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Blake pushed himself upright, ignoring the protest from his injured side. Draven waited until they’d stepped into the hallway before speaking.
“You look like hell.”
“Feel worse.”
“I figured.”
They walked toward the empty break room. Draven opened the door and waited for Blake to enter before following him inside.
For several seconds, neither man spoke. Blake leaned against the counter, staring at the floor.
Draven finally broke the silence. “You know what I keep thinking about?”
Blake shook his head.
“The farmhouse.”
He frowned. “What about it?”
“When those men started shooting, you didn’t hesitate.” Draven stared. “You got Devon behind cover and made sure Gwen had her before you went after the threat.”
Blake’s jaw tightened. “It wasn’t enough.”
“No,” Draven agreed quietly. “It wasn’t.”
Blake looked up sharply. His friend’s face held no sign of remorse.
Draven shook his head slowly. “You did everything you could. But sometimes that’s still not enough to stop something bad from happening.”
Blake swallowed against the painful knot in his throat. “I promised her she’d be safe with me.”
“And she was. Until a group of armed men—who outnumbered us, by the way—decided to ambush us at a place we should’ve been safe.”
“They took her, D.”
“I know.” His friend nodded.
“I should’ve seen it coming.”
“Maybe.” Draven crossed his arms. “Maybe not. But beating yourself up isn’t going to change what happened.”
Blake turned away. “She’s been through so much already. You know what that bastard Crawford did to her.” His voice roughened. “She was finally starting to trust that she could have a normal life.”
“With you.”
He met his teammate’s stare. “I thought so. But now . . .”
Draven was quiet for a moment, but then he said, “So give her that chance.”
Blake frowned. “What?”
“You can’t help her if you let your own fear decide for you, and you can’t listen to the voices telling you it’s already too late.”
Blake rubbed a hand over his face.
“I keep thinking about what she must be going through.” His eyes burned. “She has to be so scared.”
“Of course, she’s scared.”
