“Survive.”
Another simple little word, but his tone and the meaning behind it…it’s too much. My head fills with visions of the man burning in the street, the sounds of buildings toppling to the ground, and the screams of people all around me, and it’s all too much to take.
My knees give out, and I drop to the floor. I barely recognize the sounds coming from my throat as panic takes over.
“Shit,” Eckhart mutters. He walks into my view and drops down beside me. Tentatively, he touches his hand to my shoulder, and I flinch. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay. Just breathe.”
I double over, my stomach cramping up on me. Wrapping my arms around myself, I lean over until my head is nearly touching the floor. Eckhart is beside me, and I know he’s speaking to me, but his words have no meaning.
I’ve had attacks like this before, shortly after my personal nightmare unfolded. There are anti-anxiety drugs in my checked luggage for whatever good that does me now. I try to remember what the doctors told me about keeping my focus on one thing until my mind and body calm down, but I have nothing to focus on.
I’m in an unfamiliar place in a situation that is beyond bizarre. I have no method for coping with this. I feel a hand on my arm. The touch is slow and gentle, and I reach to grab hold.
Eckhart’s fingers circle mine. He’s the only thing even remotely familiar, so I set my mind to concentrate on the feeling of his flesh against my hand. He’s still speaking in soft tones, and I can feel his thumb rubbing against my palm.
Abruptly, I turn to him and reach out to clasp my hands around his neck, nearly knocking him over. The sobs come loudly as I hang onto him and press my face against his broad chest. He slowly puts his arms around my waist and settles back, pulling me with him as he leans back against the couch.
“I’ve got you.” His voice is soft and reassuring, but I can’t stop crying. “Just like I said before—you are under my watch. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
I’m shaking all over, and I feel like a fool, but I can’t pull myself together. I keep seeing the bodies in the street and feeling the tremors beneath my feet as we were running through the tunnel. I feel like I’m in a tight, enclosed space. My thoughts flash back to being grabbed outside my apartment and shoved into the back of a van.
“You stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, Ms. Savinski. You’re going to pay for that.”
The van keeps moving as I’m held against the rough floor in the back. Hands are holding my wrists above my head as someone rubs at my thighs.
“You got my girls taken away from me, you bitch. Now it’s your turn.”
“Please…please, no! Don’t!”
“It’s okay. It’s just me. You’re safe.” Eckhart’s hand rubs up and down my back. “They’re gone. They can’t touch you again. Ever.”
I don’t know how long I’ve been crying. The windows are dark now, and Eckhart has me wrapped up in his arms against the couch. My cheek is pressed against the wet spot made by my tears on his shirt.
“Shit…I’m sorry,” I babble as I push away.
“It’s okay,” he replies. He tilts his head to the side and looks at me.
As we stare at each other, the meaning of his words resonates in my brain. I pull away, unlocking my hands from his neck and pushing myself along the floor until I’m a good foot away from him.
“How much do you know?” I ask quietly.
“Some of it,” he replies. “I study up on anyone I’m protecting. I have copies of the police reports and everything else I could get. I don’t have any details, but I know the gist of it. I also talked to Mark Harrison from the last team, and he told me about your having a bit of a meltdown when he touched you, and you weren’t expecting it.”
“So that’s how you knew.” It made sense. He’d been very careful about not touching me unless it was absolutely necessary. Even then, he’d kept it as brief as possible.
“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he says with a shrug. “I still don’t want you to be uncomfortable, but this situation is different. I don’t know much about what’s happened here, but I do know this—something killed all those men, and something took the women and children.”
“Do you think whoever it was is still around?”
“I’m not going to take a chance with your safety,” he responds. “They might still be out there. If they are, I want you protected. Like I said—you are in my care until I get you where you are supposed to go. Until then, you’re under my watch.”
“All right.” I take in a long breath and let it out slowly. “What do we do now?”
“You get that all out of your system?”
“I think so.” I sniff and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Good.” He turns toward me and places his hands on either side of my face. “That’s the end of that now, you hear me? I need you to focus. I need you to think clearly. I need you to be strong and do what I tell you to do, or I’m not going to be able to keep you alive. Do you understand me?”