Page 86 of Dozer

I cover her hand with mine. Just for a second. Her fingers are warm against my skin. Steady, despite the fear in her eyes.

"Trust me."

She swallows. "I do."

Two words. That's all. It’s enough.

She looks at the wound again, and I can practically see the forensic calculations running behind her eyes as she assesses the blood volume loss, trajectory of the bullet and how long I've got before I absolutely need medical intervention. Then she makes the call. Not to stop. To trust me exactly as far as I'm asking to be trusted.

"Then we move," she says.

I nod. Her hand slides from my arm into mine for one brief second. She squeezes. Hard. A promise or a warning. Probably both. Then she reaches for the lab door.

I move in front of her. Of course I do.

She makes an aggravated sound behind me. "Seriously?"

"Stay behind me."

"You have a bullet in you."

"Still bigger than you."

"That is not how bullet wounds work."

I almost smile. Almost. Then the pain spikes and takes care of that.

I put my shoulder into the lab door. It gives. Inside, two more men are already at the evidence storage unit. One has his hand on something that looks distinctly like an incendiary device. The other reaches for his weapon the second the door opens.

Three seconds. Maybe less. That's all it would take. Three seconds to burn the evidence. Three seconds to erase patients who trusted people they shouldn't have. Three seconds to make Reyes's death mean less than it should. Three seconds to take away the truth Kenzi has fought this entire way to give back to people who deserve it.

Not happening.

I move. The world narrows. Pain disappears beneath training. I hit the nearest threat before he can finish what he's doing, drive him away from the storage unit, and hear something crash behind me.

The second man turns. Toward Kenzi.

No.

Something cold takes over. I intercept him. My body protests hard enough that my vision whites out for half a second, but half a second is survivable. Her dying isn't.

I hear Kenzi behind me, sharp and urgent, already at the storage unit. "I'm in."

Good.

"Evidence is intact. Dozer, I need thirty seconds."

Thirty seconds. Might as well be thirty minutes.

"Take them."

"That wasn't permission for you to die."

"I'm not dying."

"You better not, you made me a promise."

I hear keys moving fast. Her voice changes as she starts talking to Ruby through comms, the forensic specialist taking over even while the woman underneath it is scared. That's Kenzi. Fear doesn't make her less competent. It makes her more determined.