The Hunted Girls by Jenna Kernan (best book club books for discussion txt) 📕

glad that her vehicle had remained parked at the FBI field office since they’d moved to the safe house.

“The other vehicles?”

“Checked and cleared. It was only you. You were right again, Nadine.” His appreciative smile made her uncomfortable.

Jack’s phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen, then took the call.

“Skogen,” he said and then paused. “Where?” More silence as he listened. “Hold on.” Jack flipped the call to speaker. “Say that again.”

“I said, one of the surveillance teams stopped an assault. Victim is Rosie Napper.” That was Axel Vea’s voice.

Rosie was the cheery desk clerk at their initial hotel. She worked nights and Nadine had spoken to her often.

“Did we get him?” asked Skogen.

“Negative. Suspect fled from Route 314 south of Salt Springs in an ATV into the forest. They’re in pursuit.”

Skogen was up and out before Nadine had time to close her laptop. He paused in the doorway, gripping the frame.

“Come on.”

Skogen stood with Nadine on the shoulder of Route 314. On either side of the road, just beyond the trimmed grass, stood the dark wall of foliage marking the wilderness of the national forest. From somewhere within came the ominous howl of a coyote, sending a shiver up Nadine’s spine.

Behind them, Nadine’s protective team waited inside their SUV. Before them an FBI special agent, whom Nadine recognized from Orlando, emerged from a sedan. He met them at the shoulder.

“What have we got?” asked Skogen.

“Napper is en route to the sheriff’s headquarters. No injuries. Her would-be attacker used a spike strip to rupture her tires.”

He pointed to the chunks of rubber illuminated in their headlights and strewn across the road; beyond were the skid marks where Rosie had obviously tried to steer her car to the shoulder. “Pursuit car was within sight. Napper saw the attacker drag the strip off the road with a rope or something in her rearview. He was approaching Napper’s vehicle when support pulled in behind her and scared him off.”

“Our guys?”

“Sheriff’s deputy.”

“Damn it.”

Before arrival, Skogen had a chopper in the air, dogs en route and roadblocks up.

“The ATV?”

“Abandoned in the woods.”

“Is he on foot?” asked Skogen.

“Unknown.”

“Show me.”

“Two-mile hike,” said the agent.

“Let’s go,” said Skogen.

“I’ll wait with my security,” said Nadine.

She was not leaving her protective detail to march into the forest at night, in the dark, with two agents—or ten, for that matter.

“You should wait, too,” she said to Skogen.

He frowned at her and then seemed to belatedly recall that they were both now bait in the trap they set.

“Okay.”

Coleman, Vea and the agent out of Orlando headed into the woods with flashlights. It shocked Nadine how quickly all traces of the trio disappeared.

“I’d like to speak to Rosie Napper,” she said.

She followed Skogen back to his vehicle and he drove them to the highway patrol headquarters in Ocala.

Rosie waited in the office, sitting glumly beside a metal desk. Nadine barely recognized her, she looked so small and downcast.

Unfortunately, Rosie had little to share in the way of details. She had gotten a very good look at the ATV, less so of the driver. The man had straddled the all-terrain vehicle in the darkness of the forest. His headlamp and the headlight prevented her from seeing him at all. When the security arrived, he’d reversed into the trees.

She and Skogen remained with her until Demko appeared, and Nadine left Rosie to speak with him.

“Seems you were right, again,” he said. “He’s targeting women around you.”

“She needs more protection. He’ll come back for her.”

They stood in silence, both recalling the fate of poor Linda Tolan.

“I’ll speak to Wynns. He’s the only one not in the forest.”

“Did they find him?”

“His camp. It’s temporary, according to Coleman. She’s the only one who picked up my call. They got the ATV by a creek. Running the serial number now.”

“He took a boat.”

“That’s what they’re thinking. He’d be on the St. Johns in minutes.”

“My mom used a kayak sometimes. No evidence trail.”

“He might already be outside our perimeter.”

“Or he lives inside it.”

“Tomorrow I’m going back to canvass the businesses around Salt Springs. This guy works in the area. I met him or I’ve missed him. I need to search again,” said Demko.

“And find the bellman.”

“Yes.”

They made it back to the safe house a little after midnight. Demko left her in her room with a kiss.

“You could stay,” she said, feeling exposed and needy and embarrassed.

He shook his head. “You’re exhausted.”

“Is that the reason?” she asked, feeling this was punishment.

“Mostly,” he said. “You asked for time.”

She had and he was giving it to her. Their relationship, already complicated before his proposal, now seemed as unstable as a home poised beside a deepening Florida sinkhole. Everything had changed between them since his proposal. She was afraid that moving forward would mean losing him.

He left her alone in the master suite.

She sat on the bed and opened the drawer of the nightstand, drawing out the engagement ring box. The diamond sparkled with promise and she slipped it on again, wishing things could go back to how they had been. Recognizing they never would.

MONDAY

The following morning Nadine met Tina in the kitchen, accepting the coffee she offered.

“Thanks. What’s happening?”

“They haven’t found him. They’re processing evidence at his camp. Been there all night. The ATV was rented with a stolen card. Juliette left a few minutes ago. Back to the ME’s office for the Summerville autopsy.” Tina shuddered.

“Where’s Clint?” she asked.

“He took Wynns’s list and said he was running leads. Wanted to speak to Lou Anne Kilpatrick again.”

“Simon’s mother?”

Tina nodded.

“Why?”

Her assistant shrugged. “Toast or a corn muffin?”

“Muffin.” She retrieved her phone and sent Demko a text asking him where he was. Then she sipped her coffee and waited. By the time she’d finished, she was frowning at her silent phone. “Out of range?” she muttered.

There were plenty of places in this region that lacked cell phone service. Still, the disquiet remained as they went to work in the home office.

Agent Wynns connected with her midmorning with a video call. Kirk had a new database