I rush up the stairs, my heart beating so hard in my chest my ribs can barely contain it.
“Lexi!” I shout again. It’s quiet. Too fucking quiet, and I’m trying not to let my imagination run wild. After her scream rang down the line, I swear I stopped breathing, and I don’t think I’ll take a full breath until I have her in my arms.
I round the corner into the spare bedroom she sleeps in when she stays here and find her curled on her side, her body shaking violently as rough sobs tear from her chest.
Without hesitation, I drop to my knees beside her and pull her into my arms, wrapping her in the only place I’m absolutely sure she’s safe in.
“I’m here, Wildcat. I’m here,” I murmur, brushing my lips over her forehead.
“Colt?” she chokes out.
“I’ve got you, Lexi. Just breathe for me. I’ve got you. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
She nods, burying her face into my throat, neither of us giving a single fuck about her tears soaking my shirt.
Every breath she takes is strained and broken as despair threatens to drag her under. If she’s not careful, she’s going tohave a full-blown panic attack, and I’m not certain I’m grounded enough myself to pull her out of that.
“I need you to breathe for me, Wildcat,” I plead. “Nice and easy. Follow my breaths.”
I take a deep breath, waiting for her to follow suit, before releasing it slowly. I repeat the process over and over again, making sure that she keeps up with me.
“Good girl,” I murmur, the words slipping out before I can think them through. My internet alter ego has called her that so many times I couldn’t begin to count, but I’ve always been careful of what I say to her in person. It’s a slippery slope I’ve never been willing to fall down.
Until now.
If I’m honest with myself, I think my mind was made up the second she told me there was someone in the house. Something in the back of my mind snapped, and I couldn’t have fought it even if I wanted to.
But that’s a plan to execute later.
Right now, I need to focus. I need to get her back to my place where I know she’s safe, and then I need to figure out how the fuck this happened.
This place should be more secure than the fucking Pentagon, so the fact someone so easily slipped in undetected is fucking with me.
Lexi sits up straight in my arms, her head swiveling. “Mr. Whiskers! Is he okay?”
“I’m sure he’s fine, Wildcat. He’s probably asleep in Cruz’s office with no idea anything has happened.”
“We have to go check! What if he hurt him? Oh my god, Riley will never forgive me!” A fresh wave of tears fall against her cheeks, and I press her head back against my chest.
“None of that, Lexi. Riley would never blame you for something that’s not your fault. Just let me hold you a little longer, and then we’ll go looking for him, okay?”
“But you don’t like physical touch,” she whispers.
“I know.”
“But—”
“Just stay where you are, Wildcat. I need this just as badly as you do right now.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You and I both know you’re the exception to all my rules, Lexi.”
For a moment I think she’s about to argue, but to my relief she allows herself to relax in my arms again.
Time falls away, the knowledge that I have to be the one to deal with this tugging at the back of my mind, but I’m not ready to let her go yet.
Truthfully, I’m not sure when I will be.
