Page 18 of Blossoming Dahlia

My legs buckled, but Asher caught me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me until all I could feel was his warmth. I was shaking, small tremors traveling down my spine and through each of my limbs. I gasped, and my lungs expanded just a little, enough that I was able to exhale in a sob. Asher pulled away just a bit, and I swayed for a moment, untethered, until I felt Amanda’s hands around my shoulders. “Baby girl, hey, you’re okay,” she murmured, smoothing my hair out of my face. I tried to respond, but another sob bubbled up in its place,and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to keep from falling apart.

“Ms. Porter! Any comments on Mayor Cormack’s bold proclamation?” someone shouted.

“Hey, this is a restricted area!” Asher snapped, storming past us, going after the reporter who’d clearly followed me here. Hunter pulled us both to the nearest conference room, and Amanda had whisked me inside to sit down. “Stay here,” he had told us, shutting the door behind him. I could hear Asher shouting through the wall.

That had been a while ago now, and we still could hear voices floating toward us through the thin walls of the conference room. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to, my whole body felt paralyzed. I managed to get a sip of water, willing myself to swallow it before it just dribbled out of my mouth. “As soon as we get out of this closet, I’ll find you something stronger,” Amanda murmured, and I choked out a small laugh.

Amanda jumped to her feet as the door opened, but it was only Hunter and Asher, both grim-faced. “Hey, real quick, what the fuck was that nonsense?” Amanda snapped, her fury leveled at Hunter. He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

“I have no idea,” he muttered. “None of that was in the overview we were given. As far as I know, that was all spur-of-the-moment. I’m so sorry,” he announced, looking at me when he said the last part. “I would never have let you do that if I’d known.” He looked genuinely upset, and I knew he was telling the truth. None of that felt planned, it was more like a rant than a speech by the end. A knock at the door had us all on edge, and a small brunette woman stuck her head inside. I recognized her as the media person for the mayor, and my heart thundered in my chest.

“Hey guys… just wanted to debrief really quick,” she announced, her voice a little too breezy.

“I think you’ve done quite enough,” Asher replied, his voice cold and oddly menacing. She bristled at his comment, turning to ignore him, her eyes focusing on me. Amanda stepped up, her hands balled into fists, and I grabbed the back of her shirt to stop her.

“I know things got a bit unscripted there near the end, but sometimes Mayor Cormack likes to add some emotion into his speeches, for authenticity,” she explained, as if he hadn’t just waved me in front of a serial killer like a prize that had been stolen away.

“What do you need from us?” Hunter asked sharply, crossing his arms.

“Well, Mayor Cormack would love to get a couple pictures with Ms. Porter, and I believe the press has some questions they would like to ask her as well,” she told him, eyeing us nervously.

“You havegotto be fucking kidding me,” Asher snapped, and Hunter gave him a sharp look, but he ignored it. “He’s not toting Ms. Porter out there in front of those vultures like some kind of trophy.”

“Cross, why don’t you go grab Ms. Porter some more water,” Hunter suggested pointedly, but Asher waved him off, advancing on the media woman until she was forced to back up a step, her back hitting the wall behind her.

“Do you know what you idiots have done? I could have you charged for disrupting a federal investigation, for harassing a witness-” he growled, and Hunter put a hand on his shoulder.

“Dr. Cross,” he emphasized. “Go find Ms. Porter a bottle of water. Now, please.” Hunter was shorter than Asher by nearly half a foot, but he had an air of authority that was undeniable. Asher clenched his fists, staring down at his partner for a long moment, before stepping back and walking out without another word. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, and, from the looks of it, the media coordinator did the same.She opened her mouth to continue talking but Hunter cut her off immediately. “No, we’re done here. Ms. Porter will not be returning for pictures, and you can forget about any other press opportunities with this or any other case,” Hunter told her, his tone razor sharp. Her face scrunched up, and she looked like she was going to argue with him, but he just stepped smoothly out of the way and held his arm out. “I’ll walk you out.” Her shoulders rose in indignation, but she nodded firmly, shooting me one last desperate look before leaving. Hunter followed her out, closing the door behind him.

“Jesus, she really had the fucking audacity, didn’t she?” Amanda huffed, and I let out another choked laugh. I wiped my fingers across my cheeks, trying to clear off any remaining tears that might be hanging around.

“Here, I’ve got some wipes somewhere,” Amanda announced, rifling through her purse until she pulled out a little package of makeup wipes. I let her clean off my face, scrubbing my smudged mascara off as best she could. “I wonder if Doc actually went to get water, or if he just wandered off to take a swing at a few reporters,” she mused, and I could tell she was trying to make me laugh.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t actually punch anyone, this is his workplace after all,” I murmured, glancing over to the door. “He was pretty mad though.”

