“I’m okay, everyone,” she said.“Really.”
She wasn’t.Kayne knew it.Leo knew it.Even Anja’s expression softened when her gaze landed on Chloe, the hard lines easing a fraction.
Kayne dipped his head, murmuring low enough that only she could hear, “You don’t have to pretend.”
Her inhale hitched, but she didn’t argue.
Leo scrubbed a hand down his face.“Okay.All right.I’m sorry,” he said, voice rough.“You scared the hell out of me, Chlo.”
Chloe’s eyes softened in that way that made Kayne’s chest twist uncomfortably.She reached out, squeezing Leo’s hand.“I scared myself.”
That tiny confession punched the air straight out of Kayne’s lungs, leaving something hollow and aching behind.
Anja straightened from the ladder, dusting off her palms.“We need to assess the site, and maybe consider moving Ms.Giordano’s walk-throughs to later in the day.Preferably when gravity isn’t actively trying to kill her.”
Leo nodded hard.“Yes.Agreed.Great idea.”
Chloe huffed, irritation cutting through the fear.“I’m not fragile, guys.”
Kayne saw the shimmer she couldn’t quite hide in her eyes, the faint tremble in her fingers, and the tight little swallow she didn’t realize gave her away.
“No,” he said.“You’re not fragile, but you’re important.That’s the difference.”
Her breath caught.Just for a second, but it was enough.
Anja cleared her throat deliberately.“We’ll give you two a moment,” she said, tugging lightly at Leo’s sleeve.
Leo resisted until her fingers closed a little firmer, guiding him back toward the entrance.
Kayne didn’t turn to watch them go.He was too busy studying the woman whose life he’d almost lost three times in forty-eight hours, and wondering exactly how many more seconds he had before Chloe shattered every defense he had left.
#
Kayne stayed closewhile the crew cleared the area, Chloe tucked safely behind a stack of crates that Anja urged her to sit on until her legs quit trembling.Chloe kept insisting she was fine; her legs kept disagreeing with impressive consistency.
The foreman, Hal, kneeled beside the fallen ladder, a tool belt hanging crookedly on his hip, panic sweating through his shirt despite the cool air rolling in from the open bay doors.
“Give me a second,” Hal muttered, pulling out a wrench with hands that wouldn’t quite steady.“It shouldn’t have fallen.It shouldn’t.”
Kayne didn’t answer.His teeth were clenched too tightly, and he wasn’t convinced any words that made it out would be fit for civilian ears.
Hal twisted one bolt, then another.His brows slammed together.“Oh, hell,” he whispered.
Kayne stepped closer.“Talk to me.”
Hal rocked back hard on his heels, the color draining from his face.He pointed at the top hinge.“This wasn’t an accident.”
Chloe’s breath hitched behind him.
Hal worked one bolt free and held it up between shaking fingers.“See this?Somebody backed it out.Not all the way.Just enough to pass a glance.”His swallow was audible.“It’d hold long enough to look safe, but the second someone shifted their weight,” he made a small, helpless motion with his hand.Down.
Kayne crouched and took the bolt.It was too clean.No rust or stress marks.The threads were chewed, stripped fast and careless by someone in a hurry.
“Could it have been wear and tear?”Kayne asked, even though the answer was already crawling up his spine.
Hal shook his head hard.“No.This was hands-on.Intentional.Maybe when they were stealing equipment or when no one was looking.”His voice cracked.“But this was set up.They wanted one of our guys to fall.”
Kayne closed his fist around the bolt.No one had planned for Chloe to be under the ladder when it was stepped on.That part was sheer bad luck.But stripping the bolt?That was deliberate.Someone wanted a fall and the possibility of real harm.And that would’ve devastated Chloe if someone had been gravely injured in her gym.
