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Cross That Line

Page 76

by Barbara Freethy

Megan's gaze fixed on her. "Is Jack okay? Why did you come to see me?"

"Because I was looking for Jack and I need to know what's going on at Waverly," Tyler replied. "They're drugging veterans for information, aren't they?"

Rachel's lips tightened as Tyler pressed Megan for details. The woman was struggling to survive, and part of her wanted to tell him to stop, but she also knew they needed answers.

"I didn't know," Megan said with a gasp. "I tried to warn Jack. He wouldn't listen. And now he's…don't know where he is. Tried to get into the basement last night. Guard stopped me. Saw a man moving boxes out."

"They set up another lab in a warehouse," Tyler told her. "Do you know where it is?"

She shook her head. "No. But I think Neil is working…for someone else. He told me this morning not to go down there again and keep my mouth shut." She struggled to breathe. "I'm… not…going to make it."

"You are," Rachel said fiercely, putting more pressure on the shoulder wound while Tyler did the same with the abdomen. They needed to keep Megan alive. She couldn't let her die.

"If Jack's alive, tell him I'm sorry."

Her eyes started to close.

"Megan. Wake up," she commanded. "Open your eyes right now. Look at me. Look at me," she repeated.

Megan stirred once more. "Stop them. Please," she begged before she lost consciousness.

There was suddenly a commotion at the door, and Rachel was thrilled to see medics entering the apartment. She and Tyler stepped back as they took over, putting in an IV, adding more pressure to Megan's wounds, then getting her on a gurney and out the door to the ambulance. As they exited the home, the police entered, along with Zane and another man she didn't recognize. Tyler must have texted his team once the medics arrived.

"Tyler," the man said. "What's going on?"

"Megan Prescott, a doctor at Waverly Health, was almost stabbed to death," Tyler replied. "Her attacker must have left just before we got here." He paused. "Jason, this is Dr. Rachel Thorne. Jason Colter is the head of our team."

"Nice to meet you," Jason said. "Your name has come up a few times. What's Dr. Prescott's condition?"

"Critical," she said. "I'm not sure she'll make it to surgery."

She noticed two police officers were hovering by the door, one on the phone.

"I told NYPD this crime scene is part of an ongoing investigation," Jason said, following her gaze. "They'll interview the neighbors, see if anyone saw or heard anything, but our forensics team will take over in here."

"Did Megan tell you anything?" Zane asked.

"She said she'd thought I'd looked familiar when I came to her office, and then she remembered seeing me in a photo in Jack's apartment. That's why she called me to come and meet her. She was worried about him. She wanted to know if he was alive. I didn't tell her anything. I tried to find out what she knew. She said she went down to the basement last night and ran into a guard. It looked like they were moving stuff out of the lab there. Dr. Levitan saw her this morning and told her she needed to stay away. She seemed to know something about what was going on down there. She also said Levitan is working for someone else."

Zane nodded. "Maybe that someone thought Megan was going to be a problem and decided to shut her up for good."

"They probably think they succeeded," Tyler said. "And they might not be wrong. She might not make it."

Rachel drew in a breath, realizing how much information might die with Megan. "I tried to keep her alive."

"You did everything you could," Tyler reassured her.

"We'll take it from here," Jason said. "You two can get out of here."

"I do need to check in with Jack," Tyler said.

They stopped to wash the blood off their hands in the kitchen sink, but there was still a pale red tinge to her skin as they left Megan's home.

On their way back to the car, they passed policemen going door to door and neighbors gathering on the sidewalk, probably speculating on what had happened in their quiet neighborhood.

"I never expected our talk with Megan to end up like this," she said as she got into the car. "Do you think the man who attacked her thought she was dead when he left?"

"I think he was sloppy not to make sure," Tyler said grimly. "That might have been a critical mistake, one that could help us."