Page 19 of Lethal Game

There was a heartbeat. Faint, but steady. Relief hit her like a tidal wave.He was alive!

"Jason," she repeated. "We made it."

Even as she said the words, she wondered where exactly they'd made it to. She couldn't see anything because tree branches were coming through the broken glass, and the windows were covered in dirt. But there were small slivers of light that she clung to. They weren't dead, and that was an enormous victory in itself. But she didn't know how badly Jason was hurt. Nor did she know if she could get out of the car. Even if she could get out, should she try? What if the car slid further down the hill? The wild ride could start up again, only this time there wouldn't be any airbags blowing up to protect them from a fatal injury.

She looked over at Jason again, knowing he was the real reason she was alive. And she would hate herself forever if he didn't survive along with her. It was her fault he was here. If she hadn't been scared to go into the garage, he wouldn't have offered to go with her. If she hadn't been shaky, he wouldn't have offered to drive her to her parents' house.

Her parents' house!

Had it burned to the ground?

What the hell was happening? Why was her life falling apart in such a spectacular fashion?

But that wasn't the most important question.

She shuddered as reality smacked her as hard as the airbag had done. This wasn't an accident. Her brakes had been fine yesterday. She'd had her car checked out six weeks ago. They'd told her she wouldn't have to replace the brakes for at least another year.

Why would they suddenly fail? Had someone tampered with her car while it had sat in the garage overnight? But why? Why would anyone want to hurt her?

Was this tied to what had happened last night?

Jason had told her she'd been a random target. Maybe that wasn't true. Her breath was coming fast as anxiety and panic ripped through her. She had to get out of this car. She had to getJason out. That was what she needed to think about right now. The rest would have to wait.

"Jason," she said again. "Please wake up." She could hear the desperation in her voice and maybe he could, too, because he started to stir.

"Easy," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder again. "Don't move too fast."

He lifted his head with a groan, squinting as he opened his eyes, and his stunning blue gaze almost made her want to cry.

"You have blood on your face," she told him. "I don't know where else you're hurt. Do you have any pain anywhere? Can you feel your legs?" She was worried that the way the car had crumpled, his legs might have gotten crushed.

He blinked a few times and then sat up straighter, his gaze focusing on her. He pulled his hand out from under the airbag and touched the blood on his face. As he took his fingers away, he stared at the blood for a second and then glanced back at her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I think so. I feel better now that you're awake. I'm so sorry, Jason. This is my fault. I shouldn't have let you drive me."

"This isn't your fault."

"I had my car checked out six weeks ago. The brakes were fine."

"I'm sure they were fine until someone messed with them," he said soberly. "This wasn't an accident, Alisa."

"It doesn't look that way. We need to get out of here, but I'm afraid to move. What if opening the doors makes the car slide farther down the hill?"

He looked around, assessing the situation. "I think we were pretty close to the bottom when we stopped."

"You mean when we crashed?" she asked dryly.

He gave her a faint smile. "I prefer to think of it as a hard landing. But we're alive, and things can only get better from here."

"Are you sure? Because every minute of my day seems to get worse. And while I am ecstatic to be alive, I'm worried about my mom and her house and how we're going to get out of this car and back to the hospital. Do you think someone saw us go off the road?"

"I didn't see any other cars. I had to make the turn, Alisa. It was our only chance."

"You were amazing. Saving my life is getting to be a habit—bad for you, good for me."

"Well, I had a vested interest in saving your life this time." He shifted in his seat. "I don't believe I've broken anything."

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