Page 91 of After All The Wreckage
Silence for several beats on the other end. “Why the hell are you looking for her?”
“Monte’s vision, what happens, she’s there. And what happened to him is related. We have some leads, but I’m not going to make it back for a while. I don’t want Monte and Ivy there alone. There’s just too much going on.”
River was quiet again before he said, “You think whoever this is will come looking for all of you?”
Worry coasted over Gage’s brow, and disappointment filled my mouth. Bitter and harsh. Disappointment at myself. I’d promised him earlier I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him or his family, and here we were stirring up bees who might do exactly that—zip out to Cherry Bay and sting from the darkness. And I wouldn’t be there to stand in their way.
“I think it’s better if they aren’t at the apartment. Can you take them to your place tonight?” Gage asked.
“I’ll have Audrey pack them up and bring them over before we open the bar.”
“Monte’s going to freak. I’ll text him, but he’s going to worry.”
“You were coming to our house for Thanksgiving anyway. Just tell him we decided to make a night of it so we had more hands to help in the morning.”
Gage breathed out a sigh. “Thanks, man.”
“I’m going to get seriously pissed, Gage, if you don’t stop with this shit. We’re in this together. No guilt. No favors. Just family doing for family. You understand me?”
I’d felt so much loneliness in Gage since I’d walked into the bar on Friday, and I’d thought it echoed mine. But he’d never really been alone. He’d had Audrey and River just like I’d had Shay and Nan. So, why had we both put up so many walls it ended up feeling like we were in solitary confinement? Why had we kept the people who cared about us from showering us with their love and support?
Gage and River said their goodbyes, and I swallowed over the lump in my throat to say, “I’m sorry, Gage…”
He swiped a hand through his hair and then looked over at me. “I’d say I’m the one who should be sorry for dragging you into this with Monte’s vision, but just like you said yesterday, itseems like we’re in it together. Whatever happened to your mom and is now happening with my family, it’s related. River’s right, we need to stop feeling guilty for it and just figure it the hell out before anyone else gets hurt.”
The words were exactly what I needed to hear. Regret, wishing for something different to have happened in our pasts, wouldn’t help either of us. It wouldn’t help us find Demi or change Monte’s vision or bring down Dunn and West.
I tucked all my emotions, doubts, and what-ifs aside as Gage pulled to the curb.
His eyes widened. “What are we doing at a pawnshop?”
My lips twitched. “It’s not just a pawn shop. Gary has equipment I need.” I opened the door. “Give me ten minutes.”
I slipped out of the car, headed into the store, and exactly ten minutes later I walked out with my credit card screaming. I couldn’t really afford to spend what I had, but money wasn’t going to stop me from keeping the people I cared about safe.
I walked up to the SUV, pulling a beat-up, hard-sided silver suitcase. Gage gave me a puzzled look but popped the hatchback. I tossed the case inside and then climbed into the passenger seat.
“I’m checking in to a hotel. I’ll need luggage,” I explained. “And I needed equipment I left in Cherry Bay.”
“We’rechecking in, Rory. Us. Not you. I’m not letting you do this alone.” Before I had a chance to argue, he added on words that almost killed me. “Besides, isn’t it Veronica who says you can’t declare a victory if you walk out of the ring in the middle of the fight? I’m not leaving.”
The hero is the person who stays… I wanted to whisper back but caught my words.
In the show, Veronica lost the love of her life in a fiery bomb. She’d thought everything was finally behind them, the good ahead, and she’d lost him anyway. What would happen if I lost Gage?
Determination welled through me.
I wasn’t going to let these arrogant assholes get away with any of this. I was going to put a stop to it. And I guessed, in that way I was exactly like my hero.
West and Dunn might not think I was worth even batting an eye at, but holy crap were they going to care when I got my revenge on. They were going to be wishing it was Veronica Mars and not Rory Marlowe Bishop coming for them, because Veronica was fictional and I was the real deal. I was going to take their crappy little world down.
? ? ?
The iconic lobby of the Willard Hotel greeted us as we walked in. The gold-flecked marble pillars, antique glass, and carved ceilings shimmered in stately elegance. It was a hotel fitting its nickname as the Presidents’ Residence with every president since Franklin Pierce having stayed there.
I didn’t have any connections here, not yet. But as close as it was to the White House, and with as many foreign dignitaries who walked through its doors, it would be smart for me to cultivate some. As it was, we were lucky that Casada already knew Walden’s suite number. I’d taken a quick look at the floor plan using the hotel’s online map and chosen a room across from his to set up shop.
When the front desk clerk informed us the room was already booked, I pouted. “It’s our anniversary. That was our very first room together.” I fluttered my lashes. “Has the person checked in yet? Isn’t there any way you can move them to another room? We’ll pay extra. Or we could pay to upgrade their room for them.”
