Last Breath Read Free Page A

a deep breath. “Sorry. They just … get to me sometimes.”
    â€œAfter all you’ve been through?” Carly shook her head. “Little wonder.”
    Yesterday in a mall Brittany and I had been nearly trampled by reporters and photographers who’d rushed us out of nowhere. Bruce was with us. He’d fought to keep them back.
    Bruce . I pictured him lying on the hotel hall floor, blood seeping from his chest and gurgling from his mouth.
    Suddenly it all hit—memories of the terror and grief. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes, fighting tears.
    We needed time to mourn and heal, Mom and me. And we wouldn’t get it, not as long as we stayed on tour. It was just go, go, go. Fight the paparazzi. And it would only get worse. The news stories of the murders on our tour would be on every TV station, in every newspaper.
    I just wanted to crawl into a cave. But I couldn’t. I had to find out about my father.
    We pulled into our hotel, following the lead limo. At least here it would be a quick trip up to our rooms, then into bed for me. I couldn’t wait to close out the world.
    â€œOh, no.” Mom peered out the window to our right. Her voice dropped low. “They’ve found us.”
    No . I leaned toward the glass. Under the shimmering lights of the wide, covered hotel entrance, dozens more reporters, photographers, and camera men milled. The minute we got out of our limo, they’d descend on us like rabid dogs.
    Some staff member at the hotel must have talked.
    My veins went cold. This was never going to end. Suddenly that walk to the privacy of my room seemed a million miles long.

3
    I searched deep inside myself for flecks of energy, sweeping them together into a meager pile.
    â€œWait.” Carly craned her short neck to look out the limo window. “At least I see policemen out there.”
    â€œYeah.” Mom sighed. “The manager probably called when they saw this crowd. But it’s too little, too late.”
    Bruce , I thought. We needed him. Two bodyguards weren’t enough.
    As the first limo edged up and aligned with the door, police and hotel security moved the mob back on both sides. Mick and Wendell got out of the limo door nearest the hotel. The photographers and reporters surged toward them.
    Our car waited behind.
    â€œEverybody stay put.” Mom’s voice was sharp.
    Police and security closed in along with Wendell and Mick. The still cameras raised and the red lights of TV cameras glowed. “Stay back!” an officer shouted as Stan and Rich emerged from the limo. The mob yelled and pushed.
    Kim and Morrey appeared. The crowd jostled and shouted all the more.
    â€œShaley, where’s Shaley?”
    â€œWhere’s Rayne?”
    â€œIs it true your bus driver killed Tom and a bodyguard?”
    Stan and Rich worked their way toward the wide hotel door. Policemen flanked the door on either side, preventing the crowd from following once they entered. “No!” one of the officers shouted to the reporters. “None of you are going in!”
    Raucous voices protested. “It’s a free country!”
    â€œYou can’t keep us out!”
    The crowd pushed and yelled, but the policemen stood firm.
    Mick and Wendell surrounded Kim and Morrey as they moved toward the hotel. Morrey’s tattooed arm was around Kim, but she walked straight-backed and confident, ignoring the chaos.
    To our left, other hotel guests were pulling up in their cars to unload, gawking at the scene. Bellmen in bright red uniforms ran around, waving at them to move down farther. One of those bellmen almost got hit by a car going too fast.
    In front of us, Mick and Wendell shut the first limo’s door. It pulled away.
    Our car edged up behind it.
    The crowd went wild, shouting my name, Mom’s name. Their voices echoed off the portico. Police fought to keep everyone back as our limo door opened.
    Mick stuck his head inside. His