One That Came Back Read Free

afternoon outside the Westfield Police Department. He led her to his car, a black Audi, and opened the passenger side door. His face was unreadable, but she sensed he was angry.
    She was right.
    “Just what were you doing?” he said coldly after he slipped into the car.
    “Evan—”
    “Evan has nothing to do with you ending up at a crime scene! It’s all over the news, Emily. Men were murdered! What have I been telling you? Do you not listen to anyone? Stay away from that biker!”
    She looked away, tears sliding down her cheeks.
    “Em,” he said more gently when he must have seen her reaction. “I can’t help you if you keep ignoring my advice.”
    “Take me home, Justin.”
    “No. I’m taking you to your parents. Maybe they can talk some sense into you.”
    “I don’t want—”
    “Don’t you get it?” He raised his voice and then sighed, forcibly lowering his tone. “You were at a crime scene where very dangerous men died. Dangerous. Deadly dangerous. Do you see what I’m saying? Think Emily! There are more of them! If they see your picture on the news, they could be looking for you. Do you want that?”
    “I don’t want them finding me. At my place or my parents’ house either.”
    “We’ll deal with that. But you are going to your parents’ house.” Emily’s jaw set. Everything was a mess, a freaking mess! Luke’s employee was dead. Poor Gibs. Now the police wouldn’t tell her anything about Luke. The horrible scene replayed in her head. Men in a blue Cadillac pointing guns at the biker talking to Luke. Gibs throwing himself in front of Luke, taking the shot which was meant for Luke. The police shooting at the men in the Cadillac. Gibs on the ground and Luke on top of him. For one terrible second, she had thought Luke had been shot. She had cried out in relief when he got up.
    Thankfully he got up. He was alive.
    But the carnage. She didn’t think she’d ever stop hearing the sounds of gunfire ripping through the air. Or the amount of bodies fallen around them. It was like a bad movie playing out in front of her.
    The sound of her name startled her out of the images.
    “Emily,” Justin said again, apparently worried this time. “Are you okay?”
    “What?” She turned her head and stared blankly at him.
    “You were gone there for a couple minutes.”
    “Yeah,” she said listlessly and sighed. Everything felt hollow inside her.
    “That’s it. I’m taking you to Emergency.”
    “No! Please don’t!” Emily panicked. The last thing she wanted was to go to the hospital, especially now. “I'm okay. Just in shock.” She forced a smile, but it crumbled as tears slid down her face. “They fired me, you know,” she choked out. “I don’t have a job. Or a car. I can’t go back to my apartment. I don’t know what happened to my boyfriend. I don’t have anything anymore.” She put her head in her hands and sobbed. She no longer cared if she sounded ridiculous.
    Justin touched her shoulder briefly. “Let’s get you to your parents, okay? I’ll talk to them when we get there.”
    They drove in silence the rest of the way. When Justin opened the car door for her and helped her into the house, she let him. He led her into the living room and set her in the chair. Her parents fired questions and Justin answered what he could. She didn’t argue when her mom wrapped a blanket around her. Emily sat staring blankly out the window, half listening to the conversation between Justin and her folks and mostly crying.
    “ She’s had a bad shock,” Justin explained quietly.
    “And you said the police were questioning her?” her dad asked.
    “Yes. I got her out, but not before she gave a statement.”
    Her father harrumphed. “Well, that couldn’t have helped.”
    Emily rocked slowly in the rocking chair with the blanket around her shoulders. Why couldn’t she stop crying? Even though it was a warm spring day she felt cold.
    A doctor stopped by shortly after. She dimly remembered his