Page 44 of The Hanging Dolls (Zoe Storm #1)

FORTY-THREE

The room was plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the occasional flash of lightning that briefly illuminated the space, casting long, eerie shadows on the walls.

The storm outside raged with ferocity, rain pelting against the windows and thunder rumbling ominously in the distance.

Regina sat in a chair near the corner, her hand wrapped around a glass of Scotch.

It was her late father’s preferred drink.

She turned the glass around in her hands, the liquid glimmering at different angles.

Today she needed her father’s cruelty—she’d despised it growing up.

She’d always been looked down upon because he had wanted a son.

Only men had the stomach to live with hard decisions, or so he had often told her.

Her nose wrinkled in distaste at the memory. If only he was still alive to see her and everything she had achieved.

The front door creaked open, and Connor stepped inside, shaking off the rain from his coat.

“What are you doing here?” Connor demanded, flicking the light switch only to find the power was out. He grumbled and tossed his coat onto a chair. “Did you see my notes for your debate tomorrow? You’re gonna need them.”

Regina steeled herself for this moment. “I didn’t look at your notes, Connor. I don’t need them. Because you’re fired.”

Connor froze. The rain pelted like stones against the windows running along the side of the room. Then he threw his head back and let out a booming laugh that cleaved through the room. “Fired? You can’t fire me, Regina. I’m your campaign manager, your ticket to the big leagues.”

“I don’t need you anymore.” She leveled her voice. “There are other people who can take your place. I’ve lined up a few interviews for tomorrow.”

Lightning flashed, illuminating his face. The trees in the garden swished and sashayed in the wind causing the shadows to dance on his face. He looked menacing, almost evil, reminding Regina of the villains she watched in Hitchcock movies.

“You can’t do that to me. I’ve worked very hard to get you where you are,” he said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion.

“And I think the money that you’ve been siphoning from my campaign has more than compensated for those efforts.” She let her words sink in. “Yes, I know, Connor.”

Connor closed his eyes, his mouth tightening. “You have no idea what I’ve done for you, Regina.”

“Why? Why are you so hellbent on me winning, Connor? You can join Hicks or anyone else.”

He cupped his mouth with his hands, turning away to face the window. His silhouette was half concealed in the shadows. “I got involved with some bad people.”

“What people?”

“Let’s just say some important people want you to win and not Hicks.”

Regina’s mind ticked over the kind of dealings Connor could be embroiled in and then it struck her. “That casino owner.”

He nodded. “Hicks is shutting it down. I made a deal with him that I’d convince you to keep it open if you won. If you don’t then… let’s just say I might lose my legs.”

“The money you’ve been stealing is in case I lose and you have to disappear?”

Connor’s face tightened, anger flashing in his eyes. But he forced a smirk. “Okay, so what if I did? I have to look out for myself. Yeah, I did something stupid, big deal. But you’re no saint either.”

“ You convinced me to sign off on that environmental report and pay off Logan.” Her voice trembled in anger. Another fork of lightning slashed the sky and the rain intensified like white noise.

“It is still your signature, your culpability. So let me make this clear, Regina. We work together, we both win. You try to take me down and I’ll drag you to hell with me.”

For a moment Regina thought he would hurt her. His ambition and sense of self-preservation knew no boundaries. She downed her drink, giving her the push she needed.

“Not anymore,” she said quietly, her hand slipping into her pocket. In the next instant, she pulled out Connor’s gun. The metal gleamed in the brief flickers of lightning, the barrel steady in her grip.

Connor’s bravado faltered as he stared at the weapon in disbelief. “What the hell, Regina? Where did you get that from?”

“I found this in your things,” Regina said, her voice calm, almost detached. “It seems you were planning for every possibility, weren’t you? Well, here’s how it’s going to go: you’re going to leave, and you’re not going to come back. Because if you do, I have no problem getting rid of you, Connor.”

His eyes darted from the gun to her face, searching for any sign of hesitation, but there was none. He raised his hands slowly, taking a step back. “All right, all right, let’s not do anything stupid here, Regina. Just… put the gun down. Come on… you’re not going to kill me.”

Her eyes locked onto his. The alcohol swimming in her veins emboldened her.

“Oh, I can. I can do a lot of things. I can shoot you and then lie that it was in self-defense and I couldn’t see it was you in the dark.

I can cut the same deal you did with that casino guy and make sure you are redundant. ”

Panic took over. “I’ll tell everyone! I’ll go to the media!”

She clicked off the safety of the gun, the sound sharp and piercing. “You try doing that. I dare you.”

Connor began backing away, his lips twisted. “You’re going to regret this, Regina! Mark my words, you’re going to regret this!”

“I don’t give a damn.”