Slay Bells Ring (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 12) (53 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Town

From the outside of the hair stylists’ shop, it looked fabulous…in that over the top way. It was apparent that Zuela Robinson and Effron Anderson were all about appearances.

When Elizabeth and Ethan stepped inside, despite the outside, it was more Zen and peaceful.

It was bizarre.

Immediately, Elizabeth was assaulted by some little woman in stilted heels touching her hair.

“Oh, honey! You got in here just in time. These curls are out of control.”

She stared at her, wondering if she could call this assault just so she could belt the woman.

“We’ll fix you right up and take care of this mess.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, don’t take it personally. It’s our job to fix people up.”

The woman moved on to Ethan. “You don’t need a single thing done to you. The way that straight hair kisses your shoulders is delicious. It makes me want to eat you up.”

Elizabeth stared at her. “Like the last cookie on a plate, I’ve already licked him. You don’t want any part of that. If you try, I’ll kill you.”

She backed up. “I was just…”

Elizabeth tried not to laugh. She wasn’t really offended. She just liked tormenting the shit out of people. As for her hair, that wasn’t getting touched.

She cut it once for Ethan, and that was the last time. While she rocked out a pixie, the mane of curls was here to stay.

“We need to ask you some questions.”

Elizabeth pulled back her coat, and there was her badge and gun.

The woman’s mouth went into a wide ‘O’ in shock.

“I swear I didn't do anything, officer.”

She rolled her eyes. “FBI,” Elizabeth corrected. “We’re here to ask you some questions about someone you may know.”

“Who?” Zuela asked.

“Where’s your partner Effron Anderson?”

She pointed toward the back of the salon.

“Get him.”

She scurried away.

When she was gone, Elizabeth grinned at her husband. “That was fun.”

“The last cookie?”

“You know…when there’s only one left, you lick it so no one will eat it.”

“I steal your cookies all the time.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I know. Maybe you should dwell on that. Apparently, I’m a licker.”

“Oddly, that turns me on.”

She didn't get to reply.

When the couple returned, they were holding hands. It was like a miraculous thing happened. Gone was the over the top response to them, and in its place was simply two curious people.

“What can we do for you?” Effron asked, shaking their hands.

“We had a murder, and we need to confirm if they were clients of yours.”

Elizabeth loved getting girled up. She adored days at the spa where people primped and worked on her. It was also a well-known fact that the only person other than a hairdresser who got more gossip was a bartender.

She was going to work this.

“Certainly. Who?”

“Adeline Douglas and her step daughter Lottie Tipton.”

The woman gasped. “They’re dead?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Adeline is. She and her husband were killed in their home.”

The man was watching her. “I’ve seen you all over the news. If we’re going to answer your questions, can I work on your hair?”

“What’s the obsession with my hair?”

“It’s larger than life.”

“Bigger hair, smaller ass,” she replied without missing a beat.

Ethan grinned. His wife had amazing hair. There was so much of it, and you could get lost in it every time.

Literally.

Sue him.

As a Native, he liked his woman to have copious amounts of curls.

“I’m used to working while I talk. I’ll be more in my comfort zone.”

“There won’t be any funky colors in it, right?” she asked. “It looks good on you, but in a video clip on BNN, it’s going to look like I lost my damn mind.”

“I just want to tame it.”

She shrugged. At this point, if it got her the interview, he could do her eyebrows too. She needed some pampering time.

They headed back to a private area where there was only one chair. “We do each other here.”

She scrunched up her nose.

The man laughed. “Not that kind of ‘do-ing’. Our hair.”

Elizabeth relaxed and took a seat.

“Now, about those two? They were really good friends before the marriage.”

“Were they?” she asked, as the man whipped out the flat iron. Apparently, she was going straight.

“Yes, they were. Lottie and Adeline worked together on a few sets. I don’t know what they did, but they were the dynamic duo.”

Zuela agreed. “They were thick as thieves.”

“Then the marriage happened. Did they get ugly?”

They both shook their heads. “Lottie was happy for them, but sad she didn't have Adeline’s full attention anymore. She gained a stepmother, but lost her BFF.”

They both got that. When they found each other, everyone else fell away.

Effron continued working on her hair. “They still come in each week and get their hair or nails done. Lottie gets that blonde hair managed, and Adeline gets herself a Brazilian. She thinks it’s easier for the old man to land a plane.”

The two stylists laughed.

Ethan gave his wife a look in the mirror. He hoped she wasn’t going to go there. If she did, who knew where else she’d take the conversation.

“But they had a good relationship?”

They nodded.

“Did they come in recently?”

“Yes! Lottie was taking a trip. She got the works. She had a waxing and some light maintenance to her roots.”

Ethan made notes as the couple talked.

“Was she going alone?”

They shrugged.

“She got waxed down there, so I don’t think it was for her own viewing pleasure.”

“Did you ever work on Adeline alone?” Ethan asked.

“Yes, sometimes. She liked to go on and on about her husband and how he was kinky.”

The wheels were turning.

“How kinky?” Elizabeth asked. “Are we talking leather and spanking or pudding and wrestling?”

