Last Chance Hero

Chapter 4

Jordynn tried to pull away, but it was too late. The big man on her doorstep was stronger. Faster. And clearly more experienced at capturing people than she was at escaping from them.

She barely reached the doorstep before his arms were around her, spinning her hard and shoving her against the exterior wall of the house. Jordynn’s chest scraped along the wood siding making her cry out. Her yelp earned her a sweaty hand over her mouth, and a heartbeat later, she was being turned again and lifted.

At the end of the driveway, she could see Tom, her neighbor, heading for his car.

Please, please!

Jordynn inhaled through her nose and tried to scream. But it was no use. The man’s palm was pressed too firmly to her lips, his grip on her chest too tight. All that came out was a wheeze. In seconds, he’d pulled her through the door, shut it again, then dragged her to the living room. There, he set her down, then shoved her roughly enough that she landed on the rug. Bits of the shattered coffee table dug into her body. She forced herself to ignore the pain.

Breathing shallowly, Jordynn crawled to the sofa and gripped its edge. She looked up, but didn’t dare stand. Especially not when she spied Ivan, pacing the room in front of the man Dono had tied to the chair. His face was dark and dangerous, and he didn’t bother to stop moving to glance at her as he addressed the man who’d tossed her in.

“Rope her up,” he ordered. “Pull some of that stuff off the Nose to do it.”

The Nose?

But Jordynn didn’t have time to consider the oddity of the nickname. Or to worry that it sounded just a little too pseudo-gangster for her liking. Because the big, rough man had begun to unwind the wire from the unconscious one. And she knew where it was going to wind up next. Her feet itched to outrun the inevitable.

“Now what?” the big man asked as he finished his task.

“I’d like to shoot them both and be done with it,” Ivan muttered.

“The boss—”

“I know what the boss wants.”

Jordynn kept her eyes down, pretending not to follow the exchange. Pretending it didn’t scare the living hell out of her.

Ivan sighed. “We wait, Denny. Hank will take those two gun-happy guards outside, and he’ll help them circle the block until they find Grady.”

“He’s gone? Thought he fell out a damned window.”

“He did. Then he got up and ran off.”

The bigger man—Denny—moved toward her, the wire in his hands. Jordynn cowered back. And wished she could help it. But he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He just grabbed her hands, held them together and wrapped the wire around her wrists. Tight enough to hurt. Far tighter than necessary. When he had her secured to his satisfaction, he lifted her from the ground and tossed her unceremoniously onto the couch.

“So Grady got away. Again,” he said. “And you really think he’s gonna stick around?”

Ivan’s eyes skimmed over Jordynn, then he went back to pacing. “He came this far. He won’t leave her. Trust me.”

Jordynn finally managed to find her voice. “Donovan let me think he was dead.”

Both men turned her way. Denny with his eyes narrowed, and Ivan with his expression impassive.

“What makes you think he’ll even bother to come back?” she added.

Ivan shrugged. “Checking up on you was his sole reason for coming back to Ellisberg. All we had to do was drop a hint that you might be in trouble, and he sure as hell came running.”

A hint?

Jordynn squeezed her jaw tightly for a second to keep from asking what he meant. To keep from revealing that she hadn’t the slightest clue about what was really going on.

“But now he knows I’m safe,” she said instead. “So he’s not going to just come back and endanger himself.”

“He knows you’re stuck here with me and Denny and Hank and the Nose. And our guns,” Ivan corrected. “Should be more than enough to motivate him.”

Jordynn shook her head. “No. He already knows you’re not going to kill me. You told him your boss wanted to chat.”

Ivan tapped his gun on his thigh, then cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. Jordynn’s heart skipped a nervous beat at the expression on his face, and she had a funny feeling her plan to divert their attention away from chasing down Donovan had gone wrong.

He smiled, confirming her suspicion. “You’re right. He probably does know you’re not in immediate danger. Denny?”

“Yeah?”

“You still a pretty good shot?”

“Nine out of ten.”

“Good. Tie Ms. Flannigan’s feet together, and gag her, too.” Ivan dug into his pocket and dragged out a set of keys. “My car’s in the alley behind the house. Take her out there, drop her in the trunk, then start the engine and walk back up to the house. You can wait by that big tree in the yard for Grady. He won’t be able to resist the opportunity. When he gets close...shoot him in the knee—maybe both knees—then toss him in the backseat.”

