Page 3 of Hold Me Down (KRK Security #4)

For all that Travis was aware that one's perception of time could become distorted in a stressful situation, he also knew it didn't happen all that often.

Almost never, really, and Travis had been in some pretty fucking stressful situations.

But now as he heard Dave fall, as he listened to something inside him break at the impact—which should be impossible, but human body was capable of some awful shit, all things considered—the time it took from Travis registering it to him getting to the other side of the wall and dropping onto his knees next to Dave seemed to have taken forever.

Then Dave grunted in pain, and it slashed right through the litany of swear words that was running in Travis's head, anchoring him back to here and now.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, stupidly, hoping against hope that it wasn't… That it didn't…

"Something's definitely broken," Dave managed through clenched teeth, but he didn't even glance at Travis. He stared at his leg as he went paler and paler.

Before Travis could say anything, Kalei was there, crouching on Dave's other side. The rest of the team was only a few steps behind, but Travis didn't want to look at them.

Didn't want to see what he knew had to be on all their faces.

"You with us?" Kalei's no-nonsense voice was like a splash of cold water, and Travis's back straightened involuntarily.

So did Dave's. "Yeah, but I'm not getting up on my own. My leg's broken."

A chorus of muffled swears and hisses came from the group behind Kalei, but the man only nodded before turning back towards them.

"Martinez, call 9-1-1. Tanner, come see if you can do something as we wait."

Travis curled his hands into fists against his thighs, helpless and stuck in place, unable to—

"Move." Melissa appeared next to him. "I need to get to his leg and you're in my way."

Scrambling onto his feet so fast he almost stumbled, Travis made room for her only to kneel again right by Dave's head.

He would trust anyone here with his life—and he did, on a daily basis—but this was Dave, and he was hurt, and it was Travis's fault, all of it.

Travis needed to get a grip, though. Right now .

Ashen-faced and obviously trying to control his breathing, Dave was still staring at his leg, and when Travis followed his line of sight, he probably turned the similar shade, because, yeah , that was definitely a break.

It wasn't an open fracture, at least, but the bump in Dave's calf was obvious enough.

"They're on their way." Martinez stepped closer, his face unusually serious. He was an upbeat guy outside of the ops, and they'd been shooting shit merely minutes ago.

Not anymore.

Melissa nodded. "I'm not going to touch it, then. Unless you need support to remain in that position?"

"I don't think you can do anything." Dave's voice was tight but even. "It is what it is, now."

Fucked , Travis thought, closing his eyes briefly.

What it was was completely fucked.

* * *

Travis barely waited for the permission from the paramedic to climb into the back of the ambulance and settle next to Dave, who had gone completely quiet aside from answering the paramedics' questions.

Kalei stepped closer and glanced between the two of them.

"I'll see you at the hospital," was all he said before the ambulance driver shut the door, but Travis could tell there was much more coming, and he wasn't looking forward to any of it.

"We're screwed," Dave muttered, as if reading his mind.

The paramedic shook his head.

"While the break doesn't look great, it might not be as bad as you're thinking."

Dave hummed and slumped onto the bed, gaze fixated on the ceiling, and Travis tried to find something to say, but he couldn't think of anything.

For perhaps the first time in his entire adult life, his mind was blank. There was nothing. Not a quip, not a tease, not even a poorly-worded expression of genuine concern, which wouldn't come close to what Travis was truly feeling.

Nothing.

"Tell me immediately if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous," the paramedic continued as he typed something on the tablet in his hands. "Otherwise, keep tight, and we'll get you to the hospital as soon as possible."

Swallowing back a nasty retort—the paramedic wasn't at fault here and Travis knew that, he knew —he leaned forward and clasped his hands together. He was itching to reach out and touch Dave, but he felt like he couldn't, which was yet another kick in the teeth.

They had no concept of personal space between them practically from the moment they'd met, and now, it suddenly felt like there was a wall there, keeping Travis separate.

Keeping Dave safe.

Which sounded stupid, perhaps, but Dave was hurt because of him, because of Travis's big mouth, and his bluster, and his never-ending need to—

"Jeez, shut up," Dave said with a glare that almost made Travis pull back from the force of it. "I can practically hear you whining."

This would be a perfect place to throw a joke about Dave being the one who liked whining and moaning under the right circumstances, but the words got stuck in Travis's throat.

Dave huffed. "I mean it."

Get it together, come on, just get it together .

"I'm more of a brooding type," Travis finally offered, and when a shadow of a smile passed Dave's face, it became easier to take the next breath.

"You wish."

"I am!"

"Jeremy's the brooding type, and you're nothing like him."

Travis shook his head. "I'm not the whining type, either."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"See, I'm glad you could see things my way."

"It's either that, or go on arguing, and the meds haven't kicked in yet."

Travis shut his mouth, whatever he was about to say disappearing without a trace. For a few seconds, it had felt normal, the familiar back and forth soothing along the hard edges of Travis's nerves, but this wasn't normal, and he shouldn't be acting like it was.

