Chapter Fourteen #3
The dog must have known she was sad because it got off the seat and moved toward her, licking her face. The whole time, Ethan watched it.
His wife just sat there, defeated, and that scared him on so many levels. Fifteen years ago, he’d never seen this defeat. Life, their world, and her career was weighing heavily on her. In that moment, he knew that he couldn’t be the reason she was hurting, and this clearly bothered her.
“What’s its name?”
She scratched the dog behind the ears.
“Shadow.”
In their world, she carried everyone on her shoulders. She left the office she loved to be here for Wyler. She stayed for him. Elizabeth gave up a lot of her choices for them.
So, he did what his wife needed for a change. It was time for him to carry her. It was such a small thing in the grand scheme of things.
“I think we should keep him,” he said.
That surprised her.
“What? Why?”
Ethan shared.
“He lost his person, and it’s clear he found a new one.
Putting him in a shelter likely won’t make him happy.
He’s a horse of a dog, and I’m sure he eats a ton of food.
We can afford him, and he deserves a chance.
Raphael said he was sitting by where his person died.
That’s loyalty. I can appreciate that in a dog, and in any animal—human or not.
If he chose you, who am I to say no? I can buy shoes. I can’t buy you peace.”
What was this?
Was she having an episode where she forgot where and who this man was?
Was he?
“He was.”
Ethan smiled.
“Well, then, he’s definitely a good dog.
If he gets along with our dogs, he stays.
If he doesn’t, we’ll foster him until you can find him a good, decent home where he won’t go in and never come out.
The last thing I want is for him to be put to sleep because no one wants him, when clearly, someone wants him. ”
She lifted a brow.
“And you’re not yanking my chain on this one? You hate dogs. I’m not going to get attached and lose this dog, am I?”
He stopped her.
Yeah, he’d made her miserable, and he could see it. While he couldn’t give her DC back, now, he could give her a little joy in another way.
So, he was honest.
“I like dogs. I hate my shoes being eaten. I realized that you give up a lot. You birthed children. You accepted each person into this family, and you adjusted. My father ran, and you chased. I’ve been difficult for years.
You’re staying in a place you hate for me.
You’ve never asked for anything, except to get a dog here and there, and I selfishly quashed that. For that, I’m sorry.”
She listened.
“You deserve to have what you want too, Elizabeth. I sometimes get bossy, and that’s not fair. You’re a person with wants, feelings, and desires too. If you want the dog, and he doesn’t try to eat our dogs, he’s yours. Put a dog bed in our room for all I care. He can stay.”
Holy shit.
This was…surprising.
And not how she saw this conversation going.
Not.
At.
All.
“Did you fall down some stairs? Should Chris check you again? Did you hit your head when Jeffrey tossed us around? I don’t know how to handle this.”
He laughed.
“That tells me all I need to know about how I’ve been difficult.
I’m sorry for that. Going forward, I’m going to suggest we don’t get more dogs.
I’m not ordering you not to. That’s not fair.
If you find one that needs a home, then, I’m going to assume that’s the universe putting us on a path.
I’m done being the wall, Elizabeth. I want to be the pathway instead. ”
Elizabeth closed her eyes.
When she opened them, there were tears there.
“Thank you for that.”
He saw how his bossiness weighed on her. Not only was he going to free himself by forgiving his father, he was going to make amends with his wife.
He’d burdened her a lot.
“You don’t have to thank me. You’ve given me all of you for many, many years—even when I didn’t give you all of me. It’s time I changed that, and I give you all of me. He’s a nice dog. I’m sure he’s filthy, but he can get a bath.”
She hugged the dog, and in that moment, it made Ethan smile. She really didn’t ask for anything. He sometimes forgot that she had scars and wounds too.
He didn’t always think about the little girl who loved a dog so much and he was taken away by her step-mother.
Or the woman who watched Babylon die. Their dogs were getting older. One day, she’d bury them, and lose little pieces of her soul.
The least he could do was let her refill her soul with love from something else.
Bring on being the Shaman. He had people to help and heal, starting with his wife.
“As for the puppy,” he said.
She braced for it.
“Don’t name him Shadow. That’s going to be hella confusing if you do.”
“Really?” she asked. “We can keep him, too?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, really. If they destroy my shoes, I’ll buy more.
I can see that you’ve been walking on eggshells for me, and I don’t want that.
