My muscles tighten in the span of a heartbeat, that red haze back. Riley moves so fast, I don’t even realize his intention. Then, his hand is over my eyes, blocking out everything, and his other arm acts as a cage, keeping me pressed against the desk. There’s murmured voices, too many speaking at once to be able to parse out any meaning.
“She talked down?” It’s Dr. Petersen.
“No.” Riley’s answer is tight.
“The Omega’s partners are here.” One of the triage nurses. It sounds like Erica, but I can’t tell. I’ve never heard her bequite so unsure before. My muscles tighten, ready to pounce, to strip Riley’s hand off of me and rush to Cole before Charlotte or Marcus can.
Riley mutters a vicious curse.
His hand is an unshakable brick on my face.
“No one say a word about him,” he says, more vicious than I’ve ever heard him. “If you want Megs to have any chance of calming down without sedation, everyone just needs to shut the hell up right now.”
I don’t try to fight him. I count in my head, using his breathing as an anchor. My mind finally empties out, that numb center I’ve honed over the last eight years accessible again. The red haze fades from my mind, and the tension bleeds out from me. My shoulders slump, and Riley blows out a breath. He lets his hand drop. I can’t help the reflexive glance toward the trauma bay, but it’s empty now.
“His other partners are here?” Riley asks.
Erica nods once.
Luke clears his throat. “Your discharge is done, and the abdominal pain is waiting for ultrasound.”
Fuck, how the hell am I going to finish today when Cole is six floors up fighting for his life?
Riley glances at the other nurse before focusing on me again. “I’ll clock you out for the rest of shift. Take them upstairs to the Omega ICU waiting room. Whatever else you need, tell me.”
“Okay,” I whisper. I push to my feet, but he grabs my wrist.
“You need to change out of those scrubs before you do,” he says carefully.
Right. The fabric will carry Cole’s distressed scent.
“Luke, Vera, I need you to split her assignments until I can call in the stand-by nurse,” Riley says.
I edge around him, but he palms my shoulder before I’ve managed two full steps. It’s only then I realize the entire nursingstaff and our doctors are surrounding the desk, their faces a mixture of confusion and worry. Most still have their respirators on. It takes me too long to realize why.
“I need to get out of these scrubs so everyone can get out of the masks,” I mutter.
Erica glances between us with a frown. “I can go grab her bag,” she offers. She’s disappearing deeper into the department as soon as Riley gives her the ok.
“I’m serious, Megs.” Riley quietly pulls my attention back to him. His voice is that same carefully soothing cadence. “You need time off, I’ll handle the suits. You need help coordinating food, I’ll get it organized.”
Erica’s back before I can formulate half a coherent thought. She and Riley create a crude barrier as I gracelessly strip out of the scrubs and slip into my own jeans and shirt, all thoughts of work protocol nonexistent. One of the techs grabs the abandoned scrubs and takes them into the laundry drop.
It’s then that the gossip articles from when we were in Seattle drop into my mind.
“Cameras,” I whisper.
Riley frowns. “You need them?”
I shake my head. “There… there might be some that come. Remember when I was in Seattle?”
Recognition lights in his eyes. He turns to the gathered employees. “Anyone approaches you about that code, you send them to me. You say nothing else to anyone, understand?”
There’s a murmured agreement.
“Good.” He turns to Erica. “Go get her partners from the waiting room, please.”
There’s a collective gasp as the dots connect all at once. She ducks away, her eyes wide, and opens the doors to the waiting room. It’s less than a minute later when Charlotte’s running through the room. Tears fall down her cheeks and onto her shirt,but she doesn’t bother wiping them away. Her hand is held by Marcus, his knuckles white. His eyes are wide, his panic obvious.
