Page 24 of Shadow Burn

For her.

The realization slid through the terror and lodged deep in her chest.

A siren wailed in the distance. Priss appeared, belly low to the floor, tail puffed and eyes enormous. She stopped just beyond the toppled dresser and gave one indignant, warbling meow.

Katherine made a sound that broke somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

Jasper looked over his shoulder. “She okay?”

“I think so.” Katherine tried to pull back, but her legs wobbled.

Jasper didn’t let go.“Look at me.”

She tilted her face up.

His eyes moved over her with controlled intensity. Cheek. Throat. Shoulders. Arms. Hands. A quick, efficient inventory as he followed the blood.

His jaw flexed when he came back to the cut on her cheek. His thumb wiped at the blood dripping down her skin. “Glass?”

“I think so.”

“Anywhere else?”

She showed him her palm. “It’s not deep.”

He cupped the side of her face, eyes searching hers. “You’re going to need to sit down.”

Her gaze dropped to the bed. The sheets were twisted. The man had touched them when he stumbled. While this room had never felt like hers in the time she’d stayed here, she couldn’t stand being inside it anymore. “Not in here. Not on the bed.”

“Of course,” Jasper said. “Let’s get you out of here.”

He guided her ever so gently into the hall. Priss darted ahead of them, then doubled back to weave around Katherine’s ankles. Katherine nearly tripped.

Jasper steadied her. “Careful.”

“She saved my life.”

His gaze flicked down to Priss. “Good girl.”

Another sound escaped Katherine. Closer to a sob this time. “You and Priss—you both saved me.”

The siren grew louder. Jasper helped her into the living room and eased her onto the couch. She sat because standing required a version of herself she could no longer locate.

He crouched in front of her. “Stay here. I need to clear the house and check the yard.”

“No.” Her hand shot out and caught his sleeve. He was the only solid thing in this house for her.

His gaze dropped to her grip on him, then came back to her face. “I won’t go far,” he said. “I need to make sure he’s not still outside.”

“Don’t leave me.” The words came out before she could stop them, shaky and as panicked as Priss had sounded.

His expression shifted, calming and reassuring her. “Okay,” he said, patting the top of her hand. “I won’t.”

She released his sleeve slowly, embarrassed and not embarrassed at all.

Headlights swept across the front window. Jasper glanced out. “That’s Garrett. He’s head of operations at SPS.”

A man’s voice called from the open back door. “Jasper?”