“I’ll have to use less power. As long as she has Breed blood, I can heal fractures.”
A light pulsed, and a loud snap of electricity sounded. The girl recoiled but then immediately bent her arm and stared at it in amazement. A gentle touch later, the gash on her head was healed.
“Wake up, Spooky.” Shepherd lifted Wyatt’s eyelids. “I can’t see a damn thing in the dark.”
I held my palms close to Wyatt’s face, pushing light into my hands until tiny blue webs danced at my fingertips. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was enough. “Does this help at all?”
He leaned in close. “His pupils aren’t fully dilated, so that’s a good sign. I think.”
“You think?”
“I’m not a damned doctor. I patch people up.”
“You also put holes in them.”
Niko crawled above Wyatt’s head and held it in his hands. A dubious look crossed his expression. “So much damage. I can heal him, but it doesn’t mean he’ll awaken.”
Viktor jogged over while trying to put on his sweater. “What happened?”
Shepherd sat back. “Humpy Dumpty took a spill off the damn roof. That’s what happened.”
Niko sighed. “It’s your call, Viktor. If he doesn’t wake up on his own, I can’t promise he’ll wake up at all. And if I heal him and he’s comatose…”
Yeah, we’d all been down that road already with Niko.
Viktor wiped his hand down his mouth, a nebula of emotions clouding his expression. “Is there nothing you can give to wake him? Like in movies.”
Shepherd glanced up. “You mean smelling salts? I don’t like carrying ammonia around with me. Chitahs can smell it.” He looked down at Wyatt and frowned. “Should I punch him? That might wake him up.”
“You’ll do more damage,” Niko warned him.
“Spooky, wake your ass up!” Shepherd slapped his cheek a few times. “You in there?”
Suddenly Wyatt’s Have a Nice Afterlife T-shirt wasn’t so funny.
Shepherd kept holding the handkerchief against Wyatt’s head to stanch the bleeding. “You gotta wake up, man. Don’t do this to me.”
I could see Viktor pressing on a tough decision. I couldn’t get the sound out of my head of Wyatt hitting the asphalt. Staring at his lifeless body, I charged my light and cupped his crotch.
Wyatt gasped, and his eyes went wide.
Next best thing to CPR paddles.
Niko wasted no time before cradling Wyatt’s head. Concentrated light culminated at his fingertips. When it flashed, I shut my eyes from the blinding flare and heard the crack of a whip. Watching Niko heal never got old. After repairing Wyatt’s head, Niko went for his chest. This time, Wyatt cursed under his breath.
We all breathed a collective sigh.
Wyatt cupped his crotch. “Why do my balls hurt?” When he scooted to a sitting position, the bloody rag fell onto his lap.
Shepherd squeezed Wyatt’s shoulder. “What’s your name?”
“Wyatt Blessing.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“A dickhead.” He looked down at the bloody handkerchief in his lap. “Did you save me with your snot rag?”
Shepherd stood. “Yeah, he’ll be fine.”
Viktor eased up next to Shepherd. “My wolf searched the building. Christian is removing the last of the bodies. Burn it down.”
I jumped to my feet. “What are you going to light?”
Viktor took the girl’s hand. “That is Shepherd’s job.”
“I brought gasoline canisters in the second van, but it looks like they’ve got a gas line.” Shepherd took a box of matches out of his pocket and rattled them, a sinister smile on his face. “Let’s get this party started.”
Chapter 19
As soon as we got home, I showered and changed into my sweatpants. Though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t drink on this assignment, the dark blood drove me to it. Prior to leaving the burning warehouse, I’d vomited as much of it out as I could, but it had already seeped its way inside me, slithering through my veins like a venomous snake.
“Slide over.” Christian set an empty glass on the booth table and stole the spot next to me.
While he poured himself a drink, I stared through the open archway into the gathering room. Despite the late hour, some of the children were awake and talking. Blue was brushing one girl’s hair, and Gem was reading an old Russian fable to the little ones. None complained that she didn’t translate it to English. She was an animated storyteller, capturing their imaginations. Given the circumstances, Viktor thought it best to keep the men out of the room so the kids felt safe. He chose an isolated hall with only one way in and out, and Kira and Switch were busy setting up their rooms.
“How’s Wyatt?” I asked sleepily.
Christian traced his finger around the rim of his glass. “Knocked out from what Shepherd said. That’s one lucky bastard.”
“No kidding. He almost landed straight on his head; it’s a wonder he didn’t snap his neck.”
“A broken neck isn’t a sure thing.”
“I’m not going to ask how you know that. Wyatt must have spooked the girl. She took a step backward, and off they went.”
Christian chuckled darkly. “He has that effect on women.”
After finishing my tequila, I folded my arms on the table and put my head down. I heard someone sit on the bench across from us.
“It is good to hear the sound of children in this house,” Viktor remarked. “It has been many years since these rooms were full.”
Christian gently stroked my back, and it felt so damn good. “How long do you wager we’ll keep them?”
“We cannot risk them escaping or running about the house and finding weapons. Kira and Gem will watch them at all times, and that is an immense task.”
Christian shifted in his seat. “Drop them off at the orphanage.”
“Nyet. We have fifteen little ones who require special care. Shepherd will give each a health checkup in the morning, but only with Kira by his side. Just thinking about what they have been through—” He slammed his fist against the table, and I jerked up, my head pounding. When he noticed the silence in the adjacent room, he waved his hand at them with an apologetic look. “Any progress on your assignment?”
I rubbed my eyes. “I don’t have enough facts. Maybe these deaths weren’t connected after all. Who knows? Maybe all we were supposed to do was rescue those kids.” I swung my gaze toward the gathering room. “And you know what? That’s good enough for me.”
“Says the Shadow,” Christian quipped.
I steered my attention to my Vampire. “What did you do to that guy when you closed the door?”
Christian slowly arched an eyebrow.
“That’s what I thought. It feels good to put the bad guys behind bars, but in this case, nothing beats the death penalty. If I never figure out the mystery behind my case, at least we saved those kids. I just hope we can find them a decent home.”
“Aye.”
A little boy appeared at the table and stared up at Christian. He had ruddy cheeks and wide brown eyes. “Are you a real Vampire?”