The Broken Doll (Inheriting Evil Book 1)

by Paris Hansen

  “That sounds exhausting. Just admit you know she’s not involved and start focusing on figuring out who is behind those murders and why they’re so focused on Sloane.”

  “You know it’s not that simple. Even if I believe she’s not involved, I need more than my feelings to convince the people above me.”

  “That’s a problem for a different day. If you know she’s not involved, what’s the problem? Why can’t she go home?”

  A chill shot down Cade’s spine, knowing he was going to have to give voice to something he’d been thinking about for the last week. It’s not that he didn’t think she could take care of herself, but thinking of her alone in her cabin, miles from another living person and even further from civilization, didn’t sit well with him. She would be a sitting duck up there by herself, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing he could do about it.

  “Because if she’s not involved, then she’s in danger. She isn’t safe up there. She’s too isolated,” Cade paused to take a sip of his beer. “It’s obvious she’s on the killer’s radar for whatever reason, and it’s only a matter of time before they figure out how to get to her if they don’t know already. Whether we like it or not, she’s the key to this. Letting her retreat back to her house in the woods where she’s vulnerable isn’t an option.”

  “Why not just tell her what’s going on then? Let her make the decision,” Reid said though he had to know the idea was laughable.

  Cade let his gaze come to rest on Sloane, who was in the middle of a pile of girls, Emily on the bottom, Morgan’s girlfriend Sara on top of Sloane, with Emily’s daughter Tally running around them giggling uncontrollably. They’d been trying to play Twister, but it hadn’t gone too well since Tally was an adorable little cheater. The entire thing had everyone in the backyard laughing, including Cade and Morgan, despite the seriousness of their conversation.

  “I can’t. They won’t let me yet, but even if I could, you know Sloane better than I do. How do you think that would go down?”

  “She’d tell us to fuck off and run straight back to her house. Then proceed to ignore our calls and set her damn dog on us if we showed up.”

  “Bingo. That’s exactly why we need to come up with a reason for her to stay here a little while longer.”

  “Pretty sure she’s more likely to listen to you than me,” Morgan admitted.

  “What makes you say that?”

  Cade asked the question, but he didn’t want to know the answer. To hell with that, he wanted to know why Morgan thought that more than he wanted his next breath but knowing the answer would only make things harder for him. It would make keeping things strictly about the investigation nearly impossible. Yet, at the moment, he didn’t care. He wanted the other man to tell him everything.

  Morgan laughed, his head thrown back in an exaggerated gesture. “She just smiled at you like she was excited to see you, then turned to me and flipped me off. Is that convincing enough, or do you need more?”

  Cade shook his head. “I think that’s enough. Doesn’t help me figure out what the fuck to say to keep her here, though.”

  “How about a partial truth. You want to get to know her better, right? Tell her that.”

  “I can’t. That can’t be what this is about. If I admit that, things change, and I can’t let them. I need to keep our relationship professional. It has to be about the case.”

  Morgan shrugged, then took another sip of his beer. “I don’t know what to tell you, man. You know I’m a stickler for the rules, and I pretty much threw my relationship with her away because of bureaucratic nonsense. Don’t make the same mistake. Fuck your boss and his boss. Tell her the truth before it’s too late.”

  It would be so easy to tell Sloane everything. It would make his life a hell of a lot less complicated if he did.

  Even if she did go running back to Washington, there was a chance he could get her to agree to let him go with her. He could protect her while getting to know her better. It was a total conflict of interest as far as the job went, but did he care? Maybe Morgan was right, and he needed to bite the bullet and tell her even if his boss said no. It was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? And it wasn’t like he had to admit to his boss what he did anyway. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him...or Cade.

  Cade had never considered throwing his career away for anyone or anything, until he met Sloane Matthews. At 43, he was pretty much married to the job, his one attempt at finding love crashing and burning nearly a decade earlier. He was drawn to Sloane like a moth to a flame, even when he thought there might be a chance she was a serial killer like her parents.

  How fucked up was that?

  When she smiled over at him again, his heart slammed against his chest. “Jeezus.”

  He needed to solve this case, and he needed to do it quickly, or he would lose his chance.

  “Yeah, man, you’re screwed. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. That woman...she’s pretty fucking remarkable, just don’t fuck her over. She has a tough time forgiving someone who betrays her trust.”

