The Murder That Never Was (Forensic Instincts 5)

“No.” Emma blanched. “I just want to go home.” Tears were spilling from her eyes. “He didn’t rape me, Marc, not yet. You stopped him. My cuts sting, but they’re not that bad. Please. Just get me home.”

Marc’s jaw tightened. She needed medical care, and she needed it now.

“Listen to me, Emma,” Marc said, soothing her as best he could. “You can’t travel all the way home in the condition you’re in. You have to go to a local hospital, just to get checked out and receive whatever treatment is necessary. You’ll be released in no time.” After the police and the FBI grill the hell out of you, he thought grimly.

“Ryan,” he said, recalling his teammate’s attention.

Still steering the boat, Ryan peered over his shoulder, brows raised in question.

“We have to figure out a way to work this.”

“I hear you.”

“From here on in, it’ll just be the two of us,” Marc continued. “Aidan’s going home.”

Aidan frowned, visibly bothered by leaving Emma in her condition and by off-loading all the responsibility onto Marc and Ryan.

“Marc…” he began.

“No.” Marc sliced the air with his palm, effectively cutting his brother off. “That was great teamwork, Black Hawk. Now it’s time to grab your SUV from the warehouse and head back to the city and to Abby. We got it from here.”

Knowing where he belonged, Aidan nodded.

“I don’t give a shit about discovery,” Ryan said. “I’ll carry Emma into the hospital myself.”

“That’s not an option.” Part of Marc was totally on board with what Ryan was saying. He hated having to let Emma handle any part of this on her own. But he also knew the ramifications of them admitting her. They’d have to provide their identities, their explanations—everything that would ultimately expose them and FI to criminal charges.

“The University of Vermont Medical Center isn’t far from her

e,” Marc said. “We’ll pick up our van at the warehouse, and you’ll drive us to the ER entrance. I’ll carry Emma inside and make sure she’s in a wheelchair or on a gurney before I—”

“No.” This time it was Emma who interrupted. Her voice was weak, but her resolve was strong—as if she were reading Marc’s mind and understood what had to be done. “You’ll be noticed. You can’t help but be. Just leave me near the outside ER door. I’ll cry out for a doctor the minute you drive away.”

“And how are you going to explain why you’re alone on their doorstep, naked and injured?” Ryan demanded.

“I’ll say I was attacked near the hospital grounds and that I got away.”

“That’s all she needs to say,” Marc agreed. “The staff will be concentrating on treating her, not interrogating her. That part will come later. And, by then, we’ll be there to run the show.”

He tucked a lock of disheveled hair behind Emma’s ear. “Listen to me,” he said. “Ryan and I will be watching the ER door to make sure someone helps you in. Don’t try to be stoic like you usually do. Be an emotional wreck. Beg them to call Ryan. They’ll do it ASAP. That call will be our cue.”

“Cue for what?” Emma asked.

“To start counting.” Marc knew that Emma was far more panicky than she was letting on. “We won’t have left the hospital grounds. We’ll wait two hours—enough time for us to have flown from Manhattan to Burlington—and then rush in. I need you to hold it together for that long, okay?”

Emma gave a tentative nod. “What about the cops? How do I answer their questions?”

“Act too freaked out to talk. Let them wait. Get hysterical if you need to. Just let the doctors fix you up. We’ll handle law enforcement when we get there.”

“I can do that.” Emma was talking as much to herself as she was to Marc.

“I know you can. Meanwhile, I’ll call Casey. She’ll want to fly up here. The whole team will.”

“And call Lisa,” Emma whispered. “Tell her that she, Miles, and Shannon are safe. It’s finally over.”

EPILOGUE

Offices of Forensic Instincts