Page 118 of Hide From Me

All I can do is breathe—and hope that it’s enough.

“I need a minute,” I manage to say, my voice raw and worn down by exhaustion and too many unanswered questions. But it’s all I have left to ask for.

Caspian hesitates, as though I've just asked him to sit down and watch me die all over again. His jaw ticks, and his hand twitches—he seems one second away from punching the nearest wall or person. He doesn’t want to leave. I can see it in the way his eyes flick over my vitals, scanning as if he can will the numbers higher just by glaring at them.

Cordelia reaches for him, whispering something low and sharp near his shoulder. I can’t catch the words, but I see how his whole body coils and then releases all at once. There's a quiet war inside him, ending in reluctant surrender.

Finally, he exhales, his voice low and clipped. “Sam, go to security. Monitor every second in this room. Audio. Visual. All of it.”

Sam is gone before the words finish—no questions, no protests, just action.

Caspian turns his attention to Jasmine. “Go find the two best soldiers we’ve got. Not you. Not me. Not Cordelia. I need people we’d trust if one ofuswere in that bed. Got it?”

Jasmine stiffens. “The only people I’d trust with any of us, is us.”

“Jasmine,” Caspian says, his tone firm, adopting the superior-subordinate dynamic he has always maintained with her. She hesitates, as if she might argue, but ultimately nods and disappears quickly.

Caspian pivots to Cordelia, his features softening as he stands like he’s alone with the one person he’s allowed to break down around.

“Find Laura. She’s the only person I trust to take care of him when we’re not here,” he whispers, placing a kiss on her temple, calming her more than he is calming himself.

“Hey, Cas?” I croak before he can turn towards the door, and my throat tightens with every syllable. The panic I had managed to choke down just moments ago is clawing its way back up like bile. He’s already halfway past my bed, rushing, moving toofast—

“See? I don’t need to leave. What if—” His words jumble, and he’s on me in a blink, crouched low, his hands fluttering over the machines and lines like a man possessed. He checks my vitals, adjusts the wires, and runs his hands over my chest as if he can somehow feel what's wrong beneath the surface.

“Still here. Still alive,” I grit out, trying to breathe through the chaos. “I just—”

But he’s not listening. He’s too frantic. Toomuch himself.

“Cas,” I snap, louder this time. “Someone broke into Raylen’s place not long ago. I need you to—”

“Bloodyhell.I didn’t break in—the door just got jammed when I picked the lock,” Caspian growls. I give the top of his head a light smack with the side of my hand. This idiot. Did he not care about the meltdown I had with everyone else when they did the same thing? Did he think that just because he’s my brother, it made it okay?

“What the fuck, Moe?” he hisses, jerking upright, rubbing his skull like I cracked it open.

His glare is half-offended, half-relieved. “You hit me in themed bay?”

“You were crawling around like a lunatic,” I grumble, fighting a smirk. “I thought you were checking for monsters under the bed.”

“Iwaschecking your damn bed height,” He exhales, exasperated, but there’s no heat behind it anymore, just quiet softening features.

“I just wanted to make sure she was safe for you,” he says, barely above a whisper now. “I didn’t take anything. Hell, I barely looked around. I got distracted staring at the damn flower petals on the floor.”

“She’s not really the romantic type,” I mutter, looking away.

Caspian gives this bitter little laugh, smoothing his palm down the blanket near my arm. “She kept them, Moe. Didn’t throw them out.Keptthem. And with how spotless she is? That kind of mess means something.”

A pressure builds in my chest again, heavier than the pain. Cordelia steps forward, brushing a hand down Caspian's arm like she can ease the mini heart attack he just had.

“Everything’s okay, little one,” she says flatly, though I can see the genuine care behind her eyes. “I talked to Raylen.”

My head snaps up. Hope surges in my chest—but before I can askwhatshe said, Cordelia laughs.

“Sam put it perfectly when he wondered how she hasn't been caught yet. I've been wondering the same thing, especially after he pulled up the guy's files and discovered he had no family besides Raylen to report his disappearance. Granted, she is in the middle of nowhere, and I suppose the station doesn't patrol that area,” she rambles, mumbling under her breath as she stares at the floor, slipping back into soldier mode and trying to piece together a mission. Caspian wraps an arm around her waist, causing her to snap her head back up, her eyes locking onto mine. “But that's another story.”

My heart sinks, and Cordelia gives me that look.Thatlook that says,I know whatthis means to you, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

“Thanks,” I groan, tilting my head back against the pillow. The ceiling above me blurs. “That makes me feela lotbetter.”

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