Page 37 of Screamer
“Oh my God, this can’t be happening. How is this happening?”
I twist and turn to take in our surroundings in an effort to find something, anything, that would explain the scene before me. Nothing jumps out until my eyes land on a piece of paper wedged sticking out from under Saint.
“W-what’s that?” I ask, pointing to it.
Screamer yanks the paper out and unfolds it. As he scans the contents, his eyes narrow, and his body becomes rigid.
“Son of a bitch,” he seethes.
“What?” I demand, crawling over the gravel toward him. “W-what is it?”
When he hesitates, I snatch it from his hand, but when I read the words, I wish I hadn’t.
This is what happens when you act like a whore. As if spreading your legs for the Texan hick wasn’t bad enough, you had to do the same for a married man. I thought you were better than this, Roxie.
CHAPTER 18
SCREAMER
He won’t get away with this.
“This is all my fault.”
After Roxie read the note, she leaned against me, seeking comfort. I’m not sure she realizes she even did it, but I’m not about to point it out. I know we should call the cops, or at the very least, Shuffle, and yet… Here we sit on the side of the road, neither of us taking out our cell phones.
“Stop,” I command. “You can’t blame yourself.”
She pushes away and glares at me over her shoulder. “If not for me, Saint wouldn’t be dead. I could’ve gone anywhere, but I chose to come back to Marble Falls. If I hadn’t, Saint would be home, waiting on Rae to get home from work. Pretty sure that’s the very definition of being able to blame myself.”
Bursting into tears, Roxie tries to stand but can’t.
“You didn’t cause this wreck,” I tell her.
She sniffles. “Jace is here for me. Why didn’t he just come for me? First the texts, and now this? What the fuck will he do next?”
“Texts?”
She reaches into her jacket pocket, pulls out her cell, taps on the screen, and then flips it for me to read. “I got them after you dropped me off the other day.”
As I read the messages, I see red. “So, it was Jace at the diner,” I say matter-of-factly.
“I guess so.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Roxie blanches at the accusation in my tone. “Because I never thought anything would come of it. I mean, if he was gonna hurt me, wouldn’t he do that instead of sending me texts and…” Her eyes fall to Saint. “And this?”
“Jesus fucking Christ, sweetheart,” I snap. “He beat you, the one person he should’ve cherished and treated like a goddamn queen. If he’s capable of that, he’s capable of anything.”
“Don’t yell at me,” she hisses.
I take a deep breath to calm my emotions. “I’m sorry,” I say, getting to my feet and pulling her to hers. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
Roxie brushes dust from her jeans before straightening and wiping the wetness from her face. “I gotta go. I need to call Shuffle, and I need to tell Rae.” Her voice cracks, so she takes a deep breath. “The police need to be called so they can investigate. I’m sure I’ll need to help plan a funeral. And I should probably call my friends to warn them. If Jace did this, they aren’t safe, especially if he finds out they helped me get away. Oh, shit, what if he alre?—”
“Roxie!” She presses her lips together at my shout. “What you need to do is slow down and breathe. One thing at a time, okay?” She nods absently. “First, I’m going to text Crow and ask him to have Addison meet us at the Soulless Kings’ clubhouse. She’s his old lady and the law around here and can help. Then we’re going to get the hell out of here. We’re sitting ducks out in the open.”
“What about Shuffle and Rae?”
