Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) (45 page)

Whoever this killer was, they were good at being tricky.

Ethan thought about it.

“James O’Brien is a butcher, but his knife skills suck. He might be acting like he’s clueless to point us away from him.”

That was possible.

“Then you toss in that he married his brother’s ex, and she ran away,” Ethan added.

“Yeah, talk about suspicious,” Elizabeth stated. “One doesn’t misplace a spouse. I pretty much know where mine are at all times of the day.”

They agreed.

“Any idea where she is?” Livy asked.

Callen shook his head. “I can’t find her anywhere. She hasn’t hit on her social security number in years. There’s nothing in her credit history either. The woman went off the grid.”

“She was blonde,” Elizabeth stated.

“We know she’s not a real blonde,” Callen stated. “You know, the drapes and the carpet don’t match. I hate when that happens.”

She stared at him. “Really? Have you lost your mind? You just said that out loud, and in front of your pregnant wife.”

He grinned. “Uh huh,” he said, right before kissing her.

“I’ll call Merry,” Ethan offered, pulling out his phone. When she answered, he jumped right into the conversation. “The blonde hairs that you found on the victims, are they all a match?”

“Yes, Director. I was working on the report right now, and I was sending it.”

“Can you tell me if the hair was color treated?”

“It was. I can’t tell you original color, since we’re back down to no root to run DNA.”

“Thank you, Merry.”

“Director?” she said, before he could hang up.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for letting me come work for you out of this office. I appreciate it.”

He stared at his wife, giving her the look. “Oh, Merry, it’s our pleasure. I’m glad you’ll be joining us at the new office. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Now, I have to go, we’re profiling.”

He hung up.

“So much for keeping it quiet,” he stated, pointing at his wife. “You know that once a tech knows, the whole hive will be buzzing in a matter of days.”

“Hey! I was told to assemble my team. I had to school someone, and it just came out. Besides, I threatened their lives.”

Gabe had her back. “She did. I was there.”

“Let’s focus on work,” Ethan stated. Gabe was going to have his hands full when they were there. Already, his wife was threatening to inflict bodily harm.

HR was going to stop being his problem soon.

“If you think about it,” she began, “I don’t know many men who dye their hair blonde,” Elizabeth stated. “That would mean woman.”

“It could also be a setup, much like
‘The Butcher’
part of this,” Callen offered. “What are the chances that this person is leaving a blonde hair without a root on each body? It’s almost too perfect. I haven’t been doing this as long as the rest of you, but that makes me think it’s BS.”

They had to agree.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Livy stated.

Elizabeth laughed. “Patience, Grasshopper. It takes us time, but we always get to the bottom of it.”

She had to trust them.

“Okay, on to Kay Feinstein. That was a shot at Ethan. The killer wanted him to bleed.”

“It did hurt, but there were other targets that would have hurt me far worse,” Ethan admitted. “If you really want to hurt me, you go after my wife or kids. Hell, even Callen.”

“Glad I ranked in the top ten,” he stated, laughing.

“You do. Killing Kay was a message to me. It upset me, and it made me feel guilty, but it wasn’t an incapacitating blow to my ego.”

Ethan began pacing.

“What are you thinking?” Elizabeth asked.

“It’s about the game. I think we’re on the right path. This pissed me off, and it made me want to get justice.”

“Okay.”

“If the killer went after you or Callen, well, that would take me out of it all together. If the killer went too close to home, someone wouldn’t play. I don’t think that’s the intent. This maniac wants us fully engaged in it.”

Elizabeth weighed all her options.

“So, our kids are safe?”

He put all his faith in his skill.

“Yes. If you lost a child, you wouldn’t be able to chase whoever is instrumenting this. It would be the end. What fun would that be?” he asked, channeling his inner psycho. “This person isn’t done speaking. We just have to pay really close attention.”

This whole thing sucked.

“What’s next?” Gabe asked. “What do we do?”

Ethan kept walking back and forth. “We have to chase down the tiny things that the killer is hoping we won’t go for. Somehow, we need to pinpoint who’s next, and that’s where this is going to get hard. Is this all about us or is this some random shit mess that we’re wading into?”

They all stared at the board.

“I don’t like this part,” Gabe said. “I like the kicking in the door part and bringing them in to be sent to jail.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, well, there’s a lot of work between the beginning and the end. Maybe you need to do this more often.”

He shook his head. “If I leave the office for a week, hell will freeze over. That’s why Ethan’s going to be around. He’s your backup. I’m the boss.”

They sat there for a few minutes. This whole thing was puzzling.

Livy yawned, getting her husband’s attention. “I’m beat. I’m not used to this anymore. I had better work on my endurance. I’m being shown up by a pregnant woman.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Head to bed. We’ll work on this a little longer. We have to wait for Merry and Zane to get here. We’ll lock up.”

Livy tugged her husband to his feet. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, and I left your belated birthday present in your closet. I forgot to mail it. You know how I suck at that.”

Livy gave her a kiss. “Thanks! I can’t wait to see what you picked out for me.”

“Remember rule five,” she whispered in her ear.

Livy’s eyes twinkled. She knew what was in the gift, and she couldn’t wait to try it out. That was the rule about sharing sex secrets, and that meant…

Jackpot!

