Page 17 of Lethal Game

"Well, I appreciate it." She let out another sigh. "I can't believe my parents' house is on fire. And I have to take care of this. My mom can't do it. My dad isn't around. It's just me."

"I'm assuming you don't have siblings."

"No, I'm an only child."

Another thing they had in common. He knew very well the pressure that came from being the only child.

"Every day some new bad thing happens," she murmured as they exited the elevator on the lobby level and then walked through the front doors of the hospital, taking the path to the parking garage. "My life used to be calm and kind of boring, to be honest, but everything changed about a week ago when my mother started feeling sick. The problems have snowballed since then. Now, everything feels like it's upside down and backward."

Were Alisa's problems all just coincidence? A rough patchin her life? Had she just been in the wrong place at the wrong time last night? Or was there something else going on?

He couldn't shake the feeling there was something else happening, and if her attack by Kashin was not random, then Novikov had orchestrated it.

Was it possible this very ordinary American nurse was tied to a Russian terrorist?

He wanted to pepper her with questions, but they had reached the stairwell leading down to the employee level, and even though they weren't touching, he could feel her shaking. He offered her his hand, and after a momentary hesitation, she took it.

As he wrapped his fingers around hers, he was struck by the heat between them. He reminded himself he was just taking care of a victim of a crime. This wasn't personal.

But it felt a little more personal than it should have, and that surprised him.

He never had a problem compartmentalizing while on the job, but there was something about Alisa that made that difficult.

As they entered the bottom level, she moved even closer to him.

"It's okay," he reassured her. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know," she said, but she didn't sound confident.

As they neared her vehicle, Alisa's foot crunched down on a piece of glass left over from the shooting the night before, and she paused, staring down at a few pieces of glass still next to her car. "It really happened, didn't it?" she murmured. "A part of me still wants to believe it was a nightmare." She turned her gaze to his, her eyes pleading for reassuring words.

He was more of a man of action than words, but he had to try. "It happened, but it's over," he said. "Kashin will never get close to you again. You're safe."

She nodded. "Thank you for saying that. I guess I should begrateful it wasn't my window that got shot out. What happened to the other car?"

"I don't know. Security was going to find the owner and help them get their window fixed." As she made no move to open her car, he said, "Do you have your keys?"

"They're in my bag, but the keys seem to freak me out. I keep remembering how I couldn't pull them out in time to get in the car before he reached me. My damn bag is too big. They keep falling in between things, and it takes me too long to get them out."

"There's no rush now. Take your time." He could have offered to go through her bag and find her keys, but he thought she needed to meet that goal in order to feel like she was getting her life back.

She put her hand in her bag, and a moment later, she pulled out her keys. She gave him a triumphant look, even though her hand was visibly shaking as she tried to hit the button to open the lock. Eventually, the lock clicked as the keys slid from her hand and fell to the ground.

Alisa bit down on her lip. "Damn," she muttered.

"I've got them." He quickly grabbed her keys and opened the driver's side door. Then he hesitated. "I don't think you should drive, Alisa. You're trembling."

"I'll be okay. I have to be. The house is on fire. I have to get there. And I have to go now before my mom is done with her test."

He debated for a split second. Victor's lawyer wouldn't be there for another twenty minutes. "How far away is your mother's house?"

"About ten minutes," she said. "They only live a few miles from here. I can make it."

"I'll drive you," he said, making a quick decision. "We'll check out the situation at the house, and then I'll bring you back."

"Really?" She gave him a hopeful look that twisted somethinginside his gut. She was a beautiful woman, and he had a hard time looking away from her.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I have a little time. I have to wait for the lawyer, anyway."

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