He was coming after her.
She had lost.
“Did you think that I’d let you fool me into giving you the chance to get away? Kevin will wait for me.” He was putting on speed. “He wants you as much as I do.”
Her heart was pounding hard as she raced up the hill.
Faster.
He’s your father.
Madness.
She had to go faster. Doane was big, with long legs …
But she was smaller, lighter, younger.
She was pulling ahead a little.
No, just holding her own.
Even her mother had no sure idea who had fathered Eve. Doane could not know.
He was getting closer.
It was getting dark, and the trees were casting long shadows on the path. Darkness was good, it would help her slip off the path into the brush and lose Doane. If she could just get a little more ahead of him …
Silence except for the harsh sound of Doane’s breathing behind her.
Her lungs were hurting.
Ignore the pain. Keep running.
Her legs felt weak, rubbery.
Keep running.
“You can’t get away.” Doane’s voice was laboring. “I’m stronger than you. Kevin—makes me strong. He won’t—let you free. Can’t you feel him—beside you?”
She felt a sharp coolness touch her body.
It was the wind, she thought desperately. To believe anything else would be to accept defeat.
She steeled herself and began to run faster. Then, incredibly, with every step, she could feel her strength increase, her muscles burn, and the pain leaving her.
No coolness, gentle warmth enfolding her.
Bonnie?
Light. Strength. Love.
Oh God, yes, Bonnie.
She felt a rush of sheer joy.
“You’re done. It’s over. You’ve lost me!” she shouted fiercely back to Doane. The blood was pounding in her veins. Exhilaration was making her heady. “Can’t you see?” She was gaining distance with each breath, every step. “I am free, you bastard!”