Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) Page 3

  For his brother, Callen went the other way when it came to lingerie. He tended to enjoy more leather and bustiers. Although brothers, and a lot alike, their sexual styles were vastly different. One thing was the same. Between them both, they’d bought a great deal of lingerie.

  “You’re killing me, baby,” he stated, barely audible.

  “Maybe when you come home, Mr. Blackhawk, we can lock my office door and have our own private party.” Then she whispered something so salacious, she swore he dropped his phone.

  Then there was sheer panic. “I have to go back to my meetings. I love you, Lyzee,” he answered hurriedly, his voice low and showing his emotions. His body was completely taut with need. It had been three days since he was able to touch his wife, and he couldn’t wait until he flew home.

  Then he was going to make her pay for teasing him.

  Repeatedly.

  Elizabeth giggled. “I love you too, Ethan. Be safe and when you see Gabe, tell him I send my love.”

  Gabe Rothschild was their boss, and part of her extended family of sorts. Gabe was currently married to her best friend, Livy, who at one time had been her field partner for the FBI.

  “I will, baby. Kiss CJ for me, and I’ll call you later.”

  “Be safe, handsome,” she answered, and then disconnected the call, laughing.

  Elizabeth didn’t want Ethan to be the only one suffering, so she sent off a really x-rated text message to Callen, and waited for the reply. Immediately, the phone rang and she snickered.

  “Hey, sexy, you miss me?” she inquired.

  “Elizabeth! That was some text. How can I not miss you after that?” he said, dropping his voice low. “If you were here, I’d absolutely enjoy doing that with you. I might be able to pull it off a few times if you let me catch my breath in-between.”

  This was the beauty of the two men. Both were polar opposites. Callen would talk sex on a school bus full of nuns. He was just less inhibited like that.

  “When you come home, we can work on that, darlin’,” she offered. “I already have the lingerie picked out for our celebration.”

  “God, I miss you and your little girly things!” Whitefox absolutely loved her with all of his heart. Never would there be a woman that could take her place. He’d just been sitting there thinking about her and her really long legs and her text arrived. It tightened his body and made him want to drive back to FBI West just to jump her.

  Repeatedly.

  “I’m hoping for the red leather one,” he stated, just above a whisper. “Maybe those sinful heels too.”

  Elizabeth grinned. It looked like he wasn’t alone either. “I think I can arrange for you to get what you want. For the record, I miss taking you for a ride.” Elizabeth knew the words would get him flustered. While his brother had practice being Mr. Control, Callen…yeah, he didn’t. While he didn’t get embarrassed, he did still get hot and bothered relatively easy.

  “Elizabeth!”

  “Mmmmm I can’t wait, Cal. Just the two of us,” she added, promising him some alone time.

  Even though they were a couple with three people, Elizabeth still enjoyed the moments they spent alone. They may have been made from the same Blackhawk cloth, but they both were distinctly different men.

  Ethan took longer to get wild and out of control, but once he was there, he was in charge of the situation. Callen started out wild and crazy, but he’d allow her to take over and lead the way if she was so inclined.

  It was like having the best of both worlds, and she was one very lucky girl.

  “I seriously can’t wait. This call is the highlight of my day.”

  Elizabeth could hear the need in his voice. “I love you, Callen.”

  There wasn’t even a pause. “Oh, I love you too, angel.” Then he dropped his voice. “But I’m not feeling slow and long. I’m feeling more wild and reckless, until you scream my name.”

  Now Elizabeth flushed in heat. “For you my sexy Native man, anything.”

  Callen grinned wickedly. “You know a statement like that is going to get you into some pretty precarious predicaments.”

  A girl could only hope…

  “So you say, Cal. Now go solve some Native dilemmas and stop thinking about what’s under my clothes.”

  Whitefox laughed. “Angel, world war three and nuclear holocaust couldn’t stop that.” He was about to add some inappropriate comment about her truly amazing body, when he heard her office phone ring. “Be safe, Lyzee. I love you.”

