Page 15 of Lethal Game

"The monster is cuffed to the bed," he told her. "He's going to prison. You're safe. And the less contact you have with him, the better. You're just a random woman who got in the way of whatever he wanted to do. Let's keep it that way. He doesn't need to know your name or see you again, at least not until the trial."

"Trial?" she echoed.

"You'll probably have to testify to what happened."

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that." She wrapped her arms around herself as if she were suddenly cold, and the color in her cheeks that he'd been admiring earlier faded away.

"Are you all right, Alisa?"

"I don't think so."

He felt another wave of compassion at her honest words. "It will take time to get past what you went through. But talking to him won't help. Trust me on that."

She let out a sigh. "I feel like I can't control anything in my life right now. Everyone wants me to trust them. It's not that I don't want to, I just feel helpless. I'm not good at waiting."

He smiled as their gazes met. "I'm not a patient person, either, but sometimes you don't have a choice."

"Like now," she murmured.

"You should feel good about what you did last night. You were incredibly brave. Be proud of that. You saved yourself."

"You saved me," she corrected.

"Only because you fought him long enough to give me the opportunity to get there."

"I am glad I didn't freeze. My instincts screamed at me to fight."

"Your instincts were good."

"I just wish it hadn't happened. I have so much to deal with right now."

"Maybe you should get some rest. You can't be planning to work today. I hope you didn't come all the way down here just to see this guy. He's not worth your time."

"I'm not working, and I didn't come here to see him. My mother is sick with an illness that no one has been able to diagnose. Last night she was doing better, but this morning, she's worse again."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"They just took her to radiology to get another test. I was sitting alone in her room, and I started thinking about what happened last night, and I couldn't stop myself from coming down here. I thought vanquishing one monster would help, but he's not the monster I'm most worried about." She drew in a shaky breath. "My mother is in terrible shape. I don't want to think about what might happen. But I can't help it. I'm a nurse. I can see the signs."

He saw the stress and fear in her eyes and could relate. He had known nothing about medicine when his mother had died, but he could still remember the odd look in her eyes the day before she passed, the way she'd slumped in her chair, staring into space in a way that had made him feel she was already gone.

Clearing his throat, he pushed that unexpected memory from his head. It had been seventeen years. But he still couldn't get that image out of his head. But this wasn't about him. "I understand a little of how you might feel. I lost my mom when I was fifteen. It's the worst thing that ever happened to me."

She met his gaze. "I can't lose her. I just can't."

"I hope you won't," he said, feeling oddly protective toward her. He didn't know her. He shouldn't feel anything but compassion for a stranger going through a difficult time, but there was something about Alisa that made it difficult to keep a distance between them.

Knowing what she'd gone through in the garage and what was happening now with her mother, he could understand her need to put one of her fears out of her head.

"I shouldn't be telling you all this." She gave him an apologetic look. "It's not your problem, so I shouldn't be taking up your time."

"Right now, I'm just waiting for this guy's attorney to arrive, so it's not a problem. It sounds like you need someone to talk to. What about your family? Or a boyfriend?" he ventured, not sure why he'd felt the need to put that question out there.

Her frown deepened. "No boyfriend. As for family, my father seems to have disappeared."

He straightened at that unexpected piece of information. "What do you mean?"

"My mom said my dad went to see an ill friend, and it's no big deal, but considering my mother is in seriously bad health, it's hugely concerning. When I called my dad last night, his phone was disconnected. I tried again this morning and it stillwasn't working. It's so strange. He never goes anywhere. And he adores my mother. I don't understand why he would leave."

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