Desmond stiffened, turning back to him. “Using plastic …? That wasn’t just a figure of speech, was it?”
“I know where you’ve buried the bodies on the road to your success. I would hate to use that knowledge against you, but I will if I have to.”
“The Predators would never turn against me—”
“Look out the window.”
Desmond went to the window beside the sideboard.
“The Predators might work for you, but they are loyal to me,” King stated implicitly.
“I’m aware. I should have replaced them with those who wouldn’t have divided loyalties,” Desmond ruminated out loud.
“Ice and Jackal would have slit your throat if you tried to replace the Predators with new blood.”
“What’s the difference between then and now? My neck is still on the chopping block.”
“The difference is you can help Reaper and Ginny. You will also have both the Predators’ and The Last Riders’ gratitude. That, my old buddy, is worth more gold than Allerton will ever give you.”
“My relationship with Allerton goes beyond money.”
“Are the connections he provides worth your life?”
Desmond leaned a hand on the side of the windowsill, staring out at Ice and Jackal standing on his front lawn with twenty or so men sitting on their bikes in the private driveway behind them. The high, imposing gates blocking the entrance had a guard station with two men at all times. Desmond was disgusted with his men.
“Allerton has a wide circle of influence. The Predators may slit my throat, but Allerton can make me wish I was dead before he pulls the plug. Like I said before, if my neck is on the chopping block, does it really matter who is responsible?”
“You know as well as I do,” King said uncompromisingly from his chair, “that when it comes down to a life or death situation, the only option left is to choose the side that will fight dirtier.”
“Are The Last Riders prepared for the havoc Allerton can wreck on their lives?”
“They are.”
Desmond went to the cigar box on his desk, opening it to choose one. Taking a cuter inside the box, he snipped one end, then reached for an oversized lighter to hold the cigar over the flame. “And you’re willing to sacrifice your new family for them?”
“They are a part of my family.”
The silent man who had been monitoring the conversation between King and him spoke for the first time. “Take this. Keep it with you the entire time.”
Desmond placed the cigar between his lips to take what looked like a stubby cell phone. Having worked with dog-eat-dog thugs for more years than he wanted to count, the man who accompanied King chilled him to the bone.
“Allerton will have my suitcases and me searched when I arrive at the plane. How am I supposed to get this by his security?”
King grinned. “Be inventive.”
Desmond didn’t find anything amusing with the situation. Visions of the amount of money he imagined raking in from Allerton’s greedy manipulations would no longer be possible unless he was able to convince him to return Ginny and Reaper. Desmond didn’t hold out hope. However, he had been in dicey situations before and managed to turn the cards over in his favor.
“Seeing the Predators are no longer following my orders, send them away. They’ve made their point.” Leaning back on his desk, he crossed one foot over the other. “Gabriel will send someone on his payroll to make sure I arrive at the airport alone and to ensure no one will be able to sneak on board.”
King rose from the chair to go to the window. Moving the curtain aside, he gave Ice a flick of his hand.
Soon, loud motorcycles could be heard leaving from inside the room.
“Feel free to leave with them,” he encouraged.
“Wanting to get rid of us so you can disappear? Allerton isn’t the only one who has several places to hide.”
King’s laconic reply had Desmond grinning at him. “I admit I thought about it,” he conceded. “Then I decided it didn’t benefit me.”
“Why not?”
“Because of you, King. You’ve never been on the losing side.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ginny watched Gavin leave the room, her bravado deserting her without his presence.
Feeling alone even with him in the next room, she folded her arms over her chest. Trudy had been right; Gavin was never going to love her the way he had Taylor. Her sister tried to spare her that pain, but Ginny held both arms open for him to walk inside and she gave him her heart.
“He never asked for your love.” Ginny inwardly defended Gavin from her rising disappointment at his failure to admit any feelings for her.
At first, it was like a needle, or like a splinter trapped under her skin, but each day, his lack of giving any positive feedback when she shared her feelings with him grew worse until she felt as if a knife was being plunged into her heart. She thought any emotion he gave her would be enough; however, making love with him had changed her. She wanted more.
“He never promised you more,” she reproached herself.
The first night they made love had been miraculous. It was a springboard to her burgeoning hopes. The next morning, she’d gone through a setback when he hadn’t discussed Taylor. Then, when he showed up at the airport with proof of a marriage that didn’t exist, her hopes rose again, and they had risen even higher yesterday. But having sex with Gavin last night had been different than the first time. What little piece of himself he gave her the last night he retrenched in the bright light of today. Considering her deception, she should have expected it, but it still hurt that he thought she might be playing him to suit her own needs.
Her chaotic thoughts had her uncrossing her arms to link her hands together as if to pray. Then she rubbed her knuckles back and forth over her forehead.
Whereas Trudy had to live with the ghost of Dalton’s previous wife, Oceane wasn’t coming back to take Dalton away. Taylor would always be one step away, anytime she wanted to place herself back in Gavin’s life. His determined presence here could be solely a simple act of gratitude for taking the heat off The Last Riders. She risked her life for Gavin’s freedom, and he knew it. If they were lucky enough to return to their normal lives, his gratitude would eventually wane, leaving her in a one-sided relationship—that Gavin could end without warning. Or even worse, he could continue being with her while secretly wishing she was Taylor. Did she love him enough to stay with him even though his heart would never be hers?
She pressed her knuckles harder against her forehead. She honestly didn’t know, which is why she told him you can only shake a fruit tree so long before it would quit giving fruit. Ginny considered herself a strong person, but she didn’t know if she was strong enough to keep telling Gavin she loved him without even getting an “I like you” in response! She had told him he was chasing after fool’s gold with Taylor, and she believed that with her whole heart. If she hung on long enough, maybe Gavin would see it too.
Before making love with her, Gavin told her that he believed they were soul mates. She now clung to the image of his face when he moved the sheet aside—when he confessed that he believed. Did saying it mean he truly believed it in his heart of hearts? Does he still love Taylor? Does he love me? She just didn’t know.