Chapter 20
Ginger
At some point I must have dozed off, because when I opened my eyes the room seemed darker than it had before. I jolted awake, opening my eyes and raising my head to see Rebel standing in the doorway. He'd come for me! I didn't know how long he'd been standing there, watching me, but I got to my feet and rushed to him, throwing myself against his solid length. His arms came around me tightly, his hand clenching tightly in my hair as he crushed me against him. I was immediately engulfed with the familiar scent of leather and warm man, and the feeling of being safe.
It was really over.
"If I get my hands on him, he's dead," he muttered against my ear. I had no doubt that he meant what he said. "You hurt?"
I shook my head and pulled back slightly to meet the churning emotions in his eyes. "I'm okay. How is it you're here? I thought you had a job to do." It felt so good to be in his strong arms. I didn't want to leave.
"It's done. We had just finished up when I got Stevie's message. I headed straight here." His hands glided over me as if he was searching for injuries, or maybe trying to convince himself that I was real.
"She told me Della is in the hospital. I need to go to her."
He nodded. "We'll stop at your place first so you can get cleaned up. You might want to put some shoes on."
I laughed softly at that. I couldn't help it. I knew that I looked a wreck. "And some clothes?"
His gaze dropped down my body, turning hot. "You'll never hear me complain about your lack of clothes, baby. But I think the hospital might draw the line if you show up in the little bit that you have on and no shoes." He rested his forehead against mine. I wanted, needed, his kiss, but I was too afraid to take it. "You ready to get out of here?"
"Yes."
Without warning he stepped away and removed his cut. Next he pulled off his t-shirt and handed it to me without a word. Smiling in the face of his consideration, I gratefully slipped it over my head as he slipped his cut back on. It was difficult not to stare at his defined abs and bulging biceps. Rebel's amazing body drew my eyes there naturally.
He took me by the hand. "Come on."
As he led me out to his bike, I noticed that another biker was parked next to Rebel’s, sitting on his bike, but I barely gave him a second look. It was obvious that he was waiting for us. The next thing I knew I was on the back of Rebel's bike, holding on tightly as he took us onto the interstate. I kept my head down, my face against the back of his shoulder as the wind whipped over us. I closed my eyes. If it had been any other time and I would have enjoyed the thrill of being on the back of his bike, riding against the wind, going full throttle. In this moment I was just happy to be free and with Rebel. No matter what happened now, I knew that I could count on him to keep me safe.
Every few minutes Rebel would reach down and cover my hands with one of his and give a squeeze, as if to reassure me that everything would be okay. It was an intimate gesture that made me wonder if he had feelings for me, deeper than just those of a man who was protecting someone who owed him money. Rebel wasn't the kind of man who revealed his feelings. He was a hard man, not someone you'd want to cross, but definitely someone you would want on your side.
I sensed that someone was moving up beside us and I opened my eyes, turning my head. Another biker had moved up next to us in the other lane. He and Rebel acknowledged one another with hand gestures, and then the biker dropped back slightly. Another one appeared on the other side of us, startling me, until I realized that they appeared to be friends of Rebel’s, as they, too, greeted each other in the same way. The first rider who'd been back at the gas station remained in the front, leading the way. I thought that they might leave us once we exited the interstate, but the three men flanked us the rest of the way home.
Rebel came to a stop and turned off his bike, reaching back to help me off. He remained sitting, reaching deep into his pocket for something. His friends pulled up close and also shut their bikes down, remaining quiet yet observant as Rebel handed me a key.
"I'll wait for you here," he explained.
I took the key, my gaze moving over the three quiet men as they sat relaxed on their bikes. Their expressions were neutral, watchful, yet the look in their eyes seemed friendly enough. The one who'd been waiting for us outside the Circle K I recognized from the bar. He’d been there with Rebel and Jace. He was a brute of a man, his square-jawed face looked carved in stone. If I hadn't been with Rebel I would have been frightened of him, of the air of quiet menace that he gave off. He was not someone I would want to encounter in a dark alley.
