Lydia would have fainted if it were possible. She’d been told about Momma Mae from her sisters. Momma Mae was a ghost that only Emma and Jake could see. She was not only real, but a freakin’ ghost. That wasn’t a good sign.
For once she couldn’t feel any sliver of electricity in the air. There was no apprehension, no butterflies. This place was peaceful. No threats, no visions. Damn, her visions had failed her this time. She’d have thought if anyone would have seen her own death coming, she should have seen it herself. Lydia turned in place not understanding any of this. She was still standing in the corridor. She’d thought when they died that there would be pearly gates, or at least a field covered with flowers to great her, heck even a light at the end of the tunnel would have sufficed. “Where are we?”
Momma Mae shrugged one of her petite shoulders and pointed at Lydia’s lifeless body. “I call it Limbo. It’s a place where all souls who have unfinished business go.”
Lydia bit the inside of her lip. “I know what mine is, but why are you still here? What’s your unfinished business?”
Momma Mae floated over to Lydia. Her lips tilted up at the corners. “You are, Lydia. Now it’s time for you to go back.”
Lydia felt her consciousness being pulled into a strange void. Her eyes were heavy and closed. She was no longer standing outside her body. She felt trapped in the shell that she’d left. A heavy pressure was on her chest. Lydia opened her eyes and gasped for air.
Briggs rolled her on her side and whispered in her ear, “We need to get you out of here.”
Lydia whispered, her voice foreign and raspy to her own ears, “Rick.”
Briggs shook his head. “Brody’s got him. Just close your eyes and let me do the rest.”
Lydia let her eyes fall closed as she was pulled into the deepest sleep she’d ever been in before.
Chapter 18
The gentle breeze rolled over Lydia’s exposed shoulders. The warmth from the sun caressed her face, reminding her of times at the beach with her aunt. Lydia blinked her eyes open and glanced around the unfamiliar room. She felt renewed and refreshed, like she’d drunk three carafes full of coffee. Lydia lifted her arms over her head and stretched. She didn’t feel in danger, and she’d trusted Briggs to get her out alive. If there was one thing she was certain of about the silent giant, she was sure he’d succeeded.
“Welcome back to the land of the living.” A female’s voice broke through Lydia’s relaxed silence. Lydia turned her head toward the voice and pushed to a sitting position. Abby. “I’ve been told those words have been said a lot to you lately. Do you care to explain?”
The youngest of the Bennett sisters was lounging in a chair beside her bed.
“Why are you here? And where is here?” Lydia asked, confused as she glanced around the unfamiliar room. A mauve-and-tan comforter lay strewn across the bed and tangled around her legs. The solid oak dresser held pictures of Abby that she’d never seen before.
“You’re at the beach house.” Abby stood and poured a glass of water and handed it to Lydia. “You know, it took Mike all he had not to beat the crap out of several people at the base. The only thing that stopped him was Elizabeth.”
Lydia’s sip of water turned into gulps. She hadn’t realized how parched her throat was until she’d downed the whole cup. “What are you talking about?”
Abby sat next to her on the bed. “Emma called, and she was hysterical, something about Momma Mae, and she said you were in trouble. We used the GPS on your watch to track you and then took the jet to go rescue you.”
Lydia shook her head to clear the cobwebs. “Why? You guys should have stayed away. It wasn’t safe for any of you there.”
“You’re our sister, and you were in trouble. That’s what we do when family is in trouble.”
Lydia let her head fall forward. If the asshole that had taken Rick found out about her family, she was screwed. The psycho would want to use all of them, just like they’d used Rick. Lydia raised her gaze. “Did they get Rick out?”
Abby patted her leg and pushed from the bed then walked to the door. “Yep, they got him out. And I have to warn you he’s not very happy that we brought you here. Something about the security not being strong enough. Kind of struck a nerve with Jake.”
“Why did you bring me here? Why not just stay with me at the base if you were worried?”
Abby paused with her hand on the doorknob. She glanced back over her shoulder. “We almost lost you.” Abby sighed as if trying to choose her words. “Why don’t you go ahead and take a shower and I’ll fix you some coffee. If you’re anything like me, you can’t function without it. Then we can all sit down and you can tell us all about your resurrection from the dead.”