landed on his shoulder. He spun to the side, then dodged as the attacker jumped forward again. He scrambled backward, cursing as he dug the dust from his eyes. He cleared it just in time to see that the other man was headed toward him once again—and he was surprisingly quick for a big man. He flew at Donovan, fists coming in rapid succession. The action forced Donovan to take on a defensive stance, blocking blow after blow with his elbows and forearms.
Finally, desperate to change the exhausting rhythm, he dropped his arms and let the big man land a hit to his chest. The move had the desired effect. His assailant was surprised into letting the pattern drop, and the extra heartbeat of time was all Donovan needed to gain some control.
He stepped back, then lifted his foot in a sharp jab. His boot landed on the other man’s shin and sent him down to one knee. Donovan followed the initial kick with a second one, this time to the stomach. He started to issue a third, but the man beneath him reached up a meaty fist, gripped his ankle, then twisted it and brought him to the ground.
Donovan landed with a grunt, then rolled out of the way as the other man pushed to his feet and stalked toward him. As he moved, the sound of tires on gravel filled his ears.
He lifted his head and saw the sedan inching down the alley.
Jordynn.
Relief filled him as he realized she’d decided to get the car going and stood an excellent chance of escape.
As the car sped up, he turned his attention back to saving his own rear end. Though the other man had paused for a second to observe the car’s movement, too, he’d already turned his attention back to Donovan.
“Looks like your girlfriend’s leaving without you,” he said with a smirk.
“Suits me just fine.”
His attacker lunged. Donovan sidestepped. He crouched and readied his fists.
The vehicle had passed them now, and was almost at the end of the alley.
Thank God.
But then it came to a full stop.
What the hell?
The car kicked into Reverse and tore backward instead. It came in wildly, picking up speed, its back end bumping and turning with the acceleration.
“Guess she changed her mind,” the other man said, then lunged again, seeking to take advantage of Donovan’s temporary stillness.
It was a mistake. At the exact moment that he moved, the car’s random path took on a purpose. It angled toward the big man. Then kept going, straight and steady. It slammed into him, knocking him aside with a thud.
Donovan stared at the man’s crumpled form for a moment, then brought his gaze up. From the driver’s seat Jordynn stared back at him, her face a mask of pale, pale shock. Like she couldn’t believe what she’d just done. Then she blinked, and her mouth moved.
Get in, she was saying.
It only took him a second to comply. He darted to the other side of the car, flipped open the door and jumped in.
“Thank you,” he said.
Jordynn licked her lips nervously. “Did I kill him?”
“No, honey.”
“You’re sure?”
“He was twitching just fine.”
“Okay.” She turned her attention out the front windshield.
“We should go,” Donovan said gently. “Before the rest of them figure out what’s going on.”
“I know.”
She didn’t move, and he tried again. “If you want me to drive—”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Jordynn...”
She exhaled. “Let’s just...not talk right this second.”
She took her bound hands and slipped the car from Reverse into Drive, then placed them on top of the steering wheel.
He obeyed her need for silence, but Donovan could only stare at her delicate wrists for a moment before taking action. He fumbled through the untidy stack of objects in the center console until he found a box cutter. He promptly snapped it up and flicked it to the narrow wire that held Jordynn. She didn’t quite flinch as his fingers dug between her wrists and worked in a sawing motion to set her free.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Donovan issued a short nod, then leaned away again as she guided the car to the end of the alley, this time slowly, then into the street. He fought the urge to ask again if she was all right.
Dumb question. No matter what she says about being fine, it doesn’t make it true.
She was tied up. Had just found out her long-dead boyfriend was actually alive. Had been held at gunpoint, and had her life turned upside down. So far from fine it wasn’t even funny. All because of him.
So he let her drive in silence, not asking where she was headed, not telling her where he thought they should go. Instead, he stared out the window, watching the streets pass by. From what he could see, the town hadn’t changed much. Not in this area, anyway. The same grocery store on the same corner. The same elementary school across from the same high school.
Donovan had a hard time believing that at one point in his life, he’d never been farther than the town limits. Even harder to wrap his head around the idea that he’d never wanted to.
Of course, it had never been Ellisberg itself that’d held him.
His eyes slid back to Jordynn.
Twelve years old.
That was his age when he first realized he’d fallen in love with her. He’d wooed her patiently through their teen years, waiting for her to clue in that it was a forever kind of deal. The easy stuff came first. Movies and stolen kisses and handholding. Then there’d been the complicated stuff. Lovemaking and naming babies they hadn’t had. And the serious stuff. Saving the money from his paper route, then from pumping gas at the local station, until he finally had enough to pay for the promise ring he gave her on her sixteenth birthday.
Donovan had never cared when people called them crazy, or said they were too young. He’d known what he’d wanted and that it would never change.
“Until it did.”
He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until she answered him. “What?”
“Nothing, honey,” he said quickly. “Just thinking aloud.”
She glanced his way, then back out the front again, then spoke in a shaky voice. “Did you really come back for my mom’s funeral?”
He closed his eyes for
