Page 63 of White Noise

“Next time, every scream, every moan, every little sound you make is going to be because of me.”

The picture glitches.

Half his face disappears behind static, then snaps back into focus.

Silas smiles one last time.

“Mine.”

The screen goes black.

7

SAGA

BURN-IN

I’m still practically naked when emergency services answers.

The leather skirt is the only thing still on me, twisted around my waist and sticky against my skin from everything that just happened. My chest is bare, my thighs are slick with lube and cum, and my bare feet keep slipping against the floor as I pace in front of the desk, trying to drag enough air into my lungs to speak.

“Emergency services. What’s your location?”

“My—fuck.” I press one hand against my forehead and stare at the black monitor. “I’m at home, but that’s not where it happened. I was on a video call. Someone was attacked. He’s dead. I think he’s dead.”

The operator’s voice sharpens without getting louder. “Do you know where he is?”

“No.”

“His name?”

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

Void.

Three years of private sessions, tips, stupid fucking jokes and messages, and I don’t know his fucking real name.

“I only know his username.”

I scramble back to the computer, trying to open the platform while the operator asks questions faster than my brain can process them. The private session is gone from my active calls, but the payment notification is still there.

VOIDKING88.

Transaction number.

Account ID. Enough pieces that maybe someone with actual authority can turn them into a person.

“I have his account information. He paid through the platform. They’ll have his billing details.”

“Give me everything you have.”

I do, and my voice shakes through most of it.

The operator keeps me on the line while another dispatcher contacts the platform and local authorities. I pace between the desk and the doorway, one arm folded across my bare chest because sometime in the last few minutes I remembered I’m half naked and apparently that still matters to some stupid part of my brain.

I keep looking at the monitor.

But it stays black.