Jordynn fought a gasp and made a last-ditch effort to save herself from being used as bait. “What if he’s not close enough to see?”

“He is.” Ivan sounded utterly sure.

She might’ve argued a little more, but Denny was on her again, his hands working fast to stuff a piece of balled-up cloth into her mouth. When he was done with that, he used another piece of wire to secure it in place, then bound her ankles. In under two minutes, he had her strung up and lifted onto his shoulder.

As he carried her from her living room to the door, Jordynn couldn’t decide what she wanted more—for Dono to be where they assumed he was so he could save her, or if she hoped he’d run for real. She valued her own life. But she couldn’t stand the thought of being directly responsible for Dono’s death. She’d experienced enough guilt over being sure she could’ve done something to prevent his fake one.

I can’t go through that again.

A blast of air hit her as Denny opened the door, and when Jordynn saw that the sun was up almost completely now, a new hope came to mind. More people would be awake. Her neighbor—Tom—he was the earliest riser on the block. But others would be stirring soon, if not now. Making their breakfast, going to work.

Someone will see us and call the police. Someone has to.

But the hope fizzled quickly. Denny kept pressed close to the house and out of view of the street, and the large hedges that lined the yard provided plenty of cover. He slid smoothly along the edge of the building, moving like Jordynn’s weight was nothing. As he snapped open the back gate and moved swiftly down the driveway toward the alley, she wished she were confident enough to drive her bound hands into his kidney and fight like crazy to get away. But she wasn’t convinced she was strong enough to hurt the big man, let alone do enough damage that he’d be forced to drop her. And even if she could do it, she somehow doubted she’d be able to get away faster than he could recover.

Still.

She couldn’t let herself just be taken without a fight, no matter how futile it seemed.

She lifted her arms, then slammed them into his back. Denny didn’t even grunt.

Jordynn made a second attempt. He just spun her around, bent down and dumped her to the ground. She let out a cry—or at least tried to—as her whole body smacked against the gravel. She fought the tears that wanted so desperately to come. She rolled to her back and refused to let them out, staring up at the tree cover above her.

Before that second, she’d always loved the evergreen that grew between the backyards. But right then, they served no purpose but to block her from view of anyone who might be inclined to call 911. And the sight of them above her just made her want to cry even more.

It intensified when Denny spoke. “This plan’ll work even if you’re unconscious. If you don’t want me to make that happen...nod.”

Jordynn forced her head up and down, and the big man reached down to pick her up again. Her despair grew even worse when he folded her into the sedan’s trunk, then slammed the lid shut, pitching her into near-complete darkness. Then the car hummed to life, and Jordynn remembered Denny’s plan to leave it running with her still inside, and those tears threatened again.

She needed something to pull her out of it. But her mind was as dark as the trunk.

So you’re just going to do what? Give up? Rely on Dono, who really might not be coming?

Then—somehow—she found her much-needed motivation.

Donovan.

Or more specifically, the idea that once again, she might never see him. Might never hear his laugh.

His laugh.

God, how she’d always loved the sound it. The way it felt on a pillow next to her head. How it boomed when he really let it go. It was something she never thought she’d hear again. And truthfully, her memory hadn’t done it justice. The bass-y noise warmed Jordynn, tugging at her heart far more than she wanted it to. She wanted to smile and cry at the same time. And wanted to hear it again.

It was enough to remind her that she had no interest in being bait.

She heaved sideways and eyed the taillights. Quickly, she decided that even if she could kick them hard enough to break through the double layer of plastic, it would do no good. And it would alert Denny to the fact that she wasn’t simply letting him use her the way he wanted to.

Jordynn rolled to her back, toyed with the idea of slamming her feet into the lid, then dismissed that, too. The noise might bring help. But more likely it would just bring Denny.

Frustrated, Jordynn exhaled and tilted her head to the other side. Through the cushion backs, she could see a sliver of light. And with that...a sliver of hope.

