Page 50 of Moonlight & Mayhem

“Her heartbeat,” she said. Chrome went completely still, and Moon continued compressions. Her wolf began to panic. No. Moon pushed harder. “Come on, Chris, you are not doing this to me.” Tempest returned with Moon’s medical bag, and Mayhem was beside her, pale and sweating.

“Pads,” she shouted. Tempest opened the bag, and Moon tore Chris’s shirt open and placed the defibrillator pads on her chest.

Chrome stared at her. “Is that necessary?”

Moon looked at him. “She doesn’t have a pulse.”

His face changed. Mayhem grabbed his shoulder and hauled him backward. “Let her work.”

Moon charged the unit. “Clear.” Chris’s body jerked, but there was still no pulse.

“Again,” she shouted.

“Moon,” Tempest whispered.

“Again.” She shocked her again, and still had nothing. Her throat tightened. No. She couldn’t lose Chris. Not tonight—not ever. Moon resumed compressions. “Come on, Chris.” She counted as her arms burned, and smoke stung her eyes. The fire behind them crackled as someone shouted that another vehicle had been found near the perimeter. Moon didn’t care. Her entire world had narrowed to the woman beneath her hands—Christmas. She wasn’t just her VP; she was her sister. Chris was the woman who had just told Moon to stop acting like she was the least important person in the clubhouse.

“You don’t get to leave us,” Moon whispered. She pressed down again. “And you definitely don’t get to make me tell Tempest you died because you ignored her orders.”

Tempest made a broken sound beside her, but Moon refused to look. “Again.” She charged the paddles. “Clear!” Chris’s body jerked, and the monitor beeped. Moon froze, holding her breath, hoping against hope until she heard another weak beep.

“Oh, thank God.” Tempest dropped to her knees. “Chris?”

Moon checked her pulse; it was weak, but there. “She’s back.” Chrome exhaled like he had been holding his breath for hours. Moon reached for oxygen. “Don’t celebrate yet.” She placed the mask over Chris’s face. “Mayhem.”

“I’m here,” he said.

“Help Tempest carry her inside,” she ordered.

Chrome immediately stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”

Moon looked at him. “You can help.”

Chrome crouched to pick her up, and Chris groaned. Everyone froze as her eyelids fluttered. “Chris?” Tempest touched her face, and Christmas sucked in a ragged breath and then grimaced.

“Fuck,” she whispered.

Tempest laughed. It sounded suspiciously like a sob. “You’re still with us.”

Chris tried to sit up, and Moon shoved her back down. “No.”

Chris frowned beneath the oxygen mask. “What happened?”

“You died,” Moon said. Her eyes widened, and Chrome barked out a strangled laugh, but Moon ignored him. “For about a minute.”

Chris blinked. “That seems dramatic.”

Tempest leaned closer. “You stopped breathing, you asshole.”

Chris looked towards her Prez. “You crying?”

“No,” Tempest lied.

“You are,” Chris challenged.

“Shut up,” Tempest ordered. Chris smiled weakly.

Moon nearly cried herself. Instead, she checked Chris’s pupils. “Can you feel your legs?”