Predator by Terri Blackstock Page A

were valedictorian in both high school and college. You could have gotten some big corporate job, but you chose to work for a nonprofit?”
    “That’s where I’m needed.”
    “So where is this place?”
    “It’s on Kickrow Street.”
    “Really? That’s a pretty bad area.”
    “Exactly. That’s where our girls live.”
    “But…don’t you feel like you’re in danger coming and going every day?”
    She stared at a spot on her windshield. “My dad was totally against it when I took the job. He worried himself sick. But I convinced him that God was calling me there, so he finally let it go. It’s ironic that I wasn’t the one who was stalked and murdered. He never thought it would happen to Ella.”
    Her gaze fixed on something outside the window, and he felt her melancholy growing heavier. “Have you been back to work since her funeral?”
    She nodded. “I was there Tuesday. I warned the girls about GrapeVyne.”
    Tuesday? She was even tougher than he thought.
    “When we painted the front room of the center, I painted scripture along the top of the wall. The first thing you see when you come in the building is, ‘Be strong and courageous,’ from the book of Joshua. The girls who come there,they need that courage and strength. They’re all in danger every day of their lives.” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. “I try to teach them how to put on the armor of God to protect themselves. But I didn’t protect Ella.”
    He looked at her. “Krista, you can’t seriously be blaming yourself.”
    She didn’t answer, and for a moment he thought she was going to shut down. She’d probably never meant to get so personal with him. But he was glad for the glimpse into her heart.
    “Really, Krista,” he said softly. “How could it be your fault?”
    The corners of her mouth trembled. “It was my job. I’ve been helping raise her since she was born. My mom died after complications from having her when I was eleven. My dad…he was so changed by Mom’s death…he couldn’t really connect with either of us that well for a while. I kind of took over, like her surrogate mother.”
    “Tough duty for an eleven-year-old. But even your mother couldn’t have protected Ella from this guy.”
    She clutched the steering wheel, her knuckles white. “Why didn’t I teach her the dangers of online predators? I had her password.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I was so busy working with the girls in our ministry that I neglected my own sister!”
    He touched her arm. “Krista, it wasn’t neglect. You couldn’t be there for her twenty-four / seven.”
    “If I had just watched her Internet activity, she’d be alive.” Tears welled in her eyes. “But…maybe I can save another girl. Someone else who’s making herself prey for this guy. Maybe I can catch him and stop him.”
    Something in her tone told him she had a plan. Was she going to go looking for this guy? “Krista, it’s fine to bestrong and courageous. But don’t let your guts lead you into danger yourself.”
    She looked at him then with those intense eyes. “That’s what real love is all about. Putting yourself on the line.”
    “For people you don’t know?”
    “I don’t have to know them to care what happens to them.” Sighing, she turned the ignition. “The coast is probably clear by now.”
    “Yeah,” he said.
    She was quiet as she pulled out into traffic and headed back to the school, where Ryan’s car was parked. As he turned her words over in his mind, he told himself he was reading too much into them. She hadn’t said she was going to do anything stupid. She was a rational person, after all.
    By the time they reached the school, Ryan had convinced himself that Krista’s plan was to speak at more schools about the dangers of online communities.
    As she pulled up next to his car, Krista looked over at him. “Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it.”
    He sat motionless for a moment, not wanting to get out. “I