her, for the next year.”
He just looked at her, amazed that she even cared enough about a stranger to do something like that, and he remembered why he fell in love all over again. “Why?”
Elizabeth began packing her suitcase, and paused looking up at him. “She told me about your last fight with the flight attendant, and the hurtful things she said about and to you. I know about all the names too and comments. How she treated you was very unkind.”
He didn’t realize she knew all the details, and yeah, that was a vicious fight that he wouldn’t ever forget. “Shouldn’t I get the cupcakes then?” he asked, trying to make light of it, even though it hurt him deep down still. The ex knew his weaknesses and used it against him to do the most damage whenever she wanted to get her own way.
“She was going to come out and kick her ass for you, and that tells me that Mrs. Feinstein is a good person.”
“I think she could take her,” he laughed.
“Oh I know it, or at least hold her down for me.”
They sat comfortably on the jet, both reading the files that he had printed out before leaving the house. He had worried that Elizabeth would collapse at the cemetery, but on the contrary, she stood tall and was tough. The sheriff was back and in control. Blackhawk watched her place the flowers on the ground in front of the tombstone. She kissed them both and stepped back, saying something that he couldn’t hear. She turned and walked back to him, no tears this time, just steely resolve. Now she was sitting, boots up on the seat as she faced him, her complete focus on the papers. She had that look on her face, and he knew she found something.
“What did you see?” he leaned forward.
“Let me borrow your tablet,” she searched the web, and went even deeper into the information. She scanned the information, looking up at him. “I’m convinced this is somehow connected to the Salem Witch trial in sixteen ninety two.”
“My team did searches, they can’t connect it.”
Elizabeth wasn’t listening to him. She scanned both lists, first the list that held the victims’ names, and then the list of all the people killed as witches, in Salem 1692. “That little tickle that tells me I’m missing something is bothering me,” she said, absently.
He watched her as she sat there in her scuffed cowboy boots, her belt buckle and badge, and he co
uldn’t help but grin. They were complete opposites, and they must look crazy together. He was lost in his staring when she looked up, icy blue eyes full of sparkle.
“So, if I find the connection, do I immediately get my gun back?” She sat back, arms behind her head. “Willing to break the rules if I can give you what your crack team couldn’t?”
The cocky grin said it all, she saw something his techs missed. “Show me, and I’ll go from there.”
Elizabeth handed him the tablet, and he saw the list of women and men accused of witchcraft back in 1692, and then he was handed the list of the victims in Salem.
“Exclude Corrine Gilbride, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and discount my dad.” Elizabeth waited for him to find it.
Blackhawk stared at the list, wondering if it could be that simple. Each victim had a name that matched someone accused and tried in 1692. The killer picked his victims all because of the names. He checked each one, and it was too big of a coincidence to not be accurate. He reached into his laptop bag and pulled out her gun and holster.
“Come to momma,” Elizabeth crooned, taking it and clipping it onto her belt. “Now I don’t feel naked anymore,” she grinned.
“Trust me Sheriff; I’ve had the pleasure of seeing you naked…” Blackhawk went to continue and she stopped him.
“Sorry, Cowboy, but we’re on the clock, and while we are, I’m not the wife. I’m the woman who probably could kick your ass, if she had to,” Elizabeth laughed as she tapped her badge.
Ethan was smug as he pulled his own badge. “It seems that you handed over this investigation to me, so technically my badge outranks yours. I can talk about your nakedness.” Blackhawk watched her shake her head and roll her eyes, as she tried not to laugh.
“Well then boss man, where do we go from here?” she asked, tapping her pen against her knee.
“I think we need to revisit the minister and recheck the church angle. If it’s connected to the witch trials, then it’s probably religious. “I think we’ll shake his tree and find out what falls out.”
“Works for me.”
“I have to say that I noticed something.”
Elizabeth lifted a brow, “About?”
“We left town, and our killer hasn’t made a move. I’m not saying that’s not a good thing, but I am thinking this also has a personal angle. The killer took your father’s life, and now you’ve replaced him. That has to come across as a challenge, almost like a game.” The mere idea that she was in the killer’s crosshairs made him feel sick to his stomach.
“I’ve already considered that,” she said, honestly. “Before you go all husband on me, keep in mind that I was once an FBI agent. I do have some redeemable skills. I’m not easy to take out, Ethan.”
“Your dad was a cop too,” he reminded her.
“Yes he was, but he wasn’t expecting to be a target. I’m assuming that I will be, and that gives me a step up on the killer.”
Blackhawk felt his heart skip at her words. “Do I have to even tell you how those words scare me shitless, and how if you utter them again, or think them out loud, we will be having our first married fight? It will be epic too.”
Elizabeth got up from her seat and crossed to him. As she sat in his lap, she caressed his cheek. “Ethan, it’s who we are. We can’t change that.”
“I know, but it can still scare me out of my mind, especially when you say the words like they’re nothing.”
She kissed him softly. “I’m not worried. I happen to trust my partner enough to know he has my back,” Elizabeth stared him in the eyes. “We’re going to beat him, solve this, and then we have bigger problems to worry about.”
“Bigger, huh?” Blackhawk mumbled, kissing her neck wondering how much she’d object to fooling around on the FBI jet.
