The Protector by Dawn Marie Snyder Read Free Book Online Page B

situation filled me.
    I stopped walking and let my backpack fall to the ground. I couldn’t fill my lungs with the air I needed and the walls began to move. I knew what was coming and I sat myself on the ground grasping desperately for my inhaler. Jack was by my side instantly.
    “Sonny?”  He put his backpack down and took mine from me, turning it upside down. He shook all the contents out of it, and if I hadn’t been trying so hard to get as much air as I could into my lungs, I would have been extremely embarrassed. Everything came flying out, my makeup, my hair brush, a change of underwear, and finally my inhaler.  Both Jack and I grasped at it, but it was he who grabbed it first and brought it to my lips.  I took a deep breath in as he pushed on it sending a soothing mist into my lungs.  He pushed it a second time and breathing became easier.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    7 Barely Breathing
     
     
    A sigh of relief washed over me as I realized she was finally getting a full breath of air. I had not even considered how the stress of the situation would affect her asthma. I had read she was asthmatic, but she had managed to keep it under control over the years. This wasn’t something I had anticipated dealing with.
    Sonny sat on the floor taking in deeper and deeper gasps of air.  I sat next to her and pulled her tight against my chest.   I needed to feel her breathing in and out and I had learned that physically feeling her would be the best way to accomplish that. But I knew that if I had attempted to put my hand on her chest she probably would have decked me, air full of lungs or not.
    But that was the least of my worries, as a man in his fifties came running down the dimly lit hallway with radio in hand. I could feel her breathing grow slower and there was less of a wheeze coming off of her chest.  She leaned completely back against me and I wrapped my arms around her. 
    I could smell the sweetness of the shampoo she had used earlier in the morning. The smell was overwhelming and I could feel my heart begin to race a little faster as she put all her weight against me.  The electric shock I had felt earlier when I had brushed her hair back was still there, but my worry over her breathing had toned it down to a dull ache.
    “You ok?” I whispered into her ear.  She still held the inhaler in her hand but did not bring it up to her lips again. She only nodded.
    “Is there a problem,” the older man asked as he reached us. .
    “Asthma attack,” I answered back with authority in my voice. I need this guy to know that this was not your ordinary security situation.  Alison’s body tensed, and she turned her head to look into my eyes. Her eyes were a deep green now and I could read the panic in them.
    “I am ok,” She managed to whisper. “Or at least I will be in a minute.”
    “You are going to have to move,” the TSA officer said almost in an annoyed fashion. I could feel the anger rise in me as I watched him stand up straight. “You’re going to have to take your love fest elsewhere. You can’t block the concourse, it’s a security risk.”
    “She’s having an asthma attack. You are going to have to wait until she catches her breath,” I seethed. I held Alison tighter to me and glared at the man for a second. I knew I needed to get my badge out and reached into my back pocket. I didn’t give him enough time to read it before I shoved it back into my pocket.  “Federal Agent, you will back away and let us sit here until she is able to get up and walk on her own.”              
    The man just stared at me not daring to step closer to me or her. I could read the look in his eyes and he knew I would stop at nothing to keep her where she was and I knew he was deciding whether to believe me or call for back up. I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway and knew instantly it was most likely Conway coming to see what