Page 126 of Rescuing Rebecca
“I can still kick your ass, Babbitt.”
“And I can still whoop yours, Kincaid. So, keep your machismo under wraps until you’re fully recovered. Unless your aim is to make my job harder, in which case, we’re going to have a problem.” To make her point, Eve poked Grant in the pec with enough force to make him wince. “Got it?”
“Ow,” he complained, looking down at her with a grin while rubbing a hand over the area she’d assaulted. “I thought you were a peace-loving yogi, Eve. Not a ruthless dictator.”
She laughed and stretched to the tips of her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m both, dickhead. Now hurry up, Madelyn’s waiting, and Lord knows, she gets cranky when she’s hungry.”
“She’s not the only one,” Adam said, scooping a spoonful of steaming veggies onto a bed of fragrant Basmati rice. “Take a seat, princess. I’ll bring you a plate.”
“You too,” Jamie added, taking Halia from Summer as Grant and Zander passed them by.
“You know I can get my own plate, right?”
“Yep.” He bent way over to kiss the top of her head. “And you’ve had a long day, so go sit.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but didn’t argue, and aiming a wicked grin at Jay, she grabbed Becca’s hand. “Come on.” With a slight tug, she managed to get her moving toward the table. “Looks like the men are hell-bent on serving the women tonight.”
“Sounds like you’re doing all the right things,” Doctor Christina said from her home in Miami, and Jay felt a bit of the tension he’d been holding since dinner start to dissipate.
In need of professional reassurance when it came to Becca, he’d called Nalini’s after-hours emergency number to talk things through with the psychologist via a secure video call from the privacy of Adam’s office.
“I’m just—” He inhaled a lungful of air before letting it out in a rush. “I’m worried about missing something or making things worse. She’s been through so much. I don’t want to add to her burdens.”
He hated how helpless he felt—like no matter how hard he tried, he was one step behind her pain. One breath too late to catch her before she slipped.
Aware of Jay and Becca’s tragic history, Doctor Christina nodded, her expression calm but attentive. “You said she’s been shutting down when she gets overwhelmed?”
“Yeah, she doesn’t always show it right away, but I can tell when it’s coming. She goes quiet and still. Doesn’t move at all, then she disappears, and it’s like she’s not there anymore. She’s just…gone.” He paused to take another shaky breath.
“Take your time, Jay. There’s no rush.”
He closed his eyes for a second, felt his chest expand and contract, and when he opened his lids, she smiled at him in encouragement. “Both episodes happened when we were in a group setting. There was a lot of noise and activity going on. But I’m not sure if that’s the trigger.”
“And you’re able to bring her back?”
He nodded, running a hand through his messy curls. “She responds to touch coupled with a direct command. Afterwards, we all try to act normal, give her the space she needs to adjust, but I don’t know if that’s enough. I feel like I should be doing more, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“You’re doing more than enough, Jay. You’re grounding her, being patient, recognizing her patterns—those are all important. Have you talked to her about it, the episodes I mean?”
“I’ve tried, but she’s focused on…other things, and I don’t want to push.” Nalini was the JTT’s psychologist. A part of their team. But unfortunately, there were some things they couldn’t discuss for her safety and theirs.
“What about your shared past? Have the two of you discussed what happened with Maya? The sexual assault? The attack on Becca? The baby?”
His vision going blurry from the emotions swamping his chest, he blinked a few times to clear away the tears. “We’re starting to. We talked about the baby, and we cried for her together. It was hard, but we both needed it.”
“That’s a great start, Jay.”
“She’s still holding back, though, like she’s trying to keep her emotions locked down, except she’s exhausted from the effort. I’m scared about what’ll happen when it all comes to a head and it’s too much for her to bear.”
Doctor Christina gave a small hum of understanding. “Repressing emotion is not unusual for someone dealing with trauma. You mentioned she was an empath, so it’d be especially difficult for her to face everything at once. The key is to make sure she knows she’s safe with you and the rest of the team—emotionally and physically. That you’re not trying to ‘fix’ her or expecting her to change overnight.”
Jay swallowed the lump in his throat. “And what if I’ve already made things worse?”
Her gaze softened. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we, uh…we slept together.” He slapped a hand to the back of his neck and massaged the muscles at the top of his shoulders, trying to get ahead of the tension creeping back in. “It was consensual. We both initiated. We both enjoyed it. But I’m not sure if it was too much too soon. Maybe we did more damage than good?”
“Jay.” Her voice gentle, yet firm, she clasped her hands on her desk and leaned toward the camera. “Intimacy after trauma can be complicated, especially in the case of the two of you. But from what you’re telling me, it doesn’t sound like you pressured her.”
