Page 227 of The Forbidden Note

Zane’s face pops into mind.

I reach over my purse and the car swerves wildly. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I wrench the car back so it’s flying straight and pick around my purse until I get my phone.

There are a ton of missed phone calls on my notification bar.

Fingers trembling, I swipe past them and call Zane’s number.

He picks up on the first ring.

“Tiger, where—”

“Zane!” I shriek louder than I ever have before. “Zane, my brakes aren’t working! I can’t control the car and any minute now it’s going to crash.” The last words are barely understandable. Something about saying my predicament out loud makes me blubber like a baby. “Zane!”

“Sweetheart, listen to me.” He sounds breathless. Has he been running? “I need you to stay calm and answer two questions, okay?”

“No, I can’t…”

“Okay?” He sounds more firm.

I pant sporadically. “Yes.”

“Are there any cars on the road?”

“No.” I lick my lips nervously.

“Where are you?”

“Close to the cliffs. The one where we k…”

His silence is pointed, as if the significance of that isn’t lost on him.

The car roars.

“Zane!”

“Are your park brakes working?” he asks urgently.

“I don’t know.” I start to reach for it.

“Don’t yank it yet,” he growls. “Or you might go sideways.”

The world is a blur outside my window.

The panic is biting.

“Should I turn off the ignition?”

My fingers go for the keys when I hear him yell, “No! You’ll lose power and steering and you might lock the steering column.”

“I have to dosomething!”

“Just take a deep breath.”

I inhale even though the very last thing I want to do is breathe when my world is spinning out of control and it’s very possible I might die if I don’t get control of this car.

“Now, I need you to downshift andvery gentlypull the park brakes to slow your speed.” He coaches me in a calm voice. “Are you doing that, tiger?”

“Yes.” I follow his instructions to a tee.

---