Page 65 of Silver Player

+ + +

My small apartment overflows with people. June. Grace. Clyde. Billy. And I need a breather. I could step outside, but I long for the warmth of my bed. I just want a minute of solitude. My head is full. My heart empty, so I step into my room.

Grace has been telling me for the past hour that I need some rest. It’s two a.m., and there’s no chance I could sleep. I’m afraid to close my eyes, but hopeful this might all be a dream. A bad nightmare.

I’m so sorry, Theresa, I send out the silent prayer as I curl to my side, tucking up my legs and laying my head on my pillow. My eyes close, but I won’t sleep. Within minutes, the door to my room opens and shuts. Shoes thump to the floor, and a body curls up behind me. Without opening my eyes, I know who it is, and he presses his face into the back of my neck while his hand comes to the side of my thigh. A deep inhalation fills me with the scent of him. Cloves and spice and male.

We don’t speak for a long minute.

“I want to help. Tell me what to do.” The fear in his voice does nothing to settle my nerves.

“I just don’t know, Billy.” My voice sounds weak even to me, and his forehead presses at the back of my head.

“I need to do something. How can I help you?” His voice strains as if he’s asking more for himself than for me. What can he do to feel better that involves me?

Taking a deep breath, I whisper, “Just hold me.”

“Hold on to me, baby,” he mutters into my neck, and I spin, tucking my face into his chest. His strong arms slip over me, his fingers delving into my hair to hold my head against him. I squirm as if I could get close enough to him, as if I could crawl under his skin and he could keep me safe. My arms snake around his waist, and my hands flatten on his shoulder blades.

You’re safe with me. I don’t want to consider all the horrible things running through my head, so I clutch at him instead.

“I’m here,” he mutters reassuring me. “We’ll find her.” I nod but can’t speak as fresh tears slowly shed.

25

Hard facts and soft hearts

[Billy]

“They found her.”

The statement jolts Roxie and I upright at the same time as Grace repeats the message. Thank fuck.

“She’s in Atlanta.”

“Atlanta?” Roxie croaks, brushing back her hair and looking sexy in her sleep-deprived appearance. I can’t say we fell asleep, just held onto each other as tightly as we could. Maybe I dozed. I don’t know, but I’m foggy, and I’m sporting a semi, which isn’t appropriate, but I can’t help it when I’m this close to Roxie. Since our night together and our back steps make-out under the stars, we haven’t kissed again. I hate to admit how I often I think about kissing her.

“Okay,” I groggily croak. “Where do we go?”

“They’re holding her at a district precinct. Let me get the exact address,” Grace offers.

“A police station?” Roxie questions.

“Yeah, something about a cemetery. Sheriff Barne can give you the details.”

Roxie looks at me over her shoulder. “A cemetery.” Her head lowers, and without thought, I kiss her shoulder.

“Let’s go get our girl.” I swing my legs off the bed, slipping back into my boots before extending a hand to Roxie. “I’ll drive,” I say, holding my breath, waiting for Roxie to argue with me, but she doesn’t. For the first time, she looks a little lost as she stares back at my offered hand. “Roxie, darlin’?”

The endearment snaps her out of wherever her thoughts took her, and she scoots off the bed without my help. In minutes, we’re on our way to Atlanta, which is an hour away.

+ + +

“What were you thinking?” Roxie begins the second we enter the precinct and find Sadie sitting on a bench in a busy hallway. Roxie’s verbal assault isn’t what I expected from her after all the tears and fear. “Do you know how worried we were?”

Sadie doesn’t answer. Her head remains lowered, her midnight hair a curtain.

“Why don’t we get out of here, and Sadie can tell us all about it on the ride home?” I suggest, but Roxie isn’t finished, gripping her crossbody bag like it’s a lifeline, and Sadie doesn’t move.