The fall had only cost her a second or two, and she took off after Felicity. Determined to bring Donnie in, Molly increased her speed, her legs churning even faster until she started catching up to her sister. They wove through yards, skirting evergreens and even a cupid-bedecked fountain that looked much too tempting. Molly’s lungs heaved with effort, her skin slick with sweat and gritty from salt and dust. She knew she was reaching the end of her endurance, so she pushed herself to go just a little bit faster, knowing that they had to bring down Donnie within the next few seconds or he would get away.

Her molars clicked together at the thought. There was no way she was going to let Donnie escape. Not after all of this. Her latest burst of speed shot her past Felicity, who glanced at her with a bared-teeth grin. The crazy woman loved foot chases. If Molly had any energy to spare, she would’ve rolled her eyes.

Instead, she focused on the sweat-soaked back of Donnie’s shirt. Digging deep, she slowly closed the gap between them until they were only ten feet apart. Giving her another hunted glance, he turned abruptly and headed for a six-foot wooden fence enclosing someone’s backyard. Molly and Felicity groaned in unison.

“Not it,” Molly said quickly, just before Felicity said it.

“But I’m in shorts and a sports bra!”

She sighed, her heaving lungs making it come out in an uneven rush. “Fine. I’ll do it.” Although Molly would much rather be the one who gave her sister a leg up rather than dropping into a stranger’s backyard, Felicity had a point. Molly’s T-shirt and capris were slightly more suited to hurdling a fence.

Donnie didn’t slow down as he approached the wooden barricade, using his momentum to haul himself up the side. Driven by the intense desire to avoid doing the same, Molly scraped up the very last of her energy and surged forward, leaping up to latch her arms around his waist. Her weight unbalanced him, and his grip on the top of the boards slipped, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Molly hit the sunbaked earth first, grunting as the air was driven out of her lungs from the force of the fall. Although she managed to twist slightly so that his entire weight didn’t land on her, he’d still pinned her right arm and shoulder to the weedy ground. Then Felicity was flipping him over, and Molly was free of his weight.

Rolling over and pushing to her knees, Molly blinked a couple of times to orient herself. “You good?” she asked, and Felicity gave her a fierce grin. Her knee was pressing firmly into Donnie’s spine, and she had a strong grip on his hand, using it to twist his arm behind his back. Donnie was swearing and muttering, his words muffled by the thick thatch of weeds his face was shoved into.

“Never better.”

“I’m not,” Donnie whined. “Who the hell are you?”