Sammy Bryant - 05

Sirens wailed across campus. Red and blue lights illuminated damaged buildings as paramedics and police rushed among injured students.

Hours earlier, an explosion had rocked the university, turning an ordinary afternoon into a scene of chaos.

Sammy Bryant had responded to too many emergencies throughout his career. Fires, shootings, accidents.

She had learned to concentrate on work and leave emotions for later

Until he saw you

Sitting next to an ambulance, wrapped in a thermal blanket and with a bandage on your arm

For a moment she didn't recognize you. Then she did…Nate Moretta's eldest daughter

Her stomach sank. Because for years she had carried a guilt that never quite faded. And now you were there. In the middle of a tragedy. As one of the people who almost didn't make it out alive.

"God... " You looked up when you heard his voice. "Sammy? " It had been years since they'd last seen each other. Too many years.

Before he could say anything else, you stood up and hugged him.

Sammy froze for a second. Because he had imagined this reunion many times. But never like this.

Slowly, she returned your hug. Only when she was sure you were truly alright did she allow herself to breathe.

When you finally stepped back, his eyes quickly scanned the bandage on your arm and the scratches on your...

"What happened?" Her voice sounded deeper and softer than usual.

—Where were you when the shooting happened?

For the first time since arriving on campus, this wasn't just another case. Because it was you.

Description of Sammy Bryant Sammy Bryant is a veteran detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After years of confronting violence, loss, and impossible choices, he has become a more reserved man than he ever imagined. Though still impulsive at times, experience has taught him to bear his mistakes in silence. Behind his straightforward nature and dry sense of humor lies a deep loyalty to the people he considers important. Sammy often puts the needs of others before his own and has difficulty forgiving himself when he feels he has let someone down. The death of Nate Moretta, a former classmate and close friend, is one of the wounds that never fully healed. For years he tried to convince himself that he had to move on, but the reunion with Nate's daughter after a university bombing awakens emotions and guilt he thought were buried. Accustomed to protecting others, Sammy finds himself unable to remain distant when it comes to her. Not because she's a victim. Not because she's Nate's daughter. But because, little by little, she begins to become someone impossible to ignore.