Page 122 of Bennett

He watched her smile at something Rylee said, the way her shoulders had dropped just enough to suggest she could breathe again.

And that’s when the adrenaline in his veins started to dissipate, burning off, leaving only the ache beneath it. His body hurt. Not from injury, but from hours of tension he hadn’t let himself feel until now. His hands flexed at his sides, restless, and when he pulled in a breath, it scraped hard on the way out.

Too much had happened too damn fast.

But through the chaos, one thing was clear, clearer than anything else had been in a long damn time.

He couldn’t lose her.

Not now. Not ever.

And he damn sure wasn’t going to let her walk through the aftermath alone.

He stepped away from the window and crossed the room. Laurel must’ve sensed him coming because her gaze slid over to meet his halfway, and something in her softened.

She said something to Rylee, quiet but intentional.

Rylee nodded and rose to her feet, pressing a hand gently to Laurel’s shoulder. “We’ll check in later,” she said with a small smile. “You’ve got back-up, and I’ve got a grumpy husband waiting on tacos.”

Mac gave Bennett a short, wordless nod, sort of a passing of the torch between soldiers, then he followed Rylee out the door.

The moment it clicked shut behind them, silence settled.

Not awkward. Not cold. Just…full.

Bennett sat down beside her, close but careful, elbows resting on his knees.

“I’m trying not to hover,” he said without looking at her.

A beat passed. “You’re failing.”

He huffed out a breath, half a laugh, half a release of tension. Still, he didn’t look at her. “I don’t care,” he said finally. “I just need to be near you right now.”

That pulled a different silence from her. A quiet one. Weightier. He finally turned his head to find her watching him with a warm, adoring gaze.

“You’re here, Bennett,” she said simply, like it answered everything. “That’s all I need.”

And damn it, that nearly undid him.

“I know you’ve said you’re okay,” he murmured, “but I need to hear it. Really hear it. Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m okay. I’m not hurt.”

He nodded once, slowly. “Good. Because I’ve never wanted to kill someone more than I did standing in that doorway.”

Her mouth curved faintly, a tired flicker of a smile. “You didn’t seem to hesitate.”

He hadn’t. In that moment, he’d made a split-second decision to let Matthew take Hess down because if he’d gotten there first, the bastard would’ve left in a coroner’s wagon, not a cruiser.

“I didn’t.” He softened his tone. “I never will when it comes to you.”

She blinked hard and gripped the blanket tighter around her. He reached out and gently covered her hand with his own.

“I should’ve been here sooner,” he said. The words were low. Rough. “If Theo hadn’t—”

“You were exactly where you needed to be,” she said, cutting him off gently. “He wasn’t the only one who saved me today.”

He stared at her for a long second, emotions swirling thick in his chest.