“But he didn’t leave, did he?” Jack’s eyes are focused wholly on me. “You said in your testimony that whoever was in your room with you, he never left you alone, not even for a second. From the moment he broke into your apartment until the moment he left, he was there with you the whole time.” Jack takes a measured step toward me. “You never saw his face. Never heard his voice. It could have been anyone.” Another step closer. “Anyone, Audrey.”
“The knife was found in his room!” I can feel panic at the memory of that night. The fear I felt pouring into my blood, poisoning my veins. “It was covered in my blood! The same knife that killed all of those women.”
Jack stays where he stands. His face is resolute. He believes what he says … thinks. “It was put there by the real killer.”
“No!” I yell. I cover my face with my hands.
Why is he doing this to me?
I’m shaking so badly.
I’m hurt and angry. I don’t know what to do with these feelings … it’s too much.
I want …
I don’t know what I want.
I suddenly feel tired. Drained. Exhausted. I just want to go to sleep. Forget about all of this.
I drag my hands down from my face, feeling weary. “What do you want from me, Jack?”
His expression softens. “I don’t want anything from you, Audrey. No, that’s not true. I do want something from you … you. I want you.”
“You didn’t come here for me. You came here for your brother.”
“That is true. I came here because I wanted to find the person who had put my brother in jail. You were the only link I had to help make that happen. I just didn’t expect to …”
“What?” My laugh is bitter. “You didn’t expect to want to fuck me?”
“Love you,” he says. “I didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”
Those words pierce me harder and hurt so much more than anything else he’s said so far.
“You need to leave.”
“Audrey … please.”
“Leave!” I cry.
His shoulders slump. “I can’t.”
“Why? Because you think that I’m the key to your brother’s freedom? News flash: I’m not. I think he did it! And nothing you say can change my mind.”
I’m hurt and confused. Misery has lodged itself into my throat. “What are you going to do? Hold me hostage like Tobias did?”
Jack looks appalled. “No. Of course not. But I can’t leave you alone either.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Jack cuts me off, “It’s not safe for you here, Audrey. That picture was put in my wallet. I will swear on whatever you want me to, so you’ll believe me when I say that it’s not mine. Meaning someone put it there. Whether you believe that Tobias is guilty or not is irrelevant right now. Someone wanted you to know who I was—”
“Maybe a decent person who thought I had a right to know the truth.”
“Then, why access my private property and plant the picture in my wallet? Why not just give it to you? A decent person would do that. No, someone wanted you to find it. They wanted to drive us apart. Why? I’d say it was so you’d be alone.”
“I was alone for months before I even met you. Nothing happened.”
“Not true. Murders have happened. The guy at your work and his girlfriend. Those women who were killed before I even got here.”
I’m staring at him, unsure of what to say.
“The dead rat in your apartment.”
A cold feeling washes over me. “That was nothing.”
“You know it wasn’t. I don’t know what’s happening here. What the end game is. But I know it includes you. It always circles back to you.”
“It always circles back to you.”
“You’re not safe here, Audrey.”
“Maybe I’m not safe because of you. Or with you.” I’m so tired. I’m surprised I’m even still able to stand.
“I won’t ever hurt you, Audrey. I never would.”
“But you already have,” I say quietly.
The silence hanging between us is fraught and heavy. And what he said is penetrating.
I might not believe that Tobias is innocent like Jack does. But that doesn’t mean he’s wrong about there being someone else involved. Or even a copycat. Like I’ve feared all along. Someone watching and waiting. To finish off what was started.
“So … if I’m not safe here, then what do I do?”
“Leave here. With me. I can take you someplace safe until we can figure this out.”
“Or I could go to the police.”
“And tell them what? That someone put a picture in my wallet?”
Okay. So, he has a point. But even still …
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Jack. I don’t trust you.”
He sighs. “I know I’m the last person you want to be around at the moment—and with good reason. But being alone is not a good idea for you right now either. I have a safe place I can take you. It’s a cabin up in the mountains—”
“I can keep myself safe, thanks. No way in hell am I staying in a cabin in the mountains with you.”
Truth is, I don’t know if I can keep myself safe. I couldn’t the last time. I have nowhere to go. It’s not like I can go back to Chicago. I would only be putting Cole at risk if I did. But a cabin up in the mountains with Jack isn’t an option either.
“Do you own a gun?” Jack asks me out of nowhere.
I frown. “No.”
I hate guns. I hate any kind of weapons. Hence why I have never carried one. Only ever my can of mace and my rape alarm.
“Then, you can’t keep yourself safe.”
My arms fold across my chest. “I don’t need a gun to do that.”
“Self-defense will only get you
