Page 48 of Counter Attack

Nathan banged on the window. “Put it in park.”

She stared at him. What was he saying?

“The gear—shift it into park!”

She tried and it wouldn’t budge. Alex turned to Nathan. She was at her last nerve. “It won’t let me!”

“Then unlock the door.”

She pressed the button for the doors. Nothing. Alex gritted her teeth to keep from screaming. Suddenly the SUV shot backwards, the mirror almost hitting Nathan as it continued running in reverse.

She had to get out, but the door still wouldn’t unlock.The emergency brake.Maybe engaging it would stop the car. She pressed the far-left pedal as well as the brake. The car slowed only slightly, and soon the odor of burnt rubber stung her eyes.

A car approached from behind her. She sent up a prayer.Please let them get out of the way.At the last second, the car pulled over to the opposite shoulder of the road, and the driver jumped out.

Just as suddenly as the trouble began, it ended. With her foot still pressing on the brake, the SUV lurched to a stop. Nathan reached her and jerked open the door before she could get her seat belt unbuckled.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

Her hand shook as she fumbled with the seat belt. As soon as she had it unfastened, she scrambled out of the SUV on shaky legs. Nathan caught her before she hit the ground.

“I have you. Just relax.”

No way could she relax with adrenaline pumping through her the way it was. Except none of it was getting to her legs. “Help me stand a minute.”

“Do you want to sit in the Tahoe?”

“No! That thing is crazy.”

Nathan half carried her back to his pickup and lifted her up in the seat. “What do you think happened?”

“I ... I don’t know. It’s ... it’s like the car had a mind of its own.”

He blew out a breath. “You scared me to death.”

“Well, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

A blur appeared in her peripheral vision. Kayla.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m alive.”

“I thought you were going to plow into that car for sure.”

“What are you doing here?”

“My duplex is on the other side of the school. I was going home from work.”

Oh yeah. She remembered now.

Alex tried to swallow, but her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. “Anyone have a bottle of water?”

Nathan reached into a cooler in the back seat of his truck. “Here you go. But drink it slowly. You don’t want to get sick.”

Once she’d calmed, Nathan said, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Alex pressed her fist to her mouth and collected herself. Then she took a deep breath. “Everything was fine until we turned on this road. Then it was like someone else took over the SUV. I couldn’t get it to stop, or turn, or anything.”

---