All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [120]
She ran out of the room, heading down the hall for Madison's room. Madison was talking to Drew. Natalie didn't want to see them. She slipped into Jody's room instead. The senior was known to have a stash of Johnnie Walker in her closet. And Natalie was in luck. The bottle was half full. She poured herself one shot, then another until she couldn't feel anything anymore.
Within a few minutes she was convinced that Emily had made the whole thing up. Cole wasn't cheating on her. He wouldn't do that. She got up and went down the hall, determined to talk to Emily again. As she neared the door, she heard a high-pitched scream. She wasn't sure where it had come from, but it sounded awful, so awful she felt like she was going to be sick. She stumbled toward the bathroom, managing to get there just before she threw up.
Natalie's eyes flew open as the truth hit her in the face. She'd heard Emily scream, but she didn't know what had happened. She'd run into the bathroom, where Madison had found her a short while later. Maybe if she'd run into this room instead of the bathroom, she would have known if Emily had been alone or with someone. It was frustrating to come this close and still not have the answers she wanted.
With a sigh, she knew there was only one thing left to do. She had to go out on the roof. She had to finish this. She had to stand where Emily had stood. At the very least, she could say good-bye.
She climbed out onto the flat roof, noting the guardrail that had been installed around the perimeter of the flat deck. She walked toward the edge, but stopping far enough away that she couldn't see over it—to the ground below. She wasn't ready to look there yet. Drawing in a deep breath, she wondered about Emily's reason for coming out here that night. She'd been upset obviously. And it was quiet out here. Even now there was a sense of isolation, a feeling that what went on here would never be known by anyone else.
Emily must have come out on the roof to be alone, to think, or maybe even to cry ... about the man she'd fallen in love with. Who had it been? She thought for a moment and realized the answer was right in front of her.
"You know, don't you?"
The voice swung her head around, and she was shocked to find she wasn't the only one on the roof.
"You know I was out here with Emily that night. I knew that as soon as you came back here you'd remember."
"You?" Natalie questioned in shock. "You were with Emily?" Everything suddenly clicked into place.
* * *
Cole drove like a maniac to the sorority house. All he could think about was Drew ... a man who would balk at nothing to get what he wanted. "If he hurts Natalie, I swear to God I'll kill him."
"I'll help you," Dylan said grimly. "If he had something to do with Emily's death, he will pay."
Cole hit the steering wheel with his fist as they were stopped by a red light. "Dammit all. I can't lose Natalie, too. There are things I need to tell her."
"Like the fact that you still love her."
"Something like that." He floored the gas pedal as the fight turned green. A moment later he pulled up in front of the sorority house and jumped out of the car. The front door was open. Laura stood in the foyer talking to Drew. Cole came to an abrupt halt when he saw them. "Where's Natalie?"
"She's upstairs, I think," Laura replied. "Why? What's wrong?"
"You did it, didn't you?" Cole demanded, drilling Drew with a furious glare.
Drew took a step back, his eyes wary. "What are you talking about?"
"You pushed Emily off the roof. You were afraid she'd tell someone you sold her drugs."
"You sold Emily drugs?" Laura asked in amazement.
For a brief second Drew looked like a cornered dog. Then he threw back his shoulders. "You have no proof of that, Parish."
"I don't need proof to beat the crap out of you. Everyone knows you were here that night. You talked to Emily. Even your wife knows that much."
"I do know that," Laura said. "Why did you go into Emily's room, Drew?"
"I was looking for something."
"Maybe this?" Cole asked, holding up Emily's journal. "Did you think