  Cade didn’t know how to respond to that. He was actively fucking her over as he sat there watching her talk quietly with Emily. Every moment they shared was based on a lie. It didn’t matter how he truly felt about her; everything would come back to the fact he lied to her for weeks or even months if he couldn’t figure out who was setting her up.

  Emily and Sloane continued to talk, their conversation going from playful to serious in a manner of seconds even while Sara chased a giggling Tally around the backyard. Sloane’s brow furrowed as she nodded a few times, then asked Emily a question. Not for the first time in his life, Cade wished he could read lips.

  A few minutes later, Emily skipped over to the deck stairs, where he sat with her brother, Sloane following slowly behind her. The smile on Emily’s face was bright, while Sloane’s look was more pensive and unsure.

  “Guess what, guys. I talked Sloane into staying in town a little longer,” Emily announced before anyone could guess.

  “Yay!! Auntie Sloane is staying!!” Tally yelled as she threw herself into Sloane’s legs, stopping her forward progress.

  Emily turned away from them so she could join the group hug Tally started. Even Sara joined in; though it was hard for Cade to fathom a woman being happy her boyfriend’s ex-wife was sticking around, she genuinely seemed to like having Sloane there. A weight seemed to slide off of Cade as he realized what Emily’s announcement meant.

  She was staying, and he hadn’t needed to get involved. Now, he could keep an eye out for her and maybe even solve his case. Then maybe when everything was said and done, he could figure out what the hell to do about the feeling that seemed to be spreading through his chest.

  “Well, you just got off easy,” Morgan muttered before he got up to join his family.

  Cade didn’t say anything or follow him. Instead, he let his eyes travel over the group until his gaze met Sloane’s. What he saw there told him he hadn’t gotten off easy at all. In fact, he was pretty sure he was in for a world of trouble.

  And surprisingly, he didn’t mind at all.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Did you enjoy The Broken Doll? If you have time, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Thank you for reading!

  Acknowledgements

  Writing a book is hard during a normal year. Writing a book during a pandemic…well let’s just say I didn’t think it was possible. I had lofty goals for 2020. It was going to be the year of new beginnings since my Finding Love series ended in 2019. When the pandemic hit, words wouldn’t come at all. I was trying to write a romance when the world was in chaos. The idea for The Broken Doll and Sloane Matthews had been floating around in my head for years, so I decided why the hell not, and I went for it.

  I’m so glad I did. I’m proud of this book and the courage it took to write something out of my comfort zone, though I now feel more comfortable in this world than romance, so I’ll have to figure it out. Thank you for takin
g a chance on this book and on me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

  The cast of characters that need to be thanked are the same, but I owe them even more this time around. This book went from good to great because of your invaluable feedback Taracina. You push me to do better and I can’t thank you enough for that. Christina, I know you wanted to read this book, and I know why you couldn’t, but your help during the brainstorming process gave me what I needed in order to get started. I’ll try to catch you up on the non-killer stuff before book two is done. And last, but certainly not least, Sami. Once again, your texts and messages with your reactions to this book were exactly what I needed to see so I knew I was headed in the right direction. I know you’ll enjoy the next one even more.

  Of course, no acknowledgement page would be complete without thanking my awesome family. It was a weird year, but we made it through because we have each other. And mom…sorry if I scared you with the crazy things in my head. I swear it was all just for the book.

  Also By Paris Hansen

  Crime Thriller

  Inheriting Evil Series

  The Broken Doll

  Romance

  Finding Love Series

  Restless

  Powerless

  Speechless

  Breathless

  Priceless

  Harmless

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  About the Author

  Paris Hansen was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. She started telling stories at a young age, garnering invitations to writing conferences while in elementary school. Being an author was always her number one aspiration, but as a kid, she also thought being a lawyer or an actress might be cool. As a teenager, she realized she was far better behind the scenes than in front of a crowd and put all of her focus on being a writer. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in English from Washington State University in 2000.

  When not writing, Paris devours as many books as she can get her hands on. After a long day at work, unwinding with a good book, a glass of wine and a decent TV show is her idea of a great evening.

  She also loves cupcakes, sexy heroes and popcorn, but not always in that order.

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