Page 45 of Craving You
“But what about…” Cam starts to ask.
“Cameron, please,” I whimper.“Let’s meet Mom and Dad at the house.”The realization sweeps over him and watching my brother’s heart shatter in front of me is almost too much to bear.
“Ross, you drive them.I’ll follow with your car,” the woman says softly.He nods and waves us along.
We are all almost zombie-like as we go outside to the car.I notice the alleyway is blocked off by crime scene tape.I look at Ross, and he just sighs.
I sit between Cam and Remy in the back as Ross drives us to the house.They have a tight grip on my hands, knowing that is what is holding me together right now.We know what has happened, but no one is willing to say it aloud.
When the gate shuts behind us, we drive up and park beside Mom and Dad.The second we are out, I run into the house, hoping to find Tris waiting on us.Instead, I find my parents, who look like they have both been sobbing.
“Oh, honey,” Mom says tearfully.
“They don’t know,” Ross says.“Guys, come sit with me.”
“No,” I say.“No.I’m not sitting.Where is Tris?Where is she?”
“Lorelei, please come sit with me,” Ross says gently.
“No,” I yell at him as fresh tears flood my face.
“Come on, baby.Sit with us,” Remy says softly, pulling me toward the couch.I sit in the center with Cam on one side and Remy on the other.Mom and Dad are standing together, and the woman is standing by the door.
“Who is she?”I ask, trying to distract myself from the obvious.
“Andrea Hall.She is my boss,” Ross says.“Lorelei…”
“Please don’t say it,” I say tearfully.
“Lorelei, Beatris is dead,” he says bluntly.
The sob that comes out of me is filled with pain and sadness.I try to get up, but both Cam and Remy grab me in a tight hug as I completely fall apart.I reach a point where I can’t breathe, so Cameron pulls me into his lap and rocks me.
“It’s my fault,” I choke out.I say it over and over again, guilt slowly eating away at me.
“No, Lori.No.It’s not your fault,” Cam says as he holds my chin so I can’t look away from him.“It’s not your fault.I promise.Okay?This isn’t on you.”
“She’s dead,” I whimper.“My best friend is dead.”
“Sit up here so we can find out more,” he encourages.He helps me sit up, and Ross has tears in his eyes.
“What happened?”I ask, wiping my face.
“She was taken on her way back from getting food,” he says.“She used the back alleyway, and we think she was cornered there… She was taken to an abandoned house about twenty minutes down the road.An elderly lady living a little bit down the road called in a report for screams.Police called me when they got into the house.”
“How?”Cam asks.
“Blood loss,” he says vaguely.
“Did she suffer?”I ask.
“Yes,” he says.“It was fast in the sense that she died before you had even officially started the meeting.”
“Was it meant to be me?We look alike,” I say.
“I believe so.Her injuries are extremely similar to that of other women we’ve seen killed by this group,” he says.
“What were her injuries?”Remy asks, and Ross sighs.
