Page 116 of In Plain Sight

Using my grip on his wrist, I lifted his hand and pressed his palm against my chest. Listening to my heartbeat and my breaths helped calm him when his anxiety spiked. I couldn’t exactly lay down with him here. Hopefully feeling me breathe would have the same effect.

He pushed his hand against my chest and immediately matched his breathing with mine.

“That’s it, baby,” I said softly. “You’re doing good.”

He swallowed and nodded, his eyes never leaving mine.

“You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

He nodded again and squeezed my hand so hard my fingers cracked.

Slowly, the panic in his eyes and the tension in his body eased, and I saw the moment he snapped out of it.

“Baby?” I asked, needing to be sure he was okay before I stepped away from him. “How do you feel?”

“Better.” His smile was shaky but genuine. “I think it’s over.”

Reluctantly, I let go of his hands and stepped back.

“One more hour,” he murmured and crossed his arms like he was warding off a chill.

“One more hour,” I repeated. “Do you need to go to the break room and sit down for a minute?”

He shook his head. “I need to be busy. Dosomethingso I don’t keep thinking.”

I handed him his water bottle. He flipped open the cap to take a few long gulps.

“Isaac did the inventory on Friday. Which means the inventory hasn’t been done yet.”

Luka snickered. “Whose brilliant idea was that? Letting Isaac near the inventory?”

“Asa.” I couldn’t help grinning. “He bet Isaac that he couldn’t finish the inventory in an hour.”

Luka shook his head and laughed. “Of course he did.”

“Not my fault he was being annoying.”

“Jesus!” Luka startled at Asa’s voice. “You did that on purpose,” he accused.

Asa stopped next to Luka’s worktable. “Who, me?”

“Yeah, that innocent shit doesn’t work on me. You might look like a goth angel, but we know the truth,” Luka said pointedly.

Asa grinned. “A goth angel. I like that.”

When he was dressed down at work, Asa really did look like an angel with his platinum blond hair and cherubic features. He was the same height as Luka, but because he was slender, he looked much smaller and younger than twenty-two. Not even the dark nail polish he liked to wear could detract from the air of innocence around him.

Off the clock, he looked like a completely different person. He still had the platinum blond hair and cherubic features, but his many facial piercings and full sleeve of tattoos on one arm were less than angelic. Add in the chunky chain jewelry and subtle eye makeup he usually wore, and it really was like looking at a goth version of an angel.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

It wasn’t unusual for Asa to come by the shop when he wasn’t working. Usually it was to pick something up or because he needed to talk to Dev or Nate about something. But there weretimes when he’d come in and just hang out, like he was trying to avoid going somewhere. This felt like one of those times.

He shrugged and glanced at the door to the breakroom. “Okay enough.”

“Do you have anywhere to be?” I asked.

He shook his head.

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