Page 45 of Over the Edge

They’d walked almost to the first intersection, a hundred feet or so beyond the scene of the fight, when a door opened beside Anna without warning. She jolted hard, bumping into Trevor’s side.

“Did you hear something?” the man in the doorway asked.

Trevor, thankfully, knew enough Zagari to mutter, “My wife fell.”

The man shrugged and retreated into his house. The alley fell silent once more. They walked swiftly, putting several blocks between themselves and the ambush site.

Trevor muttered, “I recognize this street. We’re close to your grandmother’s place. Not far, now. Hold it together for me.”

“I’m fine,” she lied.

They slipped into her grandmother’s barn and Trevor closed the door and secured the padlock from the inside. She handed her bag to him.

She stood lookout while he hid the gear in an ancient pile of moldy, desiccated hay, and then they crossed the courtyard fast and silent, easing into the house.

Her grandmother and one of her male cousins were watching television in the living room. Anna and Trevor slipped past the doorway and headed upstairs quickly. She veered into her bedroom with Trevor on her heels. As he closed the door, her composure collapsed.

She’d made it to safety. Now she could let go.

Cal said something changed forever inside you after you’d killed a person. He was not wrong. It was a chill that went all the way to her bones. A knowing that she was different than other people, now. And not in a good way. She felt the weight of it settling around her.

Her robes billowed like smoke as she sank onto a low stool beside the window. In the faint moonlight coming in through it, she saw Trevor kneel in front of her.

He murmured, “You did great. You can fall apart now…as long as you’re quiet about it.”

“I don’t plan to fall apart. SEALs don’t get emotional about stuff like this.”

Trevor’s arms went around her and he gathered her close in a hug. “The first kill gets to everyone. I’ve seen men the size of Axe cry like babies after doing what you just did. I’m just sorry my mistake forced you into doing it.”

She muttered into his shoulder. “It would have happened sooner or later.”

“Yes, but it’s easier to make that first kill in a tightly controlled environment, at long range, and not with a knife in hand-to-hand combat.”

She shrugged. “Not how the chips fell for me.”

“Don’t repress what you’re feeling because you’re trying to impress me. I need you to get your reaction out in the open and deal with it so you’ll be combat effective if we run into any more snags.”

“What do you want me to do? Cry?”

“If that’s what you feel like doing.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because you’re cute when you cry?”

She pulled back enough to glare at him. “I just killed two men to save your life, and that’s all you’ve got?”

Trevor laughed under his breath. “There’s my fire-eating girl dragon. Thanks for jumping into the fight and having my back. I would’ve been in serious trouble if you hadn’t.”

She met his gaze, which was filled with concern and caring. Okay, that almost did make her want to cry. “I think I could use a hug.”

“One hug coming up.” He actually gathered her up, took her place on the stool and pulled her into his lap.

Best. Hug. Ever.

And not in a sexual way. In an, “I’ve got your back and I’ll always catch you when you fall” way.

“Talk me about how you’re feeling,” he said firmly.

---