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opened the passenger-side door for her and waited for her to slide in. Once seated and buckled in, Madison scrutinized the interior of the vehicle. It was everything she’d expected from Brody—orderly, neat and without any bells or whistles.
    He slid in beside her a moment later and the scent of spearmint filled the vehicle. He wore a golf shirt and jeans. Not the typical attire she expected from a detective, but Madison knew he planned on helping at her home today.
    “How are you feeling today?”
    “Achy, tired, grateful. Everything you’d expect, I suppose.” She rubbed her neck, still remembering the feeling of the rope there. Her skin was still raw and bruised, and wouldn’t let her forget.
    “It will get easier with time.”
    “I know.” She sighed and pulled her arms across her chest as they cruised down the road. “Any leads?”
    “Not yet. But we’re looking at what happened from every angle.”
    “I can’t believe that monster is still out there.” She shivered again. “When he finds out I survived, do you think he’ll…?” The rest of the words wouldn’t leave her lips. She didn’t want to say them aloud. Couldn’t bear to.
    Brody glanced over at her and something flickered in his eyes. What was it? Fear for her safety? The realization that Madison couldn’t avoid the truth? The thought that she was simply paranoid, perhaps in shock after yesterday’s events?
    “He’d be foolish to come back,” Brody finally said.
    Madison noticed he didn’t say that her would-be killer wouldn’t come back, though. Her head throbbed.
    “You okay?”
    She nodded and stared out the window. The thought of her attacker coming back to finish what he’d started made panic churn in her gut and rip apart every shred of peace she tried to hold on to. Her hands began to shake, tears welled in her eyes and images from yesterday began playing rapid fire in her head.
    A hand clamped down on her knee. “Hey.”
    Madison swung her head toward the voice. Brody. Just Brody.
    “I’m going to keep an eye on you, make sure you stay safe. It’s going to be okay.”
    “I wish I felt so certain.” What about Lincoln? What if the man came back and tried to harm her son? She couldn’t bear the thought of it. Perhaps she should simply take Lincoln and go somewhere, anywhere. Maybe down to see her parents in Florida? On that vacation to the Bahamas that she’d been dreaming about?
    Vacation was out. She barely had money to pay her bills. Not to mention she’d be getting another bill—a hospital bill—soon. Though her insurance would pay for most of it, how much would her portion be? How would she ever pay for that?
    She could stay with her parents, but her dad had a heart condition. If he found out what had happened, his blood pressure might rise and trigger more problems with his heart. She could never live with herself if she caused something to happen to her dad.
    “We’ll catch him, Madison.” Brody’s voice sounded confident, reassuring. It was as if he could read her mind.
    Just then they pulled up to her house.
    With each step she took toward her backdoor, nausea rumbled in her gut. Could she face this nightmare again? She swallowed as they stepped inside, trying to stay strong. Brody led her to the foyer.
    Madison grabbed the wall as the room began to sway. Or was that her swaying? She couldn’t be sure. Perhaps she should have asked a friend to be here with her, to help her walk through this.
    Instead, Brody stood at her side, and he looked as if he’d rather be waiting in line at the DMV than walking through her emotions with her.
    A huge piece of plywood was nailed where the front door used to be. Now that she stood in the place where her nightmare had begun, she soaked in all the details. Splintered, cracked wood littered the tile floor in front of her while exposed timber gaped at the door jamb. There were her keys on the table, just where she’d left them. Who knew the nightmare that she was