“What?” It’s bad news, I can tell.
“You were ransacked.”
“No!” I run past him and nearly fall to my knees. Every paper from every file is strewn across the room.
My blinds are broken, the trinkets on my desk are in a heap in the corner, and the whiteboard outlining the Porter Brothers’ criminal timeline is erased. In its place are five words in black marker.
I thought you were different.
“What does that mean?” I screech, too pissed off to keep my composure.
“I don’t know, but we’ll fix this. We’ll get it back in order.”
“I needed to have everything ready to move forward with the pre-trial.”
“We’ll start over.”
“No, it’ll take too long.”
“Liv,” he starts, but I stumble back into the hallway.
“No.” I try to catch my breath, but it becomes too hard to inhale. “They’re counting on me. Everyone in this damn county is counting on me to get these guys.”
“We’ll figure it out. Just sit down,” he begs, but I swat him away.
“Fuck! Not now,” I cry as the world starts spinning. I hear Hayes, but I can’t focus long enough to speak as I slump unseeing against the wall.
“She’s blacking out. What do I do? How do I help her? No, I don’t. Does she keep some on her? Thank you, Thea. I’ll let you know.
“Come on, dove.”
My body is hoisted into the air, and my head falls back until flashes of the ugly ceiling tiles pass over me.
Cold water touches my temple, and I follow the sensation as it trickles down my neck. More water, until it’s soaking the collar of my shirt.
“Right here, Liv. Look at me.”His voice coaxes me, but I’m still in a dreamlike state.
Something spicy hits my tongue, and my cheeks pucker instinctively against the cinnamon.
“That’s it, feel it.” His breath caresses my skin, and I blink against it. “Look at me, pretty girl. Come back to me.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting against something completely different now.
“Don’t shake your head at me,” he scolds, but I hadn’t realized I was.
His fingers swipe at the wetness on my skin, but it isn’t until his thumb caresses the pulse in my neck that I open my eyes to the bright bathroom lights.
“There she is,” he smiles, but it takes another moment for the concern to turn to relief.
“Why the fuck does this keep happening to me?” My head falls back against the mirror with a thump.
“Hey, you okay?” Jackson’s voice comes from the doorway. “Someone down the hall said something was going on…” His voice trails off as he sees our predicament.
I’m atop the counter between the sinks, and Jensen’s body is shoved between my thighs. We’re both wet and flustered.
I think this is worse than passing out.
“I’m fine.” I shove him back, hopping down from the counter too fast, and my knees buckle before I can control it.
