Fangs And Fame (35 page)

“
Perfect,” Chase said, grabbing a knife from the utensil drawer. He held his hand out, gritting his teeth as he pressed the blade to the fleshy part of his palm, drawing it across the skin slowly. A thin line of blood oozed to the surface. I knew Mark could smell it, because the intoxicating scent hit me like a brick. Mark shook his head gravely. Then he took Chase’s hand in both of his, concentrating for a brief second. When he released it, Chase’s hand was completely healed. Chase allowed himself a second to be fascinated, then he elbowed Jonas.

“
Oh,” Jonas said, realizing that it was his turn. Jonas held out his hand, wincing while Chase made the same cut on his hand. Jonas held his hand up, hopeful, but Mark’s pained expression was answer enough for all of us. He healed Jonas’s hand and then went to the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice and putting it in Jonas’s hands.

“
Sit down and drink,” he instructed him.

Jonas nodded, obediently taking a seat on the leather sofa.

“You do seem a little pale,” Chase piped in as he sat down with him.

“
I have a few more name on my list to try,” Aurora offered, trying to build some hope into the situation. She pulled out her phone again and walked away from the group where she could make calls without distractions.

“
I’m going to go check on O’Shea,” Mark said.

“
Thanks,” I said to him.

“
Don’t thank me yet,” he said cryptically as he walked by.

“
I feel like we should be doing something,” Jonas said in between sips of orange juice.

“
We are,” I said. “As of right now we’re formulating Plan B.”

Trey

I WAS LOST IN the act of watching Mark check O’Shea’s blood pressure when Tytus appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat, effectively getting my attention.

“
Hey boss,” he said quietly, noting the intentional silence in the room. “The driver is stopping for fuel. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“
Thank you,” I told him, keeping my voice low as well. I felt the bus slowing to exit the freeway and added, “Keep an eye on things up front for me, will you? And ask Aurora to come back here for a second.” Tytus gave an affirmative nod before he turned to go. Mark finished deflating the cuff around O’Shea’s arm and removed the stethoscope, jotting something down in a little notebook he carried in his pocket.

Aurora came to the doorway a moment later.
“What’s up?” she asked.

“
I was just thinking now would be a good time to grab some drinks and snacks. There isn’t much on this bus and some of us still need to eat.”

“
Good call. I’ll take care of it,” she agreed. Then she turned to Kacie and added, “You should come inside with me.”

Kacie glanced at O
’Shea hesitantly. “I don’t know if-”

“
Aurora’s right. You should go,” I encouraged her. “Get some fresh air and anything else that sounds good while we’re stopped. I promise I won’t leave his side while you’re gone.”

“
The best thing you can do for O’Shea right now is to take care of yourself,” Mark urged. “Keep up your strength. That way you can be here for him.”

Aurora pulled Kacie to her feet.
“We won’t be long,” she promised.

“
Okay,” Kacie agreed. She bent to kiss O’Shea’s forehead and then followed Aurora to the other side of the bus.

A moment later I felt the bus stop and heard the door up front opening. Jonas joined the girls in going inside the convenience store to stock up on goodies while Jerry refueled the bus. Chase surprised me by joining Mark and I in the bedroom.

“Aren’t you going for snacks?” I asked. “It’s not like you to turn down a snack run.”

“
Not really hungry,” he said, attesting to just how upset he was about O’Shea as he sat down on the carpet. He leaned against the wall in the corner and glanced at his phone.

I sat back with my ankles crossed, legs stretched out to rest on the edge of the bed in front of me. I was tired, but not in the usual way that taking a nap would solve. The exhaustion I felt was due in part to the emotional roller coaster the last few days had brought on. With most of the humans off of the bus for a few minutes, I decided now was as good a time as any to do a shot from the stash.
“Sorry, Chase. Don’t mind us,” I said as I reached over to the wine fridge next to me and pulled out a bottle of blood and a glass.

“
Doesn’t bother me,” Chase said, waving a dismissive hand in my direction.

I filled the glass and passed it to Mark.
“To O’Shea,” I said.

“
To O’Shea,” Mark agreed. He smiled gratefully, and I was glad to see that he didn’t look nearly as tired as I felt. I clinked the bottle against his cup, and we both drank.

That was when I heard O
’Shea’s heart give an exceptionally pathetic thump, followed by a long and drawn out silence. I froze for a second, anticipating another beat, but it didn’t come.

