Chapter 6
SIX
Zoe shot out of there like a bullet. Her legs moved like a machine, leaping over the bulging roots and thorny shrubs.
Leaves scraped her face and hair as she weaved her way through the choking woods.
She felt a sharp stitch under her ribs. She saw her target—a shadowy silhouette moving a few feet ahead, visible due to the silvery moonlight and the faint glow from a phone.
With another surge of adrenaline, she pushed off a fallen log, catapulting in the air before crashing into him.
“Ah!”
Zoe landed on top of the man on the ground with a thud. Pain shot through her as her head slammed into his but she kept her weight on him. “FBI.”
“Son of a bitch. Get off me!” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Zoe couldn’t see anything in the dark. His phone had flown in the air when she landed on him.
He writhed under her, trying to break free.
He was of medium build and she was short.
But she had rage—renewable, infinite, replenishable rage that injected her with strength.
“Fleeing a crime scene. I ought to arrest you.”
Footsteps neared and Aiden and Lisa appeared, standing over them.
Zoe grabbed the man by the back of his collar and pulled him up harshly. Lisa pointed a flashlight at him, revealing his curly mop of hair and thick glasses. “Adam? What the hell are you doing here?”
“You know this guy?” Zoe panted in disbelief.
“He’s a reporter.” Lisa sighed. “An annoying one at that.”
“What are you doing in the middle of the woods at this time?” Aiden asked.
“Okay, you can let me go now.” Adam scowled and yanked away from Zoe’s grip. She let him go, deciding he wasn’t stupid enough to flee now that he had been identified. “I followed you,” he said to Lisa.
“Followed me? From where?”
“I was at Bernie’s across the street from the station when I saw two suits pull up and talk to you. I know a story when I see one. And when I saw your car heading into the woods, I figured something was up. You found a body?” His eyebrows waggled.
Zoe and Aiden looked at each other.
“For God’s sake, Adam, it wouldn’t kill you to be more sensitive.” Lisa rolled her eyes. “Agent Storm, he’s as harmless as a puppy. He just likes to sniff around.”
“Why did you run away?” Aiden asked.
“It was a reflex! Besides, I know how pissed Lisa here would be with me. We go way back.”
“By ‘way back,’ he means he tries to poke his nose into every case,” Lisa explained. “Adam, get out of here. We got work to do.”
“No. He’s not going anywhere,” Zoe said. “He was fleeing a crime scene. We are holding him for questioning.”
“I know him. I can vouch for him.”
“I hate to pull rank here but this is FBI jurisdiction now. We have to follow protocol.”
Lisa pursed her lips and gave her a curt nod. “Ethan will secure the scene. The CSI is on their way to dig her up and collect samples.”
“ Her ?” Adam’s eyes sparkled with intent. “The victim is a woman?”
“Jesus Christ,” Aiden muttered under his breath.
“We should head back,” Zoe said to Aiden. “They can stay here and supervise.”
She sensed that Lisa wasn’t entirely on board with the plan as she made her way back to Ethan.
“I’m innocent,” Adam said. “And I can help you catch the killer. I know things. And I know everyone in town.”
Zoe’s gut twisted. She’d found herself navigating an unknown terrain and already managed to piss people off.
Zoe could feel the pressure building behind her eyelids the longer she stared at the laptop screen.
She was busy scouring the Internet for anything she could find on Annabelle Stevens.
But the woman wasn’t on any social media, which Zoe found odd given that everybody was on social media these days.
She peered out the window into the cinching darkness of the woods that lay behind the station.
Not a single flicker of light. Idly, she wondered how many bodies could be buried in such places.
No light, no surveillance, no witnesses.
That was why she preferred cities.
She chewed on the pad of her thumb. Restlessness brewed in her chest like a swarm of bees trapped in there, desperate to get out. She needed something. An outlet. There was too much going on. Too many unknowns. She took out her phone and texted Benny.
Z: When can you pencil me in?
His reply was instantaneous.
B: Never. You didn’t tell me you were a suit.
She ground her teeth. She wasn’t FBI Agent Zoe Storm when she went to Benny’s club of underground fighting. She transformed into an animal, operating on pure instincts and emotions. Without that outlet, she could feel herself hardening into stone.
Emily! Her mother’s voice rang in her ears.
“Lisa just texted us.” Aiden waltzed into the room where Zoe had set up camp. “Storm?” Zoe blinked. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.” She rubbed her temple. “What were you saying?”
Aiden stared at her and she stared back evenly, defiantly. She knew he wanted her to open up and he knew she wanted him to back off. He conceded and sat across from her. “They dug up the body. It’s Annabelle Stevens. They found ID on her.”
“Great. We got a killer who likes a game.”
“There will be more,” Aiden warned darkly.
“Sending a poem to you means it’s a cat-and-mouse game.
Look at the baseline behavioral markers.
The offender presents with a high-functioning cognitive profile—linguistic complexity in the riddle suggests premeditation, possibly compulsive tendencies.
This isn’t impulsive violence; we’re looking at someone who derives gratification from intellectual engagement with their own crime scene.
This individual is asserting control over both the victim and the investigative process. ”
“Yeah.”
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “You have enemies. Is what’s happening related to what went down a month ago?”
Zoe stiffened. “This feels like an interrogation.”
“We’re on this case together. I need to know if there’s a link.”
She scoffed, irritated that he wouldn’t let it go. “That was my personal business. This is unrelated.”
“What kind of personal business would lead to someone attacking you and you won’t even file a police report?”
“Move on, Aiden.” Steel crept into Zoe’s tone. “Focus on the case. Where’s Adam?”
Aiden’s jaw hardened but he relented. “Still in holding. Insisting that he can help. You seem… irritable, which is rare for you.”
Zoe’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “The hot chocolate you got for me wasn’t sweet enough.” Her phone rang. Simon’s name flashed on the screen. “Hello.”
“Z, everything okay there?” he asked.
“Yeah. We found Annabelle’s body.” Her voice came out small and shaky. She could sense Aiden watching her. She felt like she was being strip-searched at an airport by the TSA. “Anyway, what’s up?”
“That name you gave me? Viktor Axenov?”
“Yes…”
“I checked with Criminal Enterprises Branch. He’s linked to Red Trigger. A ghost organization. Like a criminal think tank. They sell intelligence, logistics, and strategies to criminals… How the hell do you know this guy?”
Zoe’s mind exploded into a million frantic thoughts. But one blasted through her mind—what had Rachel been involved in?