I vaguely wondered where Jace was. The other two bikers, while both big and handsome in their own rights, didn't affect me in the least. I got the impression that they were waiting for me to leave so that they could talk. One lit a cigarette, while the other one crossed his arms and relaxed back on his seat.
"Thank you." I received the typical head nods of acknowledgement, and one even cracked a smile.
"Babe."
Rebel's softly spoken endearment drew my attention back to him. He nodded sharply in the direction of my apartment, the grin on his mouth softening his silent command. Wordlessly, I turned and walked away, conscious of the eyes following me until I'd unlocked my door and disappeared inside.
****
Rebel
I wasn't the only one who watched Ginger walk away. It was hard not to with the expanse of creamy legs that was exposed beneath my t-shirt that she was wearing. The sexy swing of her shapely ass against the thin material was another bonus that drew my eyes to the enticing mounds. She was visually stimulating, but that wasn't the only reason I couldn't take my eyes off her. I wanted to make sure she got inside her apartment okay.
"You got a pretty woman, brother."
I swung back to Tanner, grinning like a cocky bastard. "No arguments here," I said. "Thanks for the security ride."
He shrugged. "We had just about reached the Kings clubhouse when Vinny called and told us that Ginger was free and you were on your way to get her. Didn't take long for us to catch up to you."
"Word gets around fast."
"That's what's good about our world, brother," Rod snorted. He was with the Sentinels. "We look out for each other. How'd she get away?"
"We haven't talked yet. Her priority is getting to the hospital to her friend."
"How is the woman?" Tanner asked with genuine concern. "She was beat pretty bad."
"Not sure about her condition." My main concern had been in finding Ginger. "I appreciate your help. Now I just have to find that prick."
"You want help with that?" Tanner asked. "You got a last name?"
I shook my head. "Thanks, but I want to take care of him myself. I wouldn't mind a heads up if you hear anything, though. I'll text you a last name when I get it." Maybe, with luck, Della had a picture of Daryl.
"You got it, man. What about the Kings?"
I frowned. "Are they going to be a problem?" Tanner had a history with them, so if anyone would know, it would be him.
His expression said that it was a possibility. "Depends on why she was being taken to them. Wicked is crazy. It doesn't take much to flip him out."
I digested that, running my hand over the bottom half of my whiskered jaw. "Daryl was after money. A grand. Della said he beat her because she didn’t have it."
"Drug money?" Rod inquired.
"He was tweaking when I saw him last, so yeah, I think so. We think he owes Wicked money and were hoping to settle the score by offering him Ginger."
"Fuck, brother. If there’s one thing I know about Wicked it's that he would never take a woman as payment. You owe him cash, he wants cash back." That gave me a sense of relief, but then Tanner continued. "But you still might have something to worry about. Wicked is unpredictable, he doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. If he thinks you took something that was meant for him, he might retaliate."
"Doesn’t sound too smart," I responded.
Rod snorted, flicking his cigarette butt away. "He's an asshole. Uses whatever excuse he can to cause trouble. We should have ended him when we had the chance." His comment was meant for Tanner if the glare he turned on him was anything to go by.
I didn't want to get involved in their business or their disagreements. Apparently Tanner didn't want to get into anything with Rod by responding to his remark. Moody and I exchanged knowing looks. He was a quiet man; his name fit him, although “furious” would have been a better fit, because he seemed to stay perpetually angry. Something had happened to him in his past, something that he never spoke of, and it was festering inside him. It was something deep and dark, and I wondered if whatever it was would eventually destroy him.
"So, how did the job go?" Tanner questioned, defusing the tension between him and Rod by changing the subject. "Saw on the news Duponte got away but the Feds managed to capture some of his key players."
