Rory
Fifty-Six
Three weeks had passed since I lost Pink Betty, and I missed my bike.
Vesper said she’d get me a new one, but nothing would compare.
I had that bike for almost five years, and it was a gift from Cinder.
But in all honesty, I didn’t care about the bike—I wanted my sister back.
Guilt was eating me alive, knowing the last words I said to her and now someone had my sister.
I didn’t know what he would do to her, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind he wanted revenge for that.
This could've been planned for years after Cinder rescued me.
Hades stayed at the clubhouse, which made the other Vipers paranoid right up until the moment she whipped out a pool stick.
Even Mal, who was notorious for hating everyone who wasn’t a Viper, took to her like a duck to water.
I would be concerned if they weren’t in a happy, monogamous relationship with their partner of ten-plus years.
It was refreshing not having to choose, but my options weren’t vast. Hades was the only one who verbally claimed she wanted me and showed me how deeply.
Vesper wanted me as well, but she was too loyal. And Widow, well, she was just fucking complicated.
I was finally able to get out of bed without feeling like death incarnate.
My ankle caused me a little bit of problems, but Hades helped me with physical therapy sessions, even if they turned into makeout sessions.
My ribs hurt like a bitch, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything about those.
When I did the MRI at the hospital before they discharged me, they didn’t find anything life-threatening, so I didn’t have anything more than a concussion.
Hades took care of me and made me have some wicked fantasies.
Never thought I would enjoy roleplay, but I also never imagined dating a hotter-than-sin doctor, either.
“You give true Viper vibes.” I smirked as I sat on the edge of the pool table.
Hades bit her lip, eyeing me as she pushed herself between my thighs. “Is my initiation fucking the most beautiful woman in front of everyone? ‘Cause I’ll do it.”
I laughed, wrapping my hands around her neck. “That'd be weird, considering practically everyone here is my family. But we can arrange for that to happen when no one's around.”
She rolled her eyes, leaning in to kiss me on the lips.
Being with Hades was easy. When I was younger and Cin would visit me before Mom took me away, she’d read these stories to me and tell me about falling in love.
She said falling in love was effortless, as if falling into a peaceful sleep where everything seemed perfect, and time would stop.
And it did. With Hades, my world slowed down in the best possible way.
My mind wasn’t a constant battlefield, and I was at peace.
There were still parts of me missing; I was incomplete without Vesper or Widow.
Neither of us were paying attention to our surroundings as we stumbled to my bedroom.
Along the way, we passed Widow and Vesper who were both deep in conversation.
I pulled back slightly, eyeing the two women.
Widow wouldn’t fold, but I bet I could talk Vesper into joining me for the threesome of my wildest dreams. One day I’d have all three of them, even if it was a distant future that for now only existed in my dreams.
I was at my door, Hades’s shirt halfway unbuttoned, when my phone rang, effectively killing the mood.
UNKNOWN
I miss you
We’ll meet again soon, my princess.
I frowned, but before anything could be done, my phone rang with the same unknown number. Anger simmered inside me as I answered it, putting it on speaker phone. “Listen, here asshole.” Thinking I’d hear the voice of my stalker.
“Hey, princess,” Cinder said, her voice rough. I cringed at the name. Cinder had stopped calling me that ever since she saved me from Jude. She knew it made me uncomfortable.
I glanced at Widow. “Cinder?” my voice trembled. “Where are you? Did he hurt you?”
“You wanna chase fireflies, firefly?” My blood chilled as fear crept up my spine. Heat tore through my body like a ravenous wildfire. We never said that unless there was…danger.
It took a moment, but I finally found the courage to utter the word caught in my throat. “Cinder?”
“I love you. I’m sorry.”
“I lo—”
A single gunshot rang out on the other end of the line, followed by a body falling to the ground before the line went dead.
I jerked instinctively as if the bullet hit me, too, my phone tumbling from my hand as my knees gave out.
Widow caught me, pulling me to her chest as a sob was ripped from deep inside me.
I tried calling my sister back, but it went straight to voicemail.
All three of them attempted to comfort me, but the air was stifling. There was commotion in the hallway, and I knew we would soon be flooded by the entire clubhouse, but I couldn’t process my emotions enough to care. I tried calling her again, to no avail.
“No, no, no!” I screamed. My fists pounded against Widow’s chest as hot tears streamed down my face. “She can’t be dead.”
“Breathe, phoenix.”
“Stop calling me that!” I hissed. “You need to find her!” She let me berate her with my fists until I collapsed completely into her, hand gripping her shirt, and sobs wreaking havoc through my body.
“You need to breathe, mariposa.”
“Fuck you! Go find my sister, dammit!” My breathing became more erratic as black dots danced across my vision. A high-pitched ringing blared in my ears, making the room spin as my vision narrowed to a pinhole. Breathe. Hades said something about me hyperventilating.
“Rory,” Hades whispered, “in and out, valkyrie.” The air became thick, and I was suffocating. My body was betraying me while the world around me continued to spin and as darkness closed around me. Widow tightened her grip, then everything went black.