His heart rate leapt. "See any sign of Hanrahan?" he asked, trying to remain calm as he slipped a shoulder under Byrne's, taking his weight off Layton's injured arm.
Layton shook her head. "But Byrne here was with him, last I saw him. Maybe he can tell you what happened once he's lucid."
It was the closest he'd come to finding his brother, and hope soared. The two officers began moving the others off. "You okay to walk, Layton?"
Her sudden grin was cheerful. "I just escaped a bombing attempt basically unharmed. Believe me, I think I could fly right now."
Byrne groaned softly as Layton moved away. Gabriel shifted his grip, and then glanced down.
And found himself staring into his own hazel eyes.
"Don't react," Stephan whispered urgently. "I'll explain when we're alone."
Don't react? When he'd been half convinced he'd find his twin under concrete? The sheer stupidity of the request made him shake his head. For an instant he wasn't sure whether to hug Stephan fiercely or throttle him. In the end, he did neither. Stephan knew how he felt. He could see the relief and love reflected in his twin's eyes.
"You'd better explain," he muttered. He shifted his hold again, and followed the two officers.
"And so had you, brother. So had you."
Stephan's voice faded. Gabriel wondered what he'd meant. His twin's eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. Sweat beaded his forehead and ran down the side of his face, scouring clean channels across his blood-smeared chin. Fighting not the pain of his injuries, Gabriel knew, but rather for the strength to maintain Byrne's image.
But why Byrne's? Why not Hanrahan's, an image his body was used to?
Frowning, he dug out his cell phone and quickly dialed. "Michaels, I'm bringing across some wounded. With the gas leak being investigated, you're the closest medical help I can think of."
Michaels almost looked relieved. "I'd rather treat the living than check the dead, I can tell you. I'll be waiting."
"We're on our way." He shoved the cell phone into his pocket and hurried on.
"As I've said before, I'm not going to die on you," Stephan said quietly. "Stop worrying."
"Like you wouldn't, if the situation was reversed?" He kept his voice low, his gaze sweeping the people in front of them.
Stephan's smile was a mere ghost, something Gabriel felt deep in his heart rather than actually saw. "I'm the oldest. It's my job to worry."
He snorted softly. "Yeah, right."
It took what seemed like hours to reach Michaels. Gabriel curbed his impatience, watching Michaels tend to the two more seriously injured women before waving him over to look at Stephan.
"What's the verdict?" he said, once Michaels had given his brother the once over and bandaged him up.
"Like the rest of them, he's lucky. His right arm's broken, his legs are severely bruised and his ankle's either badly sprained or broken — can't tell without x-rays. There's nothing wrong with him that a few days in the hospital won't fix, though."
"No hospital," Stephan muttered, eyes still closed.
Probably hiding the fact they were hazel rather than Byrne's natural blue. No matter what Michaels said, the stress of the injuries had to be bad if it was preventing Stephan from doing a full shapeshift. And if he couldn't fully shift, he had no option but to avoid the hospital and the ever-prying doctors.
Michaels frowned. "Sorry, Byrne, you've got no choice. That ankle needs looking at."
"No hospitals," Stephan repeated. "Stern, make sure they don't take me there."
"The man has a morbid fear of hospitals," Gabriel explained apologetically. "It's all in his file." It wasn't, but who was going to check? The whole com system was down right now ... he stopped the thought cold. They wouldn't attempt to bomb a whole building just to prevent him from getting Sam's tests results ... would they?
Maybe, just maybe.
He scrubbed a hand across his jaw. The day was getting worse, not better.
"If you don't get that ankle fixed he may never walk properly again," Michaels continued.