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Sarah whispered his name to herself. Ray Maitland. She'd known he was still in town, but they hadn't had any real contact or even spoken since they'd both been seniors in high school. She'd been young, and so had he, the last time they'd embraced, yet if she lived to be 100, she'd never forget the feeling of his body against hers.

As if sensing her stare upon him, Ray turned slowly and looked over his shoulder. His hair was longer growing over his collar; his brown eyes even darker and more cynical than when he'd been 18. He searched the queue as she had, seeking the source of his discomfort.

A second later, he saw her. Before he could stop himself, everything that had once been between them flashed across his face. Love, hate, confusion, resentment. She could feel the searing heat as the emotions burned their way toward her.

In a single heartbeat, she was 18 again.

Back then, Sarah had thought nothing could separate them. She didn't care that his father wasn't around or that his brother was in a mental hospital. His mom did the best she could but a waitress's salary didn't put her in the same social set most of Sarah's friends and family enjoyed. Her parents had told her Ray wasn't good enough for her but she'd stood up for him. She'd loved him.

Then he'd dumped her.

Sarah, her brother, and her mom and dad had gone on vacation. Almost as soon as their car had pulled into their driveway, Ray had called and told her to meet him. She'd grabbed her little brother for cover and stuck him in the backseat of the car, telling her parents he'd asked for ice cream. Five minutes later, she'd met Ray at the Dairy Queen.

He'd told her he had married Joan Wilson, a former girlfriend.

Naturally Sarah had been devastated. She and Joan hated each other, always had. The stepdaughter of the local sheriff, she'd been Ray's girlfriend before Sarah, and she'd never forgiven Sarah for 'taking him away' as she always put it.

Ray had married Joan.

Ray wouldn't explain, despite the barrage of questions Sarah had thrown at him. She'd cried and pleaded, making a fool of herself. Dignity fled. In the end, he'd said nothing but goodbye. The humiliation of being so wrong had hurt for a long time. After the pain had come the anger.

Unable to look away, Sarah met Ray's gaze, but she kept her thoughts to herself or so she hoped. He stared back, his own expression under control once more.

There were lines in the corners of his eyes and a hardness behind them. She'd heard the divorce had been a bad one, but he still had his business. Sometimes, she drove past it on her way to the beach. Maitland's Motors. He owned a high-powered mechanics shop that specialized in expensive motorcycle repair and sales.

She broke their gaze by glancing down at her watch, then she cursed silently, her fingers tightening on the deposit slip and paycheck. She'd just leave. To hell with the rent. Her decision had nothing to do with Ray, she told herself. He meant nothing to her anymore. All that had passed between them was just that. In the past.

She turned to get out of the queue, but at the very last second, shock rooted her to the marble floor, her eyes disbelieving what she was seeing.

The man behind Ray, the stranger who'd first caught her eye, had suddenly grabbed Ray. As Sarah watched, horror sweeping over her, he stuck a gun in Ray's neck.

"This is a holdup," he screamed. "Everyone down! Down on the floor, right now!"

To be continued