“Yeah, we happen to have two homes almost six hundred miles apart, and two very important careers we both love. We have to figure that out, before we can start having kids and living our lives. One way or another, one of us is looking at a career change, or this marriage won’t work.” Elizabeth rested her forehead against his. “I don’t want a long distance marriage where I only see you when an assignment is over.”
“We’ll make this work, Lyzee. It’s meant to be, and it’ll fall into place.” He said the words, but still had that slight inkling that it may be the thing that breaks them both. His whole life had been built around being an FBI agent, he wasn’t sure he could let it go and not resent it. Living without her wasn’t an option either. Now that he just began living again, she had to stay with him.
“Whatever happens, Ethan, I love you and I understand,” she hugged him tight.
Blackhawk only hoped she meant those words and was willing to hang in as long as it took them to figure it out.
Elizabeth drove back into Salem, and couldn’t wait to get back into her office. But first, Blackhawk was desperate to get to his team, check in, and relay what they had found. She figured as soon as they did both they would be back on the road to get to the minister and his wife for a follow up.
“Do you mind checking in first?” he asked, looking over at her as she drove.
“Not in the least. I had a call from Doc while we were away, and I need to follow up and see how he is, and then I need to swing by the office. I’m sure I have a stack of messages waiting for me.”
Suddenly, it occurred to him that their teams would be waiting for them. “Are you going to tell them?” Ethan inquired as a wave of tension gripped him. Was she going to keep LaRue, or take his name?
Elizabeth stopped behind the parked FBI van. “Tell who what?” she asked, confused.
“Our teams that we got married yesterday.”
She saw the tension on his face, and knew he was somehow worried that she would want to hide it, as if she could ever be embarrassed by him. “Ethan, I’m not going in there and announcing it to the entire room, but if they notice our spiffy matching rings, I’ll spill it,” she patted his cheek.
“Okay,” he said, still feeling off balance.
“Come on, we have work to do.” Elizabeth hopped out of her Jeep and dropped her cowboy hat on her head. There was still tension gripping his body, and that made her want to find a way to fix it. It boggled her mind how he thought she could ever be less than proud of her husband.
As they walked into their house together, and stood side by side, they were both horrified. The house was in complete chaos. “Holy shit,” she muttered, taking in the mess. There were cups and papers strewn haphazardly through the place. Chip bags, and apple cores were everywhere. It looked like a college frat house, just minus the beer keg and half naked women passed out on the couches.
“What the hell went on in here?” Blackhawk roared, angrily. The entire room stopped. All motion and all sound ceased at the anger in his voice. “We come back and the house looks like no one had the common sense to pick up after themselves. You don’t live here, so why would you abuse it?”
Still no one moved, shocked that their boss had raised his voice in anger. That never happened.
“I think you all best stop what you’re doing and take the next five minutes to de-liter this house, and then carry on with the work.”
Elizabeth watched her deputies walk out of her office. Each one looked guilty. “You four,” she said, pointing, “Here, now!”
“Sheriff, we ah…”
“Zip it. I left you all in charge of the situation here. What the hell happened? Did you all lose your damn minds?”
“Sheriff LaRue,” interjected some brunette tech, “My name is Christina. I work for Special Agent Blackhawk, and I take full responsibility for not staying on top of it.”
“First off, thank you for the owning of the mess, but you didn’t do this all alone, you had help. Second off, don’t cover for them, they know better, and lastly,” she added winking at her husband. “It’s Sheriff Blackhawk, not LaRue.”
Everyone looked at Blackhawk. “You quit the FBI?” inquired Christ
ina in surprise, staring at her boss. He was going to leave them? That just sucked.
“You aren’t the sheriff anymore?” asked Tony. “He is?”
Elizabeth stared at her husband and just shook her head as he started laughing. “Ethan, really? This is the crack team we left behind to work on this? This makes us look very bad.” They both laughed and she winked again, feeling him relax as all tension slipped from his body at her acknowledgement.
Everyone still looked confused.
“Okay people, let’s review. He’s Special Agent Ethan Blackhawk,” she said pointing at her husband. “I would be Sheriff Elizabeth Blackhawk,” she said, pointing at herself. “I know it’s confusing, the same initials, but trust me… think it through.”
Blackhawk took her hand, touched that she would use his last name, signifying to them all she was his wife. He just assumed she’d remain LaRue, and he didn’t think he could convince her otherwise. This was like a giant present he didn’t expect to get, and he loved it.
Then it dawned on the team.
“Oh my God! You got married?” Tony looked beyond shocked and horrified. “To the FBI guy?”
“Who is standing right here, Tony,” Blackhawk retorted, kissing his wife on the cheek, and taking the glare she sent him for kissy-face on duty. He laughed and patted her on the ass, pushing his luck. “I’m going to deal with my team, as they put your house back together, baby.”
“Ours,” she said, correcting him. “This is our house.”
He winked and walked away with Christina, giving her time with her team.
“My office, now!” Elizabeth knew they were following, she could hear them mumbling between themselves, unsure if she was kidding them or dead serious. Elizabeth dropped her hat onto the desk and put her feet up and waited. She knew it was coming. “Close the door, Ethan has excellent hearing and when people insult my husband I get bitchy.”
The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) Page 34