Koios glared up at him again. “If you show up tomorrow without coffee for me, I’m going to make a few phone calls. There won’t be any food you like in your vicinity for a week.”
Ben let out a breath. “Deal.”
“Good. Now get out of here before I start thinking more about you thinking I’m attractive. I’m confused enough as it is.”
“I’m gone.” Ben smiled as he picked up his bag. “See you in the morning, Koios.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Koios rubbed his chest as Ben turned and walked toward the door. He couldn’t stop smiling. Ben turned for one last look, only to see Koios’s face go slack. His eyes rolled back into his head, and then he collapsed.
“Koios!”
8
BEN
Ben dropped his bag and ran to Koios. He checked for a pulse but didn’t find one.
“Emily!”
Ben bellowed his sister’s name, not knowing who else was in the building. He began chest compressions and focused his attention on Koios until he heard Emily enter the room.
“Cardiac arrest. I need an AED.”
Emily ran to the first aid box hanging in the corner on the wall and pulled out the automated external defibrillator. She ran to Ben and knelt on Koios’s other side. While Ben continued compressions, she opened the AED and followed the automated instructions. Once she had the pads attached, Ben waited for the AED to perform its analysis. When it directed them to provide a shock, Ben lifted his hands. “Clear.”
Emily pushed the button, and the AED sent an electronic pulse through Koios’s body. Emily shook as she pulled out her phone and called their dad’s private cell. She put the call on speaker, and he answered on the second ring. “Hey, baby girl!”
“Dad, it’s Ben,” Ben said. “Koios is in cardiac arrest. We have him hooked to an AED, and I’m doing CPR.”
“On our way,” Vaughn said.
Emily ended the call, then dialed again. This time, Logan answered the call.
“Emily, you okay?”
“No,” Emily said. “Koios is in cardiac arrest. Ben is doing CPR, and my dad is on the way with help. You need to get to the clinic, Logan. We’ll probably beat you there.”
Ben heard the squealing of tires as he continued compressions. Emily dropped the phone as Ben worked and waited. “Emily, what’s the lockdown procedure for the warehouse?”
She looked up at him with wide eyes. “What?”
“If you’re coming with us, you need to lock it down.Now.”
She nodded. “Going. I’ll be right back.”
The AED instructed Ben to move away again. He switched his position so he knelt beside the AED and pushed the button once he was clear. Ben continued chest compressions, thankful for the metronome-like tone the AED provided so he could maintain the correct rhythm.
When the next call to move came two minutes later, Ben leaned back. Emily knelt at his side while they waited for the AED to measure Koios’s heart rhythm.
“No shock required.”
“Thank the goddess,” Ben said.
He leaned closer and heard the slightest intake of breath even as the whoosh of a portal opening sounded behind them. His dad came running through the portal pushing a stretcher, along with Teague, one of the hellhounds who stayed near the Jerrick compound. Ben had never been more grateful to see their faces.
“We have a heartbeat,” Ben said. “He’s breathing shallowly.”
