"Hey," Raylan said, reaching over to grab Malcolm's shoulder gently. "You mighta almost hurt him, but you didn't, did ya?" This time.

God, all he wanted to do was pull Malcolm in and wrap him up. For now, he resisted. Laying down had been a mistake, but he was here now and leaving would only cause questions and harm.

"Maybe they do. I can't say that's not a valid theory," he admitted quietly. "Might be somethin' to keep in mind when things are gettin' bad. Take the measures you gotta take.. But if you do, if that happens-" He couldn't lie and say it might not, not at this rate. "-We're not gonna let anything happen to you, you know that, right?"