nightmare was that her father had retreated to bed already.
They said their good-byes, Lisa managed to get out of the house with only one Tupperware container full of chocolate-chip cookies—sustenance, her mother told her—and they climbed into the rental car. Silence was a welcome sound. She drew in a long breath of cool air.
“Yeah,” Rafe said sarcastically. “That was fun.”
Lisa started the ignition and pulled away from the curb. “Stuff it, Sullivan.”
He was quiet on the drive across town. When he realized they weren’t headed back toward the airport, he sat up straighter. “You missed your turn.”
“Not exactly.”
His brows lifted in question.
She shifted. “We’re staying at Shane’s.”
His eyes widened. “Do I even have a say in this?”
“No.”
“Even better,” he mumbled, settling back in his seat.
He could bitch and moan all he wanted. She didn’t care. She was letting him tag along as it was. He should be grateful she hadn’t drop-kicked his ass already.
Lisa glanced in the rearview mirror as she headed north on Pulaski Road. Headlights switched lanes behind her and looked to be approaching fast. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and moved into the right lane.
“What?” Rafe asked.
“Nothing. Some idiot behind us is swerving in and out of traffic. Probably drunk.”
He turned in his seat and glanced behind them. She looked back in the mirror. The lights barreled closer.
Rafe tensed. “He’s gonna hit us. Pull over.”
Lisa glanced in the mirror again. He was right. Her adrenaline jumped. “There’s nowhere else to go.” A car had moved up along their left. Parked cars sat against the curb to their right.
“Step on the gas then!” His hand clamped over her knee, and he pressed down hard, making her jump.
The car shot forward. She swerved through traffic, tightened her hands on the wheel and tried not to hit anything. The vehicle behind them sped up, following her path, steadily closing the gap between them.
“Carajo.” Rafe’s hands settled at her waist. He lifted her up as if she weighed nothing and slid over the low console until his big body was beneath her.
She jerked the wheel and corrected. “What the hell are you doing?”
His foot tucked beneath hers, taking possession of the gas pedal. “I’m saving our asses, Mario. Move over.”
She had little time to do anything else. His large hands closed over the wheel. He cursed as he dropped one arm and repositioned the seat back about a foot to make room for his long legs. Then he turned the car to the right with a hard jerk. Her body slammed against his before she had time to latch her seat belt. The side street was empty but for a car up in the distance. Rafe’s foot pressed down on the accelerator. He glanced in the rearview mirror again, his expression tensing more and more by the second.
Lisa whipped around. That wasn’t a drunk driver. The car was still with them. It had dropped back after that last turn, but was steadily regaining speed.
A loud crack resounded. The glass in the back window shattered. Lisa screamed.
Rafe shoved her head down between her knees. “Stay down!” The car jerked again, this time to the left.
“They’re shooting at us!”
“Yeah, I figured that out.” He swerved around a parked car, pressed on the gas and tore down an alley between two large buildings. Tires squealed. Metal pinged as shots rang out again.
“Get your seat belt on!”
Lisa’s blood pulsed. She scrambled for the belt, locked it with swift fingers. She looked up just as they shot out of the alley.
Pedestrians scrambled on the sidewalk to get out of the way. Rafe whipped the car to the right. Her hand braced against the dashboard. Through wide eyes she spotted a Cadillac coming from the other direction.
Her breath caught. Oh, God…they weren’t going to make it.
Metal clanged against metal as the Caddie clipped the side of their rental. The front right tire hit the curb. Rafe swore. His hands gripped the wheel as he tried to overcorrect.
They rolled before Lisa even felt the impact.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Lisa?”
The hand against her shoulder shook her hard. Lisa’s eyes shot open at the jolt.
It took a moment for her head to clear. When it did, she realized she was upside down, hanging from her seat belt. Blood rushed to her forehead. Pain cut across her abdomen and shoulder as fuzzy memories of the accident flashed in her mind.
She craned her neck so she could see Rafe. He’d already unhooked his belt and was trying to get hers undone.