Delaney swallowed hard around the tightness in her chest. Heck, in her entire body. The smell of antiseptic clung to the air, sharp and clean, but it did little to wipe away the tension and thememories still flashing through her mind.
The gunshot blasts. The dirt. The heat of panic in her throat. She flexed her fingers, grounding herself in the now.
She didn’t want Eli blaming himself. He already carried too much weight.
The nurse finished the last stitch and patted her hand. “You’ll be sore for a while, but you’re lucky. No muscle or tendon damage.”
“Thanks,” Delaney managed, her voice steady.
“I’ll get the paperwork you need to sign and a script for pain meds,” the nurse added before she slipped out of the bay, leaving Eli and her alone.
Eli ended the call, and his gaze immediately dropped to her arm, then met hers. Anger and worry still burned in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, reading the look on his face before he even spoke.
His jaw clenched. “You got shot.”
“And you handled it,” she reminded him, offering as much of a smile as she could muster. “It’s not your fault.”
He didn’t answer right away, just came to her side and looked at the bandage with a frown.
“Seriously, Eli. I’ve had worse papercuts,” she said, trying to add some levity to this non-levity moment. “You should see the ones I got during my Quantico psych eval week.”
That pulled a faint smile from him, just enough to soften the storm behind his eyes. He blew out a hard breath, running a hand throughhis hair, then looked back toward the curtain.
“Sheriff’s office has the guy in custody,” he let her know. “They’re processing him in and running his prints now. If he’s in the system, we should have an ID on him soon.”
Delaney would bet her paycheck that he’d be in the system. “You think Hale sent him?”
“Don’t know, but I think we’re getting close enough to the truth to make someone nervous.”
Eli reached for her, the motion slow and hesitant, like he was giving her time to pull away. She didn’t. She felt the warmth of his hand brush her back as he leaned in, the tension between them growing heavier by the second.
And then the curtain pulled back.
Noah stepped inside the small ER bay, eyes taking in the room quickly. He clearly registered how close she and Eli were, the way Eli’s hand had just moved from her back, the flush in her cheeks. But he didn’t say a word about it.
“You two all right?” he asked instead, his voice calm but clipped with concern.
“Fine,” Delaney said as Eli echoed the same word a beat behind her.
Noah studied them for a long second, then gave a nod. “Good. Because I’m putting you both on leave for the next twenty-four hours.”
Delaney sat up straighter. “Noah—”
He raised a hand. “Mandatory. That was not a suggestion.”
Eli crossed his arms but didn’t speak.
Noah’s expression softened slightly. “I’m not asking you to walk away from this. I know you won’t. I wouldn’t, either. But you’re running on adrenaline and fumes, and someone just tried to put a bullet in both of you. I need you sharp, and I need you alive. So take the day. Work from home. Dig into the files, make your calls, whatever. Just not from the field.”
Delaney met Eli’s eyes. He gave her the faintest nod before turning back to Noah.
Eli gave Noah a small nod, then reached down and tapped at the face of his watch. A soft beep sounded as he set a twenty-four-hour countdown.
Noah caught the movement and gave a faint smile. “Good.” He pulled a chair from just outside the curtain and sat down. “I talked to Vivian. Told her about your visit to Hale, what Ava said, and the note she slipped you.”
Delaney’s pulse jumped slightly at the reminder. Eli had given Noah the full rundown while they were en route to the hospital.
