Page 90 of After All The Wreckage
Rory
ANGEL WITH A SHOTGUN
Performed by The Cab
Silence settledbetween Gage and me after Casada left. We still had no real proof of anything. No matter what Casada said, my mom hadn’t trusted me. Not enough to bring me in. If she had, maybe I could have found out the truth before she’d ended up crashing into the Potomac. Maybe she’d be here.
Maybewould do nothing but leave holes in a sinking boat I couldn’t plug.
“What now?” Gage asked.
“The Willard. But I need to make a stop first.”
I gave him the address, and he punched it into his GPS.
As we drove, I made a list of the supplies I needed. I felt Gage’s eyes drifting back and forth from the road to me. Concern but also something else—the trust I’d thought I’d lost when he’d shut me out on Monday.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“For what?”
“Defending me. Believing in me.”
“I don’t know how anyone can see you do the things you do and not. You’re really good at this sleuthing stuff.”
He said it with a raised brow and a grin as if he was trying to lighten the heavy mood. I was sure he had no idea just how much those words both healed and broke me.
Casada’s words had done the same. I hadn’t wanted to think about them yet, not with a case to focus on, but they still lingered. Still burned their way through me with the same force as Gage’s look.
“No matter how proud anyone thinks she was of me, she never would have seen me as a true partner. She would have always looked at me through a parental lens, protecting instead of trusting.”
He was quiet for a moment. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s because she didn’t believe in you. If anything, it was because she loved you so much.”
My jaw ticked, teeth grinding as I attempted to pull myself away from emotions that wouldn’t help us.
“I know you don’t see it as a good thing,” Gage said. “But her wanting to keep you safe, wanting what’s best for you—it’s what a parent should do.”
I glanced over and saw his body was tense. He had to be thinking about Demi. The way she’d never stayed. The way she’d abandoned all her children. The way her actions were actually putting them in danger now. My heart skipped a beat as I realized we were doing the same, putting our loved ones in the crosshairs. West had basically threatened all of us if I kept poking, and here I was doing exactly that and planning to do more of it.
Over the huge lump that had formed in my throat, I said, “I need to stay in town. I can get a CarShare back to Cherry Bay when I’m done, but I think you need to go back to your family.”
His eyes narrowed as if trying to figure out why I was sending him packing. “You think they’re going to come after us? After Monte or Ivy?”
I wanted to say no. I wanted to say they were safe, but I just wasn’t sure. Instead, I told him the truth. “I think it’s better if you’re with them. Is there anywhere else you can stay for a few days?”
He was quiet, a range of emotions flooding his face before he asked quietly, “And who’s going to be with you, covering your back? And what about your grandmother?”
I was already texting Nan. Harriet had wanted us to come over for Thanksgiving. There’d be no issue with Nan spending the night with her.
Gage hit a button on his steering wheel. “Call River.”
The phone rang a couple of times before the man picked up. “Hey, Gage. Audrey and I were just about to leave for the bar. How’s everyone doing?”
“Monte’s doing better than I expected. I’m worried he’ll break down at some point, but he’s showing me his brave face. I’m sorry to do this, but I need another favor,” Gage’s voice held guilt and worry that I was familiar with.
“You know better than to be sorry, Gage. We’re family. Whatever you need, we’re here.”
“I’m in D.C. with Rory. We’re trying to find Demi.”
