Page 20 of Protect Me
“In,” he said, firmly.
Tears collected again. How had he remembered? This was the exact same routine Amma had taken me through countless times, through all kinds of circumstances. When I fled aunt Trina’s house, her skeevy boyfriends, the police raids, the parties. When I felt so afraid I couldn’t breathe and stumbled into their kitchen, gasping. Amma would pull me into her, hook an arm around my chest, and breathe me through it. The rise and fall of her chest against my back had centered me.
“Hold,” he murmured.
I obeyed, already calmer. The whirling sensation lost steam. My frenzy calmed. I clung to his arm, which held me so tight.
“Out.”
Three cycles later, I relaxed. His hand fell away, taking warmth and anchoring with it. I closed my eyes, pulled in one last breath, and forced myself to face him. Tears lingered on my eyelashes when I met his gaze.
“Thank you.”
He studied me in solemn intensity. The playful Vik I’d watched all my life had faded somewhere into the planes of this grown-up version. Life had jaded him, just like me. I wasn’t sure which I understood better.
“You ready to talk about it?” he asked.
“No. Bad day, that’s all. I’m fine, thank you.” I forced a chipper tone that sounded more strangled than happy. I couldn’t meet his gaze when I nodded to Hernandez. “Just, ah . . . weird day.”
“Oh?”
“I got a call.” I waved my hand to the phone. “Nothing. I just . . . everything is fine pleasedontsayawordtoVini.”
The words rushed out of me in a mad stream, furthering his suspicion. Hernandez cocked an eyebrow. The panic threatened to return, but this time I had control of it and wrestled it back.
“Please?” I swallowed, a shaking hand held out. “I just had a bad day.”
“Vini would understand.”
“She’ll read into it and she needs to focus on the baby.”
“Believe it or not,” Vik said wryly, “I don’t rush to tell my sister everything.”
Relief tripled through me.
“Thank you. I . . . thank you.”
With one last, long look, he grabbed the other crutch and hobbled back around the counter. Quickly, I took their orders, grateful to hide behind the espresso machine while I gathered their drinks—and my pride—together.
Worse than embarrassing myself in front of Vikram was the fact that Timothy would soon be out of jail.
And I had no idea what that meant.
ChapterSix
VIKRAM
Hernandez followed me out of the coffee shop, the sound of his heavy boots a firm thud on the ground. Getting out of my apartment, even coming to Pineville, had been a lifesaver.
The last-minute detour tograb a coffeebefore Hernandez took me back had a lot more to do with seeing Katelyn again.
Didn’t know why, though.
Seeing her hyperventilating and in tears certainly hadn’t been what I expected. Now that I’d seen it, I couldn’t unsee it. Nor could I get rid of the ache in my chest that told me somethingwasn’t right.
The door jingled as it shut behind us. I advanced a few steps into the parking lot. Hernandez followed.
“That was weird, right?” I asked.
