One Vote for Murder by S.C. Wynne

Author:S.C. Wynne [Wynne, S.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S.C. Wynne
Published: 2022-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Maxwell

“Kyle.” I touched Kyle’s shoulder gently. “Can you hear me?” Kyle’s skin was clammy and his breathing fast and shallow. I thought maybe he’d passed out from nerves, but now I noticed that his lips were swollen, and there was a red rash around his mouth and chin.

He moaned softly and then abruptly stopped breathing.

“Crap,” I hissed, searching for a pulse in his throat.

Nothing.

Clenching my jaw, I positioned myself over him and pressed my palms against his sternum. I quickly began performing hands-only CPR. Because of the rash around his mouth, I was leery about putting my mouth on his and unfortunately didn’t have a CPR mask with me. Hands-only CPR could be as effective as using breaths too, but only short-term. It would buy Kyle a few minutes of pushing oxygen in his blood through his system to his vital organs.

Pervis climbed up onto the stage, looking panicked. “Oh, my God. Kyle?” He knelt beside me, eyes wide. “What’s wrong with him? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I rasped breathlessly. “Is he allergic to anything?” The wheezing and rash made me suspect he might be suffering from anaphylactic shock.

“He… he has a severe peanut allergy,” Pervis rasped.

“Does he?” I grimaced. “Does he have an EpiPen? Do you?” Most people with severe allergies did keep them handy.

“Oh, shit. Yeah.” He patted his pockets and then pulled an EpiPen from his pocket. “Do you think this is a reaction to peanuts?”

“Don’t know. Could be.”

“Should I stick him?” Pervis’s hands were shaking as he held up the pen.

“Yes,” I said sharply. “Quickly.”

With a grunt, Pervis jabbed the pen into Kyle’s thigh. “I don’t understand how he’d have consumed anything with peanuts,” Pervis wailed.

“Did he eat or drink anything?”

“No.”

I glanced at him, breathing hard. “Nothing at all?”

Pervis blinked at me. “No… I mean… he had some water, but that’s all.”

“Hmmm.” I concentrated on the compressions, trying to ignore the fatigue that was setting in and how the kneeling position was hurting my twisted knee.

Pervis tossed the spent EpiPen aside and grabbed his brother’s hand. “Kyle. Kyle? Can you hear me?”

I heard sirens in the distance and prayed they hurried. When Kyle suddenly gasped in a ragged lungful of air, I swore under my breath with relief. Perspiration dotted my face, and I was winded. Kyle was still unconscious as I checked his pulse. Judging from his irregular heartbeat and grayish skin, he wasn’t out of the woods.

Pervis whimpered, “Is he gonna be okay?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to lie and wasn’t in the habit of giving false hope. I had no idea if Kyle was going to be okay. He was young, so that was in his favor, but his breathing wasn’t good.

Muscles shaking, I sat back on my haunches and surveyed the area. There was a small crowd of onlookers, some crying and some just staring in horror. I was surprised the Raidens and Liam were still hovering. I’d have thought they’d have taken off long ago. Angela Raiden looked pale and surprisingly shaken.

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