“The FBI bringing Jonas into the loop is understandable, but why you?” Rider questioned what was on everyone’s mind.
“I was the one who asked Freddy to take Ginny in and raise her as his own.” The former sheriff and retired officer had to clear his several throat times as he spoke. “Twenty-one years ago, Hammer called and asked me to meet him—told me to be on the down-low and make sure no one followed me or knew where I was going. When I met him, he had Ginny, who was a little spot of nothing, and told me to find a safe place to hide her. And before you ask, that’s pretty much all he told me, other than Allerton would kill her and anyone who knew about her if she was found.”
Reaper felt his phone vibrate with a text message. Time was running out.
“Viper, go to the club and pack me a duffle bag with clothes and what you think I’ll need,” Reaper ordered. “I’ll meet you at the airport in ten minutes.”
Viper strode over to his bike.
Reaper turned back to Will. “Hammer asked you to hide a child and you didn’t ask him any fucking questions?” Reaper asked harshly, his stomach churning at what Ginny had gone through as a child.
When Shade made a move toward Reaper, Will reached out to touch his son’s arm. “It’s okay.” Will shook his head at Shade before turning back to Reaper.
“Hammer wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t a matter of life or death for Ginny. How she ended up in Hammer’s hands showed me two things: someone important trusted her with him, and they knew him well enough to know that Hammer would give his life to protect her. Hammer pulled my fat ass out of the fire enough times for me to trust him implicitly if shit hit the fan.”
Reaper admitted he did too.
“In the years since then, you never discussed Ginny with Hammer again?” Reaper couldn’t believe the two men had never connected again.
“Twice. Once when I called to try to convince him to let Rachel and me keep her before I gave her to Freddy.”
Shade’s usually impassive face turned into one of surprise at his father’s answer.
“And the second was when Ginny called me, begging me to make Hammer let her stay with the Colemans. Our conversations were short, and he never gave me any more information than he did the first time I took her, and his answer was the same both times—no.”
Shade moved closer to his father. “If you wanted to keep her, to raise her yourself, why did you listen to Hammer and give her to Freddy?”
“If it was only me, I would have,” Will admitted. “But there was a connection that could be traced between me and Hammer. I had to put Rachel, you, and Penni’s safety first.”
“Why did you pick Freddy Coleman?”
Reaper was glad Shade had asked the question and not him. The Coleman brothers were glaring at Shade as if he’d insulted their father.
“You ever have the opportunity to see Freddy with his kids when he came to town?” Will asked his son.
“No,” Shade answered. He had never met the man.
“Exactly. If you had, you wouldn’t ask me that question. Freddy loved his kids, and they loved him back. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body; he homeschooled his children and had promised to let me see Ginny once a week.”
“You love Ginny,” Reaper stated out loud.
Will’s face broke, and he had to lift a shaky hand to cover his expression. It took a full minute for him to gather himself before he told them, “She begged to stay with me; called me Papa Will when I took her to live with the Wests. Yes, I love her. She’s as much as a daughter to me as Shade is a son. Whatever plan you have, include me. I’m going with you.”
Reaper shook his head. “You can’t. It’ll be a fucking miracle if I can reach her in time.”
Another text on his phone came in. “I have to go. Where’s Silas?”
“He’s behind the shop,” Moses told him. “With Fynn.”
As he walked away, he heard Shade talking to his father. “You never breathed a word to me, even when she worked for The Last Riders or when she moved away.”
“I actually thought one of you boys would be smart enough to snap her up. It’s good to see one of you finally got his head out of his ass.” Will’s voice deepened with emotion. “I always knew Gavin was the smartest one of you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Will didn’t miss his son’s sarcasm and gave it back. “You’re welcome.”
Reaper would have laughed at the play between father and son—if he wasn’t flying toward a man who wanted to kill Ginny.
Walking around Matthew and Isaac’s shop, he came to a stop at seeing what Silas and Fynn were doing. They had their hands lifted toward the sky, making movements in the air.
“Is it working?” Reaper spoke softly so as not to disturb their concentration.
Neither Silas nor Fynn stopped their movements as Silas answered, “Yes, for now. The winds will only do what I ask for so long before they become too bored or angry to listen anymore.”
“I just wanted to tell you I’m leaving, and I’ll have Lucky keep you informed.”
“Before you go, Ginny left you something on the kitchen table.” Silas didn’t look at him as he spoke, but from the look on his face, Reaper knew what Ginny had left.
Fury had him quickly turning on his heel, and then he stormed toward the house, ignoring the looks from the men and women outside. Seeing the small package neatly wrapped, sitting on an envelope, he reached for both, gripping them tightly in his hands before turning back around. Ginny leaving him a good-bye present expressed more than words—she didn’t expect to see him again.
“Cash, drive me to the airport. Rider, Shade, ride with us.”
The four men hurried toward Cash’s truck.
Reaper spared a minute to stop in front of T.A. “If you think of anything else I need to know, tell Lucky; he’ll get the information to me.”
T.A. lifted her anguished eyes to his. “Evangeline was hurt that she wasn’t the first to know I’m pregnant. Tell her I just found out the sex of the baby … Tell her … I’m not telling anyone until I tell her first.”
Reaper wanted to reach out to give her a comforting hand, which would was a normal reaction at seeing someone in pain—before his captivity—and now the action was alien to him. But T.A.’s relationship with Ginny had him wanting to comfort her … just to have a moment’s connection to a part of Ginny. Cognizant of the virus, though, he restrained himself. He would not put a pregnant woman in harm’s way. Even if the Pegivirus CP-20 was only blood-borne, they were still being extra cautious.
Instead he said, “I can’t believe none of us realized you were sisters.”
T.A. gave a shuddering laugh. “No one was looking for it. Wait until you see her without her hair dye and contacts.”
Reaper shook his head at her. “Do I even know Ginny at all?”
Sex Piston laid a hand on T.A.’s shoulder, preventing her from speaking. “Evangeline never hid the most important part—her heart.”
He unconsciously took a step back. “You all knew?”
“She knew we would have her back,” Sex Piston snapped at him. “Just like we’ve had T.A.’s. Make sure you bring the little bitch back, or we’re going to fuck you up ….” Sex Piston lost the full effect of her threat when she turned her face away.