Page 3 of The Hanging Dolls (Zoe Storm #1)

TWO

Bop.

Bop.

Bop.

The sound of bullets flying out of the barrel blasted through the room, the noise dampened by her ear defenders.

Dopamine pumped through Zoe’s veins at the sound of the gunshots.

The paper man at the end of the row now had three holes in his body.

One through the head, one through the chest and one through the groin. Satisfaction spread through her.

In her mind, the paper man was very much real. But he was faceless and nameless. Often, she would picture a stocky man wearing a purple suit, his face concealed by a shadow. A leathery, viscous shadow of impenetrable darkness—so solid and unyielding, almost like a mask.

Sometimes in Zoe’s nightmares, she would spend hours trying to rip that mask off the man’s face.

Her nails would pluck off and her fingers would bleed but there was always another layer of shadows behind the one she would manage to tear off.

Infinite layers sluicing off each other until Zoe would wake up with a jolt and a racing heart.

“Do you have a vendetta against men, Zoe?” Simon whistled beside her.

Zoe removed her ear protection and clicked the button to draw the paper close. “I did spend two years undercover with a rapist,” she said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

Simon’s face fell. “Are you sure you don’t want to take time off? I’m your boss, but I really don’t want to force you.”

“You can’t force me. Your department will fall apart without me,” she teased lightly.

He went to reply, but his phone vibrated in his pocket and he excused himself. Zoe watched his tall, muscular frame through the doorway. His golden locks crowded his forehead, but there was a ruddiness to his skin that came with age.

She still remembered how scruffy his jaw had felt under her fingers all those years ago when they’d foolishly spent a few nights together after she graduated from Quantico.

“I see. Yeah, I heard about that.” Simon twisted the wedding ring on his finger. His eyes flicked to Zoe and she looked away. “You got it.” He hung up and poked his head back inside the shooting range room. “Have you heard of Harborwood?”

“No.” Zoe frowned.

“You’ll love it there.” He grinned.

“What?”

“The local PD wants assistance.” Simon gestured for her to follow him. She had to sprint to keep up with his long strides as they made their way to his office. “They got a missing kid. Out of their depth on this one.”

The office was unusually noisy today. Phones were ringing off the hook.

All interrogation and conference rooms were packed with quarreling lawyers in stuffy suits arguing over charges and negotiating deals.

Zoe had to strategically cut her way through the mass of bodies around her, trying to focus on the words coming out of Simon’s mouth. “Missing kid? How old?”

“Seven-year-old girl. They don’t deal with cases like these.”

“How long has she been missing?”

“Four days.”

Dread coiled like a rope around Zoe’s throat, squeezing it tight. She stopped dead in her tracks at the same time as Simon. “Well, that kid is probably not ali?—”

Simon raised his hand. “Zoe, I have known you since Quantico. I know you use dark humor as a coping mechanism. But Harborwood PD don’t. Be careful, okay?”

She bit her tongue, holding back another cheeky comment as she rocked on her heels. “Yes, boss.”

He released a breath and muttered, “I hope I don’t regret this.” He spun on his heel when Zoe interrupted.

“Why me then? There are others.”

His face pinched in thought. “Because once you solved a homicide with no other clues but a torn up parking ticket. And you need this. I can tell that you’ve been… looking for something to do. Though, I won’t send you alone. There’s a missing kid and I got a feeling about this one.”

“Why so? Kids go missing all the time.”

“There it is. The brashness.” He sighed. “Harborwood is a small town with no reports of any violent crimes in the past decade. I’ll get a profiler to partner up with you.”

She felt her face turn hot. “Okay. Give me what you got on this.”

“I’m waiting for—” Simon swung open the door to his office with Zoe tailing him when he halted, causing her to almost crash into the back of him. “Nancy!”

A slender, tall woman with a narrow, heart-shaped face, doe-like eyes and wavy dirty blonde hair. “Simon.” She smiled but when her eyes fell on Zoe, they lingered for longer than necessary on the closed distance between her and Simon.

Simon rushed up to her. “What a surprise.”

“I was in the area so I thought we could go and grab some lunch together.” She smiled tightly at Zoe as she asked, “How’s it going?”

“Great.” Zoe beamed. “Your husband’s shipping me off to Harborwood on a case.”

“Harborwood? Never heard of it.”

“Always trying to get rid of me.”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you. You’re the best agent I got,” Simon said. “Despite your tendencies to put your foot in your mouth.”

Zoe stuck out her tongue, making him chuckle. When their laughter dissolved, Zoe noticed Nancy’s fallen face forcing a smile.

A blade of guilt twisted inside Zoe. “Send me the files when you get them. Enjoy your lunch!”

As soon as she closed the door behind her, she could hear them bickering again. Something about Nancy questioning why Simon and Zoe spent so much time together. As she walked away, Zoe’s ears burned and her eyes grew heavy.

A few hours later, Zoe was perched on the vanity countertop, whistling and swinging her legs.

Outside the window was glittering blackness.

No one used this washroom, especially at nine in the evening.

It was quiet here, which she liked. Since she didn’t have anyone to go home to, she’d stayed behind.

Simon had sent her the information he had received from Harborwood PD.

Lily Baker disappeared from a playground halfway between her house and her school four days ago at 4:30 p.m. According to the sister, she had looked away only for a minute to finish paying for an ice cream for Lily but when she turned back Lily was nowhere to be seen.

Four days. The prospects were bleak. Hope was a thing of cruelty in her line of work, but it was a necessity. It was the glue that held together sanity of minds that could too easily be ravaged by violence and betrayal. It held Zoe together too.

It had been over twenty years since she’d nearly lost all hope. And still, a glimmer of it remained.

She memorized the basics quickly, but Chief Travis Hunter hadn’t sent a lot of information.

Maybe Simon was right. This was exactly what she needed because digging into her mother’s past had hit a brick wall.

It had sent her thoughts wayward. And she was thinking too much about the last time she went undercover.

It was not only the longest undercover assignment, but also the hardest one she’d ever been on.

No matter how much time had passed since and no matter how many countless showers she had, the remnants of the leader of the cult she’d infiltrated still lingered on her skin.

He was like poisonous air she had inhaled that was taking forever to detox.

Zoe put the file away and stared at her reflection.

She was short but sculpted. Her dark hair, frizzy and curly, framed a squarish face with pillowy lips and dark brown eyes that were just a little far apart.

Her skin was glassy, a light shade of brown.

She searched for similarities between her and her mother Rachel.

Other than the small nose and slightly protruding ears, they had nothing in common.

It was her sister, Gina, who had inherited her mother’s green eyes and thin lips and silky, brown hair.

Zoe could only assume she took after her father—whoever that was. She washed her face and braced herself. Her eyes landed on a picture of the girl. Razor-sharp fear twisted in her stomach.

What had happened to Lily?

Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Simon.

Dr. Aiden Wesley is on the case with you.

Her eyes ballooned at the name. Aiden Wesley . A groan escaped her throat and she slammed her head against the concrete wall.