I nodded, satisfied as fuck that the girls had been rescued but it didn't surprise me to hear about Duponte getting away. He was a lucky bastard. "We were in and out before they knew what hit them. Just missed the Feds," I smirked.
The job with Jace had gone down without a hitch. We'd arrived at Duponte's estate just as it had turned dark. It was immediately obvious that the man had grown lax in security, probably because he’d avoided detection for so many years. He’d managed to stay one step ahead of the law, he always had a fail proof escape plan in place that worked out no matter where they were. It hadn't hurt that he was never in one place for more than it took to hold one of his auctions. His guards had apparently grown sloppy and lazy, too, under the same fucking misconception that they were untouchable. Well, that night their arrogance had been their undoing.
We had found two goons, stoned on weed and overly relaxed, guarding the guest house where the girls were kept. The whole point of guarding something was to be alert for potential trouble, and they'd been too easy to approach, divert, and take control of. Moody and I had left them out cold and tied up in the bushes behind the house. Jace had had no trouble extracting the woman he'd been hired to rescue. We’d been waiting for him at the van when he'd shown up carrying a woman, dressed in a shimmering evening gown and heels, laid over his shoulders. He'd dumped her in the back and we'd been pulling out of the construction site next to the estate when four black SUVs with lights off had pulled onto the driveway leading to the house. The Feds had arrived early.
Jace had dropped us off at Froggy's, where we’d left our bikes. When I'd turned my phone back on there'd been a message from Stevie about Ginger, and Moody and I had immediately set off for Deltona to get her. Jace was on his way to deliver the politician's daughter back to her family. It'd been the easiest thirty grand I'd ever made.
"Looks like your lovely lady is coming back."
I glanced towards the apartment building to see Ginger striding toward us, her legs encased in faded jeans that revealed the shape of her thighs. The heeled boots gave her the appearance of being tall and leggy. My dick twitched at the tightness between her legs. There was no way she could be wearing panties. She'd taken a shower, her hair had been braided into a thick rope, and was hanging over one of her tits. The cutouts on her yellow tee revealed her graceful shoulders and sexy collar bone.
Her scent reached us before she did.
Fresh and sweet.
Pure and inviting.
It turned my dick hard as stone.
The sound of a bike revving up drew my gaze to Tanner. "I guess we'll take off, brother," he said. "We'll keep in touch." I gave him and Rod a chin lift that they reciprocated before turning and taking off.
"I'm going, too," Moody added. "I was going to head out to Nevada after tonight, but I'll hang around for a while. You know how to reach me." He started his bike.
"Thanks, brother."
I returned my gaze to Ginger as she came to a halt next to me. I filled my lungs with her scent, inhaling deeply. Jesus, she was addictive.
"You ready, baby?" Her sad smile punched me right in the heart. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and protect her. I'd fucking kill anyone who hurt her. Daryl was a dead man walking, and if the Kings came for her, I'd end them, too.
I didn't miss her shiver. "I forgot about the mess‒"
Shit. So had I. There was no way she was going to clean it up, either. Once I got her to the hospital I'd call in a cleaner. I held out my hand and waited for her to take it.
"What hospital is Della at?" Her small, soft hand felt good in mine.
"Florida Hospital on Memorial Medical Parkway." Once she was settled behind me on the bike I drew her arms around me. "You good?"
"I'm good." She clasped her hands together beneath my abs.
I sat there for a minute, enjoying the soft feel of her against my backside, the heat of her pussy at my lower back, inhaling the scent of her that I knew was going to do me in. "Jesus, what are you wearing?" I growled. "It's driving me insane."
Her light laugh vibrated through me, and I felt her lean forward to whisper into my ear, "Nothing. Just me." I felt her lips smile against my lobe before she drew it into her mouth and sucked on it.
"Fuck, baby, don't do shit like that unless you're ready for the consequences."
"Later," she promised huskily. "Take me to the hospital."
I would take her to the hospital, and when we returned home, I was taking her to bed.