“Grace!” I shove the chief hard enough to send him tumbling over the back of the sofa, and crouch down next to my wife.
She curls in on herself, arms over her head, her entire body shaking. “I’ll be good,” she whispers, the words fractured and broken. “I promise. I’ll be good.”
“Grace, darlin’. It’s me. It’s AJ. Come back now, okay?”
She doesn’t hear me. She can’t, wherever she is. Do I dare touch her? Every other time she’s had a panic attack, I’ve been able to get her back with a few whispered words or my arms around her. But this feels different. More somehow.
“You’re safe. You’re home. You’re loved,” I murmur. She stares straight ahead, her eyes glassy, lost in a nightmare only she can wake herself from.
Fuck it.
I slide one arm behind her back, the other under her thighs, and gather her close. She’s shaking, her tiny cries tearing at my soul.
“Stone, are you tryin’ to get yourself fired?” Harris rounds the sofa, but Parker gets right in his face.
“Chief, I reckon you’re two steps away from AJ beating the ever-lovin’ shit out of you. Step back. Now.”
“Lieutenant Elmore, you’re suspended. Out of my?—”
Parker’s punch hits him square in the jaw.
His head whips to the side, his eyes round with shock. Before he can do more than wipe the blood from his split lip, Belle bounds into the room, teeth bared, growling at Harris like she’s just met the devil.
“She’ll rip your throat out, Chief,” I say, keeping my voice measured and even, hoping Grace can at least take comfort in the tone if she can’t make sense of my words. “And I ain’t inclined to stop her.”
“You owe me an explanation.”
In my periphery, Parker sidles up to Belle, and I’m not sure which one of them is more lethal. “He doesn’t owe you anything. Not tonight, anyway. If you actually give a shit about AJ and Grace, you’ll shut your goddamn mouth, walk out that door, and keep this quiet. He’ll call you in the morning. Maybe.”
Harris huffs out a breath and backs away, cradling his jaw. Belle doesn’t stop growling until the front door closes softly. The house stills, filling with an unnatural quiet broken only by Grace’s ragged breathing.
“He’s gone, darlin’. Come back to me. Please.” I press my lips to her temple, rocking her gently as Belle tries to wriggle onto my lap next to her.
One of the dog’s massive paws lands only a fraction of an inch from my dick. I jerk and hiss out a breath. The movement is enough to pull Grace from her trance, and her eyes flutter closed.
“AJ,” she whispers. “Don’t let go.”
“Never.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Grace
“No. I will not ‘go lie down.’ Or take one of those damn pills. This is my life you’re going to be talking about, and I need to be in the room. Conscious and lucid.”
In truth, I’m so tired, my bones ache. Even sitting on the couch feels like work. But under the exhaustion, there’s a sharp, prickling sensation crawling over my skin.
Anger.
I’ve had enough of being afraid. Of not knowing. I can’t control my broken brain. Or my panic attacks. But I can control what happens after one.
AJ sets the pill bottle next to me, along with a glass of water. “Please, darlin’. Jasper, Connor, and Hardison are on their way. We’ve gotta find out who told Harris you were here, how they found out, and who else knows so we can decide what to do about it.”
“Which is why I’m staying in the room.” I wrap my arm a little tighter around Belle. She snuggles close, her body still tense. “I can do this, AJ. I need to do this.”
“Boss, stand down.” Parker drapes a bag of frozen peas over her knuckles, then sinks back into the chair. “Grace knows Connor and Jasper. Hardison’s…well, he’s intense. But unless he’s chasin’ down a suspect, the man hasn’t raised his voice once in the two years I’ve known him.”
“I ain’t your boss right now,” AJ mutters. “Hell, by tomorrow, I reckon we’ll both be out of a job. I’m sorry, Parker. I never should’ve let you?—”
