Chapter Two #3
Well, because Ethan was like a box of chocolates when he was angry. You knew you were getting something, but just not sure what it would be. Would it be a yummy caramel, or would it be one of those crappy cream ones that tasted like artificial fruit?
It was a crapshoot.
So, they would let Chris play Ethan roulette.
When Chris left, Gene flopped down on the couch. He knew what he needed to do, and it had everything to do with staying busy.
“MATE,” he said, making the AI return.
She looked around like she was trying to find the person about to verbally neuter her.
While she didn’t have emotions, MATE was evolving and was learning like any human child would.
Now she learned that Ethan was not to be poked.
“He’s gone. I need a favor,” he stated.
She stared at him.
“What?” she asked.
“I want electronic copies of notes—her notes—the ones on her drive. I know by now she’s making them on the crime scene. She wouldn’t keep that from us, so send them over. I’m going to help her work on this. Normally, we have full access.”
She blinked.
Oh, and he knew why. It was time to outthink their AI to get what he needed.
“She said we could help via information but not in person, right?” he asked.
MATE nodded.
“So, giving us access to her notes in her electronic file isn’t going against her rules, right?”
MATE looked as if she was about to glitch out.
So, he pushed.
“Her words, right?” Gene kept saying, trying to persuade her. If they could get her information real time, they’d know where she was, and that would help them.
It would calm Ethan down.
When MATE was still considering it, he used the big guns to make her agree. It was a dirty trick, but this was AI. That was on her for not seeing it coming.
“I’m her field partner. Do you want her to get hurt and possibly die?” he asked.
Only, their AI had advanced far enough that she caught onto his ploy.
She pointed.
“That is a dirty way to do me, Gene Patrick Cantrell. Very dirty.”
He was aware.
“She needs our help. Please?”
When she said nothing else, he thought the conversation was moot.
Until his phone chimed.
“Oh no. How did that happen?” she asked, and then, she said one more thing. “Keep my mother alive. I need her,” she said right before vanishing.
Oh, well, they would.
There was no way Devon Slater was winning this one. In that room, there was thirty years of experience being a Fed/cop. With Chris and Ethan, that was another forty years.
The man had picked the wrong dynasty to try to crumble.
Bet.
On.
That.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
The Bedroom
Same Time
Come To Jesus Talk
When Chris got to the bedroom door, Gryphen was standing guard, and stopped him.
“He’s not handling it well. I was there when he spoke to The Hunters. Someone needs to calm him down. He’s in a bad place. He didn’t want to go behind her back, but he’s scared she’s not going to survive this. He’s one issue away from crashing out.”
Yeah, he was aware.
They all were, unfortunately.
Chris patted him on the arm, reassuring the man that it would be okay.
This too would pass.
Eventually.
“She knows,” he said. “When this is all said and done, if we survive it, she won’t be angry long.
She’s just tired. I can see it in her eyes.
She’s scared for our kids, for us, for you guys, and for herself.
Elizabeth is feeling guilty that people are dying because of her. We’ll right the ship. Give us time.”
He stepped aside.
“I believe you,” he said.
Chris jerked his head toward one of the rooms.
“Go find your husband-to-be and take a break. We’ll be safe in there alone.”
There was no doubt.
Honestly, Ivan didn’t make them follow the Blackhawks in the house. They just didn’t want one of them to try to slip away. They were tricky.
REALLY.
TRICKY.
They’d been to that rodeo with Elizabeth and didn’t want to take a trip back there with any of the men.
“Don’t do anything I’m going to make you regret,” he said, making Chris laugh.
“Point made. Go.”
There was no way he was planning on slipping away. Chris was smart enough to know he was the weakest link, and if he was caught, Elizabeth would find his body—wrecked.
Devon Slater wanted to play with her, and that would do it. So, his job as someone who loved her was to keep her safe.
As soon as Gryphen walked away, he went inside the room, and Ethan had left a trail of clothing to the shower.
Picking them up, he followed that trail right to the man.
Ethan was in the master bath, showering away the stress, or trying to. He was standing there with the water pouring down his body, as he stood under the spray.
Someone was suffering and needed to be reassured. It was clear to Chris that he was doing battle with those demons. In order to love Ethan, you had to be well aware of what chased him.
Before he could say anything, the man went there.
“Did you lose the coin toss?” he asked.
That made Chris laugh.
“My love, seeing you in the shower in all of your naked glory is a victory each time. I’m surprised that I didn’t have to fight Gene or Callen for this one. I would have played dirty to get this view.”