“
Mark?” I said, dropping my feet to the floor, but Mark had heard it, too, and was already setting his cup down. We both jumped to our feet and Mark pressed his fingers to O’Shea’s neck, feeling for a pulse that wasn’t there. He laid a hand on O’Shea’s chest, and I felt a surge of power as he sent a burst of healing to O’Shea, but it wasn’t enough. He started to ask if I knew CPR, but I was already kneeling on the bed and positioning my hands on the center of O’Shea’s chest. Chase had jumped to his feet at seeing Mark and I do the same. He gave O’Shea a rescue breath just in time for me to start compressions. We worked together, manually forcing O’Shea’s heart to continue beating while Mark fumbled through the small stash of medical supplies he’d swiped from the ambulance. He found what he was looking for and injected something into O’Shea’s IV. I felt and heard a sickening crunch beneath my hands as I pumped O’Shea’s chest. I swore under my breath. “I think I broke something,” I said.

“
That just means you’re doing it right,” Mark assured me as he pulled out what looked like a portable defibrillator and opened it. I sent up a silent prayer as Mark prepared the two pads that were wired into the machine. “Okay,” he said. “Hands off.”

Chase and I held our hands up, watching as Mark placed the pads on O
’Shea’s chest. The machine began talking, announcing that it was checking for vital signs. Then Mark pressed a button, and the machine administered a shock that made O’Shea’s whole body jump with a jolt. Mark and I listened anxiously for the sound of a heartbeat, but none came. When the machine said that it was safe, Mark instructed us to start CPR again. Chase and I continued while the machine charged up for another round. When it was ready, we all watched with bated breath while it checked for vital signs again, and then Mark pressed the button to send another jolt of electricity straight to O’Shea’s heart. This time, I heard the lub-dub of a rhythm start up again. Mark felt O’Shea’s neck, checking for a pulse as instructed by the machine, and Chase looked between us, impatiently waiting for a signal. I met Chase’s anxious gaze and gave a quick nod. Then O’Shea took a breath, and Chase let one out that he’d been holding. I leaned back again, overcome with relief.

“
Pulse is getting stronger,” Mark announced. “Good work, you two.” Chase and I climbed off the bed and stood there, not wanting to take our eyes off of O’Shea for fear that he might try and die on us again. Mark checked O’Shea’s pupils with a tiny flashlight and then measured his blood pressure. When he was finished, he sat back, eying us both.

“
So, they teach CPR training at the School of Rock?”

I finally tore my eyes away from O
’Shea long enough to look at him. “The four of us surfed a lot in high school,” I said. “O’Shea’s mom was paranoid, and she made us all take a class every year from the lifeguards.”

“
Smart woman,” he said. “You’d both make fine lifeguards.” I managed a smile at his attempt to lighten the mood, but Chase was adamantly shaking his head.

“
I don’t ever want to have to do that again,” Chase asserted. “Ever.” Then he looked at O’Shea, speaking directly to him. “I’m talking to you, man,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “Don’t you ever think about pulling a stunt like that again. That’s the last time I’m saving your ass, and I mean it.”

“
Hey,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We got him back. We’re going to figure this out. I promise.” My conviction grew with each word. It was time to take matters into my own hands. Chase nodded, but didn’t speak. He blinked back unshed tears that had threatened to fall and took a deep breath, patting me on the back.

“
What’s going on?” Aurora asked as she stepped into the room, carrying a bag of treats. She stopped in her tracks, shocked into silence at the scene, but not before Kacie had stepped into the room right behind her. Kacie dropped her snacks to the floor when she saw the defibrillator attached to O’Shea’s chest.

“
What happened?” she demanded as she hurried to the bed. “Is he okay?”

Jonas sauntered over to the doorway, engrossed in reading the label on his drink.
“I bought a bunch of these for all of us,” he said before he looked up and realized something was wrong.

“
Is he okay?” Kacie asked again. “Is it his heart?”

“
He’s stable for now,” Mark answered, although he was using the term ‘stable’ very loosely. O’Shea hadn’t been ‘stable’ since Stanislav’s guys had drained him.

I grabbed a black
T-shirt from the small closet. “Come on,” I said to Aurora, Jonas, and Chase, gesturing for them to follow me to the other part of the bus so we could talk. I sat down on the sofa and they followed suit, except Jonas, who sat down at the small table nearby and whipped out his laptop.

“
Still no luck getting blood lined up for a transfusion?” I asked Aurora.

The pain in her eyes was clear as she shook her head no.
“So far no one is willing to risk getting on Stanislav’s bad side to help us. I’m running out of numbers to call.”

“
We’ve run out of time,” I stated. ““Plan B it is.”

“
All right then,” Chase said, jumping to his feet like my statement was a call to action.

“
Plan B?” Aurora asked. “What are you talking about?”

“
We’re going to rob a blood bank,” Chase stated simply.

Aurora
’s green eyes grew wide, and she laughed a humorless laugh. “You’re what?”

