Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

And if he had been with her when Shawn had shown up to begin with, that evil being would have never had the chance to try and escape with her.
    As the cobwebs began to clear from Erica’s mind, flashes of scenes started hitting her. The kiss she and Kevin had shared in the front seat of her new car. And then Jennifer and she in class when the lockdown occurred, and gunshots going off. Jennifer and her sneaking out of class and waiting at the end of a dark hallway, near the back of the building. Oh God, that was when Shawn had showed up, attacking Jennifer in order to get to her. Shawn had snatched her away from an injured Jennifer, breathing in her ear that if she made one sound, he would finish killing her newly acquired friend.
    She had gone unwillingly, but silently, hoping and praying that Jennifer would stay alive long enough for help to arrive. She knew that vampires healed fast, but she was still concerned over her friend’s injuries. And then, just prior to being yanked out of the building completely, they had been confronted by a large tiger. Erica knew the tiger had to be Kevin in animal form, but that didn’t lessen the pain when a large claw went across her scalp as Shawn threw her in its path in order to protect himself. A few short seconds later, she felt intense pain as her head slammed into something solid, and then nothing.
    Erica caught sight of a man in a lab coat approaching the side of her bed. “Hello Erica, I’m Dr. Carlson.” He took her hand in his as he checked her pulse, while giving her a smile. “I must say, young lady, you have quite a fan base. I don’t ever remember my waiting room being as full as it is right now.”
    “Where am I? What happened?” she asked nervously as she glanced from Dr. Carlson to Kevin.
    “You are at the underground medical facility. We brought both you and Jennifer here for treatment,” Kevin quietly stated.
    “Jennifer,” Erica sucked in a deep breath as a picture of Jennifer’s body, lying on the floor with a knife sticking out of her abdomen, and a severely broken and mangled arm floated through her head. “Is she okay? How bad are her injuries?” Erica’s voice quivered as she made the inquiries.
    “Jennifer is going to be just fine, now I need for you to stop worrying about everything and everybody, and concentrate on getting yourself better,” Dr. Carlson responded kindly. He leaned over to examine both sides of Erica’s head. Erica winced just from the slightest of touches. “My head feels like it is going to explode,” she grumbled.
    “That would be due to a large gash on the left side of your head that I had to use a few dozen stitches to close, and a large bruise on the right side of your head. I understand you hit the right side of your head when you were slammed into a wall.” Dr. Carlson was examining the affected area as he spoke. “This injury is the one we will be keeping a close watch on. It has caused some swelling in the brain, and we will need to monitor you to make certain the swelling goes down on its own.”
    Dr. Carlson walked away from the side of the bed for a moment, and Erica shifted her focus to Kevin.
    “I am so sorry, Erica,” he whispered with a tortured look on his face. “I never meant to hurt you. I was so afraid he was going to make it out of the building before I could get you free from him, and I knew if he succeeded, it would have been like looking for a needle in a haystack.
    Erica squeezed his hand and was opening her mouth to tell him he had nothing to apologize for, when a voice at the door stopped her. “She’s awake!”
    She turned her attention to the sound and found Marshall standing in the doorway, with numerous others quickly gathering behind him. Dr. Carlson suddenly reappeared in her line of sight, walking straight over to the door. “One at a time, she is not out of the woods yet, and I don’t need her overwhelmed by too many visitors at once.” He then turned to cast a quick glance to Kevin. “If she starts to tire, kick everyone out immediately. Her health comes first.”
    Rosetta pushed her way through the crowd and past Marshall. “Erica!” she exclaimed the moment her eyes spotted her. She walked over to the side of the bed with her arms extended to give a warm hug. “I have been so worried about you! You have no idea how happy I am to see you are awake!”
    Rosetta was just the first of many to come in to assure that Erica was indeed okay. Charles, Elizabeth,