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Dev felt Katya leave the bed, his senses co half-awake as he waited for her to return fro to realize he couldn’t hear the tap running, any sounds at all "Katya?"

He opened his eyes just in ti sun dancing off the deadly blade in her hand Snapping to full alertness as she lifted the h above her head, he went to roll away, but so - "Katya!"

Blood spurted as she thrust the knife into her own thigh, crashing to the floor with a shattered cry of pain

He was kneeling beside her alainst his ribs, his entire body taut with adrenaline that had nowhere to go "God dary, even as he flicked on the light and focused on the wound, trying not to let the sound of her pained breathing distract hi what he had to do to help her

But he couldn’t stop the strea? You could’ve hit your felad to see that she hadn’t The knife, however, had gone in deep "If you wanted to die, you should’ve toldhard, holding her in place as he reached for a nearby bureau, yanking out an old but clean shirt "Leave it," he snapped when she went to pull out the blade Her silent tears grated on his every protective instinct But he was tearing the shirt and using thearound the knife embedded in her - even as she sobbed "It’ll heal fast with the proper care, though I’ve a ers on his stubbled jaw Tear-stained eyesto kill you"

"So why did the knife end up in your thigh?" Under his touch, her skin was delicate, so easily bruised "Talk"

A slow blink "I couldn’t drop the knife" She lifted her hand to her mouth as if ashamed

He gripped her chin "You callscream You don’t stab yourself"

"I couldn - "

"You could," he said, his tone hard "If you can fight the coh to letto keep pressure on her thigh with one hand, he used the other to rip away the hand she’d been using to cover up a nosebleed "How bad?"

"Not so bad" She went to turn her head away but he forced her to face him as he used a strip of fabric to wipe away the blood

Her cheeks pinkened "I can do that"

It was the sheer nor about the consequences of fighting what had clearly been an iestion "It’s fine" His voice was still sandpaper raw, and when she flinched, he kneasn’t fro down the strip of cloth when it beca, he dropped his head to press a kiss to the top of her knee

An indrawn breaththen gentle fe He shuddered, felt his hands clench on her thigh, forced hiet you to a h his hair

He lifted his head "No The wound’s too deep I want someone qualified to look at it"

"I can’t be DNA scanned" Fear glittered in her eyes

Leaning forward, he gripped her nape and held her in place for a kiss that had no tenderness in it, he was so fucking scared for her "I’ll take care of it" But first he wanted her dressed, warh, he found his T-shirt, pulled it over her head, then wrapped her in a blanket

She took a gasping breath and watched as he grabbed his cell phone fro it open, he coded in a familiar number "Connor," he said when the phone was answered on the other end "Can you make a run to my place?"

"You hurt?" Instant alertness

He could hear ear "No But bring your full kit Knife wound, deep"

"Bleeding?"

He glanced down, parting the blanket The cotton of the shirt wasn’t soaked through "Contained, but there was so the phone between ear and shoulder, he used a couple of strips of fabric to wrap the makeshift pads into place

"Patient conscious?"

He looked into hazel eyes gone a reen with pain "Yes"

"Keep hi up without correcting Connor’s assuender of his patient, Dev put the cell phone back on the table and got up "Connor lives close He’ll be here soon" As he bent to pick her up, she protested He ignored her "Katya, I’ to let me"