“Hayes, where are you?” Marcus asks in my ear.
“Why aren’t they getting the fucking lights on in this place?” I ask.
“They’re working on it. Most of the security team are vampires, so the few humans are trying their best.”
I look around but the woman with the missing child is gone and I pray that doesn’t mean she’s been attacked. I try to push myself up, but my left arm isn’t responding, and I fall into it as it collapses. Thankfully, I catch myself with the hand holding my gun and manage to get to my feet. I step onto a chair and that’s when I fire my last tranq. I put the gun away and pull out my regular gun. I don’t want to kill the vampires, but I have to stop them somehow.
As I turn, I see a little girl with a red hat tucked under a chair. I rush over to her as a vampire drops to his knees in front of the chair. I shoot him in the side, and he turns quickly to look at me. He gives me a toothy grin before rushing at me and I realize I need to shoot him. But unless I shoot him in the head, he’s not going down.
Just pull the trigger… but he’s innocent. It’s the drug driving him crazy. All of them are innocent. My finger quivers on the trigger, struggling so hard to pull it just as Marcus slams the man to the ground.
I rush past him and grab the wrist of the girl. She screams as I drag her out and that’s when I feel water touch my face, telling me that they finally got the sprinklers on. “It’s okay, I’m with the police.”
She lunges for me, grabbing onto me, but I only have one working arm and I can’t carry her with it. Once I pry her off me, I pull her behind me where she grabs onto my jacket and waist.
As the water falls, the smells of blood and the drug begin to dissipate and the vampires begin to slow. The oldest are the first to stop, regaining their composure. A vampire that’s been attacking a man before me jerks back and fights to compress the wound he’s caused.
I drag the girl with me as I make my way over to Marcus. “I’m out of tranqs.”
“I think the water is working,” he says through his mask. “Get the girl out, I’m going to keep helping who I can. Stay out there.”
I nod, but I know I won’t. Not when I can help. “Keep ahold of me,” I tell her as I move toward the exit. Thankfully, the attacking has ceased and what’s left are confused and horrified vampires and wounded humans.
Chapter Eight
FINN
Grady definitely got his wish. This will shatter the alliance. We can only pray that the casualties are low. As I near the door, the woman who’d been following me earlier rushes forward and grabs onto her daughter while sobbing out thank yous as they’re pulled to safety by security. I see other members from our team are here and responding as they apprehend all vampires and assist in helping the wounded.
My arm is throbbing and when I look over at it, I see that blood is leaking through my shirt. I’m sure that won’t make Watson happy, since blood in the electronic components could be why it’s not working. But I’ll have to deal with that later, I have more pressing matters.
I kneel in front of a human who is cowering on the ground.
“Are you wounded?”
“M-My leg is cut.”
“Can I help you out?” I ask.
“Hayes, why do I still see you?” Marcus asks through the device in my ear.
“I’m helping. They’re done attacking.”
“You don’t know that,” he says.
I help the wounded man to the door as my arm throbs. It doesn’t help that the weight of the prosthesis is pulling on the cap. If I could take it off, it’d relieve some of the pain. I slip my hand inside my shirt and press on the release, but it won’t pull away. The thing is built so if there is severe trauma to it, it should automatically release so it doesn’t rip the cap off my body. For some reason, it doesn’t. Instead, it’s jammed and won’t do anything but make my arm ache worse.
“Is that your blood?” Marcus asks as he rushes up.
I look up at him. “I’m fine.”
“Let me see,” he says as he reaches for me.
I shift my left side away from him. “No, I’m fine.”
He points at the mask still firmly in place. “I have my mask on, I promise I won’t attack you. Let me see your arm.”
“I’m fine, Marcus!” I snap as I try to slide past. He slips in front of me, which forces me to look up at him.
“Finnigan.”
I stare at him.
“Let me see your arm. Is it broken? I need a medic!” he shouts.
“It’s not real,” I snap.
“What’s not real?” he asks.
“I’m fine.” I shove past him and immediately run into Brooks.
Brooks grabs me to keep me from rushing past. “Hold up, what happened?”
“He’s hurt and refuses to let me look at it or call a medic,” Marcus says.
I don’t know what to do. “It’s because I’m fine. I need to help the others.”
Brooks grabs my good arm and forces me over to a chair. “Sit down.”
I grudgingly sit.
“Finn, let me see your arm. Have you looked at it?”
“No.”
“Then you’ll let me look at it, right? Finn, it’s not a big deal,” Brooks says. “I think you’ve proven that you can hold your own.”
It’s not just that, but… it’s hard to explain. I’m not sure I even have the words to make him understand the feelings these things cause me. The fear I have when they’re off. And then to be surrounded by vampires when I’ve lost the use of them.
He pulls my bulletproof vest off then unbuttons my shirt and starts to slide it down. I grimace as it tugs on my arm.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I grit my teeth.
“Here,” Marcus says as he kneels down and cuts the sleeve of my shirt with a knife from his belt. He looks surprised when he sees the prosthesis but immediately covers it up.
Brooks leans forward to examine my arm. “I’m going to send him to his doctor, but I think we should get the prosthesis off, right, Finn?”
“I can’t get it off,” I say as I reach over to it again and press the release, but it doesn’t do anything. “I can’t get it.”
“Can you move your fingers?”
“No. I think something’s jammed,” I say.
“I’ll flag down a medic.”
“Don’t worry about it. They’re busy and I’m not dying, but others are. I’ll just put pressure on it until I get to Watson’s.”
Marcus rips the bottom of his shirt before reaching toward me. If I wasn’t feeling like shit, I’d make a comment about his newly made crop top. “I might not be a doctor, but I’ve been around long enough to know some stuff,” he says as he gently slides it between my arm and side and ties it tight enough to put pressure onto the slice in my skin. “I can drive him.”
Brooks shakes his head. “You should stay here. I’ll have an officer run him.”
“I can drive myself,” I say, but they ignore me. They usher me off to a police officer who takes me out to his car and drives me to Watson’s. When we arrive, I thank him and head up to the door. I’d texted Watson on the way here, so he’s already expecting me and opens the door as I step onto the porch.