Charlie’s grip on her hand went limp, and her mind sank deeper into the memories. “Ash…we need to help him. Graham’s inside…”

The sirens screamed in the distance, and tears welled in her eyes, panic like a living monster inside her, breathing its hot breath into all the scary places in her mind.

Ash looked her way and scooted closer. He took her face in his hands with a firm grip, catching her gaze. He gave her a determined look. “No. Not Graham. Charlie. Stay with me, KC. Charlie is going to be fine. It’s going to be okay. You’re here in the bookstore. You’re with me. Me and Charlie. Feel my hands. Look at me.”

She stared into Ash’s eyes, the clear blue offering some kind of safe harbor from the memories. Charlie. The name rang like a bell in her head, jolting her from the flashback and making the present rush back to her in full force. A whispered plea escaped her. “Charlie.”

Ash nodded, still cradling her face. “That’s it,” he said, voice gentle and soothing. “Stay with me. Don’t go back there. Please. I need you here.”

She closed her eyes, tears escaping silently. “Ash, we can’t lose him, too.”

He nodded and released his hold on her. “We won’t.” He looked away and focused on Charlie again. “I won’t let you lose anyone else.”

The sadness that washed through her at the thought threatened to drown her, but she didn’t have time to lose it because the paramedics arrived a few seconds later. Ash let them in and they quickly surrounded Charlie. When she heard them say they had a heartbeat, she sagged against a nearby bookshelf and sobbed.

Not this time. Not today.

Thank you, universe.

Maybe it had been looking out for her today after all.

* * *

Ash stepped into the busy hallway at the hospital with two cups of steaming coffee. He could see Kincaid through the window of the waiting room. She’d pulled her knees up to her chest in the chair and was resting her chin atop them, her eyes closed. She looked incredibly young in that moment. Small and fragile and so unlike the brash, fearless woman she was on a normal day. Charlie’s heart attack had terrified them both, but it’d triggered some kind of flashback for Kincaid. He’d recognized the dazed, lost quality of her voice instantly. Then she’d said Graham’s name, and his stomach had hollowed out. He never wanted the memory of that night to come back to her. Just the thought sent dread rolling through him. He remembered enough for them both.

But she hadn’t reacted any differently toward him after the flashback, so he knew she’d only seen what she already remembered—not that those memories were a walk in the park either.

Ash had been triggered a few times over the years and knew what those vivid images could do to a person, that descent back to the past. That kind of intense emotion left him feeling like his insides had been scooped out with a rusty spoon. Raw. Jittery. And he was probably the last person Kincaid wanted to deal with right now, but Grace was with Charlie, and he wasn’t going to leave Kincaid sitting there alone.