Page 21 of The Making of Marnie Jones

Her boss tilted her head. “Then what is he? I mean, besides persistent.”

Despite herself, Marnie’s lips curled upward. “Persistent is his middle name. He wants something from me. Something I can’t give him.”

Loriana’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say.”

“There’s nothing to say.”Please let that be enough.Except it wouldn’t. It’d never be enough. Air filled her lungs, accompanied by a sharp pang of longing. “Look, Loriana, if I were to confide in anyone, it’d be you. I guess there are some things we can’t share, no matter how hard we try. My past, what I was, I’m not that person anymore. Jake is proposing I take a stroll down memory lane, and I’m not capable of that.”

“Did he get the message?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” How did she feel about that? Her breath hitched. “I haven’t given him any reason for optimism, yet he keeps coming around.”

“Is it personal or professional? I mean, is he coming here as Jake McGrath the reporter or Jake McGrath the man?”

What’s her point?

“Not the reporter, of that I’m sure. No, he’s here as Jake McGrath the uncle. He thinks I can help his niece.” She may question many things, but she didn’t question his devotion to Olivia.

“Help how?”

“It’s complicated.” And wasn’t that the understatement of the year?

“And I promised I wouldn’t pry.” Loriana’s gaze softened, the compassion clear in her eyes. “But things are rarely as cut and dried as they seem.”

She was always perceptive, but her kindness might be Marnie’s undoing. She walked back to the counter and splayed her hands out opposite her boss’s. Her fingers knotted as she debated what to say. “What if I fail? No, that’s not what I mean. I mean what if I don’t try to help?”

“No one says you have to. You’re an adult and able to make your own decisions.” Delicately, Loriana placed her hand on Marnie’s. “Getting involved in any situation involves personal risk—especially emotional.”

Surprisingly, the touch didn’t disturb her. In fact, she took some solace in it. “I’m scared to try, and I’m scared to do nothing. How crazy is that?”

“Only you can answer that.”

There was a bit of steel in the older woman’s words, and Marnie looked up sharply.

“Look at it this way—what is the worst-case scenario if you don’t try?”

That was easy. “Guilt.”

“What’s the worst-case scenario if you try?”

This time, not so easy. “I could mess her up. His niece, I mean. I could make things worse than they already are.”

“I only have one more question and then I’ll let it drop.” Loriana’s gaze intensified. “Do you realize how strong you are?”

Marnie hadn’t answered. Instead, the words had hung in the air as the women cleaned up and prepared for the next day. Now, however, here in the safety of her own home, doubts surged. She didn’tfeelstrong. She felt like a prisoner to her own fears. She might as well be back in Lester Ulster’s basement, where he’d held her captive for more than seven years. Despite more than five years of freedom from that hell, it took only an instant for her to feel that dark, dank space.

In a rush, she picked up the phone.

“McGrath.”

“He raped me.” Her breath hitched, and a sharp stab of pain shot through her chest, but shehadto do this. “Days on end. Then he took breaks. Then he started again. At the beginning, I lived for those breaks because they were my salvation. Then I realized he used the breaks to wear me down because I’d learned to dread the end of the break, and the return of the terror. I almost preferred being raped every day because at least I knew what to expect.”

“Marnie—”

“It gets worse.”

Jake said nothing.

“He videotaped every single rape.”

---