Widow
Fifty-Three
Iheld Rory in my arms until the water ran cold and she stopped crying.
Showing her that photo was a terrible idea, but Rory was fucking pigheaded.
The moment I saw it, fire raged in my soul demanding a man’s dick on a stake.
I would find the bastard and make sure his death was prolonged and painful.
Whoever it was, he pulled her from the scene of the wreck to fulfill a sick fantasy, ejaculated on her chest, and then sent pictures to Cinder to draw her out and kidnap her.
Rory kept muttering what I thought was a name, but I couldn’t make it out.
It was gibberish, almost like she was in a child-like state of remembrance.
Did Jude make her call him something else?
I helped her to the bed, but she clung to me like a helpless child when I went to pull away.
She needed me, and I couldn't find it in me to break her heart again, not right now when I was the only thing keeping her afloat.
I foolishly crawled into the hospital bed with her and dragged her to my chest. She nuzzled her face into me as her breathing started to settle.
Eventually, she dozed off into a peaceful sleep, or at least I hoped it was peaceful.
We had a bigger issue on our hands. Cinder was still missing and someone had been able to take both her and Rory. To add fuel to the fire, we had our enemy's daughter at the clubhouse because she was with her. Our lives could never be normal.
Shortly after the nurse gave Rory a sedative, I untangled myself from her, careful not to wake her.
She’d be released tomorrow afternoon if everything looked normal, and now I had to deal with Haven.
Vesper said she wouldn’t talk until knowing if Rory was okay, but I didn’t play those games.
There was a reason she was there, and if I found out she helped in any way or hurt Rory, I would kill her.
A war meant nothing to me right when my best friend was missing and my… and Rory was being targeted.
Walking into the clubhouse, there was an odd tension in the air.
Cinder was the glue that held this place together.
It felt off without her here, and with the looming threat of her disappearance, tensions were high.
Mal was her VP, but they had no idea what they were doing.
I never wanted the title or the responsibility that followed.
I liked being the lone wolf and getting my hands dirty when needed, but Mal looked like a chicken with its head cut off.
“Please tell me you know where Cin is,” they asked haphazardly.
I shook my head. “Get everyone gathered in church and I’ll be there to debrief after I talk to our guest.”
I walked down to the basement, removing my leather jacket.
I popped my knuckles as Vesper came into view.
Haven Morningstar was tied to a chair, looking less than enthused with the situation.
She was still dressed with no visible wounds, which told me Vesper put her there for show until I arrived.
She had been down here for a day, which meant her father would be looking for her soon.
I leaned against the door, folding my arms across my chest as I inspected her.
“You’ve gone soft,” I muttered to Vesper.
There was no hesitation in my voice. Vesper was quick to get answers by any means necessary.
While I dealt with traitors and people who harmed innocents, she dealt with the others.
Rats, enemies. And that’s what the woman in front of us was—our enemy.
Regardless of her forbidden relationship with Rory.
“Ehh, she would have been a waste of good torture.”
“She’s the enemy,” I snapped, the last thread of my patience tearing. Vesper’s back straightened. “Cinder is missing, and Rory is in the goddamn hospital. I don’t have time for games, Vesper.”
“Hey, not to interrupt your little lovers’ quarrel, but I didn’t go to medical school to be a therapist.”
Vesper laughed, and I glared at Haven. “You think this is a game? I will kill you.”
She smirked, adjusting herself in her chair. “Please. Killin’ me means hurtin’ Rory… again.” Her smile darkened. “Look, you two can bicker all you want, but I don’t care. I just wanna see her.”
I looked at Vesper, my fist curling as I slammed it against the concrete wall, the thud echoing lowly in the room. “I don’t give a shit about what you want,” I growled, stepping closer to her. “You are the enemy. She never should’ve—”
“Trusted me? Or fucked me?” Haven tilted her head to the side. That mouth on her was going to be a problem.
“Don’t you talk about her like that,” I hissed. It took everything in me not to wrap my hand around her neck.
“She is the only reason I am here. Fuck your feud.”
I analyzed her, but she gave nothing away. “You mean your father’s feud. He started this.”
“Is that my problem? No. I want to see Rory. You can’t keep her away from me as much as you can’t keep me here.”
“Widow.” Vesper’s surprisingly soft voice pulled me from my anger filled haze. “We don’t know what happened, and we can’t kill her just because.” I narrowed my eyes on her. “Look, we have other shit to deal with. Killing her won’t help find Cinder or the person trying to hurt Rory.”
“I want to see Rory,” Haven demanded again.
“Be quiet,” I hissed. “I am going to talk to the rest of the Vipers and tell them what is happening, then we’ll go to the hospital. Bring her. I want eyes on her at all times.”
I walked into church with all eyes on me.
The Vipers knew something was wrong, but no one had a definite answer.
Cinder was missing, Rory was injured, and we had a goddamn Devil on our territory in the fucking basement.
The cherry on fucking top was her and Rory’s relationship.
Mal was about to crumble under the pressure of being our de facto leader, and I didn’t want to deal with this shit.
As Cinder's VP, the MC should be looking at them, not me.
“Listen,” I yelled, gaining everyone’s attention. “Someone has Cinder, and it’s the same person who wants Rory.”
There were murmurs around the room. We had every member, all forty Vipers, in the clubhouse.
We always planned for large meetings in our war room, but we never had everyone here at once.
I saw some of the older Vipers glancing at me from the front.
They wanted me to be intimidated, but I wasn’t scared of them.
I wanted to find out who hurt my girl. What I really wanted was to see her.
“Rory was in an accident, and the person who wanted to hurt her, took her. It’s how he led Cinder away.
He took pictures after he…” I trailed off.
They didn’t need the details; they could put two and two together.
I caught Haven’s and Vesper’s rage mirroring each other.
“He had her, but he let her go. We aren’t sure why, but I am guessing it's because of her injuries. I think he found her when she had her wreck and took her from the scene, but realized he couldn’t keep her alive and called 911. ”
There was a mix of angry grumbles and sobs. I watched as the Vipers talked amongst themselves on what we were to do next. Cinder was our fearless leader, who kept us safe and now we needed to save her.