Page 91 of Run for Her Life

“Either you’re here to abduct me or you’re male strippers. I can’t tell,” Zoe said.

“What’s wrong with you?” Simon pinched the bridge of his nose while Aiden’s mouth twitched, holding back a smile.

“Many things. Why do you think I took my sweet time with that psych evaluation?” Aiden said and then turned to Zoe. “How do you feel?” His body was wired and stiff.

“Peachy. Wait, you were there. You brought me here.”

Aiden nodded. “It wasn’t long after we heard the gunshot that we found you.”

“What happened to Lisa and Jim?” she asked.

“Lisa’s fine. Just minor injuries. Jim is in custody.” Zoe didn’t miss Aiden’s hardened stare.

Zoe glared at Simon, the question burning in her eyes—why was he here? She knew why. All three of them did. The dull pain in her abdomen was nothing compared to the awkwardness that hung low in the room like smoke.

“I don’t think you’re allowed more than one visitor at a time here, so I’ll wait outside.” Aiden rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Once Aiden had left, Simon relaxed and sat on a chair next to her. His hand reached out to hold hers, but she pulled it back. “Simon… you didn’t have to come all the way.”

He looked crushed. “I get a call from Aiden that you were shot and you think I wouldn’t come.”

The memory came back in fragments. Was someone else there too? She almost had it but Simon distracted her. “Z, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent you on this case.”

“You didn’t send me. The riddle was addressed to me, remember?”

“I suppose.” He looked like he wanted to say something else but held back. “So you and Aiden, huh? Is that why you haven’t been returning my calls?”

“Me and Aiden?” she squeaked. “What?”

“Oh.” He frowned. “He’s been worried sick about you. I figured…”

A warm feeling rose in her chest as she shook her head. “Nothing is going on.”

“Good.” The edges of his face softened.

But why did the denial feel like a lie?

“Are you insane, Storm?” Aiden’s eyes were wide as Zoe dragged herself into work next morning.

“Yeah, have you met me?” she quipped, suppressing a wince.

There was one part of the job that Zoe despised almost as much as breaking the news to someone that their loved one had been killed. It was the part that nobody thought much about. When she would single-handedly tell someone that their loved one had killed someone.

Ironically, the weather had turned bright and sunny. The first day Zoe had seen the sun in Pineview Falls. A day with blue sky with cotton-like clouds, dappling shadows on sidewalks, and scent of spring.

Zoe watched Ethan remove the missing person poster of Amy from the bulletin board with a satisfied smile on his face.

Since Amy had been found alive, the tension that had held the substation in a perpetual chokehold had dispersed. The deputies’ smiles and shoulders were more relaxed, conversations were less somber. Pineview Falls had been stuck in a stress position for almost two weeks and was finally uncoiling, unwinding, and finding its flow again.

A smile cracked on her face. But then she saw Lisa coming out of the washroom, looking pale. When they locked eyes, Lisa’s face fell.

“How’s she taking it?” she asked Aiden, who was absorbed in some report.

“She’s in denial. Nonreactive. Classic first response.” He didn’t look up.

“They’re bringing Jim up from holding. Apparently, Ethan tried to talk to him yesterday but he didn’t get anything out of him.”

“Did you try?”