Page 122 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

He fell to his knees, and Mom rushed past me to kneel at his side.

Piper held my gaze and inched even closer to my side. Her touch extinguished the bloodlust I’d felt just seconds ago. And with it gone, all that was left was pain.

Agonizing, brutal, crippling pain.

I hadn’t just lost Shannon and the baby when they’d died. I’d lost my brother too. I’d lost my best friend and the person I’d loved second only to our mother.

I’d lost them all.

“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair as tears welled in my eyes. I gripped the strands hard, hoping the sting would keep the tears at bay. “I fucking hate this.”

Three years of pain slammed into my chest like a sledgehammer and the tears wouldn’t stop. I blinked furiously, willing them away, but the moment Piper wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her body into mine, I lost it.

She rested her cheek against my heart, and I collapsed onto her. With the babies between us, I clung to her like a drowning man did a buoy.

“Piper.” My voice cracked.

“I know,” she whispered, her arms gripping me tighter.

The tears flowed off my face and into her hair. A sob wracked my chest, shaking us both. And she just held on tighter.

I wanted to have my baby girl back. I wanted Shannon to be alive, living a happy life. I wanted to hate Isaiah for taking them both. But the hate, it just wasn’t there. The rage was gone. With Piper in my arms, all I felt was the immense sadness I’d buried for so long.

So I cried.

And cried.

Finally, after there were no more tears left, I pulled myself together and let Piper go. I ran my hands over her hair, smoothing it down as I inspected her from head to toe.

“What are you doing here?”

She shrugged, swiping away a tear of her own. “I followed you when you left. I was worried.”

“How did you find me?”

“Logan helped. His other assistant, Sean, got your mom’s address for me. I guessed you’d come here and, well . . . I got lucky.”

I frowned at the idea of Piper behind a wheel, especially on a long drive through icy roads. “I’m sorry. I lost it and I shouldn’t have. I’m sor—”

She put a finger to my lips. “It’s okay.”

“Are you?”

“I’m fine. We’re fine.” She rubbed her belly, then looked past me to where Mom and Isaiah were standing. Piper smiled, then reached out to shake Mom’s hand. “I’m Piper. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too.” Mom took Piper’s hand but kept a wary eye on me. I didn’t miss the way she was shielding Isaiah’s body with her own.

“I know this is a bad time,” Piper said. “But I really, really have to pee. Can I use your bathroom?”

This woman. How could she make me laugh at a time like this? I let out a dry chuckle, then gripped her hand and led her past Mom and Isaiah into the house.

The minute she caught sight of the bathroom, she ran toward it, pulling down her pants without even closing the door. I shook my head, pulling it closed as she moaned a sigh of relief on the other side.

For her to arrive not long after me, it meant she hadn’t stopped along the way either. And she had to have been driving too fast. Normally, I would have scolded her for speeding, but in this case, it might very well have saved my brother’s life.

I stood sentry by the bathroom door, waiting as the toilet flushed and Piper came out.

“Phew.” She sighed. “Much better.”