They snickered.

“More like her playing dress up for him.”

Elizabeth, much to Ethan’s surprise, didn't comment. He knew she played dress up all the time for them. It wasn’t so much kinky, as keeping the marriage fresh.

“So they had a good relationship?”

They both nodded.

It looked like Lottie had told them the truth. They genuinely were friends.

“You’ve never heard gossip about either of them?”

Effron glanced over at Zuela. “Tell them.”

“But it’s just gossip, Effie. They’re our clients.”

Elizabeth’s curiosity was piqued. “You have to tell us. Someone murdered Adeline and Cooper. They deserve for their killers to be found. Help us do that.”

“Was it bad?” Zuela asked.

“Yes, it was. They weren’t kind to them in death. In fact, it was brutal.”

That was enough for them to hear.

“We heard through the grapevine that Cooper was cheating on Adeline. We don’t know with who, but Adeline must have told someone she suspected it. The gossip was going around town.”

Elizabeth thought about it. If she’d thought her husband was cheating, that was a good reason to kill him. In this case, though, she was dead too.

It didn't add up.

“You don’t know with who?”

They shook their heads. “No one said a name or we’d tell you. I swear.”

Elizabeth sat there in silence, weighing everything they’d learned. Cooper liked kink, and he had some side action behind his young wife’s back.

Interesting.

When she looked up, everything was still going on around her. Ethan must have picked up the interview while she zoned out.

They talked for a little while, and finally, Elizabeth’s hair was done. It was poker straight and hung down her back.

“Perfect!”

Effron played with it. “It’s so much more manageable. What do you think?” he asked Ethan.

“I like it.”

She glanced over at him. “Better than the curls?”

He was no fool. There was no way he was going to answer that. “I like them both the same.”

She gave him the look. “When I dress up and get my kink on, I sometimes straighten it.”

“Elizabeth!”

She snickered. “That’s for not answering the question.”

Ethan laughed. “I should know better.”

As they paid the couple, they headed out. They were both dragging ass, and they needed a way to refuel.

Ethan was thinking food.

Elizabeth wasn’t. She wanted to take her straight hair for a test run.

The second they were in the vehicle, she was tormenting him. Leaning over, Elizabeth nibbled on his ear. She knew it made him crazy.

“Baby, that’s not playing fair.”

She was well aware.

It didn't mean she was going to stop.

As they headed toward the reservation, Elizabeth upped her game. Her lips moved down his neck, leaving a trail of fire.

He swallowed.

“The roads are slippery and wet.”

“What a coincidence. So am I.”

He glanced over. “Elizabeth!”

She winked at him. “We’re almost back to the cabin, and I can’t help myself, Ethan. You smell really good.”

Her hands wandered under his long wool coat. She had her fingers inside his shirt, and they were chilly. The feel of cold hands on hot flesh was really intoxicating.

“I love when you touch me.”

She was well aware.

As he drove, she continued to play with him. She’d stir him up, and then back off. Foreplay always heated her Native up, and she loved it. When they arrived at the cabin, he threw it into park.

“Let’s go.”

She hopped out, and he grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the small cabin.

“I need you.”

“You can have me,” she promised as he worked the key in the lock. It wasn’t lost on her that his hand shook.

Oh, it was going to be a hot ride.

Once opened, the door was kicked shut and she was pushed against the wall. Ethan then attacked. His mouth sought and plundered, nibbling on her throat. With each lick and bite, she shook for him.

“Oh God! I’ve wanted to do this all day,” he muttered, pinning her between him and the wall.

Elizabeth could feel him throbbing against her hip. He was wild, and that made her crazy. As his mouth tore her control to shreds, she stopped thinking about anything but him.

In that moment, he was her world.

He yanked her coat off, and then slid his off his body. His mouth never stopped moving across her soft flesh. “You’re delicious,” he said, sliding his hands up her torso, shoulders, and then to her hair.

It slid through his fingers like water.

It reminded him of his.

That immediately put visions in his head. She’d once been their Native prisoner in a game of dress up, and it was one of his fondest memories.

This was his mate.

His woman.

His wife.

“You feel so damn good against me,” he muttered. “I can’t stop.”

She didn't want him to. When he dropped to this knees, yanking her pants open, she knew what was coming.

Elizabeth kicked off her boots as her legs got tangled in her pants. Ethan didn't help her get free. He was too busy dining on her.

He plundered.

Feasted.

Devoured.

There was no way he was going to stop until he got enough. The familiar taste of his woman coated his tongue and lips, and he was even hungrier than when he started.

“I need you,” he muttered, right before going back to teasing her with his tongue.

Elizabeth could barely hear him. Ethan was driving her to delirium.

As she rose up, teetered on the edge, and then shattered apart, he kept her from crashing to the floor.

He braced her as he continued to feast.

“Ethan, please,” she begged. All she wanted was him buried in her body.

She needed him in the worst way.

“Fill me. God! Fill me!”

There was a hole in her heart, and she needed him in the worst way. While Callen was hurt, she didn't feel whole. Only this man could change that.

With his love and magic touch, he’d heal her heart.