The Dollmaker(The Forgotten Files #2)(107)

The overhead lamp glinted off the blade. Fear twisted inside her. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Oh, no, Serenity,” he rushed to say. “You aren’t going to die. You’ll be my masterpiece, and we’ll be together for a very long time. Now that we know each other, you can keep calling me Robbie. I like the sound of my name when you say it.”

He reached for a fistful of her hair and sheared it off with the scissors. He stood back for a moment holding the thick clump of hair like a trophy. “It must feel freeing to have all that gone.”

The jagged edges of her hair brushed her cheeks. “Please don’t do this, Robbie. You don’t have to change me to make me love you.”

A distant thud stopped his approach. Frowning, he paused for a moment and listened. She glanced toward the ceiling, praying it hadn’t been the wind. Please, Dakota, save me.

Seconds passed, and when they heard no other sound, he gripped the scissors and cut another chunk of her hair.

She winced, knowing the loss of hair paled compared to what she was about to lose. Her face, her dignity, her life with Dakota. It was the idea of never seeing him again that made her most sad and angry.

He’d grabbed a third handful of hair and raised the scissors when a loud thump echoed from above. He fisted her hair tighter. Another bang crashed, followed by the sound of wood splintering.

“Robbie, they’ve found you,” she said. “Robbie, please, you still have time to escape. Run while you can.”

He clung to her hair an extra beat before he released it and glared at the door. “They have not found me. I made sure we were well hidden.”

“Please, Robbie, run.”

“Stop telling me what to do. Get out of my head.” He was clearly agitated. “No one is going to take you away from me. No one.” DeLuca patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To take care of any trespassers.”

When he vanished through the door, she focused on the loose wristband. She twisted her hand, pulling and straining against the strap, feeling her skin bruise and scrape. The leather creaked and stretched, wanting to give way. She yanked harder as tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks.

She would not die in this room.




When the door splintered, Sharp stumbled inside but quickly steadied himself. He stared inside the dark warehouse space. The main level was vacant except for scattered boxes and trash that still remained from the last tenant. The windows were covered with white shades that had yellowed over time. In the center of the room were several pillars, and in the back, a door. Sharp reached for the light switch, but when he flipped it, nothing happened. He moved toward the door and found it locked with a dead bolt.

Sharp started to move when McLean laid his hand on his shoulder. “What?”

“Listen,” McLean said.

They both stilled a beat, and somewhere below them the stairs creaked.

“He’s here,” McLean said. “And on the move.”

Headlights swiped across the front of the building, and he saw the flash of blue lights. Through the broken door, he spotted a Virginia State Police cruiser. Riley rose out of the car and rushed into the building, her weapon drawn.

“More on the way,” she said.

“There’s a door inside that’s locked,” Sharp said.

She glanced at her cruiser and ran back to retrieve a tire iron. As she raced up to Sharp, she studied McLean. “Who are you?” Riley asked.

“Later,” Sharp said, taking the tire iron.

The trio raced toward the door. Sharp drove the tire iron into the doorjamb and, using leverage, popped the door loose.




DeLuca heard the grind of metal against metal seconds before wood split. The house had been breached. A helpless rage rolled over him, and he pressed his fists to his temples. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t fair! No one had the right to come into his house and take what was his. He was just getting started with Serenity, and he was not going to let anyone take her from him. He’d waited too long. Planned and dreamed about their time together for too long.

The thud of footsteps creaked on the floor above him, and he knew they were coming for him. The urge to burn the building down around them all was strong. He ran back to a storage closet and unlocked it quickly. Inside was a canister of thermite, a metal powder he used to start his fires. If he spread the accelerant on the steps and set it ablaze, then that would buy him time to get out the back with his Serenity.

Simply thinking about the fire calmed his nerves and cleared his muddled thoughts. He wedged open the container and ran up the steps. He dumped it on the wooden staircase, which would be the perfect tinder for his blaze.

At the bottom of the stairs, he tossed the empty vessel aside and reached for a match in his pocket. Just as he struck it, the door at the top of the stairs slammed open.

He looked up into the face of Dakota Sharp, whose eyes burned like Lucifer’s. He dropped the match and ran to get his Serenity. If he moved fast, he could grab his Serenity and escape out the back as the fires consumed Agent Sharp.




“Help!” Tessa shouted when she heard the crash upstairs. “Help!” The acrid scent of smoke drifted from somewhere above her. Her heart kicked hard in her chest. DeLuca had set a fire.