Scarlett locked her car and took his hand, holding it as they bypassed the ER, entering through the hospital lobby. Phillip had been taken to surgery, so Lisette and the others had moved to the OR waiting room. Scarlett pulled her hand away only seconds before they joined Marcus’s entire team, all of whom were huddled around Lisette. Lisette had been crying, as had Gayle. Cal looked like he was about to. Diesel was huddled in the corner looking like he’d break something given the slightest provocation.

Stone was green around the gills, looking like he was about to throw up. Marcus understood the sentiment. He, Stone and Diesel all hated hospitals for different, but related, reasons.

Jill had joined them also, sitting next to her aunt, her eyes coldly, boldly accusing. Marcus understood. Jill had feared that someone close to Marcus would get hurt if ‘they’ came after him, trying to finish what they’d begun that morning. No matter how much he hated to admit it, the young woman had been right.

Lisette immediately rose and walked into Marcus’s arms, and he tightened them around her, saying nothing as she began to sob again. What could he say, after all? From the corner of his eye he watched Scarlett edge away from the group toward the nurses’ desk. She showed them her badge and pointed to their group before returning and taking a seat on the periphery.

Scarlett had isolated herself, keeping her distance from his people and from him. He wished she wouldn’t. He wished she’d wrap her arms around his waist and lay her head against his back, but understood why she didn’t. Crime scenes and public places, no PDA. This qualified as a very public place.

Rubbing Lisette’s back in wide circles, Marcus rested his cheek on top of her head and turned his face so that he could meet Scarlett’s eyes. The nod his detective gave him was so slight that he might have missed it had he not been looking. She was still with him, even though she’d put space between them.

‘I didn’t think you were coming,’ Lisette said when her sobs had quieted.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Marcus tipped up her chin and wiped her cheeks with his thumb. ‘I got delayed waiting for the vet to come for BB.’

Lisette’s eyes widened, but it was Jill who spoke. ‘You were more worried about your dog than Phillip?’ the girl asked in condescending disbelief.

Marcus hated that this young girl could make him feel so defensive. He ignored her and directed his explanation to Lisette. ‘She was a forensic vet,’ he said. ‘BB bit Phillip’s attacker. We might get a DNA sample of the guy from her.’

Lisette’s eyes narrowed. ‘Good. And in the meantime, I hope he gets gangrene and dies.’

‘Not before we catch him,’ Marcus said. ‘Have you heard anything from the surgeon?’

‘Not yet.’ She looked up, her face tear-stained. ‘What happened?’

Jill’s chin came up, her eyes narrowing. She folded her arms across her chest, clearly waiting for an answer. Just like everyone else in the room.

‘I don’t know, exactly,’ Marcus told them. ‘Phillip was only able to tell me a little when I found him. He stabbed the shooter once they were in my apartment, but the man didn’t say anything. Didn’t say why he was there, what he wanted. Nothing.’

‘He wanted you,’ Jill said flatly. ‘And if that had been any one of us, including my aunt, we’d be in surgery now instead of Phillip.’

Every head swung around to look at her, including Scarlett’s. The silence was so thick, Marcus could have cut it with a knife. Even Gayle said nothing, her expression too shocked to be admonishing even if she’d wanted to be.

‘What?’ Jill demanded belligerently. ‘You were all thinking it!’

‘You little piece of—’ Diesel cut himself off with a visible effort. ‘You were thinking it. I wasn’t.’

‘Neither was I,’ Stone said coldly.

Cal jumped in to add his two cents, followed by Lisette, who kept one arm squarely around Marcus’s waist in support.

Scarlett silenced them all by rising from her chair and walking into the fray. ‘Why?’ she asked them, and for several seconds they stared at her as if she had three heads.

‘Why what?’ Gayle finally asked, trying for an innocence she did not achieve.

Scarlett gave her a tight, intolerant smile. ‘Why did the shooter want Marcus to begin with? Why would he want to hurt any of you?’

Diesel glanced at Stone, who shook his head mutely. Scarlett saw the exchange but said nothing, simply waiting.

Jill opened her mouth to spout God only knew what, but Gayle grabbed a handful of the young woman’s shirt and yanked her niece down until Jill’s face was even with hers. ‘You’ve said enough, young lady,’ she snapped. ‘Shut. Up.’

Shaking her head, Scarlett turned to Lisette. ‘Look, I’m sorry for what happened to your brother. But if you all keep playing games, we’ll never find the shooter. And I don’t mean to make your worry worse, but this killer seems to be tenacious and your brother is a loose end. You’re a reporter. I don’t have to tell you what happens to loose ends.’

Lisette blanched. ‘Oh my God.’

Scarlett turned to the group. ‘You might not like me,’ she said, ‘and that’s okay. I don’t need you to like me. But I do need you to trust me – with at least enough information to catch this shooter before he harms anyone else. Or comes back to finish what he started. You all seem to care about each other. This is the place where you prove it. Talk to me.’

Lisette opened her mouth, then closed it again, looking helpless and frightened. ‘Marcus,’ she whispered. ‘If that man comes back, he’ll kill Phillip.’

Marcus knew it. Deep down, he knew there would be no salvaging their work. If they told Scarlett what she wanted to know, the worst that would probably happen was that they’d be sued by the perpetrators whose privacy they’d invaded by hacking into their personal computer files. The suits would likely go after the Ledger as a corporation and the team individually. Especially himself and Stone, since they had the deepest pockets. It was unlikely any of them would see the inside of a jail, but it was possible. It would be safer to keep their mouths shut.

But then Phillip’s would-be killer was still out there, and he’d be back.

Marcus knew what he had to do personally, but he wasn’t willing to expose his team. ‘I’ll call Rex,’ he said finally. ‘He can help us figure out what we can and can’t say.’ To his relief, his words were met with nods all around. He glanced at Scarlett. ‘Rex Clausing is my attorney.’

Scarlett’s brows leaped to the top of her forehead. ‘You’re lawyering up? Really?’ She folded her arms over her breasts and gave him a death glare. ‘Really, Marcus?’

He accepted her anger without even trying to defend himself. ‘I’m sorry. If it were just me, I’d have told you already. But like I said, this is not my secret to share.’

She closed her eyes. Drew a deep breath. Then looked each member of his team in the eye, waiting until they looked away before going on to the next. She ended up with Jill. ‘Is there anything you want to tell me, miss?’

‘No,’ Gayle said forcefully.

‘With all due respect, ma’am,’ Scarlett said, ‘I wasn’t speaking to you. Is this young woman a minor?’

‘No,’ Jill said. ‘I’m nineteen, so she can’t speak for me. I would love to tell you everything, but I don’t know anything. All I know about is the damn list of threats, and you have that already.’

‘How do you know I have the list?’ Scarlett asked with a frown.

Jill’s bravado melted into a frightened wince. ‘I overheard my aunt say so.’

Gayle closed her eyes. ‘Young lady, I am going to . . . I don’t know what. I just don’t know. You are seriously disappointing me.’

Scarlett did one of her long blinks, her composure restored. ‘How long will it take your attorney to get here?’ she asked calmly.

‘He’s on his way,’ Lisette said. ‘I called him as soon as Marcus called me.’