Slay Bells Ring (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 12) (52 page)

She understood. Elizabeth never wanted out of his arms. There, she was safe. There, she was home.

“We should do this interview,” she said, knowing that they were out in public.

“We should,” he admitted, right before grabbing her wrist. “Let me throw this out there.”

“What?”

“If you think you’re going to play shield to me, luring the killers in, you’re out of your freaking mind. I will drop you over my knee, spank you, and not in a fun bedroom kind of way.”

She started laughing.

“I mean it. You’re not my damn shield, and you’re not Callen’s. Got it?”

She snorted. “Cowboy, I need to up my game. You know me too well.”

And he did.

Only because he was going to do the exact same thing.

Sue him
.

She was his woman.

“Let’s get this done.”

As they headed across the snow, he scanned their surroundings. Ethan was pretty sure she knew he was playing protector, but it didn't matter. He’d nearly lost Callen, and he wasn’t going to risk Elizabeth too.

On the porch, he crowded her.

“Ethan!” she hissed, as she raised her hand to knock in the door.

“What?”

The man was making her insane.

“You just told me not to play shield.”

He ignored her.

Instead of arguing, she knocked on the door. From somewhere behind it, they could hear footsteps. They were moving their way.

When the door opened, there stood a woman in a pretty dress.

“Can I help you?”

“Can we come in, Irish Castro?” she asked. “We’re with the FBI, and this is related to your boss’s death.”

She immediately stepped back. “Certainly! O.M.G! I’ll do whatever I can do to help.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

Already, the blonde woman was making her crazy. This was going to be a fun interview. She was a little too bubbly, and way too happy. No one was like that normally.

“Have a seat.”

Just then, a man walked in.

“Irish, are you ready for church?” he asked, and then stopped. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn't know we had company.”

Immediately, he moved protectively to her side.

“Who are they?”

He must have noticed the guns.

Good.

She liked when people were focused on them. That generally meant they weren’t going to yank their chain. This young couple looked like they were a little too scared to lie.

She told him who they were, and they sat.

“What can I do for you? Mr. Boone was a really nice man.”

“Was he ever inappropriate?”

She shook her head, and curls bounced all over the place. “Never. He was a gentleman. He would walk me out to my car when Rick wasn’t picking me up.”

Elizabeth focused on the man. “Name please.”

He swallowed. “Rick Goldberg, ma’am. I’m Irish’s boyfriend. You know…I’ve been kissed by THE Irish.”

He grinned, and his girlfriend giggled.

Elizabeth didn't laugh.

There was no smile.

In fact, she kept her expression blank for a reason. There was nothing she liked better than rattling a few cages. Call her a bitch, but she was cranky.

“That’s great, Mr. Goldberg. How long have you lived here?”

“Not long. My dad was a traveling minister. We moved around a lot. When I met Irish, I didn't want to leave. That was about a year ago.”

“And you, Irish?” Granted, she already knew the answer, but why not let the woman hang herself. Elizabeth hoped her lie detector went off.

“All my life. I didn't even leave to go to college.”

“How long did you work for the mayor?”

“Two years.”

“What did you do for him?”

“I ran his errands, I answered his phones, and I’d arrange his schedule.”

“Did you book vacations for him?”

“Yes, why?”

“What are the last few things you booked?”

She thought about it, but before she could answer, her boyfriend was blabbering again.

“Is this going to take long?” Rick asked. “It’s the Sunday before Christmas, and we have church. There’s the living nativity.”

Elizabeth wanted to poke out his eyes.

Or staple his lips shut.

“I’ll tell you how it ends, Rick. He’s born with the sheep, he dies, gets shoved in a hill, and he comes back to life again. The end. It’s the same show every year. You’ll catch next year’s service.”

He shut up.

Elizabeth was glad. If they wanted to go to church for some story, so be it. Frankly, she had the makings of a horror movie on her hands.

“Again, what’s the last thing you booked?”

“There was a romantic couple’s trip for him and his wife. They were going to get massages.”

She made notes.

“Did he often go away with his wife?”

Irish shook her head. “No. Work always seemed to interrupt it. Every now and again, a deputy would show up, and she’d need his assistance. They’d head off to handle law stuff, and I’d have to break the news to his wife.”

“How did she react?”

“Not well. She was pissed.”

Rick gave her the look.

“Sorry, I meant angry.”

Elizabeth glanced over at her husband. “Will you run Rick? He’s pissing me off.”

“Wait! What did I do?”

“Anyone who doesn’t curse is suspicious. That makes me think you’re up to something.”

“I just don’t like to use profanity.”

“Damn! See? I’m getting more and more suspicious.”

Ethan wanted to laugh. With his wife stirred up, they were all screwed. She was hell bent on finding the person who shot their partner.

When she did, there would be hell to pay.

“So, as we were saying, the little woman wasn’t happy when the hubby cancelled.”