“
I managed to narrow it down to two,” Jonas said, looking up from his laptop. “From what I can tell they both have minimum security. We can take our pick.”

“
How far out are we?” I asked him, getting to my feet and pulling my T-shirt off.

“
About an hour,” Jonas replied.

“
Trey,” Aurora said, standing to face me. “Trey, you can’t be serious.”

I felt her hand on my chest, her green eyes pleading with me as I stared at her.
“I’m dead serious.”

Aurora

I STARED AT TREY, at the icy determination in his cool blue eyes, the hard set of his jaw. I shook my head, narrowing my eyes at him as I realized they must have been planning this as a last resort while I’d been making phone calls to vampires. I didn’t want to be the bad guy, but what he was suggesting was completely insane.

“
You can’t just rob a blood bank. It’s way too risky.” I turned on Chase and Jonas and said, “Everyone’s emotional right now, but we have to think rationally.”

“
This is O’Shea we’re talking about,” Trey said as he slipped the black T-shirt on over his head and finished the rest of his statement in my head.
I would do anything for him.
I knew Trey would die for O’Shea if it meant we might have a chance to save him. That quality made me love him more and scared me to death all at once. “Do you have a better idea?” he asked.

I stared at him, blinking. I didn
’t have an answer to that. For the briefest second, I entertained the desire to do something about our situation.
Anything
. I’d spent the better part of an hour reviewing everything that had happened during this long night. Malena had confirmed what I already suspected; that I was capable of drawing on multiple abilities at once.

But to what extent? I couldn
’t be sure....

I also couldn
’t shake the feeling that maybe somehow I could be part of the answer to O’Shea’s problem. I knew one thing, my abilities weren’t stable enough to trust blindly, but I didn’t have the luxury of spending time to become more skilled in them. If only I could test my skills out somehow…. But that was impossible, too. Just like everything else. I’d need access to someone else who had been drained in order to see exactly what I was capable of.

I sighed in frustration. Who was I kidding? I was no help at all.

The temptation was gone almost as soon as it had come, but not quick enough to prevent Trey from gleaming it in my thoughts. The surprise of his blood bank plan was really throwing me off my game. Trey’s head snapped to the side, and he gazed at me. His blue eyes were full of hope ... hope that I was going to have to dash to pieces.

“
Could that work?” he asked, raising his voice in excitement. Now Chase and Jonas were watching the two of us expectantly. “Do you really think you could pull enough healing to-”

“
It doesn’t matter,” I interrupted, knowing the longer he chased this theory, the harder it would be when I couldn’t do what he wanted. Mark came to the front of the bus then, presumably to see what the commotion was all about. “I’m not good at it,” I explained. “It’s not like using a moon-given talent, or even one I’ve chosen for a full-moon cycle. It’s less predictable, maybe even dangerous.”

“
But if you could test it out,” he added.

“
Well, I can’t,” I said, my eyes pleading with him to drop it before he got everyone’s hopes up. “It’s not that simple.”

“
It is,” Trey insisted. “You can test it out on me.”

“
No. We’d have to ....” The thought was so horrifying I could hardly get the words out. “You don’t know what you’re volunteering to do,” I told him.

He lowered his voice now, and in a tone that was eerily calm said,
“I know we either give it a try, or I’m off to rob the nearest blood bank. Pick.”

“
I … I can’t,” I said, anxiety nearly choking off my words. It was so unfair. I couldn’t make that decision. “I drained you to the point of death once, and it nearly killed me inside to do it.” I shook my head, desperately pleading with him. “I don’t think I could do it again, even if I thought this was a good idea.”

“
I could do that part,” Mark offered, speaking up for the first time since walking in. I shot him a ‘you’re no help at all’ look, surprised that he seemed to be on board with this crazy theory.

“
No,” Trey argued, surprisingly Mark and I both. He stepped toward me, taking one of my hands in his. “You have to do it,” he said. “My blood will charge you up, and the chances of things working will be better that way, for me and O’Shea.”

“
This is crazy,” I protested.

“
Take a look around.” Trey gestured with a wave of his hand to Chase and Jonas, who were fully prepared to go bloodjack the nearest facility right now. Trey squeezed my hand. “We do crazy on a daily basis.”

There was that half-smile I
’m powerless against. I looked at Mark, hoping he’d be a voice of reason. Instead, he just shrugged and said, “We don’t have a lot of time. O’Shea’s heart is failing. I don’t think he’ll survive another round with the defibrillator. If you’re going to do this … do it now.”

“
Like it or not,” Trey added. “You’re O’Shea’s best shot.”

