Page 147 of Lethal Danger

I’m probably about to die. I want to go to heaven and be with You, because Nev says You love perfectly. She says You’re like the best Dad anyone could imagine, and You never let Your kids go. I should’ve listened to her before. It didn’t seem real.

But you said, “You are mine.” Please, let that be true for me, God.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, touching down somewhere in the distance.

The roll of thunder followed within a second.

Was that God answering?

Nev would’ve snorted if she’d heard Jazz ask that question out loud.

Jazz didn’t really think it was. But a feeling inside drew her attention instead. The pain situated in her chest, where her heart had shattered into a million pieces, started to lessen.

Something shifted within, then a rush of sensation seemed to pour into her, as if the rain that had soaked her body from the outside was now flowing through her. The sensation reached even her fingertips and toes.

And it left her feeling like she never had before. She couldn’t describe it.

But she knew she was different. And she knew, through a warm confidence that seemed to be rebuilding her heart, that God had heard her. That He’d said yes. He’d said, You are mine to her, Jazz Lamont.

The wonder of it made her forget where she was for a blissful, achingly beautiful moment as tears of joy ran with raindrops down her cheeks.

Then a wail from the girl beside her brought Jazz back to feel the vertical rise of the gondola and the pull of gravity, tugging her upper body forward.

The gondola plunged back down, lurching her stomach into the air.

One or two more swings upward, and she and the girl would fall. There was no way they would survive the headfirst drop from their height onto the metal supports below.

If Jazz could get her arms in front of her, she could grab her knife at her ankle and cut their ropes so they could try to climb down somehow. But there wasn’t enough room in the small compartment to attempt the challenge of pulling her long legs between her arms so her wrists would be in front.

Unless help came, this was going to be it for her and the girl.

And help wouldn’t come.

She’d seen to that when she’d pushed away Nev and the PK-9 team, not telling them anything about Uncle Pierce’s call. They couldn’t come even if they wanted to.

And even Nev, with her new Christian values, probably wouldn’t be able to forgive Jazz for wanting to leave her. Hopefully, someday, Nev would remember how much Jazz had loved her and try to forget how things had fallen apart at the end.

Jazz would dearly love to have seen Flash and said goodbye. Someone would find him in the parking lot. He was probably barking now, wondering where she was and wanting to get out.

Grief caught in her throat. But Nev would take care of him. She wouldn’t let any bad feelings she might have for Jazz keep her from caring for Flash.

Clinging to that comfort, Jazz clenched her calves tighter to the seat, trying to stop the pull of gravity as the gondola climbed even higher.

She and the girl barely stayed in.

Jazz tried to breathe as the gondola plummeted toward the earth.

One more swing, and they’d be done.

I guess I’m going to see You pretty soon, God. The thought didn’t scare her the way it would’ve a few minutes ago.

It actually felt like it could be a good thing. That it might feel like coming home to be welcomed by the dad she’d always dreamed of.

Jazz closed her eyes as the gondola began another upward ascent. And she remembered His promise. I have called you by name. You are mine.

Forty-Three

Hawthorne strained to see through the pouring rain that pooled on his windshield as he turned into the north parking lot by the fairgrounds.

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