80. Cassandra Walker #3
“I do?” I asked carefully, staying as still as I could, worried that if I made any sudden movements, she might lose her nerve.
“Yeah…” She choked on the word, and I hung there, frozen and barely breathing as I waited for her to finally tell me who it was. “It’s why… It’s why I was so afraid to tell you. I thought… I thought you might pick him… over me.”
“What?” I sat up abruptly, the sting of her words shredding through the thin thread of control I’d been clinging to.
Theo followed me up until I was straddling her hips. She rested her hands on my thighs and traced her thumbs in small, gentle circles against my skin.
“Y-yeah. I’m sorry. It was before I knew you loved me, and you’d literally married me over him, so I figured if it came down to him or me, you’d pick him, and I… I didn’t think I would survive it if that happened.”
My mind was racing, and I was breathing so hard I felt dizzy.
Then, it was like the missing piece of the puzzle slipped into place, and my brain exploded.
When she disappeared at Chez, the reverend had been there… She’d seen him, and then she’d bolted.
The pasta bowl incident… The reporter had been talking about the case, and that was when she’d first realized I was defending him…
He’d been at the Antoinette last night… He’d been talking to Theo. Nolan had said she’d been crying!
I’d thought he just triggered her because he reminded her of the man who had hurt her.
Never in a million years did I think he was literally the man who had raped her.
“I–I’m sorry, Cass. I should have told you sooner. I know that. I just… You have no idea how scared I’ve been. I was so worried that if you found out, you’d hate me for putting you in a position to choose me over your career, and I… I just thought it was better if you didn’t know…”
Suddenly, I was on her. My hand was wrapped around her throat, and I had her pinned to the bed beneath me as my monster roared to life in my chest.
“If you ever apologize to me for anything like that again, I will fucking make you bleed,” I hissed.
Theo gasped, staring up at me with wide, shocked eyes.
“I am the one who owes you an apology. I’m so fucking sorry, Theo.
I’m sorry I’ve been so blind. I’m sorry I made you feel like I would choose a literal fucking pedophile over you.
I don’t know what I did to make you feel that way, but I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel that way again. ”
My rage was turning to panic and something close to self-hatred as I realized how thoroughly I’d failed my wife.
This whole time, I’d been going to work defending Theo’s fucking rapist. No wonder she’d been self-destructing for months.
“It… It’s not your fault. I should have told you. I should have trusted you.”
I stared at her in disbelief. Even now, she was looking at me like I hung the moon, despite the fact that I’d failed her so miserably. I would carry the weight of this to my damn grave.
‘Focus. Do not lose sight of what is important here. We have him. We know who hurt her, and happily, it is someone we’ve already been planning on eliminating for weeks.
We must tell the vampire. We should do it soon.
Perhaps tonight, if the vampire can help us arrange it.
’ As usual, my monster swept in just in time to remind me of what really mattered.
Arguing over who failed who more wouldn’t get me any closer to killing the man who had dared to lay hands on my fucking wife.
But all that was about to change.
Shoving down my fury and locking it away in the box I used to compartmentalize my emotions, I allowed myself to soften.
Giving Theo a reassuring smile, I released my grip on her throat and leaned forward, drawing her in for a deep, reassuring kiss.
“I can understand why you didn’t trust me with this, Theodora.
Clearly, I hadn’t given you reason to. I was literally defending him for Christ’s sake…
but, I hope you know now, that there is nothing more important to me than you.
Especially not some stupid fucking job. I would sooner burn that firm to the ground than choose that man over you. ”
I spoke the words directly into her mouth, and she let out a ragged sob of relief before burying her face into my shoulder.
“I love you so much,” she mumbled, and I stroked her hair before placing a swift kiss on the side of her head.
“I love you too,” I promised, “I love you so much. And I’m going to fix this. I promise.”
She peeked up at me, frowning slightly.
“What do you mean?”
I gave her a wicked smile and tapped my finger on the tip of her nose.
“You’ll see. But for now, I think you should get dressed. You have some apologies to make to Ryan and Callum. Then, you need to go see Jerry about your fight tonight.”
Theo groaned and flopped back down on the bed.
“Fuck. I forgot about Ryan and Cal.”
I chucked softly before getting up to get dressed.
“Yeah. You definitely have some groveling to do. Neither of them is super happy with you.”
Theo just made another miserable sound, and I laughed before slipping out my phone to message Vox and let him know that the reverend’s time had officially run out.