Melinda Di Lorenzo - Last Chance Hero

“Do you want to go through the laundry room and into the garage?” she whispered back. “Mom’s old car is out there. We can try it, but I’m honestly not even sure it runs.”

“Garage door’ll be too noisy and car’ll be too easy to track.”

“What then?”

“Still got that little deck off the kitchen?”

“Deck?”

“The platform that hangs under the window.”

“You mean the one for the flower boxes?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You think it’ll hold our weight?”

“No.”

“Do you see another option?”

“It’s five feet from the window to the ground. If it breaks...”

“I’ll go out first. If it does break, it’ll give me a chance to use the stuntman moves I’ve been working on. And I’ll catch you when you follow.”

“How chivalrous.”

In spite of the stress-filled moments ticking by, Donovan smiled at her sarcastic mutter. “Always.”

For a second, her mouth turned up, too—just a tiny bit—and he had to rein in a compulsion to lean down and kiss those curved edges. He clenched his jaw to stop from actually doing it, and contented himself giving her hand another squeeze.

“Time’s running out,” Donovan said.

As if to emphasize his words, a crash came from above. An angry bellow followed it, and Jordynn flinched.

“Okay,” she breathed. “But if this doesn’t work, and we live, you’re paying for the repair.”

Donovan let out a low laugh, then tugged her down the hall and around the corner to the raised kitchen. He let her hand go—only because it would’ve been impossible to do what had to be done otherwise—and reached over the double sink to push open the window. When he’d swung it as wide as it would go, he turned to Jordynn once more.

“Forgive me for this, okay?” he said.

“For what?”

He bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Heat rushed through him, fast and hard. Five seconds of pure bliss, ten years in the making. Even though he would’ve liked the moment to last forever, he didn’t let himself linger. He didn’t want to give her a chance to reject the gesture. Or to make him regret it.

So Donovan pulled away quickly. He mounted the counter, then pushed his legs through the window and tested the platform with his boots.

Solid enough, he thought, and spun around to ease himself down.

“I should be on the ground in a second or two,” he said. “You can climb up and—”

The rest of the words died in his throat as he lifted his eyes and his gaze landed on Jordynn. And the man standing behind her with a gun pressed to her head.

* * *

“If either of you move an inch, you’re both dead.”

The gravelly voice, full of smug disdain, came from far too close to Jordynn’s ear. And something about it made her want to do the opposite of what it commanded. Like staying still and obeying could possibly be more frightening than the death threat itself.

She wanted desperately to turn and run as fast and far away as she could. She actually had to force her feet to stay planted. Warm metal dug into the back of her neck, and the man’s hand pressed to the small of her back.

Run! urged her brain.

Jordynn fought the urge. She stared straight at Dono, using his face to keep her rooted to the spot. She concentrated on his lips, and the memory of how they’d felt pressed into her just a minute ago. How the kiss had sent of jolt of longing through her, reminding her how much she’d missed him for the past ten years and making her hope it wouldn’t be the last time she got to experience it. And it worked. Though she couldn’t quite stop her body from shaking, she was able to keep from bolting.

For several frantic heartbeats, Dono held her gaze with his own before he pulled his hazel eyes up to the man who held her and gave a small nod of recognition.

When he spoke, his voice was calm. “Ivan. My favorite right-hand man.”

“You remember me. I’m flattered.”

“Hard to forget the man who ate Sunday dinner at my dad’s table, then beat me soundly and left me for dead. Cracked my jaw, broke my arm and made my head ache for a month, thank you very much.”

Jordynn cringed at the mental image that formed to go along with Dono’s words, and the man behind her jabbed the gun into her a little harder. She steadied herself, but her mind was working at hyper-speed to make sense of the other part of what he’d said.

Sunday dinner?

Who was this man to Dono? Ivan. Should that name mean something to her, too? She’d spent enough time at the Grady house as a youth. But she didn’t think she’d ever heard the name, nor seen the man before. What exactly had gone on ten years earlier? Would she find out, or would she simply die wondering? Unwanted tears formed in her eyes, and in spite of the way she fought to keep them in, they quickly made their way down her cheeks.

Dono’s attention flicked her way for a moment, following the path of tears down her face, and his lips fixed into an angry line before he drew in a breath and spoke again. “Your boss clearly holds me in some pretty high esteem if he sent you.”

“You fooled him into believing you were dead, and somehow eluded him for a whole decade,” replied Ivan. “Guess that warrants some special attention.”

“Guess it does.” Dono smiled a smile that didn’t touch his eyes, then shrugged. “Well, that, or he’s pissed that you couldn’t do the job right the first time.”

Behind Jordynn, the man let out a small snarl. “If I’d wanted to kill you all those years ago, you would’ve been dead. That was simply a suggestion of how things should go, depending how you want to look at it.”

Dono glanced at Jordynn, a flicker of worry crossing his face before he spoke evenly to Ivan. “Tell you what. Let her go, I’ll come with you, and I won’t even fight you on it. I’ve actually always wanted to meet the man.”

The other man smiled, too, but even more coldly. “Not to sound cliché, but the first time you meet him will also be the last. And, Mr. Grady, if you didn’t want Ms. Flannigan to have to face the consequences, you should never have come back and you should never have brought her into it. I’m afraid I can’t let her walk away. My boss has plans for her, too.”

The statement gave Jordynn a chill, but Dono stayed outwardly cool and collected.

“I didn’t bring her into this,” he corrected. “One of your ‘coworkers’ was already here when I arrived.”

“That’s almost true. But not quite.” The gray-haired man tossed a look at Jordynn. “I’m guessing she doesn’t know.”

“Know what?” The question slipped out before Jordynn could stop it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Dono said.

But Ivan’s smile had grown. And darkened.

“It’s a technicality, I guess,” he said. “But this isn’t your boyfriend’s first return to Ellisberg.”

Again, Jordynn couldn’t help but reply. “What do you mean?”

“That’s how we found out he was alive.” Ivan’s voice was smug. “Showed up for a funeral.”

Jordynn’s eyes sought Dono. “When?”

“Jordynn...” He trailed off, but Ivan answered for him anyway.

“Two years ago,” the other man stated.

Her mother’s funeral.

Jordynn’s head spun. He’d been there. Close enough to see. Maybe to touch. She swallowed. How could he have come back like that, and not spoken to her?

“Accidentally got caught on camera,” Ivan added. “Weird thing. A local crew was doing a news story that day.”

“I remember,” Jordynn whispered. “A special on the history of the cemetery. They had to stop filming before we could start the service.”

“But not before someone managed to catch Mr. Grady in action. Dark coat, hood pulled up. But the angle was just right, and my boss was sure it was you.”