Girl, His (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 11)

By Blake Pierce

FBI Agent Ella Dark has studied serial killers from the time she could read, devastated by the murder of her own sister, and has gained an encyclopedic knowledge of murderers. But when victims of a new serial killer appear with a mysterious key left on each body, Ella knows she’s up against a diabolical mastermind. What might each key unlock?

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

GIRL, HIS (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller) is book #11 in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.

FBI Agent Ella Dark, 29, is given her big chance to achieve her life’s dream: to join the Behavioral Crimes Unit. Ella’s hidden obsession of gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of serial killers has led to her being singled out for her brilliant mind, and invited to join the big leagues.

In a wild game of cat and mouse, Ella must track these keys to their sources, and discover the twisted secrets hiding inside them.

But when the keys strike too close to home, everything changes.

Is Ella on the verge of a huge discovery? Or is she walking straight into a trap?

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the ELLA DARK series is a riveting mystery, packed with suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.

Future books in the series are also now available!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake Pierce
• Release date: Mar 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094375472

Book preview

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G I R L,

H I S

(An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller —Book Eleven)

B L A K E   P I E R C E

Blake Pierce

Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSIE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising twenty-eight books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising sixteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books; of the LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising eleven books; of the ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising fourteen books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books; of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising ten books (and counting); of the VALERIE LAW mystery series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the PAIGE KING mystery series, comprising eight books (and counting); of the MAY MOORE mystery series, comprising eleven books; of the CORA SHIELDS mystery series, comprising eight books (and counting); of the NICKY LYONS mystery series, comprising eight books (and counting), of the CAMI LARK mystery series, comprising eight books (and counting), of the AMBER YOUNG mystery series, comprising five books (and counting), of the DAISY FORTUNE mystery series, comprising five books (and counting), of the FIONA RED mystery series, comprising five books (and counting), and of the new FAITH BOLD mystery series, comprising five books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

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Copyright © 2023 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright solarseven used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE

FAITH BOLD MYSTERY SERIES

SO LONG (Book #1)

SO COLD (Book #2)

SO SCARED (Book #3)

SO NORMAL (Book #4)

SO FAR GONE (Book #5)

FIONA RED MYSTERY SERIES

LET HER GO (Book #1)

LET HER BE (Book #2)

LET HER HOPE (Book #3)

LET HER WISH (Book #4)

LET HER LIVE (Book #5)

DAISY FORTUNE MYSTERY SERIES

NEED YOU (Book #1)

CLAIM YOU (Book #2)

CRAVE YOU (Book #3)

CHOOSE YOU (Book #4)

CHASE YOU (Book #5)

AMBER YOUNG MYSTERY SERIES

ABSENT PITY (Book #1)

ABSENT REMORSE (Book #2)

ABSENT FEELING (Book #3)

ABSENT MERCY (Book #4)

ABSENT REASON (Book #5)

CAMI LARK MYSTERY SERIES

JUST ME (Book #1)

JUST OUTSIDE (Book #2)

JUST RIGHT (Book #3)

JUST FORGET (Book #4)

JUST ONCE (Book #5)

JUST HIDE (Book #6)

JUST NOW (Book #7)

JUST HOPE (Book #8)

NICKY LYONS MYSTERY SERIES

ALL MINE (Book #1)

ALL HIS (Book #2)

ALL HE SEES (Book #3)

ALL ALONE (Book #4)

ALL FOR ONE (Book #5)

ALL HE TAKES (Book #6)

ALL FOR ME (Book #7)

ALL IN (Book #8)

CORA SHIELDS MYSTERY SERIES

UNDONE (Book #1)

UNWANTED (Book #2)

UNHINGED (Book #3)

UNSAID (Book #4)

UNGLUED (Book #5)

UNSTABLE (Book #6)

UNKNOWN (Book #7)

UNAWARE (Book #8)

MAY MOORE SUSPENSE THRILLER

NEVER RUN (Book #1)

NEVER TELL (Book #2)

NEVER LIVE (Book #3)

NEVER HIDE (Book #4)

NEVER FORGIVE (Book #5)

NEVER AGAIN (Book #6)

NEVER LOOK BACK (Book #7)

NEVER FORGET (Book #8)

NEVER LET GO (Book #9)

NEVER PRETEND (Book #10)

NEVER HESITATE (Book #11)

PAIGE KING MYSTERY SERIES

THE GIRL HE PINED (Book #1)

THE GIRL HE CHOSE (Book #2)

THE GIRL HE TOOK (Book #3)

THE GIRL HE WISHED (Book #4)

THE GIRL HE CROWNED (Book #5)

THE GIRL HE WATCHED (Book #6)

THE GIRL HE WANTED (Book #7)

THE GIRL HE CLAIMED (Book #8)

VALERIE LAW MYSTERY SERIES

NO MERCY (Book #1)

NO PITY (Book #2)

NO FEAR (Book #3)

NO SLEEP (Book #4)

NO QUARTER (Book #5)

