Page 34

"Yeah, I'm here. Just take a breath for me, okay?"

I nodded, or at least I think I did, and the darkness began to recede. Unfortunately, the more I came back to myself, the more reality settled back in, and I realized I'd collapsed on the floor of Alex's bookstore. Worse, there was a small audience nearby. Alex, Ori, and Alex's boyfriend, Detective Donovan Parker, along with his partner Will Dodd, were all standing near the counter. At least they weren't standing around me and they had the decency to focus on each other, rather than staring at me.

"Don't look at them," Lain murmured when he caught my eyes wandering to them. "Just breathe until it passes."

It took several full minutes before the trembling eased to the point that I could draw a breath without feeling like I was going to pass out. The whole time, Lain stayed with me and the other four talked amongst themselves, giving us as much privacy as possible.

"I'm never going to be able to look at them again," I whispered once I could finally breathe again. My throat ached a little, but the man must not have had a hold on me long enough to really cut off my air. It already felt like my skin was bruising, though.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Lain insisted, shaking his head. "Those guys had no right to be in here, and they definitely didn't have the right to assault you and Alex."

Transferring my worry to Alex helped me focus a little more, or at least helped me disassociate a little more. Either way, it went a long way toward burying my panic.

"Where did they go? I'm surprised Donovan and Will didn't arrest them."

"They would have if they could have, but I'll explain in a minute. Do you think you're up to talking to them, or do you want to go home?"

I'd never wanted to go home so badly in my entire life. I wanted to curl up on my couch with a lapful of kittens, with Rom at my feet. I wanted to figure out a way for Typhon to fit inside and have him at my side. No one would dare touch me again with a creature like him protecting me.

Those men were a direct threat to Typhon, though. There was no other reason they'd be in town. It had to be him.

"I'll talk to them." I took a slow breath, the pieces of reality falling back into place. "Shit. We left the salon unattended!"

"It's okay," Lain said quickly. "I got all the dogs secured in kennels and locked the door behind me. It's only been a few minutes. They'll be okay until I get back."

I nodded. Of course Lain would have taken care of business before rushing over. He'd called Ori first, after all, and one of them must have called the police station and alerted Donovan.

"I have afternoon appointments..."

"I'll reschedule them or I'll groom them myself. You don't need to worry about that right now."

The way my hands still shook, having sharp instruments around a living creature seemed like a terrible idea.

"I don't deserve you."

Lain smiled, a shadow of his usual sunny grin. "That's what friends are for." He rose to his feet, offering me a hand up, which I gratefully took. He stayed by my side while I reoriented myself, then together we walked over to join the small group by the counter.

To their credit, no one seemed to judge me for what they'd just witnessed. If anything, they seemed empathetic, especially Alex.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess," he said when we joined them. He'd tucked himself beneath Donovan's arm, pressing against his boyfriend's body.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who came over here and got involved. Those guys were in my shop the other day and when we saw them coming here, I felt like I should do something." My voice only broke a few times, when another shudder of leftover fear worked itself out.

"I'm glad you did," Donovan said, then looked to Lain. "If you hadn't called Ori, who knows what would have happened."

"I know I'm supposed to keep my phone with me all the time, but I was just going to the back shelves to grab a book, then coming right back up front." Alex gave Donovan an apologetic look. He seemed okay, but he still looked a little pale. He was doing a better job than me at hiding how shaken up he was.

"Who were those guys? Can we press charges?" I asked quietly.

Will sighed and shook his head. He stood off to the side, a bit of distance between himself and his partner. "As much as I'd like to, we can't. They're say they're federal agents. I'm going to make some calls and find out if they are who they say they are, but it'll take awhile."

That sucked away what little breath I'd regained. Those guys worked for the government?

"They definitely gave off soldier vibes," Lain grumbled. "So, we can't do anything? They can harass anyone they want in town?"

"We can't legally do anything." Ori spoke for the first time and there was a quiet anger in their voice that I'd never heard from them before. Of course, I'd only spoken to Ori a handful of times in my entire life.

Will and Donovan both winced.