“Ginny.” Reaper broke in, knowing what the boy was gathering his courage to ask.
Ginny gave him a grateful look. “We should be going. A friend of ours will be wondering what is taking us so long. Bye.”
Holding the door open for Ginny to walk through, Reaper caught the envy and resentment from the teenager.
Reaper let the door close after them. “You have an admirer there.”
Ginny waited until they were back in the car before she acknowledged the crush. “He’s a really sweet guy. The first month Jason started working here, his mother sat across the street in her car, watching him, afraid he was going to be robbed. His dad passed away when he was just a baby, so it’s just the two them.”
While listening to Ginny, he took out his cell phone. “That’s a lot to learn in the few minutes it takes to get a pizza.” Shifting in his seat, he tilted his phone to the side as he started texting Shade.
Ginny turned her head to the side. “If you’re texting Shade about Jason, save yourself the trouble. Jason has never been out of Nashville.”
He put his cell phone back in his pocket.
“Did you seriously think Jason could be my stalker?”
“No, but it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong, either.”
“I’m sorry.”
He jerked his head to the side. “What for?” he snapped. Reaper didn’t want Ginny’s pity.
“For talking so long. I’ll tell Nickel it was my fault.”
Every single time he expected Ginny to say something to piss him off, she managed to take the wind out of his sails. Everything in him told him that she was just that fucking nice. Ginny was the type of woman you could take home to meet your parents, who your friends would be fortunate to catch.
He had never been attracted to a woman like her. No, he had set his sights on the ones who had a certain oomph, and he wasn’t talking about looks. It was the type of oomph that screamed one word… sex. The type of woman who could handle the freestyling exploits within the club, feminine enough to give in to him when he was determined to have his way. A woman who, when you made her yours, made you feel as if you scored the winning touchdown during the Super Bowl when you fucked her. He had a woman like that once and lost her. His thoughts turned morose.
A sarcastic voice in the back of his mind had his fingers curling into fists so hard his short nails dug into his palms. So, how well did Taylor work out for you?
Chapter Nineteen
Reaper groggily turned the handle of the shower on. Stepping closer to the tile wall, he let the driving force of the cold water hit him in the face. The freezing temperature accomplished what two cups of black coffee hadn’t—clearing away the fogginess and making him feel twice his age.
Becoming more clearheaded, he turned the water to lukewarm and started shampooing his hair. Running his hand over the smooth portion of his scalp, he felt the small stubble beginning to grow. He would run his electric razor over it when he got out of the shower. With Ginny gone with Nickel to meet Kimmy at the nightclub to try some new clothes, he had time to kill before she came back.
Getting out of the shower, he dried off, wrapping the towel around his hips as he buzzed off the tattooed portion of his scalp. His head was bent over the sink as he washed away the loose hair when he heard the sound of his phone going off.
Grabbing a clean towel, he rubbed his head dry as he reached for the phone without looking to see who was calling.
“Your bird has taken off.”
Shade’s voice on the other end of the line had him dropping the towel to his shoulders.
“What in the fuck you talking about?”
“Ginny. She ditched Nickel. He can’t find her.”
“Why in the fuck didn’t he call me?”
“He’s afraid you’re going to kill him when you see him. He wanted me to tell you not to.”
Reaper strode into the bedroom, quickly getting dressed. “He’s safe until I find her. Where did she ditch him?”
“At the nightclub. She asked Nickel to get her and Kimmy some coffee from the kitchen, and when he came back, she was gone. Kimmy told him that Ginny told her she was going to get them some snacks from the VIP lounge and she never came back. When Nickel checked, she wasn’t there.”
“How do we know the stalker didn’t take her?” Shoving his boots on, Reaper stood to grab his jacket as he rushed out of the room.
“Nickel found a note she left in the lounge; it was addressed to him.”
“Her stalker could have left—”
“Nickel checked the security footage. She left on her own steam,” Shade cut him off.
“Fuck.”
Instead of going to the front door of the apartment, Reaper went into Ginny’s bedroom. Giving it a quick glance, he saw a pale blue envelope propped against her lamp.
“How long ago?” he asked Shade.
“She has a thirty-minute head start on you.”
“Tell Nickel he’s dead. He shouldn’t haven’t waited so long to call me.”
“He called me immediately. He had trouble figuring out the coffee pot, or she wouldn’t have such a big lead.”
Picking the envelope up, he tore it open, taking the letter out. “Got to go. I’ll call when I find which direction she’s going. Any idea?”
“No. I thought this might be coming. She’s been squirreling cash away, so nothing’s off the table. Don’t think it’ll be Treepoint or Queen City. If her stalker followed her to Nashville, she won’t take the chance she’ll lead him there.”
“I agree. Ginny couldn’t have taken off at a worse time with us not knowing which direction she’s headed. We have our hands full increasing the production of the supplies you and Arin said we should, while maintaining our normal orders. Find her quick. If she goes underground, we won’t have a chance in hell of finding her before hell breaks loose. Call me when you come up with a lead. I can spare a couple of brothers if you need them.”
Knowing Viper and all the brothers had their hands full, Ginny taking off just added to his over-filled load. Reaper could feel the strain coming from the other side of the phone, making him feel like shit that Ginny had successfully managed to slip away on his watch.
Disconnecting the call, Reaper started reading her letter as he strode out of the bedroom and the apartment, going to the other apartment Viper rented.
Gavin,
I’m sorry I had to leave this way. If I had any other choice, I wouldn’t have. I knew you wouldn’t let me leave without telling Viper. A guilty conscience is a hard thing to live with, and his has had to live with me long enough.
I should never have accepted his help in the first place. I let Shade talk me into accepting The Last Riders’ protection, and I went along with it because I didn’t want anyone I cared about getting hurt because of me. If I stay, that’s exactly what I’d be doing. I can’t let you be hurt. You’ve been hurt enough in this lifetime without me bringing more pain to your door.
I love you, Gavin. Leaving wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, so I’m asking Viper and you to respect my decision. I mailed a letter to him, which he should get tomorrow, explaining why I decided to leave. I left out my feelings for you. You can disclose that part if you want. I didn’t want any blame mistakenly placed on you. You can’t help my feelings for you, and they are there despite your refusal to admit your own. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don’t know if I could, either.