Page 115 of In Plain Sight

I crossed the room and came to stand next to him. He shifted the slightest bit closer, leaving only a few inches between us. I pressed the side of my boot against his. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could do while we were here.

“What’s going on?” I asked softly.

He chewed on the corner of his lips. “I’m not sure. I just…”

“Are you worried about something?”

“No, but sort of?” He tapped his other foot against the floor in an erratic pattern.

“Are you feeling anxious?” I crossed my arms and leaned back until our elbows brushed.

He nodded and pressed his arm against mine.

“Take a breath,” I said softly.

He did.

“That’s good,” I murmured. “Now do that two more times for me.”

He obeyed, his posture relaxing slightly on his last exhale.

“That’s it. You’re doing so good,” I praised softly. “One more.”

He did, inhaling and exhaling in long draws.

“How do you feel now?”

“I don’t know.” He huffed out an embarrassed sound. “I can’t believe this is happening at work.”

“Did something trigger this?”

I’d seen this happen to Luka a few times in the past month, and as far as I could tell, there was nothing specific that triggered these episodes. They seemed to hit when he was under a lot of stress, and he’d been really stressed-out lately.

“I don’t know.” He shot me a helpless look. “I just started spiraling and thinking of all these worst-case scenarios and picturing all these horrible things happening.” He closed his eyes for a few beats and sucked in a harsh breath. “I don’t even remember what triggered it or what I was thinking about. It just hit out of nowhere. This hasn’t happened in forever. Not like this.”

“You’re okay, Luka.” Uncrossing my arms, I rested my hand on his thigh and stroked my thumb over the rough material of his coveralls.

It was a risky move, even with the table covering us, but Luka needed me. I’d deal with the consequences later.

“Just breathe, baby. I’m right here.”

He nodded and dropped his arms so he could cover my hand with his. Squeezing it tight, he bent his head and closed his eyes.

I held his hand as he breathed, stretching each inhale and exhale as he fought to regain control of his thoughts.

“That’s it,” I murmured. “You’re doing good. Just breathe for me. I’ve got you.”

He made a snuffling sound and gripped my hand tighter.

Fuck this.

Not giving a shit that we were at work and out in the open, I moved so I was in front of him. He lifted his eyes, meeting my gaze.

“We could get caught,” he whispered.

“Don’t worry about that.” I took one of his hands in mine and gripped his other wrist. “Just focus on me and my voice. Can you do that?”

He nodded.

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