Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…

Thirty chest compressions later, Connor fitted the mask over Brigid’s face.

Two breaths.

Thirty compressions.

Two breaths.

The world was in slow motion, time drip, drip, dripping by. Brigid’s body swayed lazily under my hands with each pump I applied to jumpstart her heart. Looking at Brigid, I saw my mother, and I swore to myself I would bring her back.

“You aren’t supposed to heal me, Kenna.” My mother’s voice breached through the years. “It’s my fate.”

A single fat tear leaked out of Brigid’s half-mast eye, rolling into the hair at her temple, a slip of liquid that held a universe of grief that I’d never know.

Two breaths.

My enemy…this woman had earned my hatred, had cherished it, and I was fighting for her life as I would have for the woman who had given me mine.

Brigid’s eyes, black holes that had once singed me with burning contempt, were vacant. The spark of life was lost to the void, so far down into the black holes. I couldn’t see how I could ever find her to bring her back out.

Thirty compressions.

Two breaths.

I’d never know for sure how long I fought to save her, only that Connor grabbed me as the EMT crew came in. Sinking into Connor’s arms, exhausted, sweaty, I leaned my back into his chest, letting his strength hold me up. My ears rang. Through the tinnitus flare-up, I heard voices as though they were underneath the surface of a great body of water.

Except Lucy’s. Her voice sounded like a bell in my mind.

“Dr. Kenna? I’m stuck.”

“Dr. Kenna? I’m stuck.”

“Dr. Kenna? I’m stuck.”

Across the room, my eyes met Phil’s, showing me shock, devastation and pain.

Devon screamed out the dead girl’s name as he crumpled in Phil’s arms. His hands went up to cover his face as he broke into uncontrollable sobs. Phil had him. Phil had a whole world of love for anyone who needed it. His hugs were powerful voodoo.

In my head, I heard the conversation I’d had with my mother in a dream the night she’d passed away.

“You’re mad! You’ve gone insane!”

“Nope!” My mother laughed. “I’ve gone dead.”

There was nothing I could’ve done to bring Brigid back. Brigid was dead before we’d arrived. My hands tingled with the memory of her cool body swaying beneath them.

By whatever means, whatever road Brigid was on now, it was not here. She’d left this world behind.

Phil

My Baby Girl was singing under her breath.

Kansas.

Kenna was singing “Carry On Wayward Son” and humming the guitar riff, too. Of course she fuckin’ was. This was Baby Girl. She knew any and every song on the planet worth knowing.

After the EMTs had carried Brigid out, Connor had helped Kenna to her feet, and they’d sat quietly on the couch. Police had come with the 911 call, asking us all sorts of questions. They wouldn’t let Devon go with the ambulance. There had been no point.

Brigid was already gone.

I’d seen how hard Kenna had tried to bring life back into the girl I’d once known. Controlled, each movement she’d made was calculated to optimize Brigid’s chances of survival. In the end, it hadn’t mattered. Brigid had made sure of that. She’d injected enough heroin to kill even me, and on top of that, she had left a suicide note for Devon.

She’d had no intentions of ever coming back.

The cops had bagged up Brigid’s needle. Thank God Kenna had had the foresight not to touch anything without putting on gloves. It was actually one of them who’d found the note Brigid had written and left folded on the dining room table.

Dawn was creeping its way in before we were finally able to return to our own room, Kenna singing Kansas.

“Will you shower with me?” I asked her.

She nodded.

Standing before her, bone-weary and naked with the hot water spraying over us, I broke down. My heart hurt, and I sank to my knees to rest my head between my Baby Girl’s breasts. She filled me with her strength and love, just letting me pour my heart out in her arms.

“Kenna…” I choked.

Her fingers slid through my wet hair.

She hadn’t liked Brigid Von Deitrich, but she understood that Brigid had meant something to me, and she didn’t hold that against me.

Soft gray light filtered through the window as we climbed into bed. As we wrapped around each other, I was safe in her arms, and I fell asleep before she did.

“Baby Girl, wake up,” I said, gently shaking her shoulder.

The poor woman must’ve been beyond exhausted. Usually, I could get her up pretty quickly.

Sheri had been blowing up my damn phone, finally waking my ass up. When I had finally answered, she’d sounded like she’d been ugly-crying for a while.

“Wake up Kenna, and come to our room, Phil. It’s important,” she’d said.

After the night we’d all had, I didn’t think I could handle much more crap. I felt waist-deep already, emotionally strung up and wrung out, and I was just ready to go home.

“Kenna,” I said a little louder.

“Uhngh…” she half-grunted, half-whined.

“Emergency.”

Her eyes weren’t even open as she sat up. “What’s goin’ on?”

“I don’t know. Sheri said we had to wake up and come to her and Jason’s room.”

“Time is it?”

“Almost noon.”

Grunting, she slowly made to get out of bed. Taking pity on her half-asleep state, I picked her up and walked her into the bathroom where she plopped her ass on the toilet. Her eyes drooped shut and stayed shut, even after she’d finished.

“If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break. When the levee breaks, I’ll have no place to stay…”

Normally, it would make me smile, hearing her sing, but this gave me goose bumps.

“Kenna?”

“Yeah, Phil?”

“Come on, Baby Girl. We gotta go.”

“Why do I have to go to a band meeting? I’m only bangin’ the singer,” she snapped.

That made me laugh. “Yeah, I don’t know. Sheri said you had to, too.”

“Vacation. Not supposed to be this tired on fucking vacation. Allowed to sleep in,” she grumped.

Shit, she must seriously be out of it, too tired to use all the words needed to make complete sentences.

“We’ll come back after and get straight back into bed. I promise.”

Heaving a huge sigh, she stood up and flushed. Then, she walked to the sink to wash her hands and face and brush her teeth. I couldn’t help but admire how incredibly beautiful and natural she was, walking around naked in front of me.

Baby Girl didn’t even put on underwear. She just pulled on her jeans and a black tank top and twisted her hair up. She looked so fuckin’ cute, her eyes still not able to fully open, pillow creases etched into the left side of her face.

Unable to resist, I pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. Let’s do this.”

Out in the hall stood Flipper, Viv, and Connor.

“What the hell is goin’ on?” I asked.

Connor shook his head. “We all just got here.”

He knocked on the door, and Alys, her face streaked with tears, answered.

“You guys—” she choked, looking for and finding Kenna, throwing her arms around her. “Lili and Lewis are already here.”

Enough of this shit!

I stormed into the suite, finding X on his knees in front of the TV. His hands were fisted in his hair, and he had a pained, shocked look on his pale face.

“What the fuck is goin’ on?” I asked, starting to freak out.

X turned wide electric-blue eyes on me. “Phil…” he whispered, his voice breaking.

Looking at the TV, I didn’t know what I was seeing. My brain felt as though it was liquefying along with everything that was on the screen.