Her best friend scored her some sexy lingerie. She wasn’t that tired after all.

When they were gone, Elizabeth began laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Callen asked. “You look like the cat who swallowed the canary.”

“I bought Livy something sexy from that store in Georgetown. You know…the one you two maniacs like.”

Ethan laughed. “Oh, Gabriel. I wish I could see your face.”

They both looked over.

“You want to watch?” she asked, busting his ass with a straight face.

“Wait! I didn’t mean…”

Callen found that amusing. “Oh, Ethan, you’re such a perv.”

“Shut it, Callen.”

“Shutting it, boss man.” When he saluted, Elizabeth found that funny as hell.

“You two are going to make me nuts, aren’t you? That was your plan all along.”

“Make?” they said together, and then began laughing.

That boat had already sailed, and Ethan Blackhawk was at the helm.

 
                
* * *
  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

In their bedroom, Gabe brushed his teeth, stripped down, and climbed into bed. This was his favorite time of the day. After running the Hoover building and the office at Quantico, he was tired.

Dead tired.

He wanted to yawn the entire time downstairs, but he was trying to keep up with the younger Feds. He didn't want everyone to call him old.

That was embarrassing.

“Livy, are you coming to bed?” he called, waiting for his wife to do her nightly girly things. There were tubes, bottles, and other feminine rituals that she swore she had to do.

“Yeah, I’m getting changed.”

“Well, I’m beat. I could fall asleep right now.”

“Really?” she said, stepping out of the closet. “Right now?” she asked.

He glanced over, choking on his own words. “What the hell is that?” he asked, checking out his wife.

She was in all leather, and his brain went fuzzy. It was likely because all the blood drained to lower parts of his body. The outfit was sexy as sin, and he wanted to crawl across the room to worship at her heel-clad feet.

“You like it?” she asked crossing the room toward him. The heels alone screamed sex. She hoped he liked them. She was crazy about them.

“Jesus! How could I not?” he asked, sitting up in bed. He wasn’t the only one at attention. His body was aware of her approach. Apparently, he was no longer feeling old or tired.

“This was my birthday present. Want to unwrap me?” she asked, running her fingers over the leather bustier and very short skirt.

“This is Elizabeth’s idea of a gift?”

“Yes, why?”

“I’m going to kiss her tomorrow, so be ready.”

She laughed, jumping onto the bed.

Immediately, Gabe pulled her into his body, and his mouth began moving across her bared flesh. He couldn’t believe his demure wife was dressed like this, and then he couldn’t believe he was this lucky.

“Those are some slutty heels, Olivia.”

She loved the way her husband felt against her. There were the hard lean lines, the scratch of chest hair, and his hands.

Holy moly!

His hands were moving across her lower body. Soon he would figure out…

“Jesus, you’re not wearing anything under that skirt,” he muttered.

“Want to play horny executive and cheap call girl?”

He started laughing. “Yes, yes I do. Since you’re dressed like a hooker, I know who I’ll get to be.”

She rolled, pushing him to his back. Immediately, his eyes dilated as he tried to focus on the woman above him. His body ached to touch her, and he didn't think he was going to survive this little fantasy.

Truth be told, things like this freaked him out. Gabe, while strong and a man’s man, got embarrassed easily. Fantasies were new to him. When he and Livy had sex, it was sex. Lately, she was trying to spice it up.

Now he saw what he’d been missing.

Not allowing this fun into his life had been one hell of a tactical error. You could teach an old dog new tricks, and the way to do it was with sexy girly things.

“I think you and Elizabeth should shop more often,” he admitted, as she sat across his body. The tight black leather skirt slid up her thighs, revealing bare flesh.

She was wet.

And she wanted him.

Gabe wanted to thank his lucky stars. He was fortunate to have taken that risk fifteen years ago. Livy had been the perfect gamble.

When she took his wrists and held them above his head, he grinned. When he felt the cold metal against his flesh and the telltale clicks, he knew what she’d just done.

“If there’s a fire, I hope you have the key.”

She laughed, as she moved down his body. He was amused too, until she pulled him from his boxers, and licked him like a lollipop.

Gabe moaned.

The visual was enough to drive him crazy.

His wife’s breasts were nearly spilling out, he was handcuffed to their bed, and her red stained lips were covering the tip of his dick.

That visual alone made him want to cum.

Then she gave him a blowjob.

He was beginning to think his wife was taking tips on things other than just dressing like this. The technique was different, and that wasn’t a bad thing.

“Livy,” he hissed, his body bowing as she worked him hard. He nearly came twice. If she didn't cut him a break, he would have embarrassed himself.

“How’s that, Director?” she asked, after he popped free from her mouth.

“You know how it was. I want more. Don’t stop.”

She grinned, reaching behind her to slide the zipper down the back of the bustier. While he was watching that, she perched across his lower anatomy. When he was focused on the one thing, she began screwing with him.

Her body slid across his, rubbing enticingly across his erection. With each inch she slid, he moaned.

He sounded desperate.

“If I have the big one, just uncuff me before the paramedics get here,” he muttered.

Livy let him feel how wet she was from this little adventure. Just seducing her husband had turned her on. When Elizabeth told her that the clothes made the woman, she didn't believe her.

Now she got it.

This was all about getting into the right frame of mind.