Finally finishing, she started re-packing the first aid kit. I rose, as well, and gave myself a quick wash in the sink, letting the blood rinse clean while keeping the fresh bandages and sutures dry.
Emery was leaning against the counter, staring dully at Carson’s body on the floor a few feet away when I finished. I could tell from her posture that her own adrenaline rush had fizzled, leaving her as empty as drained as I was. “What do we do with him?” she asked.
“I’ll take care of it.” I came to stand in front her, blocking him from her view.
“I can help—”
“No. Are you all right, Emery?”
“I’m okay.” She stared at my collarbone while I stood, waiting. She wasn’t okay. She was anything but. She had military training that helped, but she’d just watched me kill a man, a man who was trying his damndest to kill her. I reached out and pushed a lock of her white-blond hair behind her ear, moving my hand around to the nape of her neck after I did so, and she folded. Her face crumpled and she fell forward, into my chest. I held her there, one hand on her neck, the other splayed against her back, while she cried.
She wept harsh, guttural sobs that rose from the bottom of her lungs, stretching her arms around my waist and holding onto me with a breath-stealing intensity. I picked her up after a moment and carried her out of the room, back into the bedroom, where I laid her down on the bed and curved my body around hers.
“We have to—”
“Shh.” I smoothed her hair, traced the line of each eyebrow and the bridge of her nose with a finger that shook a little. I couldn’t stop touching her, reassuring myself that she was whole. She was asleep within minutes, sheer exhaustion of both the physical and emotional variety bearing her down into slumber.
Only when I was certain she wouldn’t wake did I rise and move into the other room to stare wearily down at Carson’s body. That he had found us was disturbing in and of itself. The fact that he had done so at all, given how carefully I had hidden us, was a clear sign that things were coming to a breaking point, both for us and Donegal. I was going to have to reach out and figure out a way to get us out of this situation.
Time had officially run out.
