Slay Bells Ring (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 12) (34 page)

After all three ate, Callen washed the dishes.  “I’m going to go warm up the car next. I don’t want our little momma getting chilly.”

She blew him a kiss.

“You’re creating a monster again,” Ethan warned, sipping his coffee.

“This is our last baby. I’m going to treat her like a queen.”

Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at Ethan. “Yeah, I’m the queen, so kneel sexy Indian love bug.”

Blackhawk moved so fast, she yelped. When he bit her on the neck, she laughed.

“Okay, I deserved that.”

Callen was amused. He loved how their lives were pretty much perfect. They had great jobs, their father was in their life, and Elizabeth was their woman.

It didn't get any better than this.

“Behave, and if you get her naked, wait for me,” Callen stated, grabbing the keys before he headed out the door. The second his foot hit the snow, he was startled with shouts and the clicks of photographs being taken.

He didn't know what the hell was going on.

Then it registered.

The damn media had found them. This had to be about the murders.

“Sorry, folks,” he stated, moving toward the vehicle. “If you’re expecting an update on the serial killer, we have nothing to add at this time.”

That’s when it got weird.

The questions being shouted at him had nothing to do with a killer, and everything to do with him and Elizabeth being shacked up.

Callen went from confused to nauseous really fast.

This was his worst nightmare.

“What?” he muttered, noticing they all had a newspaper in their hands. Grabbing the nearest one, he tried to ignore the randomly shouted inquiries, as he started scanning the paper.

His heart began pounding.

This couldn’t be happening.

They were relentless. Callen tried his best to read and walk, but he couldn’t help but focus on what they were asking him.

‘Are you two having an illicit affair?’

‘Does your brother know you’re having a relationship with his wife?’

‘Are you swingers?’

Jesus!

What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

When Callen focused on the paper in his hand, he saw the headline and he nearly tossed his breakfast. Not only had the media found out about their threesome, but they had invaded their privacy and plastered it on the front page of some cheesy rag.

If it was here, it was going to be everywhere. News about them was like fire though a dry tinder forest. It would erupt, destroying everything in its wake.

This was bad.

Very.

Very.

Bad.

Instead of warming up the vehicle, Callen pushed past the media to return to the cabin. He needed to get back inside so they could regroup.

As he slammed the door, he spun to seek out his partners. The second his eyes met his brothers, he wanted to weep. This was exactly what he never wanted to happen. The media was cheapening their relationship.

“Ethan…” he began.

“Wow! It’s unlike them to be this riled up over a case,” Elizabeth stated.

Callen hated that he even had to say this to her. What he wanted was to protect the sanctity of his marriage to them. There was always that fear that they’d have to deny him to the world.

It was his biggest worry.

Immediately, his mind wandered back to the time Desdemona denied him to her friends, family, and anyone who asked.

It broke his heart.

There was no doubt it was coming again.

“It’s not the case. It’s us.”

With that, he handed them the paper. They both read the headline together.

‘Elizabeth Blackhawk is full of secrets. She’s a Fed by day, and a sex fiend by night.’

She opened her mouth, but kept reading. It went on to discuss their threesome, and even had pictures attached. There was the one where Callen had kissed her on their last case. It was a chaste kiss to the forehead, but it stirred the pot.

Then there was one where they both went into the decontamination tent to clean off.

It was almost too much.

They were being stalked by the media, and that was a dangerous line to cross.

Where Callen thought that it would be Elizabeth who lost it, it wasn’t. Ethan Blackhawk flipped his shit.

Right there, in the cabin, he lost his mind.

First, there was the profanity fueled tirade, and it was peppered with Native curses when he ran out of English ones. He began pacing and looked like he wanted to punch someone out.

“I’m going to kill the writer of this story,” he hissed. “Seth Denton is going to rue the day he ever picked up a pen and wrote this rubbish.”

Elizabeth wanted to calm him, but she was pissed too. The last thing they needed was their life hung out for the world to see. Granted, their dirty laundry was full of sexy things that made her heart thump, but still…

People deserved privacy.

“What do we do?” Callen asked. “We can deny it,” he offered. “We can pretend we’re not a couple. I don’t mind.”

They both knew that wasn’t true.

It was clearly present in his voice. Callen was the odd man out, and not Elizabeth’s husband on paper. It bothered him on some deep level, and they knew it.

Plus, they were both aware that when Desdemona denied him, he was crushed. Callen’s whole life had been fraught with people turning their backs on him, and they weren’t going to be added to that list.

Not now.

Not ever.

If anything, they would stand and take whatever the media had to offer. The Blackhawks didn't turn on their own, and Callen wasn’t only hers, but his too.

“Before we do anything,” stated Elizabeth, “We need to give Gabe the heads up. We can’t risk our jobs. We have a mortgage, and he’ll tell us how he wants us to proceed.”

Ethan knew how he wanted to handle it. It involved killing some shitty reporter.

Callen was pacing, running his hands nervously through his long brown hair.

“Fine,” Ethan growled, making the call.

When the man answered on the third ring, he sounded like he was in the middle of something.

“What’s up, Ethan?” he asked, shuffling papers.

“We have a huge problem.”

