—Cassandra, breathless. “Please—”
Sliding against the wall, head in his hands, suffocating, he wouldsuffocate—
—Amber eyes. “Please don’t let me fall—”
“—please, Captain, don’t let me… I don’t want to…”
—on his hands and his knees, retching. Bishop’s voice, “Damn it Captain! Where is—”
“Reeves!”
“What’s wrong with him?!”
“Boy! Go get—should be—bloody hell—! Go!”
“—hold him still! We need to—”
—agony, every fiber in his being erupting—
—Eyes filled with pity, boots clipping away—
Boots coming closer, “Seth—”
—Lashes fluttering, sighing. “Seth.”—
—Eyes snapping open, screaming, “Seth!”—
Oh God, he wasscreaming—he couldn’tstopscreaming—
“Seth! Stop!”
Hard hands clamped down onto his shoulders.
Lunging forward, shoving at the hands, grappling, pain as his kneesslammed to the ground, he snarled, “Don’t touch me!”
Nostril’s flaring. Heart racing. Eyes focusing… he stared down into the frightened eyes of Matthew Cooper, hands to his side sprawled out on the floor.
Seth’s hands around his throat.
With a horrified gasp, Seth shot back and away from him. He curled his knees to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, seizing his muscles to hold the tremors at bay.
Fingers twitching, he almost—he could have—!
Cooper sat up. Shaking visibly, he scooted across the floor. Holding the wall for support, he struggled to his feet. He gasped and wheezed, rubbing his throat.
“Understood,” he rasped. “No touching.”
Seth couldn’t fight his stream of tears or the mucus running from his nostrils. He wiped both on his sleeve.
What have I done?
Behind them, the door opened, and someone stepped inside.
Wonderful. A spectator.
Seth squeezed his hands tight, fingernails digging into his palms and grit his teeth. His legs regained feeling, but were not yet strong enough to allow him to stand.
Cooper croaked, “I’m sorry for bothering you. I didn’t know what else to do.”