Page 152 of Broken
“Why were you out at night?”
“The library and town are highly trafficked areas. We thought we’d be safe together. We were stupid.”
Her heart was thundering against her ribcage. She pushed onto her elbow, stared into his eyes. “I hate talking about this so much.”
“I got you.”
Shuddering in a shaky breath, she continued. “As the cop got closer to our sorority house, he was supposed to turn right at the street corner, but he went in the opposite direction. We told him, but he said he had a better route. That’s when I realized he was lying. Even though I was freaking out, I stayed calm. I was able to sneak my arm behind the seat and grab Janey’s knee, and she clasped my hand. I could tell he was headed away from campus, so at the next turn, I screamed for Janey to jump out of the car.”
Jacqueline sat up and hugged herself while beads of sweat dotted her brow.
“I opened the door and rolled out. Everything happened so fast, but in slow-motion at the same time. I stopped rolling, jumped up, and looked for Janey.” Emotion gripped her throat while tears clouded her eyes. “She hadn’t been able to escape because there aren’t any handles in the back of a police cruiser. I didn’t know that.”
Tears slid down her cheeks, and Prescott wiped them away.
“I’d hurt myself when I escaped, but I ran as fast as I could back to the sorority house—”
“Why didn’t you use your cell phone?” he asked.
“He put our backpacks in the trunk because they were soaking wet.” Jacqueline choked back a sob. “The Campus Killer was luring women into his car by impersonating a cop, but no one knew that.”
He tightened his hold of her. “Monster.”
She clung to him while the tsunami of emotions drowned her in grief, and pain, and guilt. She excused herself to the bathroom to dry her eyes and blow her nose. When she came back, he was sitting up in bed.
She crawled back in and leaned against the propped pillows. He entwined his fingers through hers. “I want to hear all of this, but not if it’s going to wreck you.”
“I can do it,” she murmured. “I’m falling in love with you, too, and I think you should know I’m a mess.” She shrugged. “I try to hide it, but I’m not okay. Not really.”
“I’m sorry.”
“When I had dinner with Addison, she told me hikers found Janey’s remains in a wooded area. It was heart wrenching and terrifying.”
“Did they catch him?”
She shook her head. “No, he vanished, probably because I could ID him. Or he moved to another part of the country and continued abducting and killing college women.”
“Did they have any suspects?”
“Initially, they assumed he was a local police officer, but my description didn’t match. Even though they widened the search to other counties, they didn’t find anyone.”
“He could have disguised himself,” he said.
“I know, but all they had was a sketch, based on my description.” After a beat, she said, “Ever since then, I haven’t allowed myself to get close to a man.”
“Are you afraid?”
“Not of men, in general, but I’m always looking over my shoulder, wondering if he’s still out there. I blame myself for what happened to Janey. I wouldn’t have escaped if I’d known she couldn’t. I’ve always believed we could have overpowered him.”
“Did he usually kidnap women who were alone?”
“Yeah, but he got bold with us, or he saw an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Two drenched women desperate to get out of the rain.” She steeled her spine. “If the paranoia isn’t bad enough, I have survivor guilt. I don’t think I deserve to be happy.”
“Oh, Jack, that’s not true.”
“I’ve heard that from my therapist, my family, my sorority sisters, including Addison. Logically, I understand, but emotionally, I can’t get past it. When I saw you at Addison and Hawk’s shower, I was so excited… until the guilt crept back in. Learning that you were the triggerman for the Winchester mission allowed me to push you away.”
“But you’re falling in love with me.”
