Dishonoring Jack

Chapter Thirty Six

"I don't blame you, Jack. I think we all know Max Slate is at the bottom of this. But how'd you know? How'd you get Donovan out?"

Jack looked and saw that Dr. Benjamin, Julius, Corrie, and Donovan were all now listening to her. Jack smiled when she caught Donovan's intense gaze, burning hotter than any fire.

"Margaret told me," Jack explained. "She gave me her bicycle--well, my bicycle--and told me Max wanted to kill Donovan and burn the deed. He...he almost succeeded."

"She's the one who warned us," Corrie said, exchanging a glance with her husband. "We weren't sure whether we could believe her."

Jack shrugged. "She must have had a change of heart. Either way, her warning gave me enough time to come and find Donovan."

"This is the second time you've gone into a fire to save people," Corrie said, shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"Well, it worked," Julius said with a slight smile, a crease between his eyebrows. "Donovan's alive, and he has the deed."

"Except we don't have any evidence to blame this on Max Slate!" Jack exclaimed. She pushed off the ground to stand up and her hands stung so badly she nearly stumbled. A cough racked through her body. "He did this, he burned your house and nearly killed me and Donovan."

"Jack, calm down," Dr. Benjamin said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Jack took a deep breath that sent her into a coughing fit, the smoke still lingering in her lungs. Calm down? How was she supposed to calm down? Sure, Donovan was alive and the deed was intact, but how long would that last?

"I'm sure my father will be here shortly; Margaret was telling the whole town," Corrie said. "Which means Max Slate knows too."

Jack shivered, partially from the contrast of the cool wind against her burnt skin and partially at the thought of facing Max again. They were already burnt and bloodied; Jack doubted if they would escape the next encounter unscathed.

Donovan must have noticed Jack's expression, for he staggered to his feet and came towards her. His face was now clean, though still bruised from his kidnapping, but Jack could see the burns on his limbs and back. He limped towards her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Here, sit down," he said, and Jack was too weak to protest.

They both slumped back to the ground and Jack leaned into Donovan. This heat between them was a good heat, a reminder that despite all that had been taken from them, they still had each other.

Minnie removed her shawl and draped it over Jack's shoulders with a slight smile. Beneath the shawl was hidden the photo album Jack had saved. She lifted it and smiled at Jack again.

"Thank you, Jack. For saving this. It means more than you know."

Jack nodded, her head resting on her knees. It was so little, a single photo album saved from a house full of memories. Jack felt guilty that she abandoned their house and focused only on Donovan. Perhaps she should have tried harder.

"Don't blame yourself, Jack," Donovan said as if reading her mind. His arm rested gently over her shoulders and he tugged her towards him. She leaned against his shoulder, grateful for his quiet comfort. For this brief moment, they were alone.

"Why didn't you leave?" Jack whispered, leaning her neck back so she could look up at him. He clenched his jaw.

"After everything, how could I leave it to burn?"
"How? Because you knew that I was waiting for you. Because your life is worth so much more than a deed," Jack protested, leaning back so she could look him in the eyes.

"Now you realize that?" Donovan said, his voice bitter. "You were the one who wanted me to fight for the deed."

Jack's stomach rolled--she couldn't deny it. She had been so single minded about getting justice and avenging Titus's death that she had not stopped to prioritize what mattered most: her future with Donovan.

"Never at the expense of your life," Jack whispered. "Never."

Donovan's fierce expression softened and he brushed hair from Jack's face. She could only imagine how she looked, covered in soot and burns, but Donovan's gaze was warm and attractive.

"I know, Jack, I know. I just...you were right. I don't want to just turn it over; I couldn't even leave it to burn." Donovan looked back at the house and Jack saw that most of it had now collapsed; it was a heaping pile of ashes and the fire had died with the work of the firefighters.

Jack sighed. "Is it worth it? All of this fighting against them?"

Donovan smiled down at her, chucking her under the chin. "Where's the hero, the fighter I knew from a few days ago? The one who ran into a burning building to save me and then passed out after saving my life?"

Jack blushed. The way he described made her sound like a hero, but she wasn't. She only loved him and would do just about anything for a future with him. That was all. Jack knew he would have done the same thing had their places been reserved.

"Oh, stop," she said, pushing against his chest.

"What changed, Jack?" Donovan asked, his eyes half-lidded as he stared at her. "Not so long ago, you refused to talk to me because I wanted to give up, but now you...you want to just hand the deed over?"

Jack paused and chewed on her bottom lip. Now was her chance to tell him the reason she had been coming to this house in the first place, to tell him that she wanted to run away with him, that nothing mattered besides the two of them. With life and death on the line, Jack was losing her passion for justice.

"I was coming back to tell you something," Jack said. "I told you that in the fire, but I don't know if you heard me."

Donovan's eyebrows furrowed and he nodded. "You did say that. But we haven't spoken in weeks, Jack. What changed?"

"Minnie told me you were leaving today. I know you told her not to, but neither of us is good at doing what we're told." Jack grinned, her fear dissipating when Donovan let out a low laugh. "And all I could think about was what life would be like without you."

Donovan's lips parted in surprise and then morphed into a smile. "Well?"
"Well, I was going to tell you that I wanted us to run away together," Jack confessed with another grin.

Donovan's jaw fell open as he stared at her with surprise in his eyes. Slowly, he recovered. "I didn't think you could surprise me anymore, Jack, but you've succeeded."

Jack shrugged, a smile crawling up one side of her face. "Would you have agreed?"

Donovan reached for her face and leaned in, running his thumb along her cheek to the point of her chin. "In a heartbeat."

He leaned in and kissed her, and for the days of separation and the fighting and the heartbreak, it was all the sweeter. Jack leaned into him, her hand curling around the back of his neck, and she let the moment wash away her exhaustion and fears and worries. She wondered if there was still time. Could they still escape before Max or Oliver or anyone else tried to stop them? Was there still hope or time?

Donovan drew back from her after a moment, their faces still inches apart. Bottomless eyes on Jack, he murmured, "I'm going to marry you someday, Jack Harrison."

It was Jack's turn to be surprised and her eyes widened as large as wagon wheels. She sputtered for a moment, unable to gather her fraying thoughts. He wants to marry me? Though Jack had often thought of a future together, the two of them had never spoken in such certainties. And while the idea of marrying Roy had stifled and terrified Jack, marriage to Donovan seemed like the ultimate dream she could imagine.

"Okay," Jack whispered, kissing him back with a delirious smile on her face. Donovan laughed against her lips, his hands tangling in her mussed hair.

Jack did not even hear the heavy steps approaching them until Oliver Walker declared, "Kitchi Donovan, I am placing you under arrest in accordance with the laws of the state of Virginia and the town of Irvington for murder in the first degree, theft, and destruction of property."