His face was obscured by his hoodie, but Nicky could see the bottom half was old, leathery, rugged. They were alone in a park with him. Nicky looked around for any sign of help, but no one was there.
Nicky would never forget the terror she felt as she looked down the barrel of that gun. She and Rosie clung onto each other.
"What do you want?" Nicky asked.
"You're the lucky ones, girls," he said.
"Lucky?" Rosie asked.
"You're gonna make it," the man said.
"Make what?" Nicky asked. "Who are you?"
"I'm the man with the power to make all your dreams come true."
Nicky could feel the tightness in her chest--the same tightness she felt now. It was like she was sixteen all over again.
"You girls are coming with me," the man said, a sinister smile tugging at his lips. "You scream, and I shoot."
They'd had no choice but to follow.
Pulling herself from the memory, Nicky gasped for air. She was still on her couch, alone in her apartment. She peered out the window at the skyline and sighed.
The fact that she'd escaped, and Rosie hadn't, was something that had haunted Nicky every single day since. It was a major part of why Nicky had become a BAU agent with a focus on missing girls. Part of her even hoped that one day, she'd find Rosie, somehow, lost among those missing women.
The man who'd taken them was never found either. Nicky had described his van the best she could, but it was a generic make. He had gotten away with what he'd done, and Nicky hated that more than anything.
She went to lie down in her bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Masie's body again.
Nicky felt like the ultimate failure for not saving her, and clouded by that failure, she had turned Senator Gregory down. She thought of how compassionate Amara had been earlier. How even in the direct wake of her daughter's death, she was still holding strong, and didn't shed a single tear, not in front of Nicky. She was a strong and admirable woman, and Nicky felt honored that she had chosen her, of all people, to spearhead her team.
Nicky hated that she wasn't able to save Amara's daughter. This loss was a bigger blow than anything she'd experienced in her career so far. But at the same time, Nicky needed to remember why she'd started doing this job in the first place.
Those girls were missing, and they needed help. Like Rosie needed help.
Nicky knew what she had to do next.
CHAPTER FOUR
Meghan never thought she would be wearing a white dress so soon. The gown was long and flowing, like a mermaid's tail on the floor of the cabin. The sheer fabric gleamed like diamond. It was heavy, almost oppressive. The expensive, pure silk scent of the gown had no smell, like a statue of a bride.
"You look so radiant," he told her, wearing a smile. His smile was yellow, contrasting against the white shirt he had beneath his crisp suit jacket and tie.
Meghan tried not to tremble.
He hated when she showed fear.
"I simply can't wait for our big day," he told her. "I know a husband is not supposed to see his wife in her wedding dress beforehand, but I just couldn't resist..." His brown eyes slithered up her. "You are just so perfect."
Meghan felt tears mace her eyes. If he didn't have a gun, she would scream, run, try to escape. But she knew she couldn't. She'd tried before, and that was how she got the bruise that still swelled up her left eye. She didn't want to try again. Because she knew he would hurt her much worse next time.
"Oh, don't cry, my dearest. You'd better not be a runaway bride..." He chuckled to himself, making her stomach curl.
Meghan turned away from him, and he sighed.
Then he took her in his arms, and said, "I'm sorry. I just get so lonely."
"I'm tired," she lied.