I flinched. I never wanted to be referred to as a victim again.
“Gentleman, I’m Tensley’s attorney, Franklin Harrington.” Franklin extended his hand to each of them.
“I wasn’t a victim. I’m Jack Flannery’s daughter.” My voice sounded foreign as the words left my lips. “He wanted to train me to work alongside him. He took me to teach me.”
Marilyn gasped, and her hand flew over her mouth. Layne blinked excessively, staring at me in shock, then his fists clenched and unclenched as his body grew rigid. The horror of what I was about to share overwhelmed me. Once I spoke it out loud, it would become even more real. My stomach churned. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Marilyn grabbed the blue plastic barf bag and I closed my eyes, but it didn’t seem to help. All I wanted was to not relive the trauma.
After a minute, my nerves calmed down a little bit. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
Detective Smith spoke gently. “I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you. I’m sorry we need to dredge up the horrible experience, but if it helps us catch another killer—if it helps us understand how they think—then you’ll be saving lives. You’ve already saved women across the United States just by ending Jack Flannery’s life.”
I nodded.
“We were informed that you were his daughter when you went missing. Can you tell us what happened?” Agent Tanner asked.
I released Marilyn’s hand and rubbed my forehead. “Matthew Collier called from Barney’s and said I’d dropped my driver’s license when I was there the night before. Layne and I went to pick it up.” Every nerve ending inside me stood on end while I attempted to grasp the racing thoughts of what had happened to Layne.
“When we got there, he pulled a gun on us and tied and blindfolded Layne. There was a back door to the office. I never even knew it existed. Jack came in that way. Then he shot Matthew because he was about to kill me.” My focus drifted to my boyfriend as I recalled the last thing I’d said to him that night. I loved him. “If anything had happened …” I choked on my cries.
Layne stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. “I’m right here, babe.”
“Take your time,” Detective Smith said.
I didn’t want to take my time. I wanted it over with. Shoving all feelings and fear away, I tilted my chin in the air and made eye contact with Agent Tanner. “After he took me from Barney’s, I woke up where you found us. I tried to gain his trust and figure a way out. Eventually, he dropped his guard just a little bit because he asked me to get a gag out of his backpack. I guess he forgot he had a surgical scalpel in it. It was tucked away, so he probably didn’t even know it was there.” I shuddered. My attention traveled to Layne’s reassuring expression, then back to the detective and agent. “He began … cutting Lola. When he bent over her, I had access to his neck, and I stabbed him. He fell and took me with him. The last thing I remember is the FBI bursting through the door and a horrible pain in my lower leg. That’s it.” I blew out a breath.
“Did he talk about how he chose his victims?” Detective Smith asked.
“Yeah. He said that he identified their vulnerability, then became what they needed. Lola had just lost her best friend to cancer. She was lonely, grieving. He became the friend she needed and gained her trust. It wasn’t long before he was able to worm his way into her life and heart.”
“We’ve been tracking him across eleven states.” Agent Tanner smiled softly. “If it weren’t for you, we’d still be looking for him.”
I sat up in bed. “How? How did you find us?” We’d been in the middle of God only knew where. I doubted there was even a phone signal out there.
Layne cleared his throat. “When you told me that Jack had caught you in the restroom at Barney’s the night of the party—”
“What?” Marilyn’s eyes widened in horror. “That son of a bitch was there?”
“He wasn’t there to hurt me. Scare me, yes, but he said he wanted to meet his daughter. I couldn’t tell you guys. He said he’d kill you all if I did.” My voice cracked because I was so relieved that the nightmare was over.
“And the cute bartender let him in?” Marilyn shook her head in disbelief.
“He’s not a problem anymore,” Layne said in a low tone, the muscle in his jaw tightening as anger clouded his expression. “I knew he was trouble. I should have trusted my gut. I knew something was off about him, and it wasn’t just that he was interested in Tensley.”
I took his hand and kissed the back of it. “It’s not your fault. But how did you find us?”
“Ten, for some reason, I felt I could trust Vaughn, the bodyguard with two different-colored eyes, would be able to keep my secret and help us. The same night Jack caught you in the bathroom and you confided in me, I located Vaughn while he was on duty at Michael and Marilyn’s house. You were sound asleep when I snuck out and spoke to him. He did go to his boss, but they agreed to keep it under wraps. I guess Pierce works with the FBI sometimes and he was worried if there were additional bodyguards around, it would tip Jack off. Anyway, Sutton, Pierce’s wife and tech genius, gave Vaughn what he needed. When Avery was over, I slipped downstairs, grabbed your coat, and made a small tear in the fabric. I slipped a locator device inside the filling of your jacket. But I didn’t get to chip your shoes in time. Vaughn said the first place Jack would look was your phone, so we steered clear of it.”
“You guys put a chip in my coat?” I sank back in the bed and hid my face in my hands. Forcing back the tears, I sat up and wrapped my arms around Layne’s neck. “Thank you. You saved my life.”
“I was terrified, babe.” Layne gripped me tighter. “If you’d lost the coat, I would have never been able to forgive myself.”
“No.” I pulled away from him, and my thumb gently stroked his cheek. “You had the courage to do something. You not only saved my life but also Lola’s. Even though I killed Jack, Lola and I would have died up there. It was freezing cold, and she didn’t have any shoes or clothes. I couldn’t carry her either.”
“I love you.” Layne gave me a gentle kiss.
“I love you too.”
Marilyn let out a shaky breath. “Well, my goodness, that was a lot to take in. Agent Tanner, Detective Smith, do you have any additional questions for my daughter? If not, I think she needs some rest.”
My eyebrow arched. She’d referred to me as her daughter. She and Michael had always said I was family, but this was different. She’d stated it in public to the authorities.
“No. We can follow up later if we need anything else. Thank you for your time, Miss Bennett. I hope you have a speedy recovery.”
The room fell silent as we all watched them leave.
“I’m so sorry to just spring that on you. It just flew out of my mouth.” Marilyn grabbed a chair, took my hand again, and sat down. “Michael and I realize that you’re twenty-one, but we wanted to … Well, honey, we want to adopt you.”
“What?” I couldn’t contain my surprise. “But I’m legal. I don’t need parents.” The moment it slipped out of my mouth, I knew it wasn’t an accurate statement. I needed them. I needed a family.