Only, Ethan didn’t even smile. That told Chris all he needed to know.
Instead, Ethan glanced over.
“I’m struggling,” Ethan whispered, putting his faith in one of the men he loved.
Over the last year, he’d learned that if he needed them, he could reach out and they’d catch him in his freefall. All he had to do was be open and share what was happening inside of him.
So, he put his faith in Chris.
It wasn’t just Gene who loved him. Callen and Chris loved him, too.
Hearing that plea for help, the man knew what needed to be done.
It was shower time.
Chris pulled off his things, and he moved toward the man, joining him in the shower. When he did, Ethan practically melted into his body.
His arms went around him, and he locked himself to Chris in an attempt to ground himself. The last thing they all needed now was for him to fall apart.
So, he fought to stay together.
For.
All.
Of.
Them.
Once against his body, Chris did all he could to help fight the battle with Ethan.
“I’ve got you, EJ. You’re safe,” he admitted. “You can feel anything you need to here with me, and I’ll help you through it.”
Ethan stayed locked to Chris.
It was a death grip, too.
Quietly, he spoke, sharing with the man.
“I had to go behind her back, Chris. I have that sick feeling that she’s going to hate me for it. What was I supposed to do? He’s going to destroy her. I can feel it in my gut.”
Chris just listened, being a good partner.
Ethan kept going.
“We all know he’s sick and twisted. He’s going to know exactly what punches to land in order to break her. When he does, she’s going to be wrecked. I don’t know how to protect her from what I know is coming.”
He was aware.
One of the hardest things Ethan had to overcome was what he perceived as danger. As a profiler, he was always in someone’s head, seeing the outcome. Now, he was seeing the possibilities of what could go down as it applied to them.
Chris tried his best to reassure the man, so he wasn’t so afraid.
“She will be okay. We’ll stand with her, and we’ll help hold her up. You have to focus on being her profiler. It’s always more difficult when she knows the killer. Now, she’s off her game and having to work it a different way.”
He was aware.
This would be a chase they would never forget. Blackhawk could feel it in his whole being.
“Sometimes, I think maybe, just maybe, her life would have been better if when Gene and I broke up, I did go back to the rez to stay there.”
Chris didn’t like that.
“Ethan.”
Only, he wasn’t done.
“Let’s face it. I’m a mess, Chris. I did this. When she was packed up to go back to DC so the whole family could resume its normal life, I told her I wasn’t leaving. I had hope she’d stay, but had we all gone home, maybe this nut wouldn’t have come at her yet.”
That wasn’t something they could control, and Chris knew it.
So, he stopped him by making Ethan stare him in the eyes. This was exactly the kind of thing that would derail them and give Devon the upper hand.
Self-sabotage was Ethan’s biggest enemy.
The family had to hold up so Elizabeth could hold up. That was the bottom line.
“Stop,” he said, gently.
At the words, Ethan did.
Chris took his face in his hands, so he had to stare into his eyes.
“Listen to me. She stayed because she loves you, and she knows we’re a family.
We’re stronger as a whole. If you didn’t contact The Hunters, I would have done it.
If I didn’t, Callen would have. If Callen didn’t, Gene would have.
That was the most logical thing to do. We want to protect her, and she knows it.
Give her some grace and let her work this, but do the same for you.
We’ll know when it’s time to step in. Have faith. ”
He let the man talk.
Honestly, Ethan needed this.
Chris was the logical one out of all of them, and Ethan knew he’d talk him down from this very precarious ledge.
Yeah, this was exactly what he needed.
“When we see that moment, we’ll intercede. So far, she’s got it under control. He’s left one scene, and she’ll find the second one. If she’s already in the air and would have been there if not for the Von Donore thing, she’s all over his plan. Trust in her.”
This helped him calm down.
Chris had spent years with Elizabeth before he had ever entered her life. Blackhawk had to trust that he knew her well.
“The thing about Elizabeth is she’s strong until she gets her feet kicked out from under her. When she does, she ALWAYS regroups. It just takes time. We’ll let her regroup, and then do what we always do.”
He waited.
“We’ll love her and be here when she needs a safe place to land.”
Ethan needed to know.
“What happens if she hates me for usurping her control on this. I know she’s capable and good at what she does.
I just can see what’s coming, and it’s going to be bad.
It infuriates me that someone is taking shots at my wife.
She’s off limits in my world, and that Devon Slater is trying to hurt her makes me irrational. ”