Someone began shouting loud enough to be heard over the mob standing above him.
At some point, Jaime must have slid down the side of his home, and his hands covered his head as he sat hunched over his knees, taking great heaving breaths.
Two massive figures pushed through the crowd. The larger, darker-haired one began shoving people back and away from Jaime, like a guard dog defending his flock. He looked giant from Jaime’s viewpoint, curled up on the ground.
The other came toward him, hands extended in the universal language that said, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Maybe Jaime was just hoping he wouldn’t.
He crouched down, and gently pulled Jaime’s hands away from their protective cage and pressed soothing, sure sweeps of his thumbs across his knuckles.
“Hi Jaime. I’m Finn, and that’s Silas. We’re here with Private Security Solutions, and we’re going to help keep you safe. Can you take a deep breath for me?”
His voice rumbled through Jaime; a quiet, familiar blue-purple note of calm that blanketed over him and hushed the bright haze of his panic. Jaime focused on that, followed the sweeping eddy of his voice back out into the gentle calm where he could take several slow, measured breaths.
The man striding out of the dark behind him was gone. Only this beautiful voice in front of him remained.
“Good. That’s very good, Jaime. Alright, how about you tell me five things you can see.”
Oh, yes, the pamphlet.
For some reason, that nearly made Jaime giggle. “Your voice is blue.”
Does that make sense? Probably not.
“Thank you, I love the color blue. Now how about you open your eyes and tell me four other things you can see.”
Jaime blinked, not realizing he had closed them. “The sky, it’s starting to get cloudy. Your sweater is soft and green. My pants are gray.”
He looked up then, and wondered if he had passed out and was dreaming after all, because he knew those brown eyes. Hehadn’t been able to tell just how deep they were through a phone screen, but now he could see—like sun-drenched soil, offering warmth and life and hope.
“It’s you. I see you.”
Chapter 6
Finn
It’s you, I see you.
Jaime’s words bounced around in Finn’s head as he helped him to his feet and guided him through the front door while Silas pushed back the crowd. The wolf in his head was prowling in circles, a low rumble coming from his chest.
It’s him.
Scent him. It’s him.
Protect.
Protect.
The tug on his heart went hot and taut, finally tethered. Finn followed Jaime inside, beholden to that tug as it pulled him toward someone instead of away for the first time—for the only time.
Silas locked the door behind them and threw closed the curtains covering the bottom half of the floor to ceiling windows in the living room. Finn took a steadying breath, bracing himself for the full effect of being in the same room as Jaime Lamont.
Hopefully he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.
Jaime mirrored his deep, slow breaths, and looked up. A jolt of awareness shot through him when their eyes met.
It’s you, I see you.
