Page 28 of Try Line Hearts
Byrne couldn’t answer.
He was suddenly aware of every person in the café. Every phone. Every possible angle. Every tiny movement of his face that could become a screenshot, a caption, a narrative.
His breath went shallow, caught in the top of his chest like a bird trapped under ribs.
Fuck.
Not now.
“Byrne,” Kaine said again, sharper. “Look at me.”
Byrne tried. His eyes wouldn’t focus.
The room swayed. Heat prickled at the back of his neck. Sweat gathered under his collar. His chest felt like it had shrunk, ribs welded closer together.
He needed to move. He needed—
A warm hand closed around his wrist—firm, grounding.
“Come on,” Kaine murmured. “We’re leaving.”
Byrne didn’t remember standing, only the sensation of motion, the blur of light and sound as Kaine steered them toward the back. Not the front door—the back, through a narrow hallway near thebathrooms, past a staff-only door Kaine pushed open with the confidence of a man who assumed rules were negotiable.
Sudden quiet.
They stepped into a small sheltered yard—crates stacked to one side, bins along the wall, the dull hiss of the café’s extractor fan overhead. The air was colder here, rain pattering softly on the concrete.
Kaine guided Byrne to the brick wall. He didn’t crowd him. Didn’t touch him beyond the hand still around his wrist.
“Hey,” Kaine said, voice low. “Stay with me.”
Byrne dragged in a breath that felt like swallowing broken glass.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
“This is ridiculous,” he managed.
“Probably,” Kaine agreed. “But we can call it ridiculous after you’re breathing properly.”
“I am—”
“You’re not,” Kaine said calmly. “You’re doing an impression.”
The steadiness in his voice cut through the panic fog enough for Byrne to grab onto it like a rope.
Kaine’s fingers loosened slightly but didn’t leave his wrist. “Can I help?”
“I don’t need—”
“Can. I. Help.”
Byrne swallowed.
He gave the smallest nod.
“Okay.” Kaine’s voice gentled. “Do this with me. In for four, hold for four, out for four. No heroics.”
He exaggerated the breath so Byrne could hear it.
