I smooth Devon’s hair back, watching the life fade from him. Mentally, I’m counting down each second.One…two…three…four…five…Two minutes is an eternity. I blink my eyes rapidly, realizing for the first time how badly my left eye stings from the blood that splattered in it.
“Wren,” Devon breathes, lips parting as he gasps for air.
“Shhh,” I tell him. “Save your energy. An ambulance is on its way. You’re going to be okay and then you’ll heal and we’ll talk about going to Europe like we planned. Maybe we’ll even go to Disneyland Paris. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
His eyes fall shut and I wince, whimpering back a sob. I can feel a heartbeat in my fingers and I don’t know if it’s his or mine.
“He’s still alive,” Antonio says, knowing exactly what I’m thinking. “I got his pulse.” I shift my gaze and see that he has hisfingers on Devon’s neck, feeling for the heartbeat. We’ve all had extensive first-aid training but nothing prepares you for what it’s like when the person you’re providing aid to is someone who has your heart.
“I hear the siren,” Leo says and takes off, going toward the street to flag down the EMTs as soon as they come into view. My heart is pounding and every second drags by as I count again. I’m not keeping a steady count and rush through to sixty twice before the ambulance is here. The EMTs run out and it’s like I’m moving through deep, thick water. Antonio helps me up, pulling me back as the EMTs get to work.
Leo comes over, putting his arm around me and turning me away so I don’t have to see what’s going on. Antonio talks to the EMTs, saying we were all together when someone shot at us. Should I be upset he’s lying? Right now, it doesn’t matter. My chest is tight, shaking with anxiety and fear. My hands are trembling and I want to sink down on the pavement and close my eyes, falling asleep so I can wake up in my bed and realize this all is a nightmare and didn’t really happen.
“Take a breath, Wren,” Leo says gently. “You’re holding your breath.”
I let out a shaky breath, nodding quickly. Then I look at Ryder. “What did you do?” I whisper.
“I…I thought he was a vampire,” Ryder repeats and I just shake my head. “He…he said he was the one who took you.”
“He pretended to be a vampire when he came to the house,” Leo says, fingers pressing into my arm as he talks. He’s scared too, whether it’s for Devon’s life or for his own if the Order finds out they shot a human, I don’t know. And then there’s no telling what the Malus family will do.
“We were trying to save you,” Ryder goes on, eyes landing on me as if that will change everything and I’ll thank him. Forso long, I wanted him to step up, to be the man who would do anything for me.
To choose me.
“He was innocent.” Tears blur my vision again.
“So were the hunters,” Ryder spits.
“What?” I blink away the tears and reach up, finally wiping my eyes.
“It’s okay when your vampire hunter kills for you, but not when we do.”
“Hey, man,” Leo starts, shaking his head. “Not now.”
“But we?—”
“Stop,” Leo interrupts.
The EMTs get Devon onto a stretcher and Antonio comes over, taking my hand. He’s talking, telling me what’s going on but his words are lost on me. I’m shaking as I get into the passenger seat of the ambulance so I’m out of the way.
“We…we can’t meet you there,” Antonio tells me, voice low, right before he closes the door. “You understand, right?”
My head bobs up and down, because I do understand. It’s the same when we send a victim of a demon attack to the hospital. We don’t go, don’t give our real names, don’t get involved more than necessary.
“And I trust you’ll…” Antonio trails off, shaking his head. “You’ll do the right thing,” he says and closes the door. Only a few seconds later, we’re off, siren blaring overhead as we speed through the city. I sit in shock for the first part of the drive, and then remember that I have my phone in my pocket.
My hands are shaking so much it’s hard to unzip my pocket and pull the phone out. I have two missed calls from Xavier. It takes me a few tries to be able to call him back.
“Wren,” he says. “Where are you?”
“I—I’m…I’m on the way to the hospital,” I say, each word coming out jerky. “I’m okay. Devon isn’t.”
“What hospital?”
“I don’t know.” I look at the EMT. “Where—what—where are we going?”
“Atrium General,” he tells me.
