Iwas working on mycomputer in Theo’s office when the front door of the apartment slammed open so hard that the windows of the office shook. Theo and I had been working in companionable silence for most of the morning, not quite avoiding the discussion that needed to be had after last night, but also not coming right out and having it. It was a bit like we were playing chicken, but neither of us wanted to go first. So, instead, we’d thrown ourselves completely into the case, ignoring the elephant in the room.
I’d checked on Tibby half an hour ago, and she’d been napping on the couch. I had been overcome with the strange desire to curl around her and fall asleep with her. The image had come, unbidden, into my mind and I had given myself a mental kick in the ass. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I always attracted to the people that I couldn’t have?
Instead of giving in to my instincts, I just tossed a blanket that smelled like Aria over her and headed back into the office to continue my standoff with Theo.
At the slam of the front door, Theo and I both jumped, looking up at the hallway where Aria was standing. Her chest rose and fell with angry breaths as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her with a snap. Her amber eyes were thunderous as she stomped across the room to where Theo sat on the sofa, and she glared down at him. Whatever she had to say, it probably wasn’t anything good.
“Aria what are you—” Theo began, but Aria cut him off by holding her hand up flat in front of her, stopping his words before they could leave his mouth.
“No, I am going to speak first. Tell me why I just came from our visit to the prison and Hezekiah Jordan blindsided me with some information that youshouldhave told me before I even left the house this morning.”What the hell was she talking about?
I watched Theo’s face carefully as recognition briefly crossed his features, before his expression became shuttered. He had kept something from us and I had a feeling that it had to do with the omega napping in the living room. I stood and rounded the desk, joining Aria to stare the alpha down. He remained stubbornly quiet, his arms crossed his chest as he looked anywhere but at Aria and I. Realizing that I wasn’t going to get information from him, I turned to Aria and asked: “What information are you talking about?”
A sinking feeling was quickly settling into my gut. I knew almost everything there was to know about the case, aside from having Tibby’s file. Director Cruz had finally sent the request up through the ranks to get it unsealed after the request had been rejected by the local court system. Apparently, San Francisco county was very serious about keeping the records of their minors sealed. I had hoped that it would only be another day or two, but now, looking at Aria’s angry expression, I knew that at least some of what was in Tibby’s testimony had been exposed.
“Aria...” Theo’s voice held a note of warning, his steely blue eyes were hard as he began to stand up to stop the other alpha, but Aria wasn’t listening, angry red blotches had formed on the tops of her cheeks.
“I had to find out from that monster that he had made Tibby, a literal child, his wife!”
What? Out of all of the things that I had expected to come out of Aria’s mouth, that wasn’t one of them. Hezekiah Jordan had kept multiple omega wives, but it had never occurred to me that Tibby could have perfumed as an omega so young.
I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant by that, but there was suddenly a gasp from behind us. Whirling around, I saw that Tibby, at some point, had opened the door and was now standing in the doorway. One of her hands gripped the doorknob for dear life, and the other was pressed in a fist to her mouth. Her face, which was normally always a little bit flushed, had drained completely of color.
Matteo stood behind her, looking just as confused as I felt.
“Tibby....” Theo’s voice was a growl as he took a step towards the omega, but she stepped backward out of the room before whirling around and making a run for it. She nearly tripped over Matteo in the process, and the alpha gripped her shoulders to steady her, his dark eyes searching her face as he began to pull her in for a comforting hug.
He never got the chance to fully envelope her in his arms, however, because she ripped herself away from him and held her hands out in front of her. “I’m sorry...I can’t.” Was all she managed to say in a voice that was already wobbly with tears, before she fled down the hallway and out of sight.
“Damnit, Aria.” Theo’s expression was stormy as he glared at her, “This is exactly why I didn’t say anything.”
Pointing at the doorway that Tibby had just vacated, “It isn’t my story to tell.” He looked at me now, “And it also isn’t the FBI’s story. It’s Tibby’s.”
“Whatever that bastard told you today, remember who is the victim in all of this. This bastard continues to play with and victimize her, even while he’s a hundred miles away behind bars. He managed to attack her with one of the people who she really cares about. Think about that while I go and try to calm her down.” With that, Theo turned on his heel and left the room, leaving us still standing in the silent office.
––––––––
––––––––
Isat, huddled in thecloset in my bedroom, trying to calm myself down, and utterly failing. My breath came in sharp little gasps as I opened and closed my mouth, seeking air like a fish out of water.
Wife. The way Aria had said it was full of shock and disgust. I knew, inherently, that she didn’t mean it the way that she had said it. I also knew that she was shocked at finding out a secret that I should have told them myself. Instead she had heard it fromhim.My mind conjured up dark eyes and sharp teeth, and I pressed my back more firmly into the wall, letting the cool plaster ground me.
Pulling my phone out of the pocket of my leggings, I scrolled through my contacts until I found the person that I knew could help me, and pressed the facetime button.
It rang a few times before a face filled the screen. “Hey Kiddo, I was wondering when you’d call and check in....” Gary’s voice trailed off as he took in my facial expression, which had to be an absolute mess.
“Oh honey, what’s wrong?” He was sitting at the little bistro table that was in his backyard. He stood, and murmured something to his husband, before heading inside with his phone so that we could speak privately.
I told him what had happened around gasping sobs as I tried to get the hang of my breathing. By the time I’d finished, Gary’s eyes were sympathetic, “you knew that they would find out eventually, sweetheart, whether by interacting with the case, or if they managed to unseal your files.”
“I know,” I replied miserably, “I just thought I’d have more time to just be me in their eyes. People look at me differently when they know the whole story.”
Gary was the only person who I’d told the story to from start to finish—at least of my own free will anyway. Theo only knew the whole story because he had been present at the trial and I had been forced to lay out the whole sordid tale. It was hard to talk about, it felt like every time I did I was being dragged back into the past, and I was Tabitha all over again. The scared and hopeless little girl under the thumb of the boogeyman.
“Yes, they will look at you differently, Tibby.” Gary soothed, “But that isn’t always a bad thing. Besides, they already know enough bits and pieces of the story that they are filling in the blanks on their own...and isn’t that worse?”
He was right. Judging by Aria’s horrified expression, she’d probably spent the two-and-a-half-hour drive home from the prison imagining the worst-case scenario about my past.
