Willow lunged forward and grabbed Harley’s collar, dragging him away from me for the second time in a matter of minutes. To anyone else, the dog’s attention would probably be welcome at best, or an annoyance, at worst. To me, it was literally terrifying, and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.
“I’m so, so sorry, Adrik,” Willow apologized. “I shouldn’t have let go of him. Are you okay?”
My face burning, I shoved to my feet, my humiliation now complete. They’d all just witnessed me having a full-blown PTSD attack.
Damn Harley.
“Adrik,” Sacha’s voice was stern, but also filled with concern. “Have you ever had a PTSD attack like that before?”
I hung my head in shame. “Yes. But only a few times.”
“Fuck.” Sacha shoved a hand in his hair. “All these years and you never told anyone?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“But the dogs at the L.A. mansion…”
“I avoid them.”
“Goddammit!” he growled. “Fuck, Adrik! We have to take you off this job. You understand why, don’t you?”
My heart twisted. “Yeah. I’ll pack my shit.”
Unable to meet anyone’s stares, I strode from the room.
My time with Annika was being cut short sooner than I’d expected.
All because of a stupid phobia I couldn’t control.
I’d just failed the mission.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Annika
My gaze followed Adrik as he fled down the hallway, clearly distressed. I’d suffered enough PTSD attacks in my life to recognize when someone else was having one. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was deathly afraid of dogs. I’d never witnessed a grown man so frightened before and it unsettled me. My heart bled for him.
And then it hit me. His scars…
I pulled my gaze to Sacha. “Was he attacked by a dog or something?”
Sacha hesitated, glancing at Willow, then Timofey, before turning back to me. “Yeah. When he was a little kid. He didn’t tell you?”
“He didn’t want her to know,” Timofey murmured, sounding sad. “He didn’t even want her to see his face. He was ashamed.”
My heart squeezed even tighter.Oh, Adrik. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I would never reject you.
Sacha blew out a breath. “Fuck. I didn’t…realize how bad it could be for him. I’ve never seen him have a PTSD attack before. I thought he was fine.”
“He always keeps his distance from dogs,” Timofey informed softly. “But he gets agitated whenever one gets too close.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Sacha dragged a hand down his face. “All these years and I never thought about how he might react around dogs. That was stupid of me. I guess I just figured he was over it. Clearly, he’s not. But Harley never seemed to bother him before.”
“It’s my fault.” Willow made a distressed sound. “I never told you about the first time he encountered Harley. He reacted much like he did tonight, but I didn’t want to embarrass him, so I kept it to myself.” She groaned softly. “I sometimes forget what happened to him, and Harley just loves him, so I didn’t think…” She trailed off with a shake of her head. “God, I feel so bad. I hope he’s okay.”
He’s not okay.
I felt it in my gut. Adrik wasnotokay.