“Hold pressure there,” I said.
I pointed to a cut along Yuki’s hairline, instructing Calvin as I made a cursory search of her other injuries. Leave it to Yuki to run headlong into an oncoming vehicle. Luckily for her, it was only a moped.
Still, I didn’t dare move her.
I removed an inflatable neck brace from its packaging and pulled the tab to inflate. Circling Yuki’s neck with the brace, I looked into her eyes. They were pinched together in pain, but her pupils looked even and responsive as I moved my hand in front of them to shield them from the moped’s headlight.
Someone behind me kept saying how sorry they were. Oh right, the driver. I’d have to take a look at his injuries too. But first I had to get Yuki stable and then see to Sarah Randall.
Simon was doing his best, but he had his hands full…literally.
I had watched as Simon turned toward the road and witnessed Yuki’s foolish bolt from the car. It had all seemed to happen in slow motion. I tried to move, to leap from the car to Yuki’s aid, but my muscles froze. Simon flinched as the moped collided with Yuki’s path. He turned to Cal who was already racing into the street. With a nod to himself, he turned back to the Grabber.
Cal and I would help Yuki, the Grabber was his.
In a blur of werewolf speed, Simon tackled the Grabber to the ground. A grim smile tugged at his lips as he pressed the man’s face into the filthy ground of the alley. Seeing that Simon was okay, and the Grabber apprehended, my muscles came alive. I fumbled with the door latch and sprinted into the street.
It all happened within seconds, but it felt like an eternity.
I knelt beside Yuki, hoping that her injuries were superficial. She seemed to be having trouble breathing, but it didn’t sound like a punctured lung. If I had to make a guess, I’d say she was having an anxiety attack.
Guilt twisted my stomach. I had known that Yuki was having a hard time reliving her own abduction. I should have anticipated her reaction to finding Sarah Randall. Seeing the girl bound and gagged, with her tormentor leering, must have pushed Yuki over the edge. It was too similar to her recent experience. An experience she hadn’t fully recovered from.
“Is…is she okay?” Yuki asked.
“Shhh,” Calvin said.
“It’s alright,” I said. I forced a smile and packed up my bag. “I’m going to check on her now. Just don’t move.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Keep her safe,” I said to Calvin. “I’ll be right back.”
The guy on the moped paced back and forth in the road. He looked alright, but I probably should try to calm him down.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Me?” he asked. “Sure. I’m fine. My ride’s fine too. But, did I, like, kill that girl? Is she okay? I was just going out to grab a pizza.”
The guy looked like he was a few years older than me. He probably attended nearby Sansborough College.
“She’ll be okay,” I said. “I’ve called an ambulance, so don’t go anywhere. The police are coming too and, after the paramedics check you over, they’ll want a statement. Maybe you can direct traffic while we wait for them to get here?”
“Sure,” he said, continuing his pacing.
College guy’s comments had given me an idea. When the police came, we couldn’t exactly say we were on a stakeout for the Grabber. I didn’t want a lecture from the cops about how dangerous that was, and if my parents found out, they’d kill me themselves.
But they couldn’t be too upset if we happened to see something suspicious while on our way to get pizza. Sansborough House of Pizza stayed open all night. We could say we were studying late and needed food. The way we went through pizza, it was a believable lie—and didn’t reveal anything about ghosts or werewolves.
I veered back to Calvin and whispered my plan. He nodded and I ran to the alley where Simon waited.
“That stupid bloody girl,” Simon said. “Thank God you stayed inside the car.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
His shoulders shuddered as tension left his body. Simon’s relief was almost palpable. I wanted to reach out and reassure him with a hug, but other people needed my help right now…and his hands were busy holding the Grabber to the ground.
“I need to check on Sarah,” I said.
He nodded, the skin tightening around his eyes. There were dark circles that hadn’t been there before. Perhaps seeing Sarah Randall hadn’t just been hard on Yuki. Simon had a lot of demons from his past. I made a mental note to talk to him about it later. I wanted to know all of his secrets, even the painful ones.
I moved to the rear of the van and lifted my hands, palm out.
“Sarah?” I asked. “My name is Emma and I’m here to help. There’s an ambulance coming and the police are on the way. I’m sure your parents will be here soon too. Can I come in?”
Sarah lay on her side, shaking. Simon had managed to remove the bonds from her wrists. Her hands covered her face and the gag hung loosely below her chin. This girl had been through hell. I wasn’t going to make that any worse by barging in on her. If she didn’t want my help, I’d wait for the paramedics.
She moved her fingers and blinked against the harsh interior light of the van. I thought I saw recognition there and she nodded.
“Don’t you…don’t go to my school?” she asked.
“Yes, Wakefield High,” I said, keeping my voice low. I was talking to her like I would a scared animal. “School’s almost over. I can’t wait for summer.”
I started working on the rope that bound her ankles.
“Did he hurt you?” I asked.
My voice shook and I blinked tears from my eyes.
“No-o-o,” she stuttered. “Not really. He liked to talk.”
Oh my god, I really didn’t want to know what that creep liked to talk about. I’m sure she didn’t want to think about it either.
“Okay, your feet might tingle while the circulation comes back,” I said, pulling off the last of the rope. “Can you sit up?”
I helped Sarah into a sitting position, moving closer when she swayed.
“Are you thirsty?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said.
Sarah hiccupped and she started crying again. I pulled a bottle of water from my bag and handed it to her silently. Words dried up on my lips. What else could I possibly say to comfort her?
I leaned against the van while she cried, staying within sight. Simon continued to hold the Grabber to the ground, angling the man’s face away from where I stood.
“Is the girl alright?” Simon asked.
“She will be, eventually,” I said. I nodded at the man held beneath him. “At least she’ll have the comfort of knowing that monster can’t harm her anymore.”
“No, love,” he said. “This one won’t be hurting anyone ever again.”