“I only want the vehicle,” the armed man said as he moved toward Leonard’s car. “I got family I need to get to, and I need that car now. Step out,” he demanded, and Leonard did, standing slowly and moving around the open door.

“Her name’s Bridget,” Leonard said. “Rebuilt her myself. Put a lot of time into her.” He raised his hand and ran it along the top of the open driver’s side door and then leaned against the body. “And a lot of love.”

Then before I could even blink, he leaned into the car, stood back up with a rifle, and fired it at the gunman just as the man yelled, “Hey!”

The word was cut off as the man’s body jerked. I sucked in a breath that got lodged in my throat as the man’s chest blossomed red, his eyes bugging as he made a choking sound, dropping his gun and falling backward to the ground. I let out a scream, and Tuck stepped more fully in front of me. Oh my God, oh my God. What the hell just happened? I felt like I was suddenly floating, that heat spreading along my nerve endings, making me feel like I might pass out. I can’t breathe.

“Which means,” Leonard said, staring down at the man who was jerking, blood leaking down his chin, “that I’m not giving her up without a fight.”

“You murdered him. Oh my God, you murdered him.” Had that been my choked, incredulous voice?

“I saved myself,” Leonard said, looking up at me and letting me know that indeed the words had come from my mouth. “And I protected my best girl. You think I was just gonna let this sonabitch rob me?” He waved his rifle in the air. Where had he pulled it from? Under his seat?

The man had stilled now, the front of his jeans dark with urine, blood already spreading far beyond his body.

“Get on back in the car,” Leonard said. “We’ll take a bathroom break down the road.”

“Uh, we, uh…might—” Charlie stammered.

“I think we’re good here,” Tuck said.

I kept staring, trying to understand what had just happened. It felt like my eyes might bug right out of my head.

“Nah. Get in. We was having a nice time. Don’t look at me all scared. I’m not gonna harm any of you unless you’re planning on trying to steal Bridget.”

Tuck pointed at the sign up the road. “It looks like there’s a town close by. This seems like as good a stop as any.”

Leonard peered down the road and then shrugged. “Well. I’m not gonna kidnap you. If this is where you wanna get out, fine by me. I still got a ways to go.”