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Instead of hitting the brakes, she floored the accelerator. Reiter and Michaels dove out of the way, and the car blew past both of them. When she looked in her rear-view mirror, she saw them sprawled on the asphalt.

Instead of turning around and going back the way she came, she drove to the next crossroad, turned toward town, and made her way home. But she drove past the house and headed into town. Went to the police station. Still shaking, she exited the car, holding her keys like a weapon.

When she walked into the building, the cop at the desk narrowed his eyes at her. “Joanna. What’s wrong?”

“There’s a p… p… party at the lake,” she said. “Cam Pierce was beaten badly. He was unconscious when I left him.”

The cop frowned at her. “Why didn’t you stay with him and call us?”

“Because Eddie Tiller, Randy Michaels and Tommy Reiters tried to rape me. And I knew my only chance was to run. Donnie Kincaid called 911 and he stayed with Cam. You need to send some officers out there to pick those guys up.”

The officer narrowed his eyes at her. “You sure about those three names?”he asked.

“Of course I’m sure,” she said, scowling. “We’ve been in the same grade since kindergarten.”

“And you’re sure those boys are the ones who tried to rape you?”

“Yeah. All three of them.” Donnie Kincaid was one of their friends, but she didn’t think he was part of the plan -- he’d been too concerned about Cam.

“You know Dwayne Michaels is the police chief’s son.”

Jo scowled at him. “What difference does it make who Michaels’s father is? He tried to rape me.”

Watching her with narrowed eyes, the cop hit a button and leaned close to a microphone. “I’ve got a report of an injured boy out at the lake. Along with three guys who tried to rape a young woman. I need two or three squads out there to sort things out.”

After he turned off the microphone, looked at Jo again. “You need to go to a hospital?”

“No. I’m okay. Just get Cam Pierce to a hospital. He looked pretty bad.”

“I’ve got two squads and the EMT’s on the way.” He studied her for a long moment. “You need to stay here to identify your attackers. Make sure the three boys you named were the ones.”

“I know they were. I’ve gone to school with them since kindergarten.” She shuddered at the thought of confronting them. “I don’t want to be in the same room with them. I told you who they are. I’m going home.”

When she headed for the door, the officer stood up and grabbed her arm. It was exactly what Michaels, Tiller and Reiter had done, and her stomach heaved. She made it to a wastebasket just in time.

An hour later, after looking through a window at her three attackers and managing to say, “Yes, those are the three boys,” she ran out the police station door, down the steps and leapt into her car. She locked the doors, then laid her head on the steering wheel and began to sob.

Chapter 1

Fifteen years later

Jo’s plane bumped down onto the runway at O’Hare airport, rousing her from sleep. When she’d been in the Army, she’d learned to sleep whenever she could. Even sitting upright on a plane, she could always fall into a deep sleep.

After grabbing her suitcase and filing out of the plane, she got on a rental company bus and rode to the complex. She rented the smallest, cheapest SUV the company had, tossed her luggage into the back and climbed in. It took about ten miles for the car to lose its January-in-Chicago chill, but the stream of air from the heat vents never got really warm. It was only warm-ish for the hour it took her to get to Ogden, but she didn’t care. She had ten days off, and even though she hadn’t spent Christmas with her family, she’d have some time with them now.

When she got to the tiny duplex her mother was renting, she parked in the driveway and knocked on the front door. After a short interval, she saw her mother’s eye at the peephole and smiled.

Her mom threw open the door and unlatched the storm door. “Jo!”she exclaimed, smiling as she reached for her. “I wasn’t expecting you for several more days.”

“We wrapped up the case and rounded up the bad guys, so there was no reason to hang around. Thought I’d come a few days early. Check on the progress of your house.”

“The foreman said it was coming along nicely,” her mom said, beaming. “It’s framed and the siding goes up next. Once that’s done, they put in the electrical stuff.”

“I’ll take a look at it tomorrow,” Jo said easily. She’d had some experience with construction in the Army. Not a lot, but enough to know what quality work looked like.

When her mother stepped to the side, Jo hauled her bag into the house and closed the door against the cold air. It had been chilly in Seattle, but this was Midwestern, mid-winter cold. Deep freeze temperatures.

“Come have a cup of coffee and tell me all about your assignment.” Her mom poured two cups of coffee and brought them to the small kitchen table. “Were you protecting a good-looking young man?”