“How bad is it?” Ethan asked, clearly picking up on the grimace.
“I wouldn’t be here if it was good. As I said, before we started discussing moral philosophy, I need your help. I need medical attention, and it’s not like I can go to the hospital. The woman who shot me knows she shot me, so they’ll be looking.”
“Why did you come here?” Blayne asked. “We’re not exactly doctors.”
“True. But you two have proven yourselves to be quite resourceful. And besides, this was the last place someone would look for me. Tonight’s exploits show a hole in my organization’s security.”
“And why should we ever help you?” Ethan asked before Blayne could.
“Because you want answers, and I’m the only one who can give them to you. And in exchange for helping me, I’ll give them to you. I’ll also inform you why we’re here and the threat this imposes. Trust me… What you know—or at least think you know—is but a speck of sand in the Sahara.”
“What do we even call you?” Ethan questioned.
“You can all me Dr. Hennigan.”
“You? A doctor?” Ethan barked out a laugh. “Physician, heal thyself and all that—”
“Yes, no, all the above.” Dr. Hennigan looked at Blayne. “Truly, I don’t see what you see in him. But then I don’t understand why someone with your IQ would waste their time with this…dotard.”
“I wouldn’t turn to insults if you really want us to help you,” Blayne replied, his eyes narrowed. “And answers would be nice, but they could just as easily come out in a court trial.”
“You think I would make it to trial? I wouldn’t make it to the county jail. I would be rescued or killed long before I could speak to anyone of consequence. And besides, tonight was part of why I’m back in this godforsaken city. A much larger operation is in the works, and I’m here to stop it. If I die or go to jail, I won’t be able to do that. If that happens, the blood will be onyourhands.”
“You’re lying,” Ethan spat.
“Maybe so. But do you want to take the chance that I’m not?” She gasped as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped against the couch.
Blayne was out of his seat and grabbed the gun from her limp hand.
“Is she?” Ethan asked.
Blayne put his hand on her neck and looked for a pulse. It wasn’t strong, but he wasn’t entirely sure what a strong pulse should feel like.
Ethan had his cell phone in his hand.
“Who are you calling?” Blayne asked.
“Nine-one-one.”
“Should we?”
“Of course we should.”
“She promised us answers.”
“She took down a plane full of innocent people to kill me. I don’t think I’d like the answers she has,” Ethan said. “This is like a puzzle to you—and you love puzzles—but this woman is dangerous. We can’t trust her. We should use our favorite ride-hailing app, order a car and spend the night in a hotel. Let her bleed out on the sofa. We can find her dead body tomorrow.”
“Yeah, she’s already bleeding out,” Blayne said, gesturing to the red spot under Dr. Hennigan.
“I can call Mr. J. He’ll know what to do.”
“Or we can handle this like the adults we are.” Ethan was clearly not swayed, so Blayne switched tactics. “She said she knew about another threat. If we don’t save her, what if more people die and we could have stopped it?”
“Let the police pry it out of her. That’s not our job. You’re a graduate student. I’m a pop star. We are not the Hardy Boys.”
“True, but we have found ourselves in this situation. Are we not obligated to try?”
Blayne could tell the second the wind let out of Ethan’s sails. “You willnotlet this go, are you?”
