Page 61 of Carnal Risk

“Nothing is happening that requires fucking up. Selby’s working for me. Thanks to you. Whatever’s going on between us is just…I don’t know…it’s just happening. We’re two people who are attracted to each other. Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t go looking any further into it, okay?” Garrett’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Besides, I’ve already told Selby all this. We’re cool. She knows the score.”

“Does she really? What exactly did you tell her?”

“Selby knows…”

“Hello, Selby’s right here,” she stated, coming around the corner. Selby put a hand on her hip and brushed her hair from her eyes.

Both men sat straight up, startled and embarrassed they’d been discussing her within earshot.

“Hi.” Lars laughed, his eyes darting to Garrett, who shook his head no.

“So did you find anything?” Garrett asked, changing the topic. He couldn’t believe he’d let Lars bait him into talking about how he felt about Selby. The glare Selby gave him told him she’d heard the tail end of their conversation.

“I’m in.” Selby avoided Garrett. Walking around the sofa, she took a seat next to Lars.

“You’re in…as in you’re into Emerson?” Fuck no. Garrett couldn’t believe she’d tunneled into his company. His entire corporation could be at risk if word leaked that they had a breach of security.

“Yeah. So far I can’t download any files, but I’m sure if you give me a little longer, I’ll figure it out.”

Lars’ face went flat as Selby spoke. “What did you run?”

“The standard tools didn’t work, but that partial crack gave me an in. You know I’ve got a few of my own things I can try. But honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to get in on any other device. Evan’s got something enabled that creates the hole. So I guess the good news is that I wouldn’t consider it a widespread leak. Not unless Evan gave whatever he used to another user. I guess it’s possible he could have done that, but I doubt it.”

“Could have been worth killing for,” Lars stated.

“True, but Lars, give me a break. You and I both know Evan would not do that. For all we know, he was doing exactly what Selby just did. Maybe he was white hatting. We don’t know.”

“Could be,” Selby agreed.

“Someone went after Selby and was looking for something. Maybe the laptop? Maybe someone knew or suspected what Evan was doing?” Garrett scrubbed his chin, walking through in his mind why Evan would have hacked Emerson.

“He would have had to tell someone,” Lars surmised.

“I think we need to take things one step at a time. I know I just said I think I’ll be able to download the files, but until I actually do it, it’s just a possibility. If you give me a little more time, we’ll have more evidence.”

“I fucking hate this,” Garrett commented, glancing at the text. The color drained from his face as he read it. “Something’s happened to Cormac. We’ve got to get going.”

Chapter Twenty-One

The scent of disinfectant permeated the air as they entered the emergency room. Selby grew dizzy as the memories rushed back. Screaming, she’d begged them to let her up from the table as she bled out onto the gray concrete floor. The masked adults around her spoke in what sounded like a foreign language as they discussed how best to suture the laceration on her back. No amount of pleading or crying made a difference as they cuffed her small wrists. As the first prick of anesthetic stabbed into the wound, she saw stars. From her shoulder to her buttocks, they administered the shots. Five minutes into the torture, she’d seized in anxiety. She gasped for air as her tiny heart pounded. Her chest felt as if an elephant was sitting on her, and she accepted the darkness that finally came when the sedation was administered.

It had been years since her last attack, but she’d been no stranger to the emergency room. Throughout college, she’d been taken several times. It wasn’t until she fully understood the nature of her condition and how to better control the stress, that she’d been relieved of going through the hellish experience of sitting in the waiting room, and later being poked and prodded by medical staff.

The sound of Garrett’s booming voice brought her thoughts back to the present, and her stomach dropped as the doctor approached. When they’d refused to let them back to see Cormac, Garrett had called for the administrator to intervene. Apparently, he’d recently donated several million dollars toward their new cancer center. A brief conversation was all it took, and they were through the locked doors. As they made their way through the ER, Selby took note of several officers, who’d gathered outside one of the rooms. A doctor stopped them before they had a chance to go any further.

“Mr. Emerson?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s me. What happened?” Garrett demanded. “Is he going to be all right?”

“Sir, please. Just a minute.” The doctor’s eyes dropped to the ground and then back to Garrett’s. “I’m Dr. Ross and I was on call when the ambulance arrived. I’m not sure of your relationship to the victim, but his brother knows you’re here and gave me permission to talk with you…I’m very sorry to tell you but he’s gone.”

“What do you mean, ‘he’s gone’?” Garrett’s expression immediately grew solemn as he registered the news. “No…no, this can’t be happening.”

“Garrett.” Selby placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

“He was attacked at his home, stabbed. Abdominal wounds…they can be difficult.”

“Was he alive when they brought him in?”