Tobias gave a tight nod. When he finally got past them, he headed for the hall that led to the break room. “Get your hands off me!” Madigan’s panicked voice hit him before he turned the corner and saw her struggling against a tall dark-haired man who had her pinned to the wall. Fire exploded in Tobias’s chest. Fueled by rage and love and he had no idea what else because he couldn’t think, couldn’t see beyond the blaze of red as he tore the asshole off Madigan, his fist connecting with bone, sending the guy flying into the wall with a thud, his body dropping limply to the floor, filling the narrow hallway. The edges of Tobias’s vision blackened and blurred, memories impaling him. The thud of Kevin’s lifeless body hitting the floor. People cheering for a fight. Carrie’s uncontrollable wails. Sirens. Shouting. No pulse. Chaos. Futile efforts to revive him. Desperate words burning, pleading, screaming in Tobias’s mind. It’s not real. It can’t be real. Get up. Get up, man. Come on.

“Tobias, please…”

“Dude, he’s okay.”

“Tobias, let him go.”

The demand sounded far away. Strong hands gripped Tobias’s shoulders, shaking him as reality slowly started to come back into focus, and he realized he was kneeling on the floor, leaning over Madigan’s assailant, fists clenched in his shirt, shouting, “Get up. Get up, man.” Blood streamed from the guy’s nose, coating his lips, chin, and cheek, and he was trembling. Trembling. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t Kevin.

“Tobias, please look at me.”

Tobias’s heart cracked open as he lifted his gaze, meeting Madigan’s teary eyes. He blinked several times, trying to clear the past from his mind. Zeke was crouched by the guy’s head. Blaine was holding Tobias’s shoulders, and they were all trying to coax him back to the moment.

“He’s okay,” Madigan said anxiously. “You have to let him go.”

She tried to pry his fingers from the guy’s shirt, as Blaine pulled Tobias backward. “Let ’im go, man. We’ve got ’im now.”

Tobias released him, and Zeke dragged the guy up to his feet, slamming him against a wall and barking something in his face, but Tobias was still drowning in the aftermath of…what? A panic attack? A flashback? What the hell was happening to him?

“You’re okay, man. I’ve got you.” Blaine helped him to his feet. “Look at me, Tobias.”

He tried to focus on Blaine, but too many emotions were tearing through him.

“It’s okay,” Madigan said softly. “You’re okay.”

“No, I’m definitely not okay. I can’t protect you with this shit in my head.” He looked at her attacker, studying his face, and then the pieces fell into place. This isn’t over slammed through his mind. Fucking Bandanna. Fury burned through his fog, sending him charging past Zeke.