NO CHANCE (Book #6)

NO REFUGE (Book #7)

NO GRACE (Book #8)

NO ESCAPE (Book #9)

RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES

HER LAST WISH (Book #1)

HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)

HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)

HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)

HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)

HER LAST MISTAKE (Book #7)

HER LAST DESIRE (Book #8)

HER LAST REGRET (Book #9)

HER LAST HOUR (Book #10)

AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES

CITY OF PREY (Book #1)

CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)

CITY OF BONES (Book #3)

CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)

CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)

CITY OF VICE (Book #6)

A YEAR IN EUROPE

A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)

DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)

VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)

A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)

ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)

GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)

GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)

GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)

GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)

GIRL ERASED (Book #6)

GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)

GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)

GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)

GIRL, ESCAPED (Book #10)

GIRL, HIS (Book #11)

GIRL, LURED (Book #12)

GIRL, MISSING (Book #13)

GIRL, UNKNOWN (Book #14)

LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

ALREADY GONE (Book #1)

ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)

ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)

ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)

ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)

ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)

ALREADY CHOSEN (Book #7)

ALREADY LOST (Book #8)

ALREADY HIS (Book #9)

ALREADY LURED (Book #10)

ALREADY COLD (Book #11)

EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES

MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)

DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)

CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)

MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)

CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)

MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)

ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES

LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)

LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)

LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)

LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)

LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)

LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)

LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)

LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)

LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)

LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)

LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)

LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)

LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)

LEFT TO LOATHE (Book #14)

LEFT TO HARM (Book #15)

LEFT TO RUIN (Book #16)

THE AU PAIR SERIES

ALMOST GONE (Book#1)

ALMOST LOST (Book #2)

ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)

ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES

FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)

FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)

FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)

FACE OF FURY (Book #5)

FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)

A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)

THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)

THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)

THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)

THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)

THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)

THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)

THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)

THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)

THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)

THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)

THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)

THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)

THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)

THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)

THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)

THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)

THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)

THE PERFECT COUPLE (Book #20)

THE PERFECT MURDER (Book #21)

THE PERFECT HUSBAND (Book #22)

THE PERFECT SCANDAL (Book #23)

THE PERFECT MASK (Book #24)

THE PERFECT RUSE (Book #25)

THE PERFECT VENEER (Book #26)

THE PERFECT PEOPLE (Book #27)

THE PERFECT WITNESS (Book #28)

CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES

NEXT DOOR (Book #1)

A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)

CUL DE SAC (Book #3)

SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)

HOMECOMING (Book #5)

TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)

KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES

IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)

IF SHE SAW (Book #2)

IF SHE RAN (Book #3)

IF SHE HID (Book #4)

IF SHE FLED (Book #5)

IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)

IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)

THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES

WATCHING (Book #1)

WAITING (Book #2)

LURING (Book #3)

TAKING (Book #4)

STALKING (Book #5)

KILLING (Book #6)

RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES

ONCE GONE (Book #1)

ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)

ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)

ONCE LURED (Book #4)

ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)

ONCE PINED (Book #6)

ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)

ONCE COLD (Book #8)

ONCE STALKED (Book #9)

ONCE LOST (Book #10)

ONCE BURIED (Book #11)

ONCE BOUND (Book #12)

ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)

ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)

ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)

ONCE MISSED (Book #16)

ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)

MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES

BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)

BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)

BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)

BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)

BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)

BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)

BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)

BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)

BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)

BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)

BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)

BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)

BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)

BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)

AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES

CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)

CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)

CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)

CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)

CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)

CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)

KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES

A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)

A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)

A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)

A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)

A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

Lydia walked out of the gym, bag over her shoulder. and idly wondered why more people didn’t work out at one in the morning. The place was empty. There were no grunters in the weights section. You didn’t have to worry about looking like a fool if you fell off the treadmill because no one was around to see it happen anyway. At this hour, you could even use the fancy showers that were usually reserved for the premium members.

Then again, she thought, if more people stumbled upon this little golden nugget, all the benefits of an empty gym would soon vanish. For now, she’d keep it to herself. It was funny; nobody really talked about the useful side of insomnia, but since moving to D.C. she was fast discovering the benefits of being awake half the night. Like everything in life, you had to take the good with the bad, and while she often found herself crashing onto her desk in exhaustion around two in the afternoon, she was getting more work done during the wee hours. Overall, everything balanced out. It all harmonized in the end.

This had only been Lydia’s third late-night workout but the signs of a potential long-term hobby were very much present. She found herself not dreading the thirty minute cardio sessions or the thigh-busting squat routines like she did during her afternoon stints. The gym was only a mile down the road too, meaning she could make the trip on foot in about the time it took four songs to play. Sure, it was reckless to walk these streets in the early hours, but despite what the news said, the world was safer than it had ever been. Murderers didn’t just hang around in dark alleyways anymore. Traffickers conducted their business online these days, not on the streets. Besides, if any traffickers tried to abduct her, they’d soon bring her back once they saw her bad acne and her stretchmarks. No amount of cardio could help with that, she laughed to herself.