“No.”

“Did she know he was cheating?”

She gasped. “He wasn’t! You can’t besmirch someone’s credibility like that.”

“Well, I’m not besmirching anything, and who the hell uses that word. Really? You have to be shitting me.”

They flinched.

Elizabeth didn't know if they were just really good actors, or if they were really this lily white.

They screamed virgins.

“When’s the last time you saw him?”

She told her the date and time. “He had just left work. On his way out, he told me he had a date. He was picking up flowers.”

They’d found those in the deputy’s garbage.

“Did he mention who the date was with?” Elizabeth had all this information. What she wanted to know was if these two had it.

“His wife, I’d assume.”

“Wrong. She was out of town on the trip you booked with her sister. So, guess again. Who could it have been?”

“I don’t know.”

Elizabeth switched it up. “Did Mayor Boone hang out with a man by the name of Cooper Douglas?”

She laughed. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Cooper wasn’t into politics. Salvatore tried to get the man into his corner, but he was too into his young wife to care.”

She said it with distaste.

“What’s wrong with that? He’s older than me, and we’re married.”

Irish blinked, staring at them. “Well, he’s not that much older than you, and it’s not the same. Cooper was married to a child. That’s scandalous.”

Ethan glanced up.

He knew it was coming.

That one sentence was enough to make her want to be scandalous. Before he could react, his wife already had her mouth open.

“People shouldn’t judge,” Elizabeth said, checking to see their reaction. Bonnie and Clyde were judging nonstop, and she wanted to see how far she could push these two.

“I’m not judging,” Irish insisted. “You’re married, and people shouldn’t marry people half their age. We all know why Salvatore was hooked up with a younger woman.”

Oh, she wanted to give them a reason to judge.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Miss Castro. You see, we like our scandal a whole other way. See, I’m married to him, sleeping with his brother, and pregnant with his child. We like threesomes. You know…when two men have their way with one woman.”

The woman gasped, covering her mouth.

“Get out,” stated Rick. “We won’t have you talking like this in our home.”

“I don’t see a ring on your finger, Irish. Are you into premarital?”

Tears filled her eyes.

“Please go.”

Elizabeth was up and out of her seat. “I will, but only because I accomplished my work here.”

Outside, after the door slammed behind them, she started laughing.

“Did you have fun?”

She couldn’t help herself. “I was testing a theory.”

“What you just did was put a bull’s-eye on your back. If they were the killers, you just told them you’re carrying a baby. They already shot Callen. Don’t think they won’t cut you to pieces too.”

She patted his cheek. “Cowboy, if they’re the killers, we just rattled their cage. Worried people make mistakes, and that’s what we need. We have evidence, DNA, and bodies, but nothing to tie them to. Right now, if we want to survive this and get out of here alive, we need to get lucky.”

Ethan didn't argue.

He was ready to pass off his title of Cowboy. It appeared she’d earned it back.

His wife was close to going off the reservation on this one. The shit was going to hit the fan.

Again.

                 
* * *  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

Across Town

Sunday One P.M.

Church bells were ringing.

The holiday was fast approaching. At the shops around the sacred building, there were Christmas decoration and carols being sung.

It was sweet.

It was innocent.

It pissed them off.

This wasn’t a beautiful holiday. It was one made to remind those who weren’t perfect that they had no place in this world.

They were ready to hurt them all. Every happy person deserved it.

The damn fools were all over the place.

As they left the church, hugging and singing praises of the new born king, the killer’s lurked.

They watched the patrons of the church leave the safety of the massive building.

Bonnie and Clyde sat in the warm car, knowing that they had the chance to destroy someone’s holiday.

He was the one.

They’d watched him for a while, and before the night was over, he’d be dead.

They didn't have time to torture him too much. After all, the FBI was hot on their trail.

This would be the one that made them scratch their heads.

Oh, they thought they were so smart, but they weren’t. They were clueless. They only knew what they were allowed to see.

It was priceless.

“He’s the one, isn't he?” she asked, pointing toward the man walking across the snow covered parking lot.

“Yes, he’s pretty dirty, but it’s the woman he’s waiting for that really needs to go.”

She watched and waited.

When the woman hurried across, and then hopped in the vehicle, they knew she was sneaking away with him.

When her head dropped below the seat, there was no doubt what was going on.

They continued on for a few minutes.

Then they were done.

The parking lot might be empty, but they had an audience.

When the woman lifted her head, she was laughing.

It was time.

They both got out of the vehicle and slowly crept toward the other car. From where they stood, they could see the doors weren’t locked.

It was time.

They each ripped a door open and then tasered the people inside.

When the male’s seat was pushed back, and he was shoved into the back, the woman got in.

“Drive them to his place. It’s time. I’ll meet you there.”

She grinned as she pulled away.

Oh, it was time alright.

Only, they weren’t the only ones who would suffer.