hurt?â Elena asked.
Shaking her head again, Joanna opened her mouth and tried to speak. The sound was a squeaky gasp.
âTry to tell me what happened.â Elena shook Joanna soundly. âCome on, talk to me, Jo. Youâre frightening me.â Elena reached out and wiped the tears off Joannaâs cheeks, then slipped her arms around her and hugged her.
Joanna gulped several times, then groaned. Her body relaxed. She eased her hands off her knees and slid her feet onto the floor. Elena held on tight, continuing to hug her.
âFiveâfive years ago, I was raped,â Joanna whispered.
âOh, Joâ¦Jo. Iâm so sorry.â
âI left Virginia and came out here to New Mexico to start a new life.â Joanna hugged Elena, then pulled away from her. âI didnât want anyone out here to know. I should have told you, after we became such good friends, but by then Iâd put what happened behind me. I worked so hard at trying to forget.â
Elena rubbed Joannaâs arms. âWhat happened today? Did you have some sort of flashback?â
âMy mother called. It seems the man who raped me⦠Oh, God!â Joanna jumped up off the sofa and paced back and forth. âThis canât be happening!â
âWhat canât be happening?â Elena asked, standing and following Joanna around the room in her frantic stroll.
âThe man who raped meâLenny Plottâwas what the police refer to as a serial rapist. I was his eleventh victim. After he raped his twelfth victim, the police caught him.â
âThen heâs in prison, isnât he?â Elena swirled about in front of Joanna, forcing her to halt. âIsnât he?â
âI testified against him. Claire Andrews, Libby Felton, Melody Horton and I. We made sure he would never rape another woman.â
âI know it took a lot of guts to do what you four did. But you did the right thing.â
âYes, we did the right thing,â Joanna said. âAnd when our rapist was sentenced to life in prison, we all went on with our lives. Melody stayed on in Virginia and finished college. Claire moved back home to Missouri. Libby just left town. We never heard from her again.â
âAnd you came to Trinidad.â
âElena, Lenny Plott escaped from prison.â
âWhat?â
âHe escaped about forty-eight hours ago.â Joanna covered her mouth with her hands.
Elena grabbed Joannaâs hands and pulled them away from her face. âWhat are you not telling me?â
âHe kidnapped Melody Horton and murdered her. The day the judge sentenced him, he swore that somehow heâd get free and hunt us all down. He swore heâd kill us.â
Elena put her arms around Joanna, hugging her fiercely. âYouâre safe here, on the ranch, with us. He doesnât know where you are. He canât find you here.â
âBut what if he does?â Joanna, her eyes dry and dazed, looked at her best friend. âIâm scared, Elena. Iâm so scared.â
Elena rubbed Joannaâs back. âI know. I know. But everythingâs going to be all right. J.T. will know exactly how to handle this situation. Heâll take care ofââ
âJ.T.? No, please, I donât want your brother to know about this.â
âDonât be silly,â Elena said. âJ.T. knows more about protecting someone than anybody in the whole wide world. He was a Secret Service agent until he got shot in the head and blinded in one eye. For the past six years, heâs been a partner in a private security agency.â
âMother wants me to come home. Back to Virginia. Sheâs offered to hire a bodyguard for me. Iâm sure, if I asked her, sheâd hire someone and send him out here.â
âBut donât you see, thereâs no need to hire another bodyguard when weâve got J.T. Itâs what he does for a living.â
âNo,