Page 78 of The Making of Marnie Jones

He glanced at the clock, doing a quick calculation. Midnight in Toronto meant nine o'clock in the morning in Karachi. Scooping up the phone, he made his way over to the vast windows. Lake Ontario lay out there in the inky, moonless night, although the water was impossible to see.

His call was answered immediately.

“Stone.”

“Hey kiddo, it's me.” The endearment came easily. In fact, Jessica was more than seven years his senior. She’d been his mentor when he first volunteered for a job reporting from Afghanistan. Green and ambitious, twenty-four-year-old Jake learned from the best how to report from a danger zone. When the assignment ended, they sent him off to cover a UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo, and he’d met Wolf there. That unforgettable episode formed a lasting bond between the two of them.

Jessica remained his mentor and roommate. Only when they’d found Olivia alive had he considered giving up his war-correspondent position. He tried to spend more time in Toronto, but there always seemed to be some crisis overseas, begging for his attention. The wanderlust soon overtook him, and he moved to a foreign bureau when Jessica returned home for an extended work-ordered vacation. A month ago, they swapped out again.

“McGrath, it's midnight in Toronto, what's going on?”

“It’ll take too long to explain.”

“Peace seems to be holding in Central Asia for the moment. Why don't you talk to me?”

Was he capable of opening up to his mentor? Jessica was no fan of Phil, but would she believe Jake had done everything with a naïveté that was breathtaking for a world-traveled war correspondent such as himself? One way to find out, and he needed to talk to someone.

Chapter twenty-seven

OliviawasasleepwhenMarnie put on her running shoes. As much as she wanted to go for a walk outside, the risk was too great. Instead, she opted to head for her father's gym. She’d used the treadmill often during her year’s confinement.

A lifetime ago.

Terrified of the world and, at times, feeling unsafe in her father's fortress, she’d sought to outrun her demons. Lester Ulster no longer held her physically captive, nor would he ever again, but he still held her emotionally ransomed. There’d been no respite from the memories of the horrors she endured. In this gym, she tried desperately to find some kind of peace through physical exertion. She finally concluded a critical part of putting her past behind her required putting Toronto in the rearview mirror.

How naïve she’d been. Mission City might be thousands of miles from Toronto, but her fears continued to haunt her. Despite her change of name and appearance, she held fast to her paranoia. She never learned to either relax or trust, and now that world no longer existed. Even if no one in Mission City saw the story, it changed her world. Whatever peace of mind she'd achieved had been cruelly crushed to dust.

Yet she wasn’t completely discouraged. She started over once, how hard would it be to do it again?

She grunted.

Except she didn't want to. She wanted to go back to her home in Mission City and resume her life as an assistant librarian.

Her mind was on overdrive, and she upped the speed of the machine. Lester Ulster, Martin Derks, and Jake McGrath could go to hell. This was her life, and the time had come for her to live it. Really live it.What’s the first step? How do I turn this around?

Olivia’s courage gave her hope. Although still plagued by memories, the younger woman had survived life after captivity without the material advantages Marnie enjoyed. Martin Derks might be distant, and occasionally disdainful, but he wasn't a drug addict. He might’ve been indifferent, but he hadn’t left her to fend for herself.

Exhausted, she adjusted the machine to the cool-down pace. One of the first things she purchased for her new home had been a treadmill. Too afraid to walk outside, she could at least keep up her physical activity. When she returned to Mission City, she’d start taking walks. In daylight, of course, but perhaps a start. Despite the proclamation, her chest tightened at the thought. Panic crept in, slowly but surely.Be courageous.Time to stop living like Lester Ulster lurked in every dark spot, waiting to snatch her and remove her from her life.

She turned off the treadmill and put a towel around her neck. Grabbing a bottle of water from the bar fridge, she headed back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Grant cooked while Olivia sat perched on a stool.

The younger woman offered Marnie a playful expression.

What were these two up to? Had they been discussing her?

“Mrs. Grant was telling me about your childhood. You can ride horses?”

“I can.” She smiled, remembering how she loved her equestrian lessons that were some of her best memories from her childhood. “However, it's been more than thirteen years. I can't promise any competence.”

“I've always wanted to ride a horse, but I think I’d be too scared.”

“They have horses for beginners.” She wanted to promise to take Olivia riding, but she wasn’t in a position to do so. She wanted to take away the look of worry from Olivia’s face, but she couldn't do that either.

“Was Jake mad at me?”

Marnie glanced at Mrs. Grant, who appeared just as confused.

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