Lydia crossed the street and began walking along the embankment of Foxhall Lake. Signs told her that pedestrians weren’t actually allowed here, but she doubted anyone would mind at this hour, not to mention it sliced fifteen minutes off her journey. The alternative was to head uphill to the crossing and circle the lake that way, but if she was risking walking around at one a.m., she was risking breaking a few pedestrian rules that she doubted anyone abided by anyway. What was the worst that could happen? Some do-gooder honking at her as they sped by? Someone complaining on the village community page? No big deal. It wasn’t like she was committing genocide. She was just violating a grassy knoll.

And as she checked every direction for oncoming vehicles, she spotted a moving shadow brazenly walking across the intersection around fifty feet away. The sudden image of a moving soul took her breath away for a second, but it was probably just another midnight walker, she thought. Lydia guessed she wasn’t the only one. Still, it was a fright to see someone so unexpectedly, especially in the dead of night with only a barren road and her music for company. 

Coming closer into view, Lydia made out the profile of a gentleman. Broad shoulders, brown leather jacket, hiking boots that looked too big for his feet. As she veered around the embankment, the figure joined the same pathway. He had his hands glued to his pockets, his stare fixated on the ground. Probably a night worker or something, taking the same shortcut. Nothing to fear. After all, D.C. came alive in the wee hours, or so they said. Other than this midnight stranger, she was yet to see much proof of it.

Even so, Lydia picked up the pace. The figure was walking faster than her, so at some point they’d have an awkward exchange when he tried to skirt around her on the thin embankment. She continued on, lowering the volume on her mp3 player and casually glancing over to the lake so she could eye this stranger in her peripheral vision. A car sped past, its headlights illuminating the man behind her, and she vaguely saw he had something wrapped around his face. A scarf, a ski mask, something that obscured his features. Lydia replayed the mantra she told herself a minute ago; murderers didn’t hang out in the open like this anymore. But the thought did nothing to slow her fast-beating heart. There was always an exception to the rule, always an unlucky participant in the game of life. And knowing her luck – the only person she knew who could develop a soy allergy at thirty – she needed to stay cautious.

Lydia hurried across the intersection to the sidewalk, abandoning her route and veering towards somewhere with more space. Space to run, space to fight back should it come to it.

But the shadowy figure followed her. Over the road, onto the sidewalk, footsteps pounding against the concrete.

Then Lydia felt it. Human instinct. A nameless dread that suggested the stranger behind her had malicious intentions. Anyone with a basic awareness of social interactions would know not to creep up behind a woman in the dead of the night, and so Lydia’s most primal instinct kicked in with force. The will to survive surpassed her desire to not resemble a fool, and so she began to run for sanctuary, down the sidewalk, across another road, gym bag slapping against her spine with every step. Her apartment was in completely the other direction but such trivialities were not important. What was important was finding a place with life, traffic, lights, parked cars. Somewhere someone might hear a potential attack. Somewhere with witnesses. Lydia was confident she could put up a fight with any attacker, but no one could fight a knife or a bullet.

Glancing back, she spotted the man in the distance. Lydia breathed a sigh of relief, the vast distance between them reassuring her that no harm would come to her this night. She watched him a little longer, shamelessly this time, then he took a right turn and disappeared from view.

Lydia breathed deeply, checked her belongings to make sure nothing had fallen out during her unexpected cardio session. No, it was all fine. She was safe, so she made her way back on course toward home.

Her escape from a potentially dangerous situation awarded her a little power, but had she been too cautious? What if the man didn’t have a malicious bone in his body and now she’d made him feel like a creep? She had to dismiss the thought and put safety first. She was just doing what any woman walking the streets at night would have done. Fear shouldn’t be the first response to a stranger’s intrusion, but she guessed that was how the real world worked. 

Now Lydia was in a place called Carter’s Green according to the sign, an area she’d never even heard of during her time in this city. But it couldn’t have been too much of a diversion from her destination so she invoked her geographical senses. She had the kind of senses that could make a homing pigeon jealous. How many times had she gotten lost during her university days, only to wake up in her own bed every single morning? In an inebriated state, no less. This would be a walk in the park.

Houses were few and far between around here. She passed by a lumber mill, then a building that looked like it hadn’t seen any action in years. Beside the deserted building was a narrow alleyway that led in the right direction and so Lydia, energized by the recent adrenaline rush, braved the darkened pathway.

She barely got ten feet in before she stopped dead in her tracks, her feet glued to the ground, a stark contrast to her reaction to the pursuing stranger.

This was different.

Something, or someone, was slumped against the wall. Legs outstretched, arms unfolded.

Lydia’s first thought was that it might be a homeless person, but human instinct told her that this was something more. Rough sleepers didn’t sleep like this. It looked like a mannequin had been unceremoniously dumped against the wall.

But this was a real person. She saw the modern clothing,