There was a pause.

“Okay, what is it?”

Ethan read him the article.

‘Elizabeth Blackhawk, darling of the FBI, has some secrets of her own. It seems that this director is playing some high powered games every day. She’s cozied up to her husband, yet all the while carrying on relationship with her brother-in-law. This threesome has been together for a while, and I’m not quite sure why the FBI allows it. We’ve contacted them for a comment, but haven’t heard back.

Until we find out the truth, we’re left to assume. Is she some sexed up hussy, or a play thing shared between two men? Inquiring minds are dying to know, and we’ll keep you updated.’

There was absolute silence.

“I’m betting a sexed up hussy,” Gabe said. “I’ve seen her fawning over both of you. Then again, you two jump her about as much as I jump Livy,” he teased, trying to keep Ethan from losing his mind. It wasn’t normally like him to be this frazzled.

Then again, if the media was talking about Livy like that, he’d bust some heads too.

“Gabe! This is serious! Some scumbag just dumped our sex life across a rag paper. If this hits national media, BNN will be camped outside our door taking pictures.”

Yeah, now they had even more reason to move.

He laughed. “Ethan, breathe. You had to know this was going to come out one day. You’ve gone to holiday parties as a couple, in fact, you stroll into your holiday party holding hands. This isn’t as big a secret as you think it is. You’re in the field together, and you live under the same roof. People were bound to talk. You should be more shocked that it took this long to come out.”

He was, but they didn't have to like it.

In fact, they were entitled to their privacy. They made plenty of sacrifices for the country, citizens, and even fellow Feds. No one deserved their wife to be called a hussy.

No one.

Callen wanted to make this stop. The last thing he needed was the world calling his woman names. It was furthest from the truth.

She was a great mother.

Excellent partner.

Devoted Fed.

It broke his heart that he was the cause of all of this. Ethan’s career would suffer, and Elizabeth’s sterling reputation was now tarnished. She was now nothing more than a sexy plaything in the eyes of the world.

It made him want to weep.

“Ethan, handle it. If this was any other situation, what would you do?” Gabe asked.

“Redirect the media’s attention to something different. I would work on getting them to focus on another topic so it’ll quiet down.”

“So do it. Dig up dirt on Seth Denton and make him the center of attention. Shame them into compliance. It is FBI one-oh-one at its finest.”

He was right.

If you couldn’t win with a frontal approach, go with something that never let you down.

“I’ll handle it. I just want to make sure our jobs are safe.”

“Callen isn’t a full director, and he’s not technically your underling. It’s a job I created out of the blue, and he only answers to himself. Native Relations is something touchy here in the FBI. So, you’re not having sex with a subordinate. No one is taking your jobs away. I promise.”

That calmed him down.

“As for Elizabeth, you were married before you took the position, and everyone is aware of that. I suggest you lead in with your closure record. Let them be ashamed of themselves for even bringing up your sex life.”

He was right.

“Thank you, Gabe.”

“If you need me to cover for you, I will. I’ll make some calls, and see if I can find the person who owns that paper. I’ll try and make the reporter disappear. I’m sure I can pull a J. Edgar Hoover on him.”

“Thank you.”

There was no reason for him to even offer up those words. After all, he owed them that.

For a while, he’d let them hang on their own, and he needed to make amends. They saved his bacon a few times, made him look good, and did their jobs. That was good enough for him.

He’d have their backs.

“Take care of this mess and get this case done. Your kids are expecting one hell of a Christmas when you get home. I’m sure you won’t let them, or me, down.”

With that, the call had ended.

Ethan hung up and glanced over at his partners. Even if Gabe told him to let it go, he wouldn’t have. He’d risk his life, limb, and career for the two people standing before him.

Elizabeth had saved him from becoming one more burned out agent.

Callen stood in for him when he was at his weakest moment. They deserved to be protected.

“I want you both to get ready to go out there. We’re going out with our heads held high.”

“I’ll take one for the team,” Callen offered. “We can pretend they’re insane.”

Ethan wasn’t having it. “No, Cal, we won’t. I won’t deny you or our relationship. We told you at the beginning that we loved you and you were part of this. You’re not taking one for the team. I am.”

Elizabeth went into his arms. “It’ll all be okay.”

Ethan pulled Callen with her, and they locked their woman between them.

“We’ll get through this.”

They both put their faith in him.

“When this is all over, we’ll go home and have the best holiday with our family. This won’t matter. They can’t break us,” he offered. “As long as we stand tall, push back, and don’t let them win, they can’t diminish what we have.”

They were aware.

“I’m sorry about that kiss on the last case,” Callen offered, knowing he was likely the reason all of this started. While their team knew, keeping their secret, the media had sensationalized it.

It was only a kiss.

How could that possibly hurt?

Yeah, that had been his thinking, and Callen never saw this one coming. Not in a million years.

“Don’t apologize for kissing me, Cal. Never. We’re not some freak show. We have a private relationship on our own time, and no one has any right to taint that. Our private life is private.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay. I won’t freak out.”

She went up on her toes and kissed him softly. When she was done, Ethan pulled him into his arms and hugged his brother. “I’ve got this, Callen. I need you to trust me with this.”