Page 153 of Prey

I blinked.

What the hell?

* * *

My heart seemedto pound louder in my chest the closer I got to the cliff.

It was only about a forty-five-minute drive to get here from my parents’ house, but I had not been back since the incident.

I didn’t even dare think of this place, but here I was, going back to it.

Something nagged at me to find the answers, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I did.

Did my parents know more about my abduction than they led on?

Did they know the man who had taken me?

But that couldn’t be right.

My mind rebelled at the very thought, because if they knew, they would have told the police, which would have led to the man’s arrest.

My parents couldn’t possibly let the man who had done this to me run free…

Could they?

Tears stung my eyes at the thought.

There was just no way.

My hand shook as I parked the car and looked out at the cliff. The scenery was beautiful, and in another lifetime, I probably would have loved it here.

It would have made a nice place to get married at.

Too bad all I saw while sitting in my car was the memory of the clear blue sky above as I lay at the bottom of the cliff, my body broken.

A voice had called out and told me to keep on fighting. At the time, I was sure it had been my imagination.

Still, it had brought me comfort, even after all these years, to think that I might not have been there alone.

I shook away the thought and turned off the engine before getting out.

I didn’t even know how I made it to the edge.

I looked down.

It didn’t look the way I imagined it would.

It looked… still and harmless.

Though I knew just how dangerous a fall would be.

It was sheer luck that as I was falling, I hit a boulder that protruded from the side. That had been what stopped my body from plummeting any further.

I pulled back from the edge and sat down, looking out to the open space.

I thought coming here would bring back the memories my brain had tried to bury, but all I got were heart palpitations and shaky limbs.

I didn’t know how long I sat there, but the more my memories evaded me, the more frustrated I became. I couldn’t take it anymore.

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