I locked eyes with him and realized that he was right. There was no way I was going to let Trey and the guys put their lives in danger by attempting a robbery that may, or may not end in the blood we needed. Not when I could try to do something about it instead. Trey seemed to know he
’d won. He pulled me up against him in one swift motion, bringing his mouth down on mine. The kiss more completely expressed each of our fears, hopes, and desperation than any words could have done. The flurry of emotions coming from Trey let me know that he understood how gut-wrenching this was for me. As risky as it was for Trey to be my guinea pig, he wasn’t about to stand by and watch O’Shea dying. At least this way Chase and Jonas would stay safe. When the kiss ended, I glanced up at Trey one last time. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, and I acted quickly before I could change my mind. I sank my fangs into a vein in his neck so fast that Chase swore and jumped back in surprise. Knowing that Trey and I were vampires was one thing, but seeing it in action was apparently something else entirely.

I took no pleasure in the act as Trey
’s blood ran down my throat. I was draining the life from him, and that knowledge did more than taint the taste. I listened as his pulse grew weak and his heartbeat quickened, struggling to maintain his blood pressure. I had to force myself to keep drinking when he lost consciousness, and his head slumped forward onto my shoulder. Although I was more than capable of holding him upright, Chase hurried over, unable to resist the urge to help in some small way. I pulled back, letting Chase support Trey’s weight as I healed the two small puncture wounds in Trey’s throat, stopping the flow of blood. Chase gently laid Trey down on the floor. He adamantly knuckled tears from his eyes as he sat back and stared at Trey with a look that can only be described as heartbroken. Seeing two of his brothers on the brink of death in one night was more than he could bear. I squeezed Chase’s shoulder. The gesture wasn’t much, but I had no words.

Panic washed over me as I knelt on the floor next to Trey. Part of me still couldn
’t believe I was going through with this experiment. Trey was dying at this very moment. If I couldn’t do this – if I failed – I would lose him for good. Trey and O’Shea would both die, and my entire world would come crashing down. But I couldn’t think like that. If it was going to work I needed to get a grip and focus. Trey needed me at my best now, and I was going to come through for him. I rested one hand on Trey’s chest over his heart, hoping to pull my focus in and forget everyone but him. His heart struggled rapidly beneath my palm, desperate for blood to fuel its purpose, but this was still Trey’s heartbeat, and I’d taken comfort in the sound of it since the beginning. I shut out everything around me, fighting back my anxiety, my fear, and letting the rhythm of it – no matter how uncertain – envelope me completely. I emptied my mind and thought one singular thought.

Heal.

Nothing happened at first, and I was afraid it wasn’t working. Then, I felt it … the buzzing of power in the top of my skull. I stayed focused on Trey’s heartbeat, willing the power to spread. It slowly, but deliberately, ran down my spine, cooling and soothing as it went. It extended out through my arms, resting in the tips of my fingers. I held one hand up in front of my face, and I swear I could actually see tiny blue and green sparks traveling harmlessly along my skin. From the corner of my eye I noticed Mark take a step toward me, and I glanced up at him briefly to see the wonder in his eyes as he studied the sparks. I felt comfort in the fact that he could see them, too. I lowered that hand onto Trey’s chest and watched for a second as both of my hands sparked. Some of the sparks even jumped from one hand to the other, almost playfully.

This was it.

Something unexplainable was happening. I just had to trust that whatever it was, it was going to save Trey. The sparks danced around on my fingertips, hot with anticipation.

Go to him,
I thought, pressing gently down on Trey’s chest, urging the sparks to leave me and do my bidding. Obligingly, the sparks traveled down my fingers and gathered together on the spot over Trey’s heart. I slowly pulled my hands back and watched as they sizzled and then actually began to burn through the cloth of Trey’s black T-shirt. This made Chase nervous, and he moved forward, but Mark’s hand on his shoulder caused him to pause. The singed hole in Trey’s shirt was about four inches in diameter now. Then suddenly the sparks turned a brilliant color of red before pooling together. Then, in an instant, the giant red spark arched and hissed and seeped into Trey’s chest, disappearing beneath the skin.

The red color came back in the form of a deep glow inside of Trey, right where his heart was. The sound of his heartbeat filled my ears until it was all I could hear. I listened as the rhythm leveled out and became strong again. Not just strong, but different. In fact, it was almost reminiscent of the way his heart had sounded when he
’d been human …
almost
. I could only hope that meant it was working; that this could be the solution to blood loss we so desperately needed. The volume of the pounding lowered, and I could hear Chase and Jonas whispering to each other as Trey lay there, still unmoving. The brightness inside of him suddenly began to spread outward through his entire body before it pulsed once, getting brighter. Then we watched as the red glow slowly faded and then went out completely.

Trey
’s eyes fluttered and then opened.