Chapter Twenty #3
“Oh, now you’re talking my language,” he said, pulling two devices out of his pocket. “I’d get your ass into the ride. This place is about to go bye-bye, along with the houses around them.”
Normally, she’d worry about other people.
But she was beyond caring about anything anymore. He’d been planning to take Charlie, and that did enough to her brain that she didn’t give a fuck about anything else.
Not this time.
Heading out, she got into the vehicle and climbed into the back with Devon. She sat beside Gene, who had his big boot on the man’s balls.
From the redness of Devon’s face, she’d bet he wasn’t being gentle either.
As Zayn came running out of there, he dove into the SUV, and Maura got them out of there.
They’d made it half a mile away from the house, to the entrance, when they all heard the boom.
It.
Was.
Sonic.
There was no doubt in her mind that this would be on the news and that she’d be far away before they ever put it out.
There was one part of this left.
And then, Elizabeth Blackhawk was DONE.
Likely forever.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
The Warehouse
One Hour Later
As The Hunters handled getting the piece of shit unloaded in the warehouse, Elizabeth borrowed Maura’s burner phone.
What she wanted to do was celebrate, but she wasn’t feeling all that jovial.
So, instead, she made a call.
To Chris.
When he answered, he’d been fully expecting Gene, and not prepared for Elizabeth to be on the other end.
“Are you guys okay, Gene?” he asked.
There was a pause.
Then, her voice.
“We’re good,” she admitted.
Were they?
She wasn’t, but that was neither here, nor there.
Chris was surprised that it was his wife, and not their other spouse.
“Sweetness,” he said.
She kept it short and sweet, because what she wanted to do was cry. What she would do was finish the job and make sure her family was safe.
“We got him. We’re tying up loose ends, but I wanted you to know that he’s contained. We won, Christopher. He’s never going to hurt anyone else again.”
There was relief.
And worry.
“My love,” he began, hearing it in her voice. What they all knew was that when you crossed the line, it didn’t feel good. In a way, it was like cheating.
After that initial moment of happiness, it tended to be a letdown. He knew Elizabeth better than anyone.
To her, this would be nothing less than cheating.
Because she needed to get what was coming handled, she cut him off.
“Tell everyone for me that I’m safe, and he’s done with his reign of terror. Tell Caspian I took out the trash for him, and call Vivian’s parents for the notify. We’re safe.”
His heart thumped.
“I’m worried about you.”
Yeah, well, she was worried too.
“Don’t be,” she said. “I love you, Christopher,” she added, just wanting to hear his voice again. The man always had a way of centering her, even when the whole world was a chaotic mess.
Because he needed her to know it, Chris shared his heart with her.
“You will forever be my whole world,” he said. “I love you more than anyone on this planet.”
Honestly, she didn’t doubt it. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was how he felt about her.
“I’m going to finish this up, but I wanted you guys to know we’re safe.”
He needed to know.
“You’re not coming home, are you?” he asked, going with his gut. “You’re taking a break?”
She said nothing.
But he did.
“I told you how I felt before,” he stated. “I stand on that, no matter what the outcome is.”
Because he deserved the truth, she shared what was in her heart.
“I’m tired, Christopher. I have nothing left to give anyone. I need…I need something to change. I need to find me again. It’s been so long since I’ve seen that woman. For the first time in my whole life, I have to be selfish and take that deep breath.”
He understood.
What he wanted was that for her.
“Take what you need. I’m here. I’ll always be here. You know that.”
There was no doubt in her mind that if she called him, and told him to run with her, he would. If she told him that she was leaving the FBI, he’d join her.
And that helped.
“Can you not say anything?” she asked. “I know that puts you in a bad position, but I just need someone in my corner. I need a break, Orion, and I don’t know how long of a break it needs to be.”
Oh, well, he had news for her.
“I’m in your corner. You are allowed to have secrets and moments. I’ll protect them for you.”
At his words, she wanted to weep.
What was about to go down was going to be brutal, and so was walking away, but he was right.
She couldn’t go back until she worked through a lot of things. What she needed was a moment to regroup. Now that Kate Natalie was at the helm, the FBI would be in good hands.
Her people would be in good hands with Gene and Callen running the division.
Her family would be safe, and the kids would have their dads to lean on until she could find Elizabeth again. If she couldn’t be whole, she couldn’t take care of her children like they deserved. They needed her strong.
