by Zoe Chant
“Is someone else out here?” He looked around them, taking the woman’s unhurt arm and backing them up toward the car. They needed to get to a safer location.
“The senator!” She resisted his pull, her eyes tracking around and…up?
He was prevented from asking her to explain what had happened, exactly, by Danny’s arrival. “No sign of anyone,” his partner reported.
“Shooter ran,” Levi explained briefly. “She says there’s another civilian out here.”
“Senator Davis!” The woman was definitely scanning the trees. “She shifted, and now I don’t know where she is.”
“State Senator Laura Davis is out here?” Levi looked at Danny. “We’re going to need some more backup.”
“Screw backup!” The woman’s exclamation brought Levi’s eyes right back to her. Her eyes were bright with determination. “I need to find Laura! I don’t know if she’s all right!”
She started to turn, as though she were actually going to go looking for Senator Davis in the dark, unsecured Capitol grounds. Levi had to admire her courage even as he stopped her.
“Whoa!” He took her arm again. “It’s not safe out here. Let’s go back—” He took his hand away, and sucked in a breath. “You really need to see a doctor.”
The palm of Levi’s hand was a solid red—he’d accidentally taken hold of her injured side. The woman looked at it, then twisted her arm around to look at that. “The bullet,” she said.
“You were hit?” Levi leaned in to look at her arm.
“Just barely,” she said impatiently. “I think it grazed me. It’s not bad. Don’t worry about me, we need to find Laura!”
Levi turned to Danny. “Okay. You take her back to the car, and cover me while I go out looking for the senator. Don’t let her come after me.” He wouldn’t put it past her after the way she’d almost headed out by herself.
“I’m not an idiot.” She sounded calmer now, though, like she was just stating a fact. “Someone needs to find her. You’re better qualified than me.”
But Levi found it surprisingly hard to leave her behind.
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