Dead Silence A Body Finder Novel

Chapter 10


VIOLET HAD HOPED TO TALK TO JAY AT SCHOOL the next day, and she would have even if it meant stalking him and forcing him to face her . . . except Jay didn’t show up at school. She’d waited all day, thinking at first he was just late. And then later, when he still wasn’t there, that he must’ve had a doctor or dentist appointment he hadn’t had the chance to tell her about . . . you know, since he wasn’t talking to her and all. But by lunchtime Violet was convinced he was skipping school in order to avoid her.

It made her day tick by painfully . . . excruciatingly slow, as she worried more and more about just how much damage she’d actually done, and whether or not it could be fixed this time.

Rafe, of course, was his usual tactful self, asking her if she’d finally dumped her backwoods boyfriend and was ready to “trade up.” Instead of giving him a black eye, which Violet seriously considered, she decided it was best if she steered clear of Rafe for the time being. They might be working on uncovering a mystery that only the two of them knew about, but he was annoying as hell.

And clearly, he was toxic to her relationship.

When Jay didn’t show up for a second day of school, Violet felt physically ill, her stomach churning uncontrollably as she tried to choke down her sandwich at lunch and pretend it didn’t bother her that her boyfriend was willing to ditch school just to avoid her.

After throwing most of her food away, Violet escaped to the girls’ room, locking herself in one of the stalls as she took out her cell phone, knowing that calling Jay again was pointless. She opted instead for a text. A simple message that she meant more sincerely than she’d ever meant anything in her life:



No more secrets, ever. I swear.



She tucked her phone back into her pocket and leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the stall door. Hopefully he’d understand just how hard this was for her, making a promise to open up to him in every way. It wasn’t like her to bare all to anyone . . . even to someone she trusted with her life.

Even to Jay.

But if that’s what she had to do to keep him, then so be it. Because she didn’t want to do this . . . any of it . . . without him. She didn’t want to be without him.

She knew it meant telling Jay about her imprint, and what Rafe had done to get rid of it. Telling him everything Dr. Lee had said and done to make her stay on the team and the months she’d kept it from him. And explaining her grandmother’s and Rafe’s mother’s roles in the Circle of Seven.

All of it.

And it was worth it. If only he’d forgive her.

If only he’d call her back.