“God.” He starts sliding his hands over my body, checking my waist and rib cage. “You didn’t get stabbed in the chest, did you?”
I shake my head.
“Panic attack?”
I nod, and he wraps his big arms gently around me. “Then it’s okay, love. It’s okay to panic. Don’t fight it. Just let yourself feel it. You’re safe, now. You’re safe.”
I start sobbing, grabbing at him. I can feel my nails scratching at his skin, but I can’t stop. I’m shaking apart, just a ball of frantic energy. I’m probably hurting him, thrashing around and clawing at him like this, but if I am, he doesn’t say anything. Just sits calmly with me in his arms, breathing steadily and exuding the comforting smell of grass and trees. Around me, I hear radios chattering and sirens approaching and the low voices of detectives and police.
Footsteps tread closer to us. “Excuse me,” a woman says, “we’d like to talk to Miss Saint about—”
“Not now,” Glen orders, his voice deep. The woman slinks off again. I sob, clutching his shirt.
“It’s okay,” he says in my ear. “He’s gone now. He’s gone. I’m here.” He keeps stroking my back, my hair, my face, murmuring soothing things to me, until the panic finally drains away, and I go limp against his chest.
Fifty
Glen
?
Even though the ambulance crew arrives almost immediately, the police don’t let them into the building until they’ve secured the scene. Which means Briar just lays in my arms, slowly bleeding out into my shirt, and I can’t do shit about it.
She’s not okay. At all. After that first wave of panic died down, it’s like it took all of her energy with it. Now she’s just slumped against me, her eyes glassy and cold, her fingers twitching in my shirt. I’m hoping it’s just shock; as far as I can tell, she’s been stabbed once in the side, and slashed across the face. The abdominal wound is worrying me. It doesn’t look deep, but she’s definitely lost a pint or so of blood, and there’s no way of knowing without a proper examination exactly how much damage has been done. For all I know, X could’ve nicked a vital organ.
I keep pressure on her side and try to keep her talking. “Baby. Are you okay? Can you say something for me, honey? Did you hit your head?”
She doesn’t respond.
“Briar. Please.” I give her the tiniest little shake. “Don’t fall asleep yet, love, you need to get looked at first, okay? Ambulance will be here in a few minutes. Just stay with me until then, lass.”
She looks up at me. She doesn’t look sleepy at all, but her lips stay firmly sealed.
I stroke her cheek. “Please?”
“How is she?” Kenta asks over my shoulder, stepping away from the detective he was talking to. As per usual, he was the most responsible out of all three of us. He somehow managed to stop himself from running straight to Briar as soon as we got the door open, instead helping the agents to get X into a pair of handcuffs.
“Conscious,” I murmur. “Pretty unresponsive.”
He kneels down next to us. “Briar, sweetheart? Can you look at me?”
She doesn’t even twitch. He sighs and dips to kiss her on the cheek, but she flinches away hard, burying her face in my front.
“Okay, sweetheart,” he says softly. “Sorry. Someone will come and help you soon, okay?”
He straightens, dropping a hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to talk to Matt.”
“He okay?” I ask.
Kenta’s face is pinched. “He’s fucking falling apart. Almost lunged at one of the officers. Luckily, she was understanding.”
I swear, tugging Briar closer to me. “Go to him.” I know exactly what’s going on in Matt’s head. He blames himself. Briar getting kidnapped and slashed up with a knife is hitting him far too close to home.
I just wish he could get over this. Kenta, Damon and I knew what we were getting into when we signed onto our last mission. We knew there was a decent chance we’d be captured. It wasn’t his fault, any more than it was ours. But he can’t get over it. Sooner or later, the guilt is going to rip him into shreds.
When Kenta’s gone, Briar starts to shake, hard, and I wrap my jacket carefully around her, trying not to jog her too much. I can’t think of anything to say, so we just listen to the sirens and wait.
When the ambulances are finally cleared to enter, most of the paramedics immediately crowd around X. Only one, a smiling woman with a blonde ponytail, comes to kneel down next to Briar. Her nametag reads AMANDA.
