Off the Record (The Sunshine & Sparks Duet #2)
Chapter One
MERCS
Puff
Puff
Puff
Air forces from my lungs into Effa’s so hard I barely remember to breathe myself.
My lips are dry, my heart hammering like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest. My movements are frantic but focused as I move from Effa’s lifeless mouth and lace my fingers together, driving them down on her sternum.
I don’t even know if I’m doing this fucking right.
Her head sways with every compression, but her eyes stay closed.
Pump
Pump
Pump
Four… five… six…
… thirty, I think, then seal my mouth over hers again.
Puff
Puff
Puff
Her chest rises under my breath.
The droning music overhead blends with the pounding in my ears. Sweat runs down my temples as Andi kneels nearby, crying. People crowd around us, but no one moves. No one helps.
“C’mon, baby… come back to me,” I rasp, pumping harder while her skin turns ghost pale. “Effa. Fuck! C’mon…”
Two minutes… maybe more. I pull back, panic now tearing through me as I ball my fist and slam it down on Effa’s chest.
Her body jerks.
Hope flares.
Nothing.
“Stop dying on me!” I roar, slamming both fists down harder than I should.
Her body convulses again, and when she gasps, the sound rips through me. She collapses back, and I lower myself over her mouth, desperate to catch the slow, uneven sound of her breathing, and the relief nearly knocks me flat.
Medics push in beside me, hauling me out of the way. “Sorry, but I need access.”
I stumble back, hit a pole, and sink to the floor. They work on her immediately with a blood pressure cuff and an oxygen mask, controlled and efficient, as if they have done this a thousand times.
But all I hear is ringing.
My body goes cold, and I’m shaking so hard my teeth chatter. I close my eyes and pray I did enough.
“Let’s move.”
I look up.
Effa is on a gurney with an oxygen mask attached, and the sight… it punches the air from my lungs. They wheel her toward the exit, and reality crashes back in, but my body feels disconnected—too heavy, too numb.
Andi wipes her face. “I’ll make sure Alana’s with her. I’ll come back for you.”
Those words snap me the fuck out of it.
“No, I’m going with her.” I push to my feet but sway. “Find the others.”
She nods.
I follow the gurney, moving beside Effa.
She looks like she’s asleep.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
I grab her hand.
Nothing.
No squeeze.
No twitch.
I brush hair off her forehead and look at the medic. “How bad is it?”
“We’ll know more once we get scans done. We need to check brain activity.”
Brain activity.
The words hollow me out.
Was she without oxygen too long?
Brain-dead.
Disabled.
Never sing again.
A vegetable.
My stomach twists violently.
How the fuck did this happen?
What the fuck did Jett do?
Rage surges hot and vicious. I want to tear that asshole apart, but I want to do it slowly for this… but not now.
Right now, she needs me, so I tighten my grip on her hand.
Whatever damage is done.
Whatever hell is coming.
Whatever this costs me.
I’ll be here for her.
No matter the goddamn outcome.