Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (4 page)

This was
her scarlet letter to boldly wear. The bloody ‘A’, that her mind continually saw, tormented her daily. Unlike the classic tale, the letter didn't stand for adultery, but arrogance.

Hers.

It appeared to be the Blackhawk’s downfall.

As of late, h
er soul was torn from her body and scattered haphazardly through the events of the past. All that Elizabeth wanted was for Ethan to be whole once more.

Glancing over at Callen’s side of the bed, she wante
d to weep more. Even now, he too was missing. Ethan was gone emotionally, and Callen physically.

God, she needed to fix her family.

There had to be a way.

As the tears threatened to fall, the queasiness filled her. Her stomach rolled and Elizabeth wanted to weep more. Already, she knew the truth.

She was pregnant.

Since they had taken precautions to assure that Ethan fathered the next child, she knew he was getting his wish.
Deep down, she prayed that this little bit of news would pull him back from the brink, save their family, and not build a greater divide between them.

Now, it was a matter of waiting and seeing.

Cautiously sliding out of bed, as to not disturb Ethan, Elizabeth wanted to go find the other half of her heart. Already, she suspected where he was and what Callen was doing.

If anything, he was predictable.

Moving towards Ethan’s side of the bed, she stood there watching him more. “Please come back to me, love bug. I can’t do this without you by my side,” she whispered. “I miss my soul and need you back.”

With that, Elizabeth knew she needed to escape, or else there would be bucket loads of tears.

At the soft click of the door, Ethan opened his eyes. Her words touched him and hurt his heart at the same time. “I don’t know how to get back to you,” he replied, his voice tinged with so much pain.

“
I’m drowning, Lyzee. Save me.”

Silently, she slipped downstairs and once more found him working. Callen Whitefox was a miracle in her life. When she met Ethan, Elizabeth believed him to be the only man who she could ever love.

Callen changed that.

He wiggled his way into her heart and soul and took up permanent residency there. He was truly the other half of her life. Without him the last four months, surely she would have collapsed under the weight of it all. It was only his strength, compassion, and sense of humor that got her though it.

When she said that Callen handled it all, she meant it. The man had become the backbone of their family while Ethan was down for the count. From the kids to the bills, Callen was taking control and finding a way to balance it all, much like Ethan had once done.
The wounded soul was now her savior.

Elizabeth
appreciated it so much, and knew that she would never be able to give him the words to express it.

This man was the unsung hero of the family.

He was her champion.

As if he sensed her, he suddenly glanced up and removed his glasses.

“Hey, angel. What are you doing up?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Elizabeth took a moment to find peace. Whenever she
would find him working, while wearing his reading glasses, she was touched and enamored further. So much had happened since Timothy Blackhawk had left their world. She only hoped he was still watching them with pride.

Especially Callen.

“I couldn’t sleep. It seems half of my bed buddies abandoned ship,” she replied, crossing to him and trying to keep it light. “What are you working on?” Elizabeth inquired.

Callen dropped his pen and patted his lap.

Immediately, Elizabeth took a seat and rested her forehead against his, trying to draw some strength from him. She prayed that she didn't drain him dry, and that Callen could hang in there and stay strong. If she lost him too, there wasn’t going to be a happy outcome for their family.

It would be the end.

There was no doubt that everything hinged on the man pressed against her. If he quit, they were lost.

“
I’m taking care of the monthly bills and other things that needed my attention,” he replied. “I was depositing money into CJ, Cat, and EJ’s college fund and trying to catch up with some other things.”

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I appreciate everything you do, Cal. Thank you
for holding me up,” she whispered.

Callen took a moment to take in the woman in his lap. She was still sporting the pixie cut that she had gotten in support of Ethan losing his hair. It worked for her and made her appear more fairy
-like and gentle.

He knew that to be the opposite.

Elizabeth was tough like forged steel. Underneath the soft, delicate exterior, there was a bad ass woman who didn't take anyone’s shit. He hoped that she would find her again and bring her back.

When he stared into her icy blue eyes, he saw the emotion and knew that she was having a tough moment. “Do you want to talk about it, Lyzee?”

“Are we ever going to be okay again?” she whispered as the emotion threatened to overtake her. “Is this the end, Cal?” she gushed, overwhelmed by the fear and the pain. “Did my mistake ruin our lives and destroy our family?”

Her hurt ate away at him.

“How long will I pay for the error that I’ve made?”

Callen cradled her against his chest and let her bury her face in the side of his throat. “We’re strong, Lyzee. We’re going to beat this and come back with a vengeance.
No one saw this coming, and you aren’t to blame. We made a mistake as a team, and unfortunately, one of us got hurt. Ethan doesn’t blame you, angel. He’ll find his way back.”

God, she wished she had his optimism.
In fact, she would take a drop of it at this point.

“I miss Ethan so damn much.” What she wanted to blurt out was that she was pregnant and their family was adding one more member to the tribe, but she held back.

Ethan would be the first to know.

He deserved it
and secretly, she hoped that it would heal him. It was the one ace that she had left in the biggest gamble of her life. If that failed, she would fold and lose everything.

