Page 60 of Lethal Game

It was another fifteen minutes before Jason made his wayback to the vehicle. She opened the locks to let him in, then crawled over the console to the passenger seat.

"Are you okay?" she asked, as he slid behind the wheel.

"Thanks to you."

"I couldn't believe it when I saw that man pull out a gun. And he was looking at you. I thought I was the target."

"It looks like you have company."

She frowned at his light tone. "He could have killed you."

"But he didn't. Thanks to your quick thinking. Did you get a look at him?"

"He was too far away to see his face. But I got his license plate number."

"Seriously?" he asked in surprise.

She rattled off the letters and numbers. "I'm pretty sure that was it."

He pulled out his phone and made a note of what she'd told him. "I'll send this to my team. You're amazing, Alisa."

"I just looked at his car; I wasn't that amazing." She paused. I don’t think I could have handled seeing you get hit. Seeing you on the ground..."

Jason cupped her face, his blue eyes locking onto hers. "I’m fine, Alisa. I’m here."

"You almost weren’t," she murmured.

"But I am."

She licked her lips, her nerves still raw. "I’m still numb."

His voice dropped. "Then feel this." And he kissed her.

She closed her eyes, leaning into his kiss, savoring the heat that seared right through the icy fear that had gripped her heart when she'd thought she might lose him, too.

But this kiss was real. It was hot and sexy. It gave her a lot more to think about than just relief because her whole body was tingling.

The rest of the world fell away. She wasn't aware of anything going on outside of the warm, feel-good bubble they were suddenly in. But then Jason's phone buzzed, and he pulled awayfrom her with a muttered swear. She felt the same way about the interruption, the reminder that their momentary escape from reality was already over.

"What is it?" she asked as he checked his phone.

"Just confirmation that they're tracing the plate and checking traffic cameras around this area to see if they can find the shooter."

"Cameras," she echoed, suddenly wondering if a camera might have caught their kiss.

He smiled. "Traffic cameras at intersections. Nothing right here."

"That's good and bad. That means the shooting probably wasn't caught on camera. I should have taken a video."

"You did better than that by warning me."

"I was almost too late. I should have honked earlier when I first saw him."

He shook his head. "No. I wouldn't have wanted you to draw attention to yourself."

"Why are they trying to kill you now? Or was that about Patrick?"

"I believe I was the target. Patrick is retired. And he's not working this case." He paused, frowning. "But…"