Page 101 of The Texas Murders

“Don’t pass out,” she says.

As her taillights recede into the darkness, I walk parallel to the cliff edge. The slope flattens out somewhat, and a seam of rock cuts down the hillside at an angle. Ordinarily, Ava would have a flashlight to give me, but in the aftermath of the explosion this morning, she wasn’t sure what happened to it.

I can see well enough in the moonlight that I don’t really need it.

I make my way down on wobbly legs.

“Fiona!” I call. “Can you hear me?”

Traveling is slow, but I finally make it to the bottom, where the sandstone streambed is filled with shallow puddles and trickling tributaries connecting them. I make my way backdownstream, heading toward where the cliff looms over the canyon.

“Fiona!” I call again. “Are you out there?”

Up ahead, I hear a noise. It could be an animal moving in the brush. A coyote or a javelina.

But something about it sounds more human—a large form slinking through the brush.

“Fiona?” I say.

The canyon is deathly quiet, filled only with the sound of water filtering through the rocks.

I get a cold chill.

Could it be?

I saw blood spray from her face before she fell over the edge. But she survived the fall once before. Maybe she survived again.

“Isabella?” I call.

Somewhere in the darkness, I can hear raspy, labored breathing, like an injured animal waiting for its final pounce.

CHAPTER 94

ISABELLA REMEMBERS THE snake.

The way it bit her even after it was dead.

I am the snake, she thinks.I am dead. But I have one bite left.

She landed atop the bones of the other girls. Last time, the fall had knocked her out and she didn’t experience the full pain of the impact. But this time, she remained conscious, and as her bones shattered, the instant agony had been unlike anything she’d ever felt.

She wanted to die right then and thought about putting the gun, which she’d somehow held on to, against her temple and pulling the trigger.

But she’s a fighter. She proved that once before, and she will prove it again.

She crawled down into the creek bed to a small overhang she remembered. A nice place to hide from the elements.

Or a Texas Ranger.

Her face is gushing blood, but the bullet only took off part of her nose. It hurts, but it’s not the most painful part of her existence right now. Only adrenaline and hate are keeping her going.

She hears him coming, calling out Fiona’s name.

Isabella crouches inside the small rocky cave, holding the gun close to her chest.

I have one bite left.

CHAPTER 95

---