He caught her just as her knees gave out, the sight of the blood stopped everything.

Isaac looked down at her legs, the red staining her thighs, then up at her face, pale, dazed, her lips moving without sound. For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything, no hallway, no breath, just the sharp, immediate strike of terror in his chest.

Then he moved.

He scooped her up fast, one arm under her knees, the other around her back, pressing her tight against his chest. She didn’t resist, ...