He said nothing, just knelt there in the grass where we’d just fucked with his head hanging low with defeat.
When he raised his head, the moonlight showed tears streaking his face, but before I could comment—even if I had something to say—a series of gunshots rang out through the night air.
They weren’t close, but it was enough to remind us both that we had bigger problems to deal with.
Jace swiped a hand over his face, then pushed to his feet. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice like a frozen tundra. “I don’t want or need your death on my conscience.”
He stalked off in the direction we’d originally set out in. I think. I was all turned around after the fight and Flo… Fuck. Flo is dead.
Hot tears spilled out of my own eyes, but I said nothing as I followed Jace silently, just wrapped my arms around my rapidly cooling body, trembling and crying as we trekked through the darkness. I lost track of how long we walked, but not a single word passed between us. Jace barely even glanced at me, and several times I vividly pictured what might happen if I just stopped. I was so cold my bones ached, my face hurting from where my tears had chilled on my face, but still I said nothing.
Jace was no better off than me in just a pair of shorts. And I would rather die than seek his pity.
The fact that his cum still dripped out of me was only a harsh reminder of how the two of us were like baking soda and vinegar. Like magnesium set alight. And apparently, I lost every shred of common sense around him. So I was better off freezing to death than risking another of those earth-shaking encounters.
Eventually—and I had no idea how—we found the neighboring farmhouse. Whether it was the one Gray had meant for us to go to, I had no clue. It was entirely empty, though. No one home, no cars in the garage… no active phone line either.
“M-m-maybe th-they c-cut the line?” I suggested between chattering teeth. My fingers had bypassed cold and were now numb. That couldn’t be a good thing.
Jace didn’t even glance my way as he shook his head. “Doubt it. They probably disconnected it because literally everyone has a mobile phone these days, and a landline is redundant. Except now.”
“C-c-cool,” I muttered, looking around. There was a light switch near where I stood, so I reached out to test it. To my relief, light flooded the kitchen.
“Turn it off!” Jace barked, his voice like a whip, and I automatically did as he said, plunging us back into darkness. “We don’t want anyone to know we’re here, remember?”
“R-r-right,” I chattered, hugging myself harder to try and stop the shivering. It was a pointless effort, though; my arms were just as cold as my body at this point.
Jace turned his head just enough to glance at me. Then he sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Go find a shower, Billie,” he said in a weary voice. “You need to warm up. Hot water is the best thing to do that.”
Now that I’d tested that the electricity was working, a hot shower was a distinct possibility. Fuck yes.
I couldn’t even muster the energy to respond, just stumbled out of the kitchen in search of a bathroom. Thank the stars, the first room I shuffled into was a bedroom with an en suite bathroom.
It just seemed so far away, though. And the bed looked so cozy, all made up with a checkered blanket. That would warm me up just as well as a shower, wouldn’t it? Surely. Whatever, it’d do.
With a sigh, I collapsed onto the bed and gave a pathetic little roll to wrap myself loosely in the blanket. Then I just… gave up. My eyes closed as my whole body trembled with uncontrollable shivers, and I stopped fighting the allure of sleep. Sleep was safe. Sleep was warm.
“Shit, Billie!” I dimly heard Jace’s voice, but it seemed like he was at the other end of a tunnel or something. Like he was all echoes. Everything swayed, and dull pressure seemed to imply someone was touching me. Or carrying me? What was going on? “You stupid, proud bitch. Fucking hell, you’re blue.”
Blue like a Smurf. Or maybe I’d be Smurfette, now that I was the only girl in a band of boys.
That made me want to laugh, but my face didn’t work. It was something that should definitely be worrying, but I couldn’t muster the energy for all of that.
Hot prickles touched my skin like acid, and I cried out. As dull and useless as my body had grown, I couldn’t do anything to get away, but holy hell, it hurt. Like being dipped in lava. All I could do was cry and moan as my skin peeled from my bones.
In the background, Jace’s voice sang to me. I didn’t know the song or the words, but I knew his voice. It gave me something to latch onto, something to ground my mind amidst the pain so I didn’t finally lose my last shred of sanity.
Eventually, the pain eased, and my petrified muscles relaxed. Best of all, the trembling subsided, and I could finally breathe again. All the while, Jace continued to sing his song, and like a lullaby, it soothed me gently into sleep.
twenty-two
GRAYSON
The black-clad body rolled over with a heavy thump as I pushed it with the toe of my boot. Yet another anonymous face. No distinctive features or tattoos or gang markings. This one had been stabbed multiple times in the chest, far more than necessary, like someone had totally lost their shit.
“Find anything?” I called out to Angelo, who’d worked shockingly well with me in taking down the attackers who’d swarmed the farmhouse in the middle of the night. We’d handled the worst of them, but when we’d set out to follow the others, we’d come across more bodies two paddocks past the barn.
“Yeah,” Angelo replied, sounding grim. “You need to see this one.”
Curious, I left the stabbed man and crossed over to where Angelo crouched. He held a lantern, and I had a flashlight. Between us, it was more than enough to see what he thought needed my attention.
“Shit,” I breathed, staring down at Florence’s vacant eyes. The bloody, gaping wound across her throat revealed the story of how she’d died, and a cold rage built within my chest. Crouching down, I reached out a hand to close her eyes, unable to stomach the nauseating guilt that her death stare elicited. I should have kept her safe.
“Billie?” I asked, nearly choking on her name. Seeing Flo dead was a knife to the gut, but my every instinct was desperate to know if Billie was also lying dead in this field somewhere.
Angelo shook his head, standing up to look around. “No sign, so far. Looks like Jace or Rhett held their own here.”
“Jace,” I muttered. This had Jace all over it. He spent enough time in the gym and contained enough pent-up rage that he was entirely capable of killing when necessary. Rhett… he was damaged enough already; I sure as shit hoped he hadn’t been involved in this.
Casting my flashlight around, I spotted signs of flattened grass leading away from the farm.
“What do you want to do?” Angelo asked, yawning. “Follow them or…?”
I knew what he was asking. Did I want to follow and make sure the remaining members of my band—and Billie—were safe? Or did I want to find out who the hell was responsible for this attack, for killing Flo, and get retribution. What better partner in crime than Angelo Ricci himself? I couldn’t think of anyone better suited to vengeance, aside from myself.