Page 110 of Shadows of Steel
I’ve seen enough panic attacks to recognize one, but seeing my wife like this is something else entirely.
Nothing could have prepared me for the way it slams into me, the sharp, visceral need to shield her, fix this, tear apart whatever put that look on her face.
Her breathing quickens, fingers twitching as she claws at her skin, desperate to ground herself, but it’s not working.
I move closer, dropping to my knees in front of her, keeping my voice low, firm. “Harlow, you need to breathe. Look at me.”
Her head shakes—wild, erratic. “I can’t, Dante… I—”
She grips her chest like she’s trying to hold herself together, her entire body trembling.
Fuck.
I take her hands in mine, squeezing just enough. “Yes, you can. In through your nose. One.” I pause, waiting, demanding. “Out through your mouth. Two.”
She tries. Fails.
Her breaths are too sharp, too fast. Her pulse is racing, erratic, her skin pale as death.
I tighten my hold on her hands. “Again.”
This time, she listens.
One slow inhale. Two shaky exhales.
“Good girl.” I rub soothing circles into her wrists, anchoring her. “Keep going. Breathe with me.”
Her eyes flicker, recognition breaking through the panic. I don’t let go until I see the first shuddering signs of controlreturning to her body, the rigid tension in her limbs loosening, her breaths slowing. She’s coming back to me.
But I don’t let myself breathe. Not yet.
Not when I see what the fucker left behind.
I follow the slight flick of her gaze toward the mirror, and rage bleeds into my vision.
Written in blood, stark and mocking against the fogged-up glass.
Soon, my love, the wait will end.
No more running, no more pretend.
Resting on the counter, lies her wedding ring, smeared in blood, a final, unspoken taunt.
I exhale slowly, even as the violence coils in my chest, burning through my veins. This isn’t a warning.
It’s a promise.
And that—that is what terrifies me.
I clench my jaw, forcing my focus back to Harlow.
She’s staring at the mirror, eyes still glazed, her breathing uneven again.
I reach for her. “It’s over, leonessa. He’s not here.”
She barely reacts. Fuck, she’s still shaken.
I don’t waver. I scoop her up into my arms and carry her out of that goddamn bathroom, keeping her pressed against me, letting her feel my strength, my presence.
