Vesper
Eighty-One
After Rory was on her way to the hospital, the three of us went to the police department.
We all took our individual rides, and Widow was furious that I was entrusting Haven, but it wasn’t anything new.
Widow was pissed off at the world, hiding in seedy bars to get information.
I was honestly surprised someone hadn’t got their face bashed in by her yet.
Widow let her fists do the talking when she was pissed off.
She was horrible at controlling her feelings.
We all had our own shit going on and we all missed Cinder, but acting like this and running rampant on the streets wouldn’t bring her home.
Widow folded her arms across her chest. “You trust her now? Just like that?”
I rolled my eyes. I knew her fears, but obviously she wasn’t the enemy like we thought. She cared for Rory, and brought her back home. “I’m not doing this with you, Widow.” I knew another reason she was poking at Haven was because she was jealous.
“Because you know I’m right?”
Widow wanted me to follow in her footsteps and be pissed off that Rory was dating a Devil, to sulk in my own self-misery.
She was the one choosing to hold back. She was the one choosing to act like this.
Rory trusted Haven, and I…I didn’t fully trust her, but I wasn’t going to pin her to a wall and try to force confessions out of her, either.
“No, because you’re pissed that Rory is moving on. I trust her. Rory trusts her. You are the only one holding back. You’re mad because you won’t allow yourself to open up and love our girl.”
Shit.
I saw the instant shift in Widow. Both of us were treading through dangerous water when it came to our feelings for Rory. Tensions were high, and I just took a sledgehammer to the dam. It didn’t help that Widow detested the idea of Rory dating a Devil—the daughter of the man Cinder hated.
“Our?” Widow chimed, distaste in her voice. “You’re breaking Cinder’s rule because a Devil has her?”
Widow thought this was a competition or something.
We all knew how Rory loved, and if Widow got her head out of her fucking ass, she would realize Rory wanted all three of us.
Cinder’s rule was set there for reasons, but it wasn’t set in stone.
Without her here, I knew it would feel like betrayal, but I wasn’t going to deny myself anymore because if I lost her, it would hurt more.
“I’m breaking Cinder’s rule because I never want to lose Rory,” I stated, my voice starting to tremble with anger, but also loss.
“Losing Cinder, not knowing if she is alive or dead is tearing me apart. I can’t do that with Rory.
I can’t keep lying to myself or hiding my feelings to make everyone else happy.
You might think vulnerability is a weakness, but I don’t.
So yes, I am going to love Rory, and maybe you should too. ”
Widow’s jaw clenched so hard I could have sworn I heard her teeth crack. “It’s not that easy.”
“Then make it easy,” I snapped. “For some reason, Rory still loves you. You better take your chance before you lose her for good.”
“You didn’t witness the heartbreak I did. I’m never hurting her again.”
Melisa and Hades stepped back into the room where we were, and they looked between us. The tension was palpable, but I didn’t point it out as Widow sulked. I was done defending her and how she treated Rory. I didn’t want to see my girl hurt anymore, and Widow was too hardheaded to forgive herself.
“What are our next steps?” I asked.
“I am going to contact the detectives in Nevada and plan a meeting with all the information we have, then see if they have anything for me,” Melisa said.
“I have a tech guy who can look into getting information on Cinder, her mother, and Jude Booker. Rory wants to help, but I don’t know what she can do.”
Melisa sighed. “She wants to see her case files.”
I stiffened. “The ones I found? How do I tell her she was drugged, and Cinder knew? We’re still trying to piece things together to understand why Cinder kept certain things hidden.
She didn’t falter when we were at the shipping container the first time we saw a video.
If she knew, she should’ve said something. ”
Hades shifted uncomfortably. “Cinder knew things about Rory’s case?”
We all looked at her. “It appears so. We don’t understand it either,” I said honestly. “We need to tell her, but I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Rory will light your ass on fire if you don’t tell her,” Hades said, a little laugh in her tone.
My girl would definitely kick my ass. “It’s my professional opinion that it might help her remember things if she reads this.
I’m not a therapist or a psychologist, but keeping her in bubble wrap, God knows Cinder did, isn’t helpful, and she is grown and can handle things herself,” Melisa explained. “She had a village behind her.”
Melisa was right.
If Rory wanted to see her files, we would share them with her regardless of how Widow or anyone else felt about it.