She inched closer, then reached her bound hands out and ran them along the edge of the seats, right where they met the trunk. She squeezed her fingers into the opening and felt around for a latch. The metal hinges scraped across the backs of her wrists, but Jordynn didn’t stop. She pushed farther in, and in moments, she found a stiff piece of plastic. When she closed her fingers on it, it sprung up with surprising ease. And as she nudged the seat with her shoulder, it folded forward. For a second, Jordynn was surprised into stillness.

Her brain caught up first.

You did it! Now go, go, go, it urged.

And her body was quick to listen.

She wriggled over the flattened seat, careful to keep low and out of sight. It wasn’t exactly easy to be subtle with both her ankles and her wrists tied together. When her hips got stuck in the narrow opening, it took every bit of core strength she had to pull herself through. Her lungs burned with the exertion, and she was as sweaty as she got running her mile-a-day workout. But her hard work paid off. In under three minutes, she made it through to the back. Another thirty seconds—and a fight with the center console—put her in the driver’s seat. The keys jangled in the ignition. Waiting.

What now?

A glance out the window told her she didn’t have long to decide.

Dono’s familiar form had appeared at the end of the alleyway. And Denny was already slithering along the fence toward him.

* * *

The woman he loved, in easy reach.

The woman he loved, trapped in the trunk of a car.

No one in sight and the car in question running for too many minutes.

Logically, Donovan knew it was a trap.

But logic has nothing to do with it, he thought. And besides that...I’ve waited long enough.

He slowly stalked toward the sedan, his eyes on the prize, but stopped short when a flash of red in the front seat caught his attention. He stared for a long second. There it was again.

“Holy hell,” he murmured. “She got out.”

Impressed and encouraged, he took another step forward. It was that one extra stride that saved him as a silenced bullet flew through the air. Instead of hitting him, it dug itself deep into the ground near his foot.

His eyes flew up in surprise.

There.

A man in the shadows and a flash of silver. And the click of a gun cocking.

Donovan dived, and this time the shot went wide, lodging in the fence beside him.

He threw himself forward, aiming his full body weight at the shooter, who clearly wasn’t expecting an attack. The other man edged away clumsily, and a fist came flying toward Donovan’s gut. The punch was a wild one, though, and it just grazed his T-shirt.

Donovan stumbled, sending up a cloud of dust from the gravel beneath his feet. Even though he recovered quickly, the gray dirt was already in his eyes and mouth, blinding him and making him cough. A second punch came quickly, and the blur of movement was Donovan’s only warning. And this time, he wasn’t quite fast enough. Thick knuckles 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 a second before answering. “I needed to know that you were okay.”

“Didn’t you know already that I wasn’t? That I hadn’t been for eight years already?” The quaver had become a slightly angry one.

“I hoped you’d be healing,” he told her. “But I just...”

“What?”

“I kept thinking about when your mom was first diagnosed, and how you told me losing her would break you. I had to come.”

She inhaled a breath that somehow echoed through the car. “And what would’ve happened if you’d found me and I wasn’t dealing with it well?”

He stared out the windshield, then shook his head. “I honestly don’t know.”

She went silent for a moment, then said, “If I ask you something else, will you be honest about that, too?”

“I can try.”

She sighed, said a near-silent, “I guess that will have to do,” then she swallowed.

“These men who are after you—after us, I guess—is it because you did something wrong?”

He felt himself hesitate, bogged down by years of guilt. A decade of questioning every move he’d made since that night. And on the night itself. Wondering so often if his moral code had let him down. If it had been skewed by emotion. Hell. He’d woken up countless nights in a cold sweat, haunted by the decision he’d been forced to make all that time ago.

Had he done something wrong? Maybe. Probably more than one thing.

But not the way she means, he told himself.

And he sure as hell wouldn’t go back and change any of it.

“Dono?”

Her concern-tinged voice drew him back to the present. Jordynn’s safety had been—and remained—the most important thing to him. He loosened his balled-up hands and placed them flat on his thighs.

“Nothing is black-and-white,” he said gruffly. “But the reason they’re after me has nothing to do with anything I did.”

“Not something you did?”

“Nothing I did,” he said, changing the emphasis just enough to change the meaning, too.

She wasn’t buying it. “Either way, I don’t think you really answered my question.”