Page 63 of Just a Heartbeat Away

“It sure as hell is not okay,” Seb said, a little more forcefully than he might have liked. He closed the distance between them in two long strides, dragging her desk chair along behind him. She lowered herself into it steadily, taking a long breath in and then out.

“Look at you,” he muttered, resisting the urge to brush the hair out of her face. “Your color’s all high. Your eyes are blown out.”

She looked like she’d just gotten off a roller coaster. But in a bad way.

“Let me see.” He reached for her hand and she let him take it. She used the other hand to tug at the neckline of her shirt. Sweat was turning the hair at her temples an even darker brown. Seb reached over and lifted the small window with one hand, and she let out a little choked sound as the cool air washed over her.

He bent over her hand, kneeling beside her. Dang, she was so small. If he’d laid her little golden hand on top of his, her fingers wouldn’t even have made it to his second knuckles. She wore no rings or polish, just clean fingernails.

He would have found that very sexy if it weren’t for the sour pit in his stomach. She winced when he pressed gently on the back of her hand. It was pink and a little puffy.

“I can make a fist,” she told him. “And wiggle them.”

“Show me.”

She did and he was satisfied that nothing was broken. “It’s just gonna be a bruise, Seb. And on my left hand, too. Not even that big a deal.”

Her voice was steady and her breathing was returning to normal. Her cheeks were still pink, and her eyes were still wide, though.

Seb rose and, suddenly painfully aware of his size, backed up to lean against her desk. He planted his hands beside him and tried to think small thoughts. Last thing he wanted to do was intimidate her right now.

“I mean, you get to say what’s a big deal or not, when it happens to you. But that seemed like a big deal. He was screaming obscenities at you.”

“This is Brooklyn, Seb. I hear worse than that practically every time I ride the train.”

He grimaced. “I’m not talking wackos on the subway, Via. This is your place of work. That man—”

He cut himself off.

“We were handling it up until then.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that. You two looked like you were ready to put him on the witness stand or something. I swear. Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you and Grim.”

She smiled a little at that and straightened out her blouse. He noticed that she didn’t use her left hand, and her right was shaking just a little. “This whole thing is gonna be such a mess. Oh God. There’s gonna be so much paperwork to do.”

“Paperwork,” he repeated blankly. “Violetta, a WWE contestant just tried to smack your hand into the next dimension and you’re worried about paperwork.”

She glanced up at him in surprise. “You called me by my full name.”

He resisted the urge to pinch between his eyes. “I’m attempting to make a point here.”

“Sebastian, we all deal with scary shit in our own way. Yours, apparently is to puff yourself up like a grizzly bear and then talk it to death immediately after it happens. Me? I just need a second. Okay? I need to think for a second.”

He deflated a little. She was right. He was demanding all kinds of crap right now. And for what reason? He didn’t even know. Just to reassure himself that she was okay. Maybe he was fishing for some sort of verbal contract that she’d never get into a situation like that again as long as she lived.

“You’re right. Just about took a decade off my life, but you’re right.”

“I can already see your new gray hairs,” she said, with just a touch of dry in her tone.

He grimaced at her. “Trust me, they’re not new.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. He’d been missing from lunch for five minutes. It was probablyLord of the Fliesin there. He glanced back at Via, who was shoving her chair back behind her desk and taking a deep swig of water. She was trembling. “Damn it. I don’t want to go.”

He hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

“I’m fine, Seb. Really.” She waved a hand through the air and it was meant to be casual, but the darkening red on the back hit Seb like a punch to the eye. “I’m gonna take a second, cry, fix my makeup and get on with my day. Which is now probably going to include a multipage incident report. Asshole,” she murmured under her breath.

Seb grinned. One well timedassholehad restored way more confidence in her well-being than all the hand waving in the world. “Well, do you at least have any lunch?”

“I do. I brought a salad from home. I’ll be fine.”

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