  “Love you too, Callen.” Elizabeth disconnected the call, and answered her office phone. “Director Blackhawk.”

  “Elizabeth, I miss you here at Quantico!” exclaimed Gabriel Rothschild. “I thought for sure you’d be the one to come face me in the Dragon’s Lair!”

  “Gabe, I miss you too, but we didn’t want to leave CJ alone with Wyler. He’s still struggling with losing his father, and the three of us didn’t want to stress him out any more than we had to.”

  Gabe understood. “Livy and I are sorry we missed the funeral. I saw your husband and told him the same thing. We would have been there if we could have made the time frame.”

  “We understand. Timothy wanted a fast burial, so the boys wouldn’t have to deal with it for three days. How’s my husband holding out there?”

  “I just saw him, and he was turning six shades of red while on the phone. I’m assuming you had something to do with that.”

  Elizabeth snorted. “Hell yeah, I did. Thanks for telling me, because now I’m going to bust his ass even more.”

  “When Livy told me about the brother thing, I nearly fell over. How did you ever talk Mr. Proper into that one?” he inquired, laughing. When his wife told him, she was six shades of jealous. Promptly, Gabe put his foot down, informing her it wasn’t ever going to happen. There was a better chance he would be made Tzar of Europe.

  There would have to be a bitter cold day in hell for him to agree to that.

  “Tell Livy that ‘girlfriend code’ states that she isn't supposed to be telling you anything I share with her- INCLUDING sex details. Now I’m obligated to throw one back to even the score.”

  Gabe started snickering.

  “Chocolate syrup and handcuffs, Gabe?” she stated, and he stopped laughing fast when she dropped the little detail of his last sex-capade with his wife. “I can’t wait to see the pictures and share with the boys.”

  “Point taken. I’ll tell my very deadly wife that you aren’t above torturing me for our verbal indiscretions.”

  Now Elizabeth started laughing. “Why are you calling me, Gabe? Because I doubt it’s for sex details. The ‘Dragon Slayer’ doesn’t call on the office line for chit chat.” She threw out his nickname from years ago.

  He went serious. “The governor there called Quantico. He has an issue not far from you, and it needs to be handled delicately.”

  Elizabeth was perplexed. “Okay, but why didn’t he just call us directly then?”

  “We went to school together, and he was a little embarrassed at the situation. It seems that the local cops have a nut job who likes ladies of the night.”

  This all screamed trip into the field, and Elizabeth was getting excited. “You have my attention.”

  “Dennis is worried because it’s an election year. The crimes are pretty violent. The killer is burning the victims to a crisp.”

  “Awesome. So, he needs a favor and this handled. Isn't the local PD handling it?” she asked, scribbling down details.

  “They have five victims, and it’s not exactly going well. He wants it handled discretely and swept under the official carpet.”

  Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, twisting a piece of her hair around her finger. “And we’re just hearing about this now?” Elizabeth was outraged. “At two victims, we should have been called in to advise, and at three we should have been handed official jurisdiction.”

  “You know that and I know that, but the detectives have been trying to keep a lid on it. Unfort
unately, the local news got wind of it, and Dennis is afraid it’s going to explode in the papers.”

  “Okay we can take over. But you know how I work; when I go in I want complete control of the assignment.”

  Gabe stopped for a second. “You don’t specifically need to take this one, Lyzee. I just need a team to go in and handle it.”

  Elizabeth laughed. She was going back out into the field, and without the men. This was her early Christmas present to herself. Now she could pawn off the paperwork on her administrative assistant and do what she loved doing.

  Finding justice and locking up a killer.

  “Gabe, it’s less than a week until Christmas. Every one of the special agents I have is in the field or on vacation leave. You know they all burn their time this week so they can be home for the holidays and off assignment.”

  “Well hell. Your husband is going to skin my ass over this one. Where’s Callen?”

  She grinned. “He’s on assignment at a reservation. Mediation issues and I can’t pull him in to assist.”