“That’s an understatement. I thought he was going to take out the mayor after his first dumbass comment.” Amanda smirked. “It was hot, if you asked me, the way he just whisked you away like that. That boy is a real Knight in Shining Armour.” I cocked my eyebrow at her. He was most definitely not her type, so what the hell was she angling at?

“It’s his job,” I reminded her. “He does work with victims and witnesses all the time, he’s just good at what he does.” Ilooked down at my lap, smoothing out my blouse, my hands still shaking a little.

“Mmhmm.” Amanda leaned back on the conference table, kicking her legs up restlessly. “Sure thing, babe. I bet he lets all his witnesses snuggle him during a scary movie.” I blushed, shooting her a dirty look.

“That wasn’t anything special, he’s just being nice, it’s all part of the job,” I muttered, and she cackled so hard she nearly tumbled off the table. “Think about it, who would be genuinely interested in someone who panics every time someone asks them a direct question? I’m homeless, traumatized and held together with sewing materials. My actual boyfriend wouldn’t even stick around for that, I don’t think I’ll be hitting the dating scene anytime soon.” I looked down at my hands, picking at a hangnail as I focused on not crying again. I had a shitty afternoon, I should be allowed to wallow in self-pity for a bit. I guessed Amanda didn’t think that way though.

Grabbing both of my shoulders roughly, she bent over so her face was right in front of mine. “Josh was a grade A turd, and we will not speak of that idiot any longer,” she told me, giving me a small shake. “Stitches heal, apartments are easy enough to find, and… well, the trauma thing will stick around for a while, I guess, but we can get you meds, or a dog, or maybe just a bad habit like functional alcoholism. You haven’t even been home that long, nobody expects you to bounce back to your old self overnight.” Her face was so close, her nose was brushing mine, and she shook me again, gently this time. “Snap out of this downward spiral before I have to get nasty because you know I will. I’ll make Doc look like a Carebear, and then you’ll wish you’d never been rescued.”

I laughed, fighting past the lump in my throat. She gave me a sloppy kiss on the forehead and then pushed my chair, letting it roll backward until it hit the wall. We were still laughing whenHunter walked back in. “Alright Dahlia, how about we get you out of here?” He smiled. I nodded gratefully, and we followed him out and down the hall. He took us the long way to avoid any lingering reporters, and it wasn’t until we reached his SUV that I realized we were missing someone.

“Is Asher coming with us?” I asked, looking around, Hunter frowned and shook his head, opening my door for me to hop inside. Amanda followed suit, leaving Hunter alone in the front of the vehicle.

“No, he needs to take care of a few things here,” he replied shortly, and I bit my lip, hoping he didn’t get in trouble for his outburst earlier.

We stopped for food on the way back to the hotel, and Amanda and I ate pizza while watching reruns ofJeopardyon the couch. She eventually had to go home—her work wasn’t as forgiving about her taking time off since she wasn’t the one who’d actually been kidnapped. Once she left, I went to lay down, leaving Hunter outside to work. It was weird not having Asher around, he’d basically been a constant fixture in my life since they’d found me. But I guessed it made sense, he did have his own life outside of this case and he wasn’t going to be around forever, anyway. Eventually, Curing would be caught, and I wouldn’t need to hide behind FBI agents with guns anymore. Still, his absence hurt a bit, for reasons I couldn’t really explain.

I decided to have a nice long bath and soak off the day, making sure to remember and scrub the rest of the makeup off so I didn’t smear it all over the pillow and wake up looking like a raccoon. I felt moderately better as I pulled on my pajamas and curled up in the hotel bed. I wished there was a TV in the room so I could put something on to listen to while I fell asleep, but I’d have to go and sleep on the couch if I wanted to do that. I sighed and forced myself to get comfortable in the silence. I wasn’t feelingup to having company tonight, and I knew from the light under my door that Hunter was still outside working.

I guessed I managed to drift off at some point because I woke up with a gasp a few hours later, sitting up in bed and looking around wildly. My heart was racing, and I threw off the covers, climbing out of the bed and pacing across the room to the bathroom. I didn’t remember this dream, but I knew it was bad from how my hands were shaking as I splashed cold water on my face, trying to calm myself down. Water didn’t help much, and I stormed back into my room, keyed up and anxious. I couldn’t lay back down, not right now. I checked, and it looked like the lights were off outside, so Hunter must’ve gone to bed. I opened the door and crept out, watching my step in the unfamiliar darkness, heading for the fridge. The light blinded me momentarily, and I blinked, looking around to see if there was anything besides liquids inside.

“Couldn’t sleep?” a voice asked, and I yelped and spun around, smacking into the person standing behind me. My adrenaline was still surging from my nightmare, so I didn’t hesitate to swing out blindly, my fist making contact with something solid, and I heard a small grunt, followed by a rough laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

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