Page 50 of Haven

“Cinder. You gotta stop beating yourself up.”

“She is my sole purpose for living. I just…I want her happy. This is bringing up new memories and flashbacks.”

I could see the tension in Rory because of this, and I knew she didn’t like everyone watching her because of what she endured. Rory didn’t like being labeled by her trauma or what she survived. She was a warrior, but she hated having to constantly be a warrior for surviving something a child never should’ve lived through.

She wasn’t wrong. No child should endure abuse from her mother, and then from a system that failed her. We needed to understand why the Nevada government never caught it or why she was left unchecked for four years. It was the one question Cinder never found, and she’d been searching for answers since Rory was brought home.

Melisa stepped into the room with a bright smile and a few files. Cinder pulled the woman into her arms.

“I found something else,” Melisa admitted, returning Cinder’s warm embrace. “I don’t know if this will be a decoy or if it is real, but there was a journal left with names and routes. This is becoming an FBI matter the more this unravels.”

She handed Cinder the journal, and I watched over her shoulder as she opened it. There were names and then ports. The east coast ports were known, but it was shocking to see west coast ports. Cinder had ties in Washington state with Blaize who owned her own MC. They met when Cinder was searching high and low for Rory.

“Blaize would have informed me if her ports were being used to traffic women.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know,” Melisa pointed out. “Didn’t you say she had her own shit to deal with?”

“I’ll call her and see if she can give me some insight.” I’d met Blaize once when she came to Georgia. Her and her girlfriend needed a break after some shit went down in Westhaven, and they visited Savannah and Briarwood.

“Like I said, it could be a decoy or it could be something valuable. I would just check it out,” Melisa explained. “Also, unrelated to this case, but related to Rory. Did you know she fought six grown men and sent one to the hospital with a stab wound?”

Cinder and I looked at each other. “No? When was this?” Cinder asked, dumbfounded.

“It was a few weeks back. We got the sketch and a few pictures from Crestview, and I knew that pink hair and bike anywhere.”

Melisa slid the pictures over, and immediately I knew the exact night. It was also the night she said someone ran her off the road. Fuck. She would be pissed, but I had to let them know because the person who ran her off the road was most likely the person who left these pictures. I didn’t believe in coincidences, even if she was in enemy territory.

“Why the hell was she in Crestview weeks ago? I knew about the recent trip.” Cinder frowned as she looked at the pictures.

“She went to a fight,” I said, and Cinder glared at me. “Look, I don’t know why she went and I didn’t know about the six men she beat up, but if I know Rory, it was because they were assholes and they had it coming.” I took a deep breath, knowing I was about to open a can of worms. “She called me the night she went out.” Cinder’s glare flickered, a warning before a deadly lightning strike. “She said someone ran her off the road.”

Cinder’s short fuse was seconds away from exploding. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“I promised her I wouldn’t.” There was no point in lying. The fuse was already lit, and Cinder was ignited. “I didn’t think it was relevant. You know how assholes are when they see a pretty woman on a bike.”

“Does she have a girlfriend?” Cinder asked the question with more accusation than curiosity.

It was my turn to look at her dumbfounded. Rory going to and from Crestview, even with the risks and the love bites on her skin that night I helped her. I thought Rory had a hookup, but if she was continuously breaking the agreement, it had to be for something valid.

A bitter heat coiled in my chest—jealousy. It was something I shouldn't feel because I could have Rory, but I chose not to because of the domineering woman glaring daggers into my soul. If Rory wanted to live and love on the dangerous side, I should be the one giving her that adrenaline and desire.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me, V,” Cinder growled. “She told me she wanted pussy when I caught her in Crestview after we told her about the pictures. Why would she choose to go to Crestview if she didn’t have someone there?”

“Cin, I love you, and you know I would tell you,” liar, “but I don’t know. That is something you have to ask her yourself.”

“She mentioned something about dating. Is she dating someone in Crestview?” Rory would start a war if she was doing that, but by the marks on her skin that night, I’d say she had something going on.

Before Cinder could say anything else, her phone chimed with a text about the Zoom meeting. Rory would have to deal with an earful when we got home, but maybe it would help them finally talk everything out.

Cinder didn’t even realize how much pain she was causing Rory. My girl wouldn’t admit it, but we all saw it. Rory was my mariposa for a reason. It wasn’t just a cute nickname I’d given her. She didn’t let her abuse keep her down. Rory struggled for a while, but she quickly adapted and learned what she needed to do to survive and live. I watched her blossom into a gorgeous, fiery butterfly.

I wished Cinder saw that, too.

“Vesper.” My name snapped me back to reality.

“What?”