Page 77 of To Hunt A Wolf
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Levi stiffens.He doesn’t look at me. No one does.
“Evacuation protocol?” Tripp says though it’s not much of a question.
Jadick stands. He and Levi share a look.
“Do it,” Levi says.
“Dammit,” Jadick mutters, but he doesn’t disagree.
“What about…?” Tripp nods at Dirk.
Jadick uses a two-way radio to call for medical support, and within moments, two Jades in scrubs arrive to help treat Dirk’s wounds. I watch, wondering if they can see what I can: Dirk’s physical wounds will heal, but judging from the haunted look in his glassy eyes, nothing they do will make him forget what he went through.
He was tortured.
Because of me.
“I have to make the rounds.” Levi’s voice is an anchor in my sea of chaos, and I force myself to pay attention.
“Rounds?” I ask.
“I need to be sure everyone’s following protocol. Can you stay here? Wait for me?”
“I’ll stay with her,” Tripp says when I don’t answer.
Levi hesitates.
“I won’t take my eyes off her,” Tripp insists. “Go.”
Levi squeezes my hand once, and then he’s gone, hurrying through the hangar and barking orders to everyone in sight. Jadick is already gone, I realize. And so is Dirk.
Tripp pulls me into a hug.
I let him, startled by the fact that he’s shaking.
Not him, I realize.
Me.
I’m in shock.
Freaking out in a way my training usually prevents. But nothing has prepared me for this. I’m not worried for myself. I can handle whatever happens next. It’s all the people inside these walls—their endangered lives—that fill me with a guilt so thick I can barely breathe through it.
Get it the fuck together, Mac.
Tripp finally lets me go, and I hate to admit that his arms around me helped steady me. He studies my face, his hands pressing against my cheeks so I can’t escape his perusal.
“Breathe,” he orders, which makes me wonder how much of my horror is showing on my face.
“I am,” I say, but even I can hear the lie.
“In,” he orders, and after a beat, “Out.”
I follow his direction. After three deep breaths, I feel a little more like myself. Around us, people rush in every direction. Their energy becomes more urgent with every passing second.
“It’s going to be okay,” Tripp says, letting me go.
