“Get out of the fucking car, now!” He slapped both palms into the glass. “Or you’re dead.” He pointed at the girl.

“It’s going to be OK,” Hannah said. Heart careening, she stomped on the gas pedal. The car lurched backward. He slid off the hood. Turning the wheel, she shifted into drive and accelerated, all her thoughts on the bouncers in the lobby of the club. Damn rental was sluggish. One minute. They’d be there in one minute. She glanced in the rearview mirror. He was standing in the center of the aisle, arms crossed over his chest.

As if he was waiting.

Hannah paused, apprehension sliding over her like a damp cloak.

“He’sgonnakillme he’sgonnakillme he’sgonnakillme.” The girl rocked back and forth, zombie-like, in her seat.

“You’re OK.” Hannah focused out the windshield. The main aisle was just ahead. “What’s your name?”

“Jewel.” The girl sobbed again and grabbed the armrest.

“It’s going to be all right, Jewel.”

A mammoth black SUV shot toward them. No! She applied the brakes and spun the wheel, trying to avoid the collision. Too close.

Crash!

The SUV hit the front of the rental car, pushing it sideways. The driver’s side fender smashed into the concrete block base of the overhead light. Metal crunched. Glass shattered. With no seat belt, Hannah hurtled forward, hitting the steering wheel hard, the impact knocking the air from her lungs. Head spinning, she wheezed.

The young girl’s panicked screams filled the car. As Hannah’s lungs seized, lights danced in her vision. She watched, detached, as another figure appeared in the passenger window, a metal bar in his hand. Tire iron? He was shorter and darker than the first man. She caught a glimpse of a square face and mean black eyes. He raised the iron over his shoulder and baseball-batted the glass, shattering it. Small bits of glass rained into the vehicle. Jewel’s screams melted to sobs. He reached through the opening and pressed the unlock button with his knuckle. He wrenched open the car door. Jewel went feral, arms and legs flailing. But her kicks and wild fists had no effect on the big body that leaned into the car.

A second shadow slanted across the windshield. “Get that blond bitch. She saw me. And hurry up. She called the cops,” the first man said.

The driver’s door handle rattled. “You’ll have to pull her out that side. The door’s stuck.”

“Fuck it. Just go. We need to get out of here.” They dragged Jewel from the vehicle. One of them reached back into the vehicle and took Hannah’s purse and phone from the floorboard.

Minutes later, men shouted. Footsteps approached. Hannah’s vision blurred as her eyes teared.

“Miss, are you all right?” Someone was at the car window. “Hold on. The police are pulling into the lot.”