Page 88 of Liar's Point

Five weeks? Tears burned her eyes. How was she going to work? Everyone in their department was already under intense pressure, and now she was going to be struggling even more to keep up.

“Hey.”

She glanced up to see Emmet, and her heart flipped over. She hadn’t seen him since back at the accident scene. He and Adam had been interviewing bystanders as Nicole argued with David about whether she needed an ambulance to take her to the hospital. David had won.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Emmet moved out of the way as a nurse rushed through the door and into the neighboring curtain.

Emmet stepped over to Nicole’s gurney. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She wiped her wet cheeks, and he pretended not to notice she was crying.

“Stitches?” He nodded at her arm.

“Just a bandage.”

“And the ankle?”

She took a deep breath. “It’s broken.” The words put a cramp in her stomach. “I’m going to be on crutches awhile.”

His stared down at her for a long moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone. The screen was shattered, but just the sight of it made her smile.

“Oh my God. Thank you,” she said, taking it.

“It was under a car near the intersection.”

She examined the phone, then set it on the sheet beside her. She should really call Kate again, but she didn’t want her parents racing over here.

She glanced up and caught Emmet’s dark expression.

“You look pissed about something.”

He scoffed. “Yeah.”

“Is it the hit-and-run?”

His jaw tensed. “We can talk about it later.”

“Miss Lawson?” Dr.Chan walked into the room and glanced up from his clipboard.

Emmet stepped aside.

“Wait.” She reached for his arm. “Would you do me a favor?”

He nodded.

“I think I need a ride home.”

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

Emmet’s anger felt like a hot coal in the center of his chest. Nicole hadn’t said a word the whole drive, and the pinched look on her face made it clear she was in pain.

He needed to talk to her about what happened. Not just talk—he needed to interrogate her and have her take him through every step of it, from the moment she’d crossed the intersection on a green light, according to witnesses, to the moment she’d ended up flat on her butt and bleeding all over the sidewalk—which was how she’d been when Emmet pulled up to the scene.

She rode beside him in his truck now, the seat racked back to make room for the big boot that went up to her knee.

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