Melinda Di Lorenzo - Last Chance Hero

Jordynn swallowed. “Did you do that?”

Donovan nodded shortly. “Yes.”

“Is he...?”

“He’s alive.”

“So...you’re just going to leave him there?”

“I couldn’t exactly leave him in the front yard.”

“Who is he?”

“The less you know, the better.”

She met his gaze, noting the resignation there.

Resignation, she thought. But no regret.

Not for the man tied up, anyway. It made her heart ache even more than it already did. The Donovan she knew was protective, but loving. A little hotheaded and maybe even impetuous, but always compassionate and kind. Reverent of life. Maybe that had all changed when he’d feigned the end of his own. Which was what he must’ve done, she surmised.

“He would’ve killed you, Jordynn,” he stated then, far too matter-of-factly.

She suppressed a shiver, because now she wasn’t wondering what she’d forgotten—she was wondering what she’d missed. What parts of him had been irrevocably altered, and how he’d become this larger, darker version of himself.

Abruptly, like he couldn’t take her scrutiny, he stood and began to pace the room.

“You should pack a bag,” he said. “Clothes. Toothbrush. That kinda stuff. Enough for a few days, maybe longer. We can always figure out exactly what needs to be done when we get where we’re going.”

“I have a simpler solution.”

Donovan paused, tugged his ear again and shook his head. “No.”

“You don’t know what I was going to say.”

“The police aren’t an option.”

She ignored the way it felt so normal to have him practically read her thoughts. “But your dad—”

“Was the chief when he died, I know. But he thought I was dead, just like you did. All his friends on the force think it. And it needs to stay that way.”

“And if I say no?” She asked the question so softly that he didn’t seem to hear it.

“Have you got a car? Or access to one? I had to leave mine behind.”

Jordynn cleared her throat and repeated her question, this time more firmly. “What if I refuse to go with you?”

His brows knit together. “I’ll make you come with me, Jordynn, if I have to.”

A spark of anger flickered. “You’ll make me come with you? Just like you made me believe you were gone?”

“I’ll do whatever I have to, to protect you.”

The spark flamed, and Jordynn pushed herself to a sitting position, ignoring the accompanying light-headedness. She wasn’t just mad—she was furious.

She opened her mouth, poised to tell him what he could do with his protection, but her phone buzzed from the coffee table, momentarily distracting her.

“Do not answer that,” Dono warned.

“Just try and stop me.”

They dived for the phone at the same time. And even though Jordynn was still woozy, she was determined. She went low, sliding under the edge of the table instead of over it. Dono, on the other hand, smashed straight into the wood, his big body landing on it hard. The wood creaked, then shuddered. Jordynn gasped. She guessed what was about to happen with only a second to spare, and she dug her feet into the area rug and dragged herself out the way, just as the table collapsed.

The still-ringing phone flew sideways, then skidded from the carpet to the laminate, its LifeProof case making a rubbery thump as it came to a halt.

Jordynn’s eyes moved back to Dono. He groaned, then rolled to his back. Jordynn took advantage of his stunned state of mind. She crawled over the floor, snapped up the cell phone, then lifted it to look at the caller ID.

Boss-Man Reed.

Thank God.

“Hello,” she gasped into the phone.

But Donovan had recovered. His hand closed over top of hers, his wide fingers snapping the hang-up button before she could stop him.

“Hey!”

“I told you not to answer that.” His voice was dark. “Who was it?”

Jordynn stared up at him. He sounded worried. But something else, too. Jealous, maybe? He had no right to either feeling. For some reason, that didn’t stop her from stumbling to answer quickly.

“It was just my boss.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Dono reminded her. “Does your boss always call you then?”

Warmth crept up her cheeks. “No. It’s not like...that. He’s like family. He probably knows I worked late and wants to make sure I’m okay.”

He stared at her like he was assessing the truth of her statement. Then her phone rang again, and his intense gaze moved to the screen instead.

“Reed?” He frowned. “Sasha’s uncle?”

“Yes. He’s my boss.”

Dono tapped then phone on his thigh, then held it out. “Tell him you’re fine.”

Jordynn snatched the slim device away irritably and hit the answer button. “Sorry, Reed.”

Her boss’s familiar, gentle voice came through immediately. “Jo. Everything okay? Heard you pulled a double?”

Briefly, she considered telling him the truth. Or at least a portion of it. But if Dono was telling even the partial truth... She wouldn’t risk her boss’s life.

“Yes to both,” she said. “I’m home now, though. Hoping to get some extra sleep tonight.”

“Exactly what I needed to hear.”

Jordynn let out a silent breath. “Bye, Reed.”

“Night, sweetie.”

She clicked the phone off, then turned toward Dono, steeling herself. But it was impossible to prepare for the force of those hazel eyes. They made her ache.

“Thank you,” he said. “Now we should go.”

She inhaled. “You don’t get to do this. You were dead, Dono. And now you’re just a stranger.”

“I can’t just run out of here. No matter how badly you might want me to.”

“You did it once before.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

His eyes filled with pain, and he turned away. Like he wanted to hide it, but couldn’t. Or like he couldn’t find an answer she’d want to hear.

Well, damn him. And damn his pain, too.

Jordynn stood up. And started to move. Quickly.

* * *

Donovan realized about a second too late what her intention was.

Crap.

Before he could blink, she was three quarters of the way across the sunken living room, the slim white phone still in her hands.

Double crap.

And by the time he actually reacted to what was happening, she had already reached the stairs that led up to the second floor.

“Jordynn!”

She ignored him and darted up the stairs.

He snarled a curse, then dashed after her. He got to the top step just as she reached the last door at the end of the hall. She shot him a triumphant look as she slammed it, then clicked the lock.

Crap on toast.

“Jordynn!” he yelled a second time.

He shook the handle. Nothing. He shook harder. It didn’t budge. On the other side, he could hear the sound of furniture moving around. He had no problem picturing what she was doing. The big white dresser would be too big to move. The nightstand, though, wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe she’d position the desk chair under the knob. Or take the narrow bookcase from inside her closet and drag it over to cover the whole hinge-side of the door. In minutes, she’d be barricaded in. She’d dial 911. Or maybe the direct line to his dad’s old office. They’d both be exposed. Both be at risk.

Donovan stepped back, ran a hand over his hair, gave his ear a solid tug and stared at the closed door. Then smiled.

Hurriedly, he slipped into the den. He tiptoed over the floor, then eased open the closet door. He pushed his way through the spare coats, then ran his hand over the far wall until his fingers found the metal latch hidden there. He lifted it, letting himself into the cheater bathroom it shared with her bedroom. He slipped past the tub and toilet, then through the door on the other side. He stopped at the foot of her bed, watching as she did just as he’d pictured, and reinforced the door with the wood chair. When she’d set it firmly under the knob to her satisfaction, she stood back and gave her handiwork a nod.