He should be apologizing, possibly groveling, and Dave should shout and scream at him before the paramedic told them to shut up.

But before Travis could at least make another attempt at an apology, the ambulance came to a stop.

"Here we are." The paramedic put the tablet away. "As we take you out, there may be a bump or two on the way, but be careful to stay as still as possible."

"Don't feel like dancing, anyway," Dave told him, and even with only a shadow of his usual smile, he made the paramedic fold like a cheap suit.

"Good, because I'm not sure we're ready for you busting some moves on us here," he said with a wink before growing serious again when the back door opened.

Once again, everything started to move quickly.

They rode Dave in, reporting the basics to the attendee who met them at the entrance, and moments later Dave was getting taken for an X-ray and who knew what else.

Travis couldn't follow, could only stand there and watch him leave, and, fuck , it wasn't like Dave was dying or anything, but Travis's hands were shaking, and his heart was hammering, and—

He shoved his hands in his pockets and pulled his shoulders in.

Breathe in , he told himself. Breathe out .

"You can wait for your—" The nurse hesitated before redirecting quickly as she nodded at the door to his left. "You can wait in there. We'll notify you when he's back and ready for visitors."

Travis followed her suggestion after yet another look towards the door Dave disappeared behind.

The waiting room was small, but with only two other people inside—an older couple sitting together and holding hands—there was enough space for him to pace back and forth along the glass wall and watch the corridor closely at all times.

He would know when Dave was back.

Travis would see him, and reassure himself, and then they would go home.

They would go home .

He couldn't tell how many times he crossed that small space in the time it took for Dave to come back, but once he saw him at the end of the corridor, Travis rushed out of the waiting room in less than a second.

"Sir, you can't—"

"I don't mind him being with me in the exam room," Dave cut in. "He's my partner, I want him there."

Saying it like that, he obviously let the nurse think they were a different kind of partners than they actually were, but Travis couldn't care less, really, as long as it would get him into that room with Dave.

And it did.

After he helped the nurse transfer Dave onto the bed, she left saying the doctor would be right there with them, which Travis knew could mean anywhere from a minute to an hour-long wait, so he lowered himself in the chair by the bed.

"Did they say anything?" he heard himself ask, the words slipping out before he could stop them. Before he could come up with something better.

Dave shook his head. "Not really. I mean, we know the obvious—"

The attending came in with a tablet in her hand, interrupting whatever he was going to say.

"Good afternoon, I'm Doctor Ortega, and I'll be taking care of you today.

" She offered Dave a nod. "I heard you just now, and yes, we all agree there's a break, but I can assure you it's as clean as it could've been, considering.

No splinting fragments we can see, and no damage to the knee.

The ankle may be sprained, though. Can I have a look? "

Over the next few minutes, Doctor Ortega checked Dave's ankle and foot, finding the earlier sprained and the latter intact, and as Travis watched her closely, he tried not to overthink it and focus on the positives.

The break was clean. The foot was fine. The ankle wasn't, but the leg was going to be immobilized anyway, so it would be secured.

Then Dave asked for a prognosis, and he was so clearly bracing for the bad news that Travis held his breath as well.

"It can take two or three months for the bone to heal, depending on various factors. More, if you're not careful about staying off of it, especially at the beginning."

Travis closed his eyes briefly. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it could have been, given that it was a broken bone—and Travis could hear that snap echoing in his brain once again—but it wasn't great, either.

"And after those two or three months, will I be able to go back to work? I'm in private security, so I'm expected to be in top form."

Doctor Ortega tucked her tablet against her stomach.

"You're unlikely to be in your top form after needing to stay off your foot and to rest for long periods of time. However, since I'm assuming you're used to regular physical exercise, I see no reason you wouldn't be able to bounce back quickly."

"How quickly?" Dave pressed, but she shook her head.

"I'd only be guessing right now, and you don't need that. However, it should become clearer in a few weeks, when a doctor will be able to determine your progress. They might be able to tell you more then."

"Is there anything I can do to help the process along? Any exercises?"

"Lots and lots of rest. You should stay off your leg, that's the most important part at this stage. Pay attention to any tightening muscles, as you may need to massage your thigh and knee area regularly to keep them from locking up."

Travis immediately thought of Melody, their trainer at KRK who was also a physical therapist. He hoped she would agree to teach them everything they needed to know to do this right.

Whatever that would mean.

Fuck , Travis didn't even know how they were going to organize everything, but he was definitely going to request some time off, at least.

"I'll leave you for now, and the nurse will be back shortly to fit you in for the cast."

With that, the doctor was gone, and Travis looked at Dave, desperately trying to find something comforting to say.

Before he could do that, though, there was a knock on the door.

As Travis turned and saw Kalei, instead of the relief he would usually feel at the sight of the man, now it only added another twist to his already knotted-up stomach.

Because under all that calm demeanor, Kalei was livid.