Page 101 of Blackstone's Heart
"A little stiff. Yet relieved that it's over now. Any word on Lance yet?"
"Not yet. Grant said he'd come get us once they have word. I called Lance's mom and step-dad right after they took you back. Your folks are waiting with mine at your folk's house."
Krista nodded. She then looked at Ethan's left hand that now held hers and smirked. "You know, I figured someone would have noticed by now."
"Noticed what?" He asked with a confused look.
Laughing a little she lifted their joined hands. Hands that now wore matching rings. Realization dawned on him and Ethan had to laugh as well. The afternoon they had lunch with their mothers, the two had swung by the house, grabbed the rings and made a little stop by the courthouse. That had been nearly a week ago now.
"Well, MRS. BLACKSTONE, we have all been a bit busy lately." He smirked.
"That we have, MR. BLACKSTONE."
Ethan leaned in and kissed her softly. The kiss was interrupted by a soft knock. He pulled away and looked up as Grant walked in. "Hey there baby girl."
"Hey Grant. How's Lance?" Krista asked.
"He pulled through surgery just fine. They just got him moved to his recovery room down the hall about half an hour ago. Gage and Tony are with him right now. The doc said he was lucky. Had the bullet been an inch to either side he would have bled out. He's gonna be laid up for a few weeks, but they say he'll make a full recovery." Grant explained.
Krista let out a relieved sigh. "Thank god."
"What about Ingram?" Ethan demanded, his voice practically spitting out the name.
Grant shifted from foot to foot. "He's been admitted. Here. They got him on the third floor. Wilson and the Feds have two men from each agency outside his room. Wilson says they're releasing him tomorrow morning and after he's interviewed by PD, the Feds got him."
Krista growled. "I want that fucker to pay. I want to speak to Wilson, Cain and Jimmy."
Grant moved to her other side and sat on the bed. "Baby girl, take it easy. Gage told me that Ethan had him call Helix on Charlie team to dig on Ingram."
Ethan had completely forgotten about that. "What did Helix find?"
Grant rubbed a hand over his shaved head. "It's a cluster fuck boss that’s what it is. When Helix started digging, he found a lot. How this guy managed to get a badge is beyond me. The man suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. An hour ago, Wilson came by and talked to us. He said they found a hidden room in Ingram's house. The wall was almost completely wallpapered in pictures and clippings of Krista."
Krista just stared at Grant. Beside her Ethan hissed. "What else did they find?"
"They, um, they found Mrs. Ingram. She was in the bedroom. Wilson says her hair had been dyed blonde like Krista's. The woman was tied to the bed and her throat had been cut. Her body is at the coroner's office now." Grant answered.
"Jesus." Krista whispered her eyes widened in shock. "Does Wilson think he's competent enough to stand trial?"
Grant shrugged. "That I don't know yet baby girl. Neither does he. He did say that Ingram was getting a visit from the court shrink sometime tonight."
Ethan stood and moved to the lone window of Krista's room. "This guy played us all. How's Wilson holding up man?"
"He's torn up with all this Ethan." Grant replied. "He's blaming himself. Says he should have seen it, should have done something, ya know."
"Wilson can't blame himself for this shit. Hell, we never saw anything out of the ordinary until today." Krista argued. She then sat up more. "I don't want to talk anymore about Ingram. Right now I want to go see our boy Lance."
Ethan faced her and found her looking right at him. "Our boy?"
"Well duh. You and I are a packaged deal. Blackout, especially Alpha team, are your guys Ethan, and that makes them mine too." She shot back with a lifted brow.
Both Ethan and Grant let out deep laughs at that. Ethan moved to help her stand while Grant grabbed the hospital robe that a nurse had brought in. When he offered to get a wheelchair, Krista firmly told him to kiss her ass, she wasn't taking a damned chair.
***
The room was dim. Full night had fallen over Austin and the lights in Lance's room had been lowered. Krista and Ethan walked in quietly. As they passed her both Tony and Gage gave Krista a hug and a kiss on the cheek before slipping out of the room. Ethan loved how seamlessly his guys had welcomed Krista and how she welcomed them. Krista moved to the bed and sat in the chair. She reached out and took Lance's hand.
"Lance? It's Krista, can you hear me?" She said as Ethan moved to stand behind her, his hands on her shoulders.
