When I look up, Max is scowling at me. “Don’t fucking touch him!”
Xander cries out to their big brother. “Clay!”
I tug my wrist away from Max, feeling venom hit my tongue. “You need to call an ambulance!” I bounce my gaze from brother to brother, wondering why they are hesitating, feeling agitated and desperate for them to move.Make a move. Do something!“Call triple zero now!”
“Should we call Jimmy?” Xander asks, his voice a vibrating mess.
“Call a fucking ambulance, not Jimmy!” Max growls.
“Stop arguing. Who is going to perform CPR?” I bite out at them, noticing a twitch of discomfort in Max’s jaw, a subtle sign that he’s not in control and ready to snap.
“You know how?” Max glares at me. His eyes have the power to slice a person in two, dislocating their strength from their form, making them puddles of weakness. My breathing shakes violently, but I try to disguise it.
Clay drops down beside his brothers, his large powerful body towering over us. “You know CPR?”
I stare straight at him, hoping he’ll trust me to help save his brother’s life. It is clear in their narrowed, scrutinising eyes that they don’t trust me. Perhaps they trust no one with each other. “Yes.”
“Do it,” Max barks.
What am I doing? I’ve only ever done this on dolls.
I reach a trembling hand up and touch two fingers to Bronson’s wet neck. The thrumming of his pulse is evident but weak. His lashes lay flat against his cheek, weighted by water. Shuffling in closer to him, knowing that his life could be in my hands, I try to remain calm. My whole body vibrates violently as I open his mouth, tilt his head back, and check his airway. His tongue is in a strange position, so I try to flatten it before going straight to work. Pinching his nostrils together, blocking any air from entering or exiting, I lean over him and enclose his entire mouth with mine. Blowing into his lungs, I feel his chest rise slightly and know I have successfully filled his lungs with air. I do this twice and then entwine my fingers and press them between his sternum.
“Count with me,” I say, my voice squeaking out. “I need you to count with me to thirty.” The pressure of trying to count while my body is trembling so viciously is terrifying.
Chest compression. “One,” we all say in unison.
Chest compression. “Two.”
“Three. . . Four. . . Five . . . Six-“ We count up to thirty.
God,he’s still not moving. Ignoring Xander as he swears and cries beside me, I lean down and block Bronson’s nose, breathing into his mouth again with all my energy. My arms tremble from fatigue and from fear and- Did he just move?
Pulling back from his mouth, my eyes widen, frantically searching for a sign he’s coming to. . . but he’s still unresponsive. Lunging back to take his mouth, I block his nose and press my lips to his again.
Warm air strokes across my tongue, but it isn’t my own. Relief floods me. His face twitches against mine. I hear a murmur. Suddenly, a hand grabs the nape of my neck, holding me down, forcing me harder against his mouth as his tongue plunges into the depths of my widely spread lips. He licks the roof of my mouth, and heat hits my ears, burning up the panic and relief and replacing it with sheer anger.
Fucking prick!
I shove at his chest and he lets me go, weaker than he was the first time he pulled this crap. Instinctively, I raise my palm to slap him again, but Max catches my wrist this time.
“Fuck you!” I scream, ripping myself free of him.
Xander lets out a broken sigh of relief. Gripping his brother’s shoulder, he squeezes lightly. “Bron?”
Clay strokes Bronson’s hair. Bloodied fingers shaking with emotion comb through his wet strands. Lots of blood. Not his own, I presume. “Buddy, stay still.”
And none of the boys even acknowledge that I exist. That their brother just assaulted me while I tried to save his life. I jump to my feet. Storming off, I will myself not to look back at them, will myself to leave these arrogant arseholes to their own precious company.
Stupid.
Jerk.
Fucking perverted. . . dickhead.
“Wait! What’s your name?” I hear Bronson cough the words out from behind me.
Rushing away from him, I have no idea why I answer, but my name growls from between my pursed lips. “Shoshanna!”