Not moving.
That tightened something low in his chest more than anything else.
If Sage had stopped, there was a reason.
Law’s gaze lifted, sweeping the room in one steady pass—stretchers rolling through double doors, a patient arguing weakly with a nurse, kids playing somewhere off to his left, the steady beep of a monitor cutting through it all. Blood marked the floor in a thin smear someone hadn’t gotten to yet, shoe prints tracking it farther than they should’ve.
None of it mattered.
He wasn’t here for the chaos.
He was here for Sage.
And then he saw him.
Sage stood just off to the side of the corridor, blood across his hands and shirt. A woman hovered near him, pale and unsteady, her focus locked on the double doors as a gurney disappeared through them.
Law didn’t slow as he closed the distance, cutting through the last few feet between them like there was nothing in the way.
His hand came up without hesitation, gripping Sage’s arm, turning him just enough to face him fully. The contact was firm, deliberate, fingers already tracking for what mattered—shoulder, side, anything that would tell him where the damage was.
He didn’t ask.
Didn’t wait.
His gaze moved over him fast, precise, reading what he could before Sage had the chance to step back or shut him out.
“The blood’s not mine,” Sage said quietly, like he was trying to soothe him.
Sage didn’t pull away. If anything, he stepped into him.
That was all it took. Law pulled him in.
His hand stayed on Sage, grip easing but not releasing, close enough that the distance never fully returned.
His thumb brushed once along Sage’s jaw before stilling there.
“You’re not fine,” he said quietly. It was there in Sage’s eyes—grief, worry, too close to the surface to ignore.
Sage tipped his head back, blond hair sliding out of his face as he held Law’s gaze. “It’s Rook’s blood.”
“That’s not what I asked.” Law combed the light strands back, slower this time.
“It’s what matters.” Sage’s face pressed into his palm.
Law didn’t move. Didn’t let him go. “It’s not.”
Sage’s mouth softened. He didn’t pull away. “I’m standing, aren’t I?”
“Barely,” Law said, low.
Neither of them stepped back.
Law realized that Sage hadn’t gone after the person who did this. He’d stayed with whoever was behind those doors.
“Sage?” The woman spoke softly, her voice shaking.
Sage glanced at her. “I’m here.”
