Page 179 of Perfect Pitch

Before I turn to face Fallon, I begin playing an intricate guitar solo. Then I hear Fallon knocking on the body of her guitar, and I ease into the melody. Exactly at the right moment, my voice hits the first note.

There’s no way to prevent the shiver that runs through my body when the room starts singing along with me. Their “How long?” lifts my soul up to the heavens especially when everyone raises their drink when Fallon joins me in the refrain.

For just a moment, I think about what I really need in my life. It hits me it isn’t fame and fortune. It’s love. And if I can’t find it with the man I fell for, I could be happy raising my child in a place like this. Deciding to give it more thought at a later time, I finish the song before lifting my guitar from around my neck and gesturing to my best friend. “Fallon Brookes, everyone!”

The crowd leaps to their feet. Some start shouting, “Fallon! Fallon! Fallon!” She blushes before doing the same. “And my best friend, who proved tonight she’s so much more than a DJ, Kensington!”

I shake my guitar in the air to thank the raucous applause. “Thank you, Seven Virtues! I’ll be back soon!”

We both step off the stage, and I shake hand after hand. I take selfies and stop for group shots. The owner takes a photo of me and Fallon, promising, “This will be put in a place of pride. Tonight was incredible.”

I wrap my arm around Fallon and she drapes hers around me. “Mind if I borrow her for a few more minutes?”

He shakes his head. “By all means. Your security team is waiting on Columbia.”

Fallon pipes in, “I’ll escort her out and then be back.”

We walk past the podium, and the bouncers open the doors that are painted with Galileo’s coat of arms. I’m stunned to find the street lined with people. “Is it normally like this?”

Fallon hip bumps me. “No, it’s you.”

“I can’t let them down.” Stubbornly, I walk up and down the line, signing cellphone cases, scraps of paper. I take more pictures. I sing a few more songs.

Fallon’s grinning as she holds up my phone. Laughing, I ask, “What are you doing?”

“I’m FaceTiming with Charlie since he’s wondering if you abandoned him for me,” she says audaciously.

I try to swipe to grab it and stumble into the street.

Fallon reaches out to stabilize me.

I hear the squeal of the tires before I see the car that comes around the corner.

But it’s too late.

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE

The time to think about how to handle an emergency is not when you’re in the middle of one.

—StellaNova

“How many units has she had?”

“We need an arterial line.”

“BP’s falling.”

“She’s bleeding from the puncture site. I need someone to keep pressure on it.”

“Got it.”

“I need sight!”

“Can I get a dopamine drip?”

“Pull her off the respirator and bag her.”

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