Vesper
Seventy-Nine
Iwanted Rory to be home once again, but I knew she needed time to heal and breathe before coming home.
Maybe I was jealous of Hades having my girl to herself.
I couldn’t call her mine when I wouldn’t chase the desire I had for her.
Cinder made sure no one dated her little sister, but while I never admitted my feelings, it was hard to hide the look on my face when I was in the same room as her.
I was smitten, but I think I lost my chance at having her. And that was killing me.
Reaching for my tequila, I took a sip as my phone vibrated. I opened the text from Rory, and the glass stumbled in my hand, spilling a little as I righted my grip and put it on the table. I fumbled with my phone, looking at the picture again and the text that followed.
MARIPOSA
Just think, we could have her together. ;)
The picture was of Hades. Her dark skin glistened with a sheen of sweat as she straddled Rory’s bare hips. Just like Rory, her nipples were pierced, but unlike Rory, her velvet skin wasn’t covered in ink. Jesus take the goddamn wheel. Both of them were going to get me into a shit-ton of trouble.
Hades was a beautiful woman, but my heart belonged to Rory.
I knew Rory wouldn’t be mine alone, but I always knew how to share.
And if I had to share Rory with Haven Morningstar, then it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
It might cause shit with the Vipers, but fuck it.
I didn’t want to lose my chance or lose the woman I loved because of fear or obligations.
Fear was what kept Cinder hovering.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
*Picture attached*
I arched my brow. I saved the last unknown number as Creeper since it was the man talking about Rory, but this was a new number.
When I opened the message, I groaned. It was a reversed picture with Rory on her back, looking at the camera lustfully with Hades’s hand wrapped around her throat.
Rory’s cheeks were rosy pink and her pierced nipples were rock hard. She was sex incarnate. Fucking hell.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Just think how much of a good girl she would be for the both of us.
I saved her number as another message came in.
HADES
imagine her eating you out while I fucked her. Or both of us fucking her together. Our girl likes the idea of DP. ;)
ME
You’re gonna get me in trouble.
HADES
Isn’t she worth taking a wild ride?
She was worth everything.
ME
Of course she is.
HADES
Then don’t be afraid to love her. She’s worth everything.
I wouldn’t be afraid of my feelings anymore. Who knew it would take a Devil to jumpstart everything? I responded to Rory with a picture. I never teased her with pictures before, but fuck, I think it was her turn to squirm, even if she had Hades in bed with her.
ME
You’re mine when you come home, mariposa.
Widow pounded on my bedroom door before kicking it open. “Get up, we have an issue.”
Well good fucking morning to you, too. I groaned, pulling myself out of bed.
Rory and Haven both decided to tease me last night, and it made for a long night in the shower before I had to turn my phone off.
Rory was playing a dangerous game, but fuck it.
Rory was my flame, and I would listen to her roar.
She would regret her choices when I got my hands on her for the first time, but unfortunately for now, I had to see what the hell Widow wanted.
When I was in my cargo pants and white tank, I slipped into the war room.
Mal was with Widow, which told me something happened involving the club.
Mal was taking their role as President better now that they had support from Widow, even though she hated being the unofficial VP now.
Mal would lead the Vipers until we got Cinder back, and then when things slowly went back to normal, Cinder would take her spot back and Mal would be able to step down.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Fang and several others were involved in an attack while patrolling,” Mal deadpanned, rage lacing their tone. Their partner rode with Fang. “Parker found the same Jeep that shot at Rory parked in an alleyway.”
Fuck. What was his game? “Is he trying to get rid of the people who will protect Rory?”
“He wants to limit our resources,” Widow said, looking at her phone. I knew she was talking to Cher. “He’s planning something. It’s the only thing that makes sense. He killed the girls to keep Melisa busy. He put half of our people in the hospital. He either doesn’t realize Rory isn’t here, or—”
“He knows Rory is in Crestview.” Widow narrowed her eyes on me as Mal looked at me with a curious brow. “Haven called me. I don’t know everything, but he knows she is there. He delivered things to her.”
“What kind of things?” Widow demanded.
“Pictures of Cinder. They’ll be back tomorrow. Melisa is aware that we will be meeting at the station. We need to work on this together, and maybe we can figure out who he is and why he’s doing this.”
Mal cleared their throat. “Isn’t it obvious?” We both looked at them, and they immediately shot their hands up. “He wants Rory. He’s making distractions so he can get her alone. You know how she is. The guilt will eat at her.”
Mal was right.
We would be distracted with everything else going on around us, and he would lure Rory to him. And Rory would do whatever she could to get him to stop hurting the people she loved. Fuck. When she learned about the attack, on top of everything else, she would be heartbroken.
“How are the Vipers? Cher takin’ good care of them?”
Mal sighed, running a hand down their face. “Fang is critical. She saw the car and had a bad feeling, so she went to the head of the group. Her history in the marines helped, but she couldn’t prevent the blast. She got most of the Vipers to a safe distance, but she got the brunt force of it.”
“Cher said Fang should pull through, but she has burns and several broken bones. I’m going to see her later and she’ll tell me more.
The rest of the Vipers are okay. Bree had shrapnel in her leg, but nothing severe.
The other Vipers have scrapes and bruises, but they will survive.
Cher won’t let them leave the hospital until she’s looked at them. ”
Cher was a scary woman when she was pissed off or scared. And now she was in doctor mode while pissed off and scared.
Widow looked at her phone again. “You and Mal see what you can figure out. I need to go see Melisa. This bastard left something for us.”
“Keep us updated with what she says,” Mal said as Widow vanished out of the clubhouse.