Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

RORY

“Can I ask you something?” The question passes my lips before I can stop it from doing so.

“Sure, what’s up?” Rosemary twists so that she’s facing me on her stool rather than the countertop.

We’d come into the kitchen, and Rosemary went immediately to a drawer and pulled free a bunch of menus for us to go through.

“Aries came back freaked about something and then said something about getting Roger to agree to a fight. He called it a fight of all fights.”

I watch the way Rosemary’s face pales.

“He’s talking about fighting Roger?” she asks, sounding like she had the breath knocked out of her.

“Yes.” I nod, not understanding why she’s suddenly got this frightened look on her face. “What’s going on? I don’t understand.”

Rosemary visibly swallows, rakes her fingers through her hair, and takes a couple heavy breaths. “He’s talking about death matches. Means he’s going to fight Roger until one of them is dead.”

Oh my God.

Mother of all sanity.

Aries has completely lost it.

What is he thinking?

He’s not. If he were, he wouldn’t be doing something so asinine as wanting to even think about something so vile. He could end up dead.

“The whole club entered a death match to save me,” Rosemary says, pulling me out of the rabbit hole before I can get too far.

“What do you mean?” I didn’t know much of Rosemary’s story other than something had happened and the club had to find her. She didn’t tell me much more about it.

Jade had told me her story, though. I knew she used to be blind and that’s when she met Viper. I love that for them. I could see the love Viper has for Jade whenever he’s near her.

Same with Cyprus and Noelle. I knew some of how they got together, but Noelle’s a quiet person, and though she’s friendly, she sticks to herself a lot like I do. Granted, she’ll hang out with Rosemary and Jade, even me, but she’s still jumpy about some things.

I could understand this. I can’t stop looking over my shoulder. It doesn’t matter that Aries and even the club are swearing to protect me.

Rosemary sighs and clasps her hands in her lap. “I told you about being kidnapped, and the club finding me, but I didn’t tell you where they found me. I wasn’t used for sex or anything like that. I was forced to fight in death matches.”

“You were?” I gasp, eyes widening.

Rosemary nods jerkily. “Yeah. I sometimes think that it would have been better if I were used for sex rather than fighting. Maybe then the people I had to kill in those matches would still be alive.”

“It’s not your fault,” I murmur, reaching out to take her hand.

“I’m the one who gave the death blows.” Tears shimmer in Rosemary’s eyes.

“You did what you had to do to survive,” I tell her squeezing her hand and leaning in. “You had to fight to live. You had to make the choice of ‘either them or me’. You chose yourself, which is good because it means you’re here now. I’m sure the people you fought against understood where your head was at, they were fighting for the same thing. They died so you could survive. You’re here because they allowed it. Don’t let the deaths of the other fighters bring you down. Honor them as you would a soldier. They might not have been soldiers or even good people, but they were put through the same as you. They trained to survive. They lived for the next breath, not knowing if it would ever come.”

Rosemary blinks, then blinks again, and finally whispers, “I never thought of it that way. It makes sense. How did you come up with that with what little I shared?”

Releasing a heavy breath, I draw my hand back and look away. “I had to think about my own survival for so long I hate myself for what I’ve done. For what I allowed to happen. I did what I did to protect those I love and care about, but I didn’t have to. I could have run far away, however, if I did, I would’ve been leaving everything behind. Along with the major possibility of those I hold close to my heart being killed. Roger wanted Aries dead, but he bargained to get what he wanted. So long as I was his. I did what I was told, and he’d leave Aries alone. Him and everyone else I cared about.”

“Roger’s a weasel,” Rosemary remarks.

“Yeah, he is. He’s conning, will stab you in the back in a heartbeat, looks out for what’s in his best interest, and doesn’t play games when it comes to getting what he wants. He calculated every move he made in getting me to agree with him. He stole my baby from me,” I murmur, my hand moving to rest on my flat stomach. “He took everything and made me suffer for it. I would always rebel against him and ended up paying for it. I only just had the strength to make my escape when he took me to New York City. I’d been able to slip away from them thanks to the crowded streets at the time.”

“I hate you went through all of that, Rory,” Rosemary says softly, leaning forward and taking my hand in hers. “Seems we’re all a pair. The ol’ ladies club filled with survivors.”

“I’m not an ol’ lady.”

“Yeah, you are. You just don’t have your cut yet. In fact, I think I’m gonna get some patches made for all of us that claims us all as survivors. A reminder that we’re not victims. We’re survivors.”

“That actually sounds pretty cool,” I tell her, a small laugh escaping.

“It does.” Rosemary smirks and clears her throat. “Back to what you were asking me about, and I was telling you. The club saved me, but they traded themselves to finish out the contract that the guy who took me refused to let me out of. Each member of the club took a fight.”

“Wow.”

No words can mark what the club did for her. The loyalty is remarkable. I’d never known such a feeling.

Though Aries is offering that to me, giving me him. Just as he said, I’m his, and he’s mine.

It doesn’t mean I’m not scared that he’ll go into this match and I lose him all over again. I’m sure Roger will agree to it. He’ll agree to anything for a chance to kill Aries. The hatred Roger holds for Aries, I’ll never understand. I never did.

“That about sums it up,” Rosemary murmurs.

Clearing my throat, I straighten in my seat and nod to the menus. “I guess we should figure out what we’re going to do for dinner tonight, then.”

I change the subject not just for Rosemary but for myself. If I didn’t, I’d end up losing my mind with worry. I’m going to have to trust Aries on this and believe that he’ll win against Roger because it can’t be any other way.

Aries is back in my life, and I can’t lose him again. Losing him this time around will destroy me completely. I’d be left a shell of the person I once was. There would be no life left in me to go on.

Admitting that to myself scares me.

Rosemary smiles, picks up a menu, and twists it toward me. “How about pizza and wings?”

“Perfect.”