Now, she wasn’t.
She was shattered into a million pieces.
“Kiss the kids for me and tell them Mommy is just taking some time to regroup. I’ll be home when I’m…better.”
Chris let it go at that.
What he thought, or what anyone else thought, didn’t matter. Elizabeth carried them all more days than not, and if his wife said she needed a break…
She needed a break.
“Go. Just be safe, and rest. I’ll make sure the kids are good, and so is Ethan and Callen. Gene and I have this.”
She appreciated that.
And that was why she called him.
Yes, Callen would likely say the same thing, but Ethan…he wouldn’t. He’d blame himself, and the cycle would continue. The last thing she needed was to carry someone’s guilt.
She couldn’t even lift her own.
“I love you, Orion. To the moon and stars, and back again when I return.”
He made a vow to her.
“Until my dying breath, my love.”
Elizabeth didn’t doubt that either.
Hanging up, she handed Gene the phone after walking back into the warehouse.
“Thanks,” she said. “I just needed to tell our family that it’s done. That they are now safe.”
Oh, somehow, he believed it was more than that. He’d been watching her from the inside of the warehouse, and she looked…burdened.
What she should be feeling was victorious. Call him crazy, but his gut said this was far from over.
For her.
“No problem. Want me to handle him?” he asked, pointing at the man sitting in a chair, his head covered in a pillowcase.
Did she?
Yes.
Would she?
No.
Elizabeth knew that she had to finish this up, completing the promises she’d made. Then, she’d get a clean break.
A fresh start.
She was walking away for a while, and if she came back, she’d need a new beginning where shit like this didn’t happen.
Because she wasn’t above the badge.
“No, but thank you, Boo. I appreciate it. I really do.”
He touched her face.
“Hey. You know you can tell me anything, right? I’m a really good listener.”
She paused.
Was there something she wanted to tell him? Yeah, actually, there was one thing.
“I love you.”
That made him smile.
“And I love you, Elizabeth. Tits and all.”
In that moment, through all of this, she knew she was lucky. Love wasn’t the problem.
Her soul was.
“Good,” she said. “Keep loving me,” she said.
The man embraced her, holding her against his much bigger body, and as he did, she whispered in his ear.
“I’ll miss you,” he said. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ve been there. I walked away from the FBI before, too.”
And there it was.
Apparently, they had even more in common than just Ethan Blackhawk.
He held up his pinkie, the one he had, and she locked hers to it.
“Don’t lose this one. Thumb-y swear is weird.”
He snorted.
Yes, yes, it was.
For Elizabeth, it had been a rough chase, but now, it was time to end this.
Once.
And.
For.
All.
Heading toward the man, she got that show on the road. This was his just desserts, as Charlie would say all of those years ago.
And she was all about force-feeding him them.
When she nodded, Jagger pulled the hood off of the man’s head, and he sat there, staring.
In front of him, there were two coffins, and his eyes went huge the minute he saw them.
Elizabeth hoped he recognized them.
When she nodded again, Jagger ripped the duct tape off of his mouth, taking some skin with it.
Devon screamed from the pain.
Oh, he hadn’t seen anything yet.
Elizabeth got down to business.
“See that nice mercenary over there?” she asked, pointing at Rogue, who was sitting on a pallet, his laptop on his lap. “Right now, Devon, every last penny of your money in your secret accounts is being transferred back from Colombia,” she stated, as his eyes went huge.
Oh, she wasn’t done.
“Every penny is now going into an account that will be disbursed to the victims of your fuckery,” she said. “You probably shouldn’t have given me the clues about the marriage sacrament and the Colombian roses. That told me where to look.”
When he went to speak, Maura hit him so hard in the gut, he vomited.
Yeah, she didn’t want to hear him speak.
“Thank you, bestie.”
She just nodded.
Elizabeth continued.
“I found every penny. My hackers are better than your hackers,” she said. “See, I know all about your apprentices and helpers. Killing the ME in Corpus Christi wasn’t enough. We took out the mercenary you hired to kill him.”
Devon couldn’t believe any of this.
It had been foolproof.
HOW?
“David Stedman died in a shooting that was disguised to look like a fire,” she offered, proving she wasn’t bluffing. “Not only him, but Veruca Filmore, the woman you hired to take out both the minister and his wife, was also killed earlier today in a park in Baltimore.”
He was shocked.
“How?”
She was honest.