Melinda Di Lorenzo - Last Chance Hero

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.