Page 85 of Liar's Point

“Nicole?”

Car horns, yelling. Then a distant, “Someone call 911!”

Emmet jumped up from his chair. “Nicole?”

The call went dead.

He dialed her back, heart thundering. Straight to voicemail.

“Fuck!”

“What’s wrong?”

He glanced up to see Adam standing in the doorway to the conference room. “Where’s Nicole?” Emmet demanded.

Adam just stared at him, confused.

“Where was she calling you from?”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t know. I think she was in her car.”

Emmet dialed her again. Voicemail.

“Goddamn it.” He gripped his hair.

“What is it?”

“Did she say what she was doing?”

“She said... I think she was on her way to dinner?”

Dinner. She was going to Angelo’s.

“Here.” Emmet tossed Adam’s phone at him and rushed out of the conference room. He crossed the bullpen, snatched his keys and phone off his desk, and spied a couple of uniforms standing by the radio.

They started to move for the door.

“Neil, wait!” Emmet jogged to catch up with them. “Where are you going?”

“Accident downtown,” Neil said. “Someone just called in.”

“What—”

“Sounds like car versus pedestrian.”

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Everything hurt.

The epicenter was her ankle, with waves of pain pulsing up her leg. Her hip felt like one massive, throbbing bruise. And then there was her elbow, which was currently on fire.

Nicole distracted herself by watching people stream back and forth in the hallway as she tried not to puke. The ER was a zoo tonight. Three car accidents, one drug OD, and a man next to her who, from the sound of it, was passing a kidney stone.

“This might sting.” The nurse shot Nicole an apologetic look as he prepared to clean the gash on her arm. “I have to get the gravel out.”

“It’s fine,” she said, looking away.

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