I don’t have to do that with you because you’ve given me your genuine self each moment of the day for the last fifteen years.
It’s time I gave you the freedom you’ve always given me. ”
This was…shocking.
“Thank you, EJ.”
He shrugged.
“Again, don’t thank me. As our wife, you should have joy too, and I know how much you like taking the dogs for a run, and then lying in the grass with them. That gives you peace. Let me carry this for you, for a change. I can be cranky when my shoes get eaten, if you feel joy from doggy drool.”
She relaxed.
“Coming home changed you,” she said. “Returning has made you different.”
He was aware.
“I told you that I felt like this was where I needed to be, and I believe that it has changed me. I’m not the same man anymore, Elizabeth. I’m different, and I only hope you’ll love him as much as you loved the old me.”
She was honest.
“I love him more because it’s the genuine you, Ethan.
I always knew you held pieces back. I knew when I saw Gene at our wedding, and he walked away with tears in his eyes.
I knew when you would go save him each and every time.
I’ve always known you had walls up. I’m happy that I get to see you come into your Shaman era.
I look forward to falling more in love with him. ”
That made his heart feel so light.
“I love you, Elizabeth Renee LaRue. I’ll always love you for your silliness, your need to save the world, and how you’re the most protective woman I’ve ever known. Thank you for being mine and fighting to stay. Now, I’ll fight for you.”
That was the most peaceful thing he’d said to her in a long time.
“Same, Cowboy. Same.”
Now that they’d handled that, Ethan went there.
“Now,” Ethan said. “Do you want what I can give you for my profile?”
She nodded, but before she could say anything, she saw the alert on her phone.
“The detectives just sent an email. I’m going to bet that it’s about what they are researching. I put them on the security company, Larry Springer, and to chase the shell company who owned the house before Devon Slater.”
He had seen the update on her drive.
“If you forward it over, I’ll get it on your drive for you for later.”
She appreciated that.
When she was done, it was time for a profile.
Getting out, she set the dog free, and he trotted over to a tree to pee. Well, at least he was potty-trained. Wait until he saw the tent they called home.
Someone was about to be spoiled.
“It’s profile time,” she said, alerting the other people on her team. “Well, the beginning of one.”
They all regrouped.
“Are we keeping the dog?” Gene asked, not sure what the outcome would be. His husband was a wildcard.
Ethan answered.
“Yes,” he admitted. “I’ve been a controlling dick about that. I’m not stopping Elizabeth from getting dogs. She’s a grown-ass woman. She knows her limits. Callen, you have to sleep alone. The dog is taking your spot.”
He gasped.
“What?”
That made her laugh.
“Now I know why you said I could, EJ. You’re cutting out the competition.”
He grinned.
“Oh, am I?” he asked, amused and playing dumb. “Damn. I didn’t even think about that. Crazy.”
Callen flipped him off.
With both fingers.
“Anyway,” Ethan said, amused, “I have a baseline. Chris sent me the DNA information, so I could add it to my profile. I’m going to say that this person had contact with them.
You just have to figure out how. It won’t be random.
The more I think about it, if he’s actually killed them, so he can then lowkey poach their eyes and skull later, he would have watched and interacted with them.
Collectors like to make sure their collection is perfect. ”
Elizabeth listened.
Yeah, she wasn’t a fan of chasing a collector, but one who was also interacting and a watcher? It made it far more difficult for the investigator.
“I saw the drive, and everything you went over at dinner. With Jonathan Miller likely dying because of what he knew, I wouldn’t doubt that this person picked them for a specific reason. You just have to figure out how they crossed paths, and that should direct us to him.”
Well, she could do that.
Elizabeth hoped.
She went back over what Chris had told them since he’d gotten them ID. Maybe there was something in what he’d shared. It was time to dig in.
“Joan Gehert did what for a living?” she asked.
Gene was on top of it.
You had to be on her team.
“She was a stay-at-home mother. She was out running before her husband left for work. That’s when she was struck by a car.”
Elizabeth began making a list in her head. She had to find the way they all connected.
“And Penny Rich?” she asked.
Gene also knew that too from what Chris had shared with them.
“She was a schoolteacher who had been riding her bike home from work when she was hit,” he said, so Ethan could be on the same page.
Elizabeth started trying to connect the dots.
“If this killer had contact with them, I need to know what Joan’s husband did for a living, too. I don’t want to miss a single step in the process.”