Page 53 of Screamer
“Jace!” I yell, hoping he hears me since my thirty minutes are up. “I’m here!”
CHAPTER 26
SCREAMER
That’s right, sweetheart. I’m not him.
“Dude, where’s your girl?”
Frowning, I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s six-fifteen, and Roxie should’ve been home almost an hour ago. I’m not super worried because sometimes the shelter gets an intake late in the day or after hours. Domestic violence doesn’t stick to a nine to five workday.
“She’ll be here soon, I’m sure.”
I reach into my back pocket for my cell but come up empty. Realizing I must have left it in my room in my other pair of jeans, I go get it. When I spot it on the floor, I pick it up and grin when I see I’ve got two missed texts from Roxie. I don’t have the text previews enabled on my phone so when I open the messaging app and read them, my knees threaten to buckle.
Roxie: Running a little late but on my way
Roxie: Help, Jace, 911
Sprinting into action, I run out of my room and find Tracer in the common area.
“Please tell me you can track Roxie’s phone,” I demand, grabbing him by the shoulders.
“Of course,” he replies. “What’s wrong?”
I race to the door. “Text me her location!”
Without telling anyone what’s going on, I fire up my Harley, shove my Bluetooth earbud in, and tear out of the gravel lot. Her last text to me came through about a half hour ago, and that scares the shit out of me.
“What?” I snap, answering a call that comes through a few minutes later.
“What’s going on?” Crow demands, and I can barely hear him over the roar of my engine.
“Jace has Roxie.”
“Son of a bitch,” he bites out. “Shuffle and I will be right behind you.”
“Tracer’s got the location,” I tell him. “And Crow?”
“Yeah?”
“Bring Jackyl. She might need medical attention.”
Disconnecting the call, I rev the throttle. A text comes through, and I have Siri read it to me, so I don’t get distracted and end up like Saint.
“From Tracer. North of town, approximately nineteen miles, heavily wooded area, phone is stationary.”
I try to picture the area he’s talking about and groan when I realize that it’s the perfect place to take a prisoner. The woods are on state land, and there are no trespassing signs posted all over the place. Barely any traffic uses those roads which means Jace can do whatever he wants to Roxie without fear of being found.
What should’ve taken me forty minutes takes me only twenty-five, and they’re the longest twenty-five minutes of mylife. I spot Roxie’s Harley first and then the abandoned vehicle. Without bothering with my kickstand, I hop off my bike and let it fall to the ground.
I love my bike, but at the end of the day, it’s just a hunk of metal.
“Roxie!” I shout, shoving my way through the trees and ignoring the way branches tear through my shirt and skin. “Roxie!”
C’mon, sweetheart. Give me some sort of clue as to where you are.
“Roxanne is occupied at the moment!” a male voice echoes through the air.
