Heroics

Tommaso

I didn’t know how long Paige spent bent over the arm of her office chair, wrapped around me. I’d shed my suit jacket between meetings, and the thin cotton of my button-down soaked through before long. My knees ached from the hard floor, but I couldn’t imagine moving. Last time, she’d grabbed me and let go quickly. If she wanted to hold on, I certainly intended to let her. She sobbed like the world was ending. I couldn’t let her face that alone.

Eventually, she let go. Her cheeks had gone red in splotches, and her eyes looked puffy, but she also looked more human than she had since I’d picked her up in Cairo.

She leaned sharply back. “I’m sorry, I—”

“No.” I held on for an extra second, not restraining her, just letting her know she didn’t have to go. “Nothing to apologize for.”

She shook her head and pulled out of my hold. I stood, trying not to show any expression as I lost her warmth. My knees complained, and I groaned. She glanced at me.

“I’m starting to creak like an old ma