  Gabe knew that the men were going to lose their damn minds when they heard about this. Elizabeth out in the field with them was a touchy subject. Her out by herself was just a powder keg waiting for the lit match to be dropped. “You have no one available?” Gabe wondered if he could ship a few agents there from Quantico, then he thought about Christmas and the mutiny it would cause.

  “I do have my arson expert in house. Agent Christensen is finishing up the paperwork on an assignment and her partner is off on vacation leave. I’ll take her into the field with me. Besides Ethan is due back by the holiday party. What could go wrong?”

  “He’s going to shit a brick. No, he’s going to drop a house worth of bricks all over my damn office.”

  There was no doubt. “Oh yeah he is,” she laughed. “TAG! You get to tell him.”

  Gabe laughed, as he stared out his office door at his friend and fellow director. “You’re an evil woman. How you managed to get two men to follow you like the damn pied piper is beyond me.”

  Didn’t she know it? “Send me the information. You tell the governor that he needs to contact the detectives in charge and explain we’re taking over. I don’t want to deal with a bunch of cranky cops that want a pissing match over the dead bodies. You know me. I have a history of police related violence.”

  Rothschild snickered at the truth behind the joke. “I’ll convey that little detail to him. Just remember, the news has wind of this, and you’re going to get some journalists asking questions.”

  “Yeah, and?”

  “Don’t beat them to death.”

  Elizabeth snorted “Gabe, one time I bitch slap a journalist and you never let me forget!”

  Gabe sighed. “I’ll tell your husband later, when I have him over for dinner. Then the entire building won’t hear him lose his cool.”

  “Good idea. Kiss your wife for me, and tell her I love her.”

  Rothschild smiled. “Come see us soon, and bring that little boy of yours too. He needs to meet his best friend.”

  Elizabeth smiled at how she and Livy had both had boys. CJ was six months old, and little Gabriel was nine months. “Will do, Boss. Send me all the details. I’ll grab my new partner, and we’ll head into the field.”

  “Watch your back, Elizabeth!” Gabe got very serious.

  “Dragon Slayer, no worries. I’m not a hooker, prostitute, or stripper. What the hell can possibly happen to me?”

  Gabe shook his head.

  With Elizabeth Blackhawk running point on an assignment, one never could tell.

  Special Agent Tori Christensen was in her cubicle, typing up her report that was due at the end of business day. She’d volunteered to take the grunt work, so her partner could cut out and spend the holiday with his wife and kids.

  Since she didn’t have a family anymore, the holidays were the last thing on her mind. In fact, Tori hated Christmas with a passion. It was just another reminder of how alone she was in life.

  Suddenly, the atmosphere around her changed. Someone was stalking towards her and there was an awareness of being observed, much like prey. Glancing up, Tori saw Elizabeth Blackhawk crossing the bull pen, and she froze. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the woman; she thought she was awesome, especially after seeing her in action in Cypress Grove.

  The woman took a bullet to the center of her vest, and then popped out of the water to take down a killer, with deadly accuracy. That just screamed of admiration, but this woman was her boss. It demanded respect. In the military, you didn’t call your superior by his or her first name. Not unless you wanted trouble, a write up, and to be demoted in rank.

  Watching Elizabeth stalk towards her, Tori was filled with reverence. If there was a boss she wanted to be like, it was this woman. Here she was heading up the second largest FBI headquarters in the country, and also shacking up with two sexy Native men. It wasn’t the men per say, but the ‘who gives a shit’ attitude about the entire situation. Rumors had been circulating for the last three months, over what went down in Cypress Grove between the three of them. It was talk around the water cooler and the hot topic on everyone’s lips.

  Elizabeth, Ethan and Callen as of yet were ignoring the entire thing, and that only added more mystery and speculation to the mix. Personally, she didn’t care who the woman slept with outside of work. Bedroom issues should remain at home. Work was work. Sex and love were not a thing for the office.

  And that was something she personally knew all too well.

