She didn’t dreamat first.
She dropped straight into a deep sleep, her body finally giving out.
Then it hit.
The shot. Roy falling, staring at her but not seeing, the metal locker. No air. The sound of water.
Mia woke with a sharp gasp, ribs screaming as she sucked in air that wouldn’t come fast enough. Her heart pounded wildly.
“Mia.”
Caleb was already sitting up, pulling her into his arms. Ranger whined softly at the foot of the bed.
“You’re safe,” he said. “You’re safe.”
She shook her head, tears spilling before she could stop them. “I saw Roy. I couldn’t … I tried to breathe…”
“I know.” He didn’t rush her or tell her to calm down. Just held her tight. “Match me. In through your nose. Slow.”
She did. Once. Twice.
“I wish I could take that pain from you,” he said more quietly.
The panic began to slip away. She leaned in more, feeling his warmth seep into her body.
“They’re going to find her, right?” she whispered. “Dana.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “They’re looking for her. And you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She slept again with his arms still around her.
CHAPTER 52
The next morning,Caleb’s hand tightened briefly around hers as they stood in the quiet kitchen. “I called Naomi,” he said. “She went through something similar once. She’s not coming as a therapist. Just as a friend. Someone who gets it.”
Mia didn’t answer right away. She fought back the reflex to say she was fine. Then she let it pass.
“Okay,” she said. “I’d like that.”
The doorbell rang later that afternoon.
Naomi came with no flowers. No pity. Just quiet eyes that understood too much.
She slipped off her shoes and sat with Mia on the couch. Caleb was at the Brotherhood in a meeting. Ranger wedged himself between them, tail thumping once before settling.
“I don’t remember parts of it,” Mia said after a while. “It’s like my brain shut doors I didn’t ask it to.”
Naomi nodded. “That’s not your brain failing you.”
Mia glanced at her.
“It’s protecting you,” Naomi continued. “After something violent, the mind closes rooms it isn’t ready to walk through yet.”
Mia swallowed. Ranger shifted closer, and she let herself lean into the weight.
Silence settled between them.
“You don’t have to talk about it today,” Naomi said. “Or tomorrow. Healing doesn’t run on a schedule.”
