The squelch from her chest as Ray compressed it made him sick to the stomach but not as much as facing the truth did. She was gone - still - and he had lived with that knowledge for years. But all of a sudden it was like he was learning it for the first time all over again.

He all but reeled back on his knees, palms of his hands sticky with blood. Twisting away from Irene and Asher, he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out except the sound of retching.