Months later, after everything was over, we went back to Sweet Haven to find you. To make sure you were okay. We found you with Shane and Delia. We missed you so much and wanted to take you with us, but we knew you were better off with them. After everything you went through, after all the times we were forced to take you to The Gatherings, we didn’t deserve you. Our punishment was to let you go. We knew Shane and Delia would care for you the way you deserved. We knew they would make you happy. They didn’t have any children, and because of that, weren’t forced or volunteered to participate during those horrible nights. We left you because it was the safest place for you.
Every day since we left, we mourned your loss. Every minute of every day, we wished we could be with you. We watched over you from afar and were so proud to see the young woman you became. You always looked happy, and that’s all we ever wanted for you. You were our greatest and most treasured gift.
You’re getting this letter because your father and I are no longer of this world. I left instructions with someone that if anything ever happened to us, to deliver this letter. This is not me asking you to forgive us. There is nothing we could ever say or do to redeem ourselves for what we have done. I simply wanted to let you know the truth. And to say that we have always loved you, in the proper way. In the most beautiful way a parent can love a child.
It is my greatest wish that this letter finds you well. I hope with all my heart you have found true happiness, Jenny, and it continues to follow you for the rest of your life. You deserve it and so much more.
Love Always,
Deanna and Mick
Holy fucking hell. I drop the letter on my desk, shocked as shit at what it revealed. Leaning both elbows on my desk, I drop my head and rub the tense muscles on the back of my neck.
“Her parents died in a car accident three months ago,” Judge says. I lift my head and glance at him. “Head on collision w
ith a drunk driver. They lived just outside of Odessa.”
“There’s no return address. How did you find out where they lived?”
“Had a private investigator look into it. That’s why I waited to tell you about it. I wanted to find out what happened to them.”
I nod and scrub a hand over my jaw, still astonished about this new revelation. I pull open my drawer and grab out the whiskey I keep tucked inside.
Uncapping the top, I take a pull straight from the bottle. With the bottle still in hand, I wipe my mouth with my forearm, then pass it to Judge. He takes it and tips it to his lips.
“Guess that answers one of the mysteries of that night,” I muse out loud.
“Shane and Delia must have slipped the note under Mae and Dale’s door. They were close friends with them.”
There are several things that happened that night almost twenty-four years ago that we never had the answers to. One being the mysterious note that alerted Mae and Dale of the raid.
“Mae needs to know.”
“I’m heading there next,” he replies.
I look back down at the note. Although their excuse for what they did to Jenny matches the video clip Emo showed me—that they hated what they were doing—I’m not sure I could forgive them if I were in Jenny’s shoes. Especially since they willingly participated in Hell Night before she came along.
“It’s a shame she’ll never know,” I murmur.
His lips stiffen to form a straight tight line. “I think it’s better this way. She didn’t really remember her parents. There would be no point in bringing something up that would only hurt her.”
I dip my chin in agreement. He’s right. Jenny was young enough that she didn’t really remember much about Hell Night. In a sense, she was lucky.
I refold the letter and slip it inside the envelop before handing it to Judge.
“I’m headed over to Trouble’s office. Eden gets to come home today.”
We both get to our feet. “Is she staying in Malus?”
I pocket my phone and grab my keys from my desk. “I haven’t asked her yet.” I cut him off when he looks like he’s going to say something. “She knows everything, except for the Finishing. I plan to tell her today before I ask her to stay here.” I hold up my hand to warp him off. “She’s okay with everything else we do. She’ll be okay with that too.”
He looks doubtful, but wisely keeps quiet. He knows I would never put anyone in Malus in danger. Informing Eden of how we deal with abusive predators is a hurdle for sure, but one I know we’ll safely get to the other side. I trust Eden with my life, and that’s essentially what I’ll be giving her.
We both say goodbye to Rita as we pass by her. Once we’re outside standing beside our vehicles, Judge pulls another envelope from his pocket.
Reaching out, I grab it with my brows raised in question.
“It’s information and the address. Figured you’d want it now.”