  Elizabeth Blackhawk proved she was bad ass in her eyes, and that’s all that mattered to her. Yet, part of her hoped she’d walk right past her cubicle. There was something to be said about being invisible.

  The bosses didn’t stroll through the agent area often. There really wasn’t any need. They got their assignments from either Ginny or Jameson, depending on the time of day they were being sent out. A Blackhawk social call generally meant your ass was about to be nailed to the wall, especially if it was the female director. Ethan rarely handled agent issues, leaving them for Elizabeth. Tori suspected it was out of love for his wife, and how happy it obviously made her to scare the bejezuz out of the staff. It was ironic that the most beautiful woman on staff was also the scariest.

  As Elizabeth got closer to her intended location, Tori glanced around. She was the only agent in the row and just knew. The boss was coming for her.

  Well hell! What could this be about? Both she and her partner cleared their assignment relatively quickly, by the book, and without any incident. It couldn’t be work related.

  When she stopped in front of her, Tori stood. “Yes, Director?”

  Elizabeth couldn’t help but notice how stiff the woman was, and hoped it wasn’t going to be a bad idea taking her out into the field, as her back up. After all, this was life or death. Victoria Christensen was about to become her partner and the one responsible for her life. With her military background, she should be relatively good at watching someone’s back.

  Elizabeth hoped…

  “Agent Christensen, I noticed you’re back in house. How do you feel about going back out again?” Elizabeth leaned against the side of her cubicle, crossing her boots at the ankle. Generally, when an agent was back in house, they gave them a day or two to acclimate before sending them back out. “I know it’s been less than twelve hours.”

  “I’ll go back out. I don’t have anything planned for Christmas. Really, I don’t mind, Director.” Yay! No sitting home alone on Christmas. Maybe there was a God!

  Elizabeth saw the emotion in her eyes, and how well the woman covered it with the calm façade. “We have five women that were lit up, and the local detectives think it’s all connected.”

  Tori generally handled all the fire related cases for Ethan Blackhawk. It was just her ‘thing’. Now she could relax because it was work related. Fire and explosives she got, the boss woman not so much.

  “I’ll take it. Am I going in alone as a consult?” That w
as generally the only way the Blackhawks would allow an agent to go in by themselves. Keeping an agent safe was priority, and a consultant meant no field time. It was simply office drone work.

  “No you get a new field partner on this one. We’re short staffed because of the holidays.”

  Tori didn’t really mind. It was fun working with different agents. You got to see how they all worked, behaved and melded together. As much as she enjoyed working with her regular partner, this at least meant some company for the next few days. It made her wonder who the other pathetic soul was that would take an assignment this close to Christmas. It gave her a measure of peace that she wasn’t the only loser alone for the holidays.

  “It sounds good to me, Director. I don’t mind mixing it up with a new partner.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” she said smiling. It was obvious that the woman didn’t know it was going to be her. If Tori did, Elizabeth fully expected Agent Christensen to be a bit more freaked out. Partnering with a director was a big thing. It made the agents nervous as hell, and she loved every damn second of it. If the Blackhawks were going out on assignment, it was almost always together. Elizabeth only partnered up with Ethan or Callen in the field for one main reason; they were the only ones she trusted implicitly with her life.

  “Who’s my new partner, and when do we head out?” she inquired, getting her gun out of the desk, and badge off the papers sitting there.

  “I’m your new partner, and we leave as soon as the information comes in from Gabe Rothschild.”

  Tori just stared opened mouthed. “Excuse me? You’re my new partner?” she asked, incredulously. “Out in the field?”

  Elizabeth grinned wickedly. Ahhhh, the joys of being the boss. Inciting this kind of response from her staff gave her a warm fuzzy feeling.

  Out came the southern accent. “No worries, Agent Christensen. I promise to be on my best behavior. Believe it or not, this isn’t my first day at the rodeo,” she drawled, laughing and walking away. “Hot damn! I hope I remember how this fieldwork thing goes,” she called over her shoulder, teasing the woman. “You think I should bring my gun with me or leave it here?”