Nothing.
Tears slipped down her face as she glanced through the windshield once again. She’d have to walk into town, which lucky for her was only a thirty-minute walk away. But it was dark and, if she was honest, the thought of walking along that stretch of road scared the crap out of her. She didn’t have much choice unless she wanted to spend the night where she was.
She leaned her head back against the seat and tried to get herself together.
She could do this.
She really could.
“Here goes nothing,” she mumbled, climbing out of the car and grabbing the flashlight from the pocket in the door. The minute she did, she was drenched to the skin. She hadn’t thought to bring a jacket even though the weatherman had warned of a surprise cold front hitting the area—earlier in the day it had been in the high eighties.
Shivering, Saige switched the flashlight on and felt the nerves in her stomach take flight. The forest surrounding her was dark with lots of places for someone to hide.
Saige gulped, her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she pushed away from the car. She’d only gotten a foot in front when the beam from her flashlight landed on a pair of boots. She froze, her heart hammering in her throat as she slowly moved the beam upwards, and screamed. She fumbled with the flashlight but managed to keep a hold of it and shined it in Jocelyn’s face.
“Well…well…well, if it isn’t the whore,” Jocelyn sneered, her eyes hard and evil.
Shocked, Saige shouted back, “What the hell are you doing out here?” She waved her arms around. “Normal people don’t lurk around in the woods,” Saige yelled, fear lacing her words.
“I’m waiting for you, of course,” Jocelyn told her, and pointed back toward the road. “Shine your light over there.”
Saige didn’t know whether or not to trust Jocelyn enough to take her eyes from her, but she was curious. She turned slowly, and gasped when the beam of light landed on spikes in the middle of the road. A shiver of panic shot through her.
She felt as if a hand had closed around her throat while her mind ran in different directions at what was really going on. One thing she was certain of was that Jocelyn was crazy.
Whipping her head back, Saige stared and gaped at the deranged woman standing in the rain. Jocelyn’s dark hair was drenched and hung like spikes around her face. Saige tried to open her mouth to say something but couldn’t find the words. She shook her head to clear the shock, and thankfully her speechlessness didn’t last long. “Are you crazy? Oh my God! I can’t believe you’d stoop to this level.”
“You’re trying to steal my husband, but I can tell you now that it won’t work. He loves me and just wanted to sample innocence for a change.”
Saige clenched her jaw knowing that Jocelyn spoke nothing but lies. Quinten and Alex hated the woman, and the only reason why Quinten was still in the house with her was because he owned the house. It had been his mother’s until she signed it over to him when she went into the residential care home, and no way did he want Jocelyn to get a hold of it.
“You don’t believe me?”
“No. Maybe, if I didn’t know your reputation around town. But no, I don’t believe a word out of your mouth. I wouldn’t unless it was Quinten standing in front of me, telling me.”
Jocelyn’s face twisted in anger and, for the first time, real fear slithered down Saige’s spine.
“You’ll never have him,” Jocelyn growled, seconds before Saige felt a presence behind her.
A hand covered her mouth and nose; a sickly, sweet smell slowly crept into her system, causing her stomach to roll.
She fought and tried to elbow the person behind her, but they were too strong. Her hands reached over her head and yanked at hair, which earned her a curse. The hold around her stomach tightened and, as she started to lose the fight, she heard Jocelyn say, “I’ll deal with Quinten.”
Saige tried one last struggle and heard Jocelyn laugh. “You’ll never see him again, bitch.”
When Saige came back to the present, Coulter was sitting on the coffee table in front of her with her hands inside of his. Tears trickled down her face, and she felt the anger that radiated off Alex.
“That bitch is lucky she’s already dead,” Alex fumed. “All along it was her.” He paced. “Obviously someone else helped her, and it wasn’t Quinten.”
Coulter placed her hands on her lap and stood to face Alex. “Getting worked up now isn’t going to help anyone, but I’m going to head to the sheriff’s office and type up the report. I’ll need everyone’s signature as witnesses and then I’ll get it to Daniel Sterling.”
“Do you think Quinten will be released?” Christina whispered. The question had all eyes on her.
“Don’t be stupid. Of course he won’t be released,” her father snapped.
“What the fuck,” Alex exclaimed. “Eventually he will be released...and don’t fucking talk to her like that.”