Bluegrass Undercover (Bluegrass Brothers)

daggers at her instead.
    “You really need to learn self-defense. I can’t always be around to save you.” Annie knew she was being a smartass, but it was fun to see the way his mouth hung open like that.
    “You bitch,” Bonner moaned from the ground as he turned towards her. His face was so red Annie gasped. Sweat was pouring off his face. His shirt was damp. She watched in horror as he tried to stand up to grab her arm but fell face down onto the cool, tile floor. She saw a trickle of blood run out of his nose and pool on the floor.
    “You, kid ... call 9-1-1! He’s had a heart attack. Tell them to send the heli.” She didn’t wait for the kid to pull out his cell before falling to her knees to help Cade turn Bonner over.
    “You sure it’s a heart attack?” Cade asked her as he felt for a pulse.
    She focused her attention to finding the pulse. It was there but fading. His heart was struggling to work. He had stopped breathing, or it was so shallow she couldn’t detect it.
    “Yes. It’s a side effect of S2. We need to start CPR if he’s going to have a chance to live.” She waited for Cade to start the chest compressions before tilting back Bonner’s head, pinching his nose closed and breathing into his mouth.
    They continued CPR while Lee stood frozen to the spot, cell phone still in hand. Annie could feel that Bonner’s skin had turned clammy. This was not good. She felt for his pulse again and felt it flutter. They needed to hold on a little longer. If they could keep him breathing, the doctors may be able to save him.
    Annie was too afraid to check to see if he was breathing on his own or not. But the white tint to his skin with the shallow blue lines around his lips told her enough. Sweat rolled down her back as she bent to blow some more air into Bonner’s lungs.
    “Kid, go out front and meet the EMT’s. They should be here any minute.”
    Lee finally moved from where he was rooted to the floor but still stood staring at Bonner’s unconscious body with a look of shocked disbelief.
    “Now, kid!” Annie snapped when he didn’t leave right away.
    She heard his feet pound down the hall at the same time she heard the first sounds of the helicopter. They couldn’t get here fast enough. Cade had been doing chest compressions for almost ten minutes . He had to be exhausted, but he hadn’t said a word about it. He had counted and compressed, counted and compressed and had helped her keep Bonner alive.
    “Okay, we got the mask ready.” Annie and Cade stepped back as the EMT’s bagged Bonner. “What happened?”
    “Heart attack due to an overdose of steroids,” she answered.
    “Have you been doing CPR the whole time?”
    “Yes. He still had a slight pulse but shallow to no breathing.”
    The EMT’s lifted Bonner onto the stretcher and hurried from the room while they issued orders into their radios. Lee had been standing by the door as the EMT’s had loaded Bonner onto the stretcher and had not moved even though his friend was no longer here.
    “You okay, Lee?” Cade asked as he put a hand on the shaken kid’s shoulder. Lee just nodded but didn’t say anything. “I’m going to follow Corey to the hospital. I’ll call his parents on the way. I don’t think Lee here should drive. Can you take him home?”
    “No problem. Call if you need anything.” She put her arm around Lee and felt the tiny shivers of shock rippling through him. “Come on, Lee. Let’s get you home.”
     
    *     *     *
     
    Cade lay down on his couch and closed his eyes. He was so emotionally drained that he barely heard SportsCenter on the television. He flung his arm over his eyes and tried to make his mind go blank. However, that was easier said than done. A red head was currently running laps up there, making it impossible to think of anything else.
    There was a knocking at the door, and a part of Cade’s mind irrationally hoped it was Annie. It was that small part of his mind that propelled him to his feet and sent him racing to the door.
    “Don’t look so disappointed to see me, brother. It makes me think you were expecting someone else.” Miles Davies snapped his fingers and with a smirk said, “I know, you’re expecting that cute guidance counselor you have a thing for.” Miles may be the oldest of the Davies brothers, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve to have his ass whooped every now and then.
    “Don’t be such an ass. Where did you hear about Annie?” Cade asked as