Page 57 of Haven

My gun was in my hand as I patrolled the docks. I knew to be stealthy and find Rory first. Then, and only when I knew she was safe, I would protect her and kill the asshole that dared to touch my little sister. He wouldn’t win. His plans would fail.

There was a loud bang, echoing through the shipping containers. It was a fear tactic. This person wanted me to be scared so he could sneak up on me. Well, it wouldn’t work. I wasn’t new to this game of cat and mouse. I invented the fucking thing. He was hiding because he was a coward, hurting Rory because he was nothing but a weak little boy.

I had to apologize. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right. I’d been ignoring what she wanted in my desperation to keep her safe. I’d much rather her be with Vesper than with some random person. She would be safe with the Vipers, and if they decided to break her heart, I’d have to deal with them.

“Where is she, asshole?” I yelled, my voice ricocheting off the containers.

Her scream echoed, and my blood froze. He was torturing her. I followed the noise until I got to the last container, door open with blood smeared on the concrete. My fist clenched tightly, leaving crescent-shaped indentations in my palm. My first priority was getting her to safety, then I would dispose of the bastard who hurt her. He would regret coming for my family again.

I stepped inside, there was a bed with a body lying in it, blood soaking the sheet. Fear danced up my spine as I walked closer to it, curling my fingers around the sheet and ripping it free. It was a Sleeping Beauty life-sized plush soaked in blood. There was a creak, but before I could turn around, something blunt hit the back of my head.

I stumbled and fell to the ground as my assailant hit my legs. Another kick to my back knocked the wind out of me, followed by a steel toe to my nose. Blood filled my mouth as a burly form crouched down next to me.

“You took my princess away, now it’s time to pay.” And with one final kick, Rory was my last thought before I succumbed to the dark abyss.

Forty-Seven

Widow

Rory was missing, and now so was Cinder. Vesper said Cinder bolted out of the clubhouse around eleven like her ass was on fire. She meant to follow her, but by the time she stumbled to grab her keys, Cinder was already gone. When I checked her location, I noticed she had turned it off. There was something amiss about everything. Rory’s wreck and them both mysteriously disappearing at the same time? It didn’t make sense.

The location where Rory’s phone pinged was close to the national park, but neither she nor her bike were anywhere to be seen. I found her phone cracked on the road with a few missed calls from someone. There were marks and shrapnel, evidence that Rory had been there but not anymore. I called Melisa to see if she’d heard anything about a motorcycle accident or any weird behavior around the area, but she said there was nothing. And then I told her to call the two local hospitals for me to see if either Cinder or Rory were admitted.

I needed to see if there was anything in her phone that would tell me what she was doing or where she was going. Rory needed me, and I would find her. I swiped up on her phone, bypassed the face ID and tested my luck. I tried her birthday as a code, but it didn’t work. Then I thought about it. Regardless of how overprotective Cinder was, Rory loved her. I typed in 1012 since she was born in October and Cinder was born in December. Bingo. When her phone unlocked, I did a mental happy dance.

This was a huge invasion of privacy, but I searched through her phone, looking at her messages. There were no unknown numbers, but there was a name—Hades, with a red heart. I clicked the thread and then her contact picture. I could be wrong, but this woman looked incredibly similar to Axel Morningstar's daughter.

HADES

I’ll be waiting for you. Please be safe.

Rory? Baby, where are you?

Baby?!

HADES

Please answer me.

Rory. Answer the phone.

I’m coming to Briarwood. Fuck an agreement.

Haven and Rory were breaking a decade-long truce with their relationship. What the hell was she thinking? She clearly wasn’t. How long had she been sneaking away? Did she go to Crestview that day when she stormed out of the storage container?

I shook the thoughts away. This was an issue for later. First, I needed to find her and her sister. Cinder would blow a gasket when she found out, but I wouldn’t blame her. Rory was making a mistake that could cost her life.

I called Vesper. “Do we have anything?” I asked. There was evidence of a wreck, but there was nothing else here.

“No. Melisa said there were no reports of an accident on that road and no one matching Rory’s description came to the ER,” Vesper said. “There is nothing to help us currently. Once Parker looks at the footage, we’ll have more.”

Why would she go to the docks to look for Rory? Something didn’t make sense. “Get the footage from the cameras and let me know if you find anything. I’m going to ride around and see if I can find anything.”

“I’ll keep you updated. Let me know if you find anything.”

Forty-Eight

Unknown