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anyone, her heart pounding furiously. Keep calm. He’s traumatized from the war, going into extreme mode; let him drive it off.
    He pulled the car off the pavement near a soccer field, leaving the lights on and the engine idling. Jen unbelted herself and cracked the door open. Rey twisted her wrist.
    Pain shot up her arm. “Ow, ow. Let go.”
    He turned her toward him. His breath hissed through clenched teeth. Rey’s face, so much like Rodrigo’s, loomed over her. But where Rodrigo’s eyes had been soft, Rey’s were hardened pinpoints of steel. Rey had been to Iraq and discharged for psychiatric stress.
    Jen craned her neck, darting her gaze toward the open door. A single set of headlights lit the dark road and approached the field.
    “Shit.” Rey reached to his left for the headlamp switch while cutting the ignition. Jen swung her right leg out the door, but Rey yanked her hair and clamped her neck in a rear chokehold.
    The other car’s tires crunched on the gravel behind them. Jen thrashed and kicked the door wide open. But the moving car turned around, and the engine sounds faded into the night air. Her pulse crashing in her head, Jen dug her fingernails into his forearms.
    Oh, God, help me.
    Rey pinned his hardened face against hers. “You didn’t deny my brother. Answer me.”
    Jen whimpered, begging for the tiniest sliver of air. A taste like burnt leaves gagged the back of her throat and jagged flashes doused her vision.
     

Chapter 2
    Someone shook Jen, this time more gently. She opened her eyes and shut them immediately. Rey brushed the hair from her face. Her heartbeat skipped helter-skelter, but she held her breath and counted to ten.
    “Hey, you’re okay,” he said. “You fainted.”
    Fainted? He practically choked the life out of her. But she would not panic. Jen touched her aching neck and swallowed with difficulty, her throat dry and sore. “W-where are we?”
    “Around the corner from your company. I’ll walk you to the door.”
    Jen blinked and focused. He was still staring at her, but the harshness on his face was gone.
    “The car pissed me off,” he said. “Triggered the war zone and… well... you wouldn’t cooperate. You’re not scared of me, are you?”
    “I-I don’t know what to say.” She swallowed the panic in her throat.
    “I’m sorry I hurt you.” He caressed her face and handed her a memory stick. “The code. Any mobile app would do, but iPhone would be better since I have one and can test it before turning it in.”
    “I could be fired.”
    “Better than scrubbing toilets at Chowchilla.” His wink lifted one side of his face into a snarl.
    “Sending me to jail won’t help you find a job or pass any classes. Why are you doing this?” Jen couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice.
    Rey stared straight over the steering wheel. “It’s for my daughter.”
    “You have a daughter?”
    “It’s complicated. Rod didn’t tell you?”
    Her throat clenched at the mention of his brother. “He stopped talking to me long before he died. Why, what’s up?”
    More like he had told her to stay away when all she wanted were answers. That had been six years and sixty pounds ago. The next time she saw him was at his funeral.
    Rey scratched his left cheek. “Everything’s screwed up. What can I do to gain custody?”
    She could think of several smart remarks. But the ringing in her ears and the condition of her throat reminded her to be wise. There was real pain in his voice. Maybe he wanted to marry her to show he could provide a good home.
    “It’ll be best to get back together with her mother,” Jen suggested.
    He shook his head and drummed the steering wheel with his fingers.
    “Look, Rey. You don’t really want to marry me. I get you the code, and you’ll leave. Like everyone else.” She hoped he’d take the hint. She pocketed the memory stick, picked up her iPad, and opened the car door.
    He walked her to the lobby door, his hands in the pockets of his