There it was, the breaking point that he was looking for. The tighter hold was an obvious tell, but the wrong one and if he had acted on that, it would have been too soon. It was the shaking that he had been waiting on, knowing that he's in the sweet spot he needs to pull off the riskiest move he could have done their first time out successfully.

He takes a couple steps forward to press Shannon's back up against a wall, far enough away from anything that Shannon wouldn't be able to touch something that could clue him in on their location. "Hey, it's alright, just listen to my voice and focus on me, okay? I've got you and you're safe. Trust me, I'll get you through this." His voice is as soft and soothing as he can get it, his left hand coming up and resting on the back of Shannon's neck. He's not touching the hair yet, but that will be happening soon.