“I’m so sorry, Mom.” Brooke broke down all over again at the sight of her mother. “I never should’ve left school or gone to that party, and now everything is ruined and those kids are dead.”

“Shhh,” Tracy said, running a hand over Brooke’s mane of dark hair. “I know it seems so awful now, but everything will be okay in time. You’re going to be okay.”

Sam was glad to see that Tracy had pulled herself together because Brooke would need the strength of her mom and the rest of their family in the coming weeks and months. Totally drained from her talk with Brooke, Sam tipped her head from side to side, trying to relieve some of the pressure that gathered there in times of stress.

“Nick and the kids are here,” Tracy said. “Abby and Ethan wanted to see me, so he brought them over.”

“I think I’ll go out and say hello if you’re going to be here.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Sam?” Brooke said. “What is going to happen to me? I was drinking and I took drugs. Am I going to be arrested?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll need you to make a statement to Detective Erica Lucas from the Special Victims Unit. She’s going to be following up on your case, and I can’t be there when she talks to you because it’s a conflict of interest for me as your family member.”

“My case? What case? Aren’t they all dead?”

“One of them isn’t. Erica is a great detective, and she’ll be in to see you later today. Is that okay?”

Brooke nodded.

“If you think of anything else you remember from the party, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, I want you to call me, okay?”

“I’ll think about it, and I’ll call you if I think of anything.”

Sam pressed a kiss to Brooke’s forehead. “You’re going to get through this. I promise.” She hugged Tracy on the way out, and once she was in the hallway, Sam leaned against the wall, trying to get her emotions under control before she went looking for Nick and the kids.

Nick found her there a few minutes later. To his credit, he didn’t say a word. He simply put his arms around her and drew her into his loving embrace, which was exactly what she needed.

With her face pressed to his chest and his heart beating strong under her ear, Sam felt her world right itself again. “Thank you,” she said after several quiet minutes.

“Always my pleasure, babe.” He smoothed his hand over her back in a gesture that soothed and calmed her.

“It’s been one hell of a day so far.”

“I heard you were the one who got to tell Brooke what happened.”