“
If it matters, I miss my big brother too. I took for granted everything that he did. Half of this shit, I never realized he took care of, and I don’t know how he did it in a normal twenty four hour day.”

Elizabeth gave a watery laugh. “He
’s the king. That’s how. We all have our skills, and he was meant to be the boss.”

He couldn’t agree more.

Callen ran his hand down her back reassuringly. “I promise that he’ll pull through, Lyzee. Ethan’s tougher than this. Just give him some time to think it through, and he’ll come around.”

“I hope so.”

Callen offered more words of encouragement. “I know my brother, and he won’t let this break him. We grew up in abject poverty, and he overcame it. Ethan built this life from the ground up. If anything, he’s going to fight tooth and nail to get back in control. We just need to buy him some time until he’s well again.”

She sat up
and sniffled. “I know. I just miss him. I just want him to laugh again, and to look at me like he’s madly in love.”

“He still loves you, Elizabeth. Don’t doubt that.”

She nodded and said nothing.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, he stared into her eyes. “It
’ll be fixed. I promise. As for that last part, if he didn't love us, he wouldn’t have fought so hard to live and survive the torture.”

At those words,
Elizabeth couldn’t keep the emotion dammed up anymore. It broke free in a sob as she found herself clinging to the last vestige of strength in her life.

“Shhhhhhh. It’s okay, angel. I have you.
No matter what happens, I won’t abandon you or our family. I’m going to find a way to fix us. I promise.”

“I’ve lost
hope, Callen,” she whispered, bitterly. “I’m going to lose him again. I can feel it.”

He kissed away the tears and took her face in his palms to stare into her eyes. “No, you won’t. You’re stronger than this and so is he. Have faith, angel. It’s not over yet.”

Letting go, she had no choice but to trust his words.

After all, it
was all that she had left.

Ethan stepped back into the shadows and continued to watch his brother and Elizabeth, unobserved. When she had left their bed, he knew that he needed to follow.

Instinct told him that, even if his brain and heart were on disconnect.

When he saw her raw with emotion, Blackhawk knew that he needed to do something about it. Even though he was confused, lost, and broken, Ethan needed to find a way to get back what they once had.

He
couldn’t give up, despite the desire to run from it all. He was weary from trying to hold on, but he would give it one more shot.

For them.

For his kids.

For love.

It was time to figure out how to heal them all.

And fix his family…

FBI West

Tuesday

As usual, the chaos was ongoing.

Down in the morgue
, where the dead came for their last dose of humanity, there was a rush of life. The tech team was in from assignments and the mounting evidence from the various cases was in the process of being worked through.

Doctor Christopher Leonard was elbow deep in a vagrant
who was left in a building with two other dead victims. Right now, he was trying to ascertain exactly what had done the man in.

Other than
his really poor hygiene.

Beside him there was chattering
, and it was all from a very excited Doctor Tony Magnus. His friend was more than enthused that there was a bachelor party on the horizon. Even more so, since Tony knew who was in charge of throwing it.

“I can’t believe
that you asked her to be your best wo-man,” he said, laughing. “You have some balls, my friend.”

Chris glanced over. He and Cyra were desperate
ly trying to plan their wedding. Unfortunately, death and work were habitually getting in the way.

It was like fate was screwing with them
.

“Why?
Elizabeth would love a bachelor party. That’s right up her alley. You know how she likes to shock and awe, daily.”

Tony held the man’s clipboard and was acting as assistant while his friend dug around in the smelly corpse. “I mean
t, regarding Callen and Ethan,” he said, lowering his voice when he spoke their names. He was convinced that the bosses had the place wired for sound.

This was after all
, the FBI.

Chris laughed. Since returning from Circle Rock, he had the pleasure of hanging out with
Ethan, Callen, and Elizabeth. Cyra had invited them over to have dinner and talk about the wedding. Since Elizabeth was acting as Chris’s best wo-man, they needed to discuss clothing and a million other little details.

Oddly, Elizabeth was subdued and didn't have the wild streak that Chris had
expected that night. He had hoped that it was only because they nearly lost Ethan, and nothing more.

“The bosses and I have an agreement,” Chris stated. “We sit in my box seats at the stadium
, and they don’t kill me when I ask their wife to be my back up on the big day.” He knew it was so much more than that. On that fateful night in Circle Rock, a bond was formed when they just barely saved Ethan. They were a makeshift family, and he was holding them close.

“Aren’t you nervous?” he whispered again.

Chris wasn’t sure whether he was referring to the bachelor party or Ethan and Callen watching him with wary eyes.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” He took a guess
and went with the wedding jitters.

“I can’t believe that you’re going to be married soon.” Tony grabbed a
specimen tray in time for the vagrant’s spleen to be placed inside. It slid sickly across the metal in a green, slime-like ooze.

“I can’t wait. I would have eloped the day I asked Cyra to marry me. Unfortunately, women like weddings
, and I want my wife to look back at that day fondly.”

Tony shrugged. He couldn’t attest to that or not. He was a bachelor and
was probably always going to be one. That was just his path in life. Academia was his mistress, and women didn't want to come second to anything. Not many people understood his obsession with the bones of the dead.