Page 5 of Lethal Game

It had been a long couple of days, and she didn't need to manufacture more problems to worry about. She had enough to deal with. If there was any kind of security breach, the hospital would be on lockdown. Whatever was going on had to be fairly minor.

When she left the building, she felt immediately better, the crisp, cool air of mid-October making it easier to breathe. Fall was one of her favorite times of the year in Southern California. The chillier fall evenings were a pleasant respite from the unrelenting heat of summer, but today, the dark shadows seemed stressful, the turbulence in her life exacerbated by a sense of foreboding she couldn't explain. Her mother's mysterious illness and her father's unexplained trip felt like the tip of an iceberg, and she had no idea what kind of devastation lay ahead.

Or maybe she was letting her imagination get the best of her.

But she couldn't shake her dark thoughts as she entered the parking structure and went down the stairs to the bottom level where the employees parked.

There was no one around, and as she walked down the row of vehicles, she opened her bag and fished inside for her car keys. Her fingers brushed against everything—her phone, her wallet, a packet of tissues—but not her keys. She felt an odd sense of desperation. She just needed to get home, make some dinner, pour herself a glass of wine, and take a deep breath. Everything would be fine.

A chill ran down her spine as she heard footsteps behind her.

As she turned her head, she saw a tall man running toward her. He wore a black sweatshirt with a hood pulled up over his head and dark glasses covering his eyes, despite the dim light in the parking garage.

Her keys—where were her damn keys?She frantically searched her bag, but her fingers were trembling now.

If she couldn't find her keys, she couldn't get in her car.

She was out of time.

In one quick motion, he grabbed her arm and shoved her against her car. The metal was cold and unforgiving against her back as she tried to push him off, but he was too strong.She screamed with terror, her mind racing as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She had to think. She had to do something…

CHAPTER TWO

Alisa screamed as she struggled to get free.

"Keys," the man ordered in a low, gruff voice.

"I—I can't find them." She dug into her purse again.

He yanked the bag out of her hand, dumped everything on the ground, then grabbed her keys and flipped the locks.

Her breath caught in her throat. Her car didn’t matter—nothing did—except getting away. The moment he took his eyes off her, she bolted.

She didn't care about her car. He could have it.

She had barely taken two steps when he grabbed her arm and dragged her back to her car. If she got into the car, she was dead. This was her only chance to survive. She had to escape now, so she kicked and screamed as hard as she could until he put a gun to her head, and she froze.

"Get in the car," he commanded.

There was something foreign to his voice. He didn't sound like he was from LA.

"Why? Just take the car and go. You don't need me."

"Shut up."

Despite his order, she screamed again and used all her energyto push him away from her. But as she turned away, his gun came down on the back of her head, knocking her to the ground.

Her world exploded, her vision blurring, her knees buckling under her. Her thoughts scattered as pain ricocheted behind her eyes. Her knees took the brunt of her fall, but all too soon, he was hauling her to her feet.

She could barely focus, but her instinct was to fight. As he pulled her toward the car, she used her one free hand to grab for the bumper. She had just wrapped her fingers around the metal when he yanked her away so hard, that the metal cut her hand. More pain rocketed through her body.

He had the car door open now, and in another minute, he was going to shove her into the backseat.

"Please, just take the car and leave me here," she begged.

"Shut up," he repeated.

"Let her go!" someone yelled.

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