by Jamie Begley
“We’re good to go,” Reaper told Dalton.
Viper pressed two fingers to his lip to give a shrill whistle before he walked over to them as they approached. “We were starting to get worried. Where did you disappear to?”
“Dalton’s neighbors. They were the ones responsible for this shit show,” Reaper explained.
“Fuck. How many inside?”
“Four. Two in the kitchen, two in the bedroom.”
“They need an ambulance?”
“No, you can call the coroner.”
“He’s already on his way. Three dead across the street, four dead behind the Escalades.”
Knox came over as Viper talked. “None of them are admitting to being Allerton’s hired hitmen.” Running a hand over his bald head, Knox seemed as if he were angry enough to bite a bullet.
“How’s your deputy?”
“In ICU. He’s only been on the force for a year. Usually, Greer was the one working the speed trap.”
“Greer wasn’t working today?” Reaper was glad it wasn’t Greer in ICU. Then he thought better of it, realizing Greer kept enough green on him when he was on duty to take down a tank.
“I fired him the day I got back to town,” Knox answered, as if he had swallowed a bullet.
“He posted two deputies on both ends of the bridge. He was keeping track of anyone coming into town and making them isolate in the hotel for a week. I had over twenty people threatening to sue the town. But, if I left the security posts on the bridge like Greer set up, these assholes wouldn’t have made it into town.”
“The town would have been bankrupt, too.” Viper tried to make Knox feel better about his decision.
“That wasn’t the main reason I fired him. He was fired because he hooked a trailer to his truck and drove around town, knocking on doors and asking people if they’d enrolled in the study. And if they told him they weren’t, he asked if they wanted to buy the pig on the trailer.”
Reaper felt better when Dalton and Viper appeared as confused as he was.
“Where’d Greer get the pig?” Viper broke down and asked.
“From his nephew, Logan. Holly bought it for Logan’s birthday two years ago. It was supposed to be a miniature pig.”
Reaper pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “I take it that it wasn’t.”
“The thing’s as big as a horse and fatter.”
“I’m confused,” Dalton interjected. “Why would people want to buy the pig if they didn’t get vaccinated? What does one have to do with the other?”
Reaper had to turn his head away, unable to see it was a sore point with Knox.
“He didn’t want to sell the whole pig, just the heart.”
He wasn’t the only one who was having trouble holding back his laughter.
“Go ahead and laugh. The dispatcher was threatening to quit if she got any more calls concerning Greer.”
“Sorry, brother,” Reaper managed to get out. “I can’t say anything. I owe him a favor.”
“You know the worst part?”
“It gets worse?”
Knox nodded at Viper’s question. “Look at the Escalade over there.”
The three men looked to where Knox was pointing, seeing Greer going through one of the Escalades. None of the men had to ask why Knox was looking so green at the gills when Greer got out of the vehicle, wearing his deputy uniform.
“I rehired the son of bitch.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“You’re going to make yourself sick,” Ginny told her sister, taking another slice for herself.
“Three pieces won’t hurt me.” Content, Trudy rubbed her belly with one hand while taking another bite of her pizza. “They were small.”
Sex Piston moved the pizza box toward her, taking a slice for herself and leaving the last piece for Fat Louise. Killyama came back from the kitchen, took the slice away, and put it back in the box.
Using the pizza cutter she found after Trudy’s vague directions about which drawer it was in, Killyama cut it into two, giving the smaller piece to Fat Louise.
Trudy moved the empty chair next to her to put her feet up. “Did you buy the pot stickers I wanted?”
“Yes.” Sex Piston nudged her chair to the side to put her feet next to Trudy’s. “They’re in the back seat. You want Killyama to go get them for you?”
Trudy cocked her head to the side, as if listening. “You hear any more gunshots?”
Ginny shook her head. “Not in the last five minutes.”
“Killy ….” Trudy looked pitifully at her friend.
“Bitch, you want those pot stickers, go get them yourself. Train is by the door. I’m not going near him until he calms his ass down.”
“You should have come in when the garage door opened,” Ginny chimed in, risking Killyama’s displeasure when Trudy pouted at the set down.
“If she wants them so bad, you go get them. T.A. isn’t the only one knocked up.”
Ginny jumped out her chair to hug Killyama. “Congratulations. I’m going to have a gigantic baby shower for both of you! I’ll go get the pot stickers.”
Killyama caught her by the end of her shirt. “Sit your ass down. Train!”
Ginny sat down and pretended she didn’t know anyone at the table, avoiding looking at Train as Killyama ordered him to get the pot stickers out of the car.
Train stood over his wife, giving her a glare that had Ginny wanting to sneak out of the room. Unfazed, Killyama gave him one of her own. The stand-off broke when they heard two shots from outside.
“It can wait,” Killyama backed down.
Train returned to the other room.
“Bitch, you took your life in your hands with that one,” Sex Piston said, stretching her neck to make sure Train was out of earshot.
“He’ll get over it.” Her friend didn’t sound as confident as she usually did.
Ginny didn’t blame her. She had received her own share of the shaming stare from Gavin.
“You could give him those new leather gloves you bought him for his birthday,” Ginny suggested.
“Won’t work. He’s got his mad on. Only thing going to get me out of the dog house is …”
Ginny’s interest piqued when Killy and the other women at the table shared the same knowledgeable wry smile.
“To be nice.”
Her mouth drooped in disappointment.
Trudy picked up on her thwarted expectations. “What did you think Killy was going to say?”
“I don’t know.” Ginny shrugged as she closed the empty box. “Something good.”
All the women stared at her in confusion.
Ginny propped her chin on her hand. “You know …” Ginny lowered her voice, embarrassed, not wanting any of the men in the house to hear. “Like a special way to give a”—Ginny’s voice dipped lower— “a blowjob, or something like that.”
“Is there a special way to give a blowjob?” Killyama looked at Sex Piston as if she was the authority on the matter.
Fat Louise and Trudy seemed equally interested.
Sex Piston leaned forward as if she was about to reveal her own personal secret. Instead, she snatched the bag of Skittles laying in the middle of the table.
“The real question is: If you’re so interested, why don’t you ask your men? They know what they like better than I would. Each man is different; some like to be played and teased, others just want you to open your mouth and say ahh. Those are the fuckers you want to watch out for.”
“Why are those we need to watch out for?” Ginny asked as she started gathering the candy wrappers from the candy they’d been gorging on from Trudy’s hidden stash.
“Those fuckers are the ones who just lay on their backs and stick their tongues out and say ride me.”
Peeling the Skittles bag open, Ginny dismally thought neither sounded bad to her. Gavin was as adventuresome in bed as Mr. Rogers.
Raising her head, Ginny found herself under the scrutiny of the women at t
he table.
“What?” Had she missed something?
“Bitch, did you just compare Reaper to Mr. Rogers?” Sex Piston looked at the other women to make sure she wasn’t the only one who heard the comparison.
“No …” Ginny swiftly tried to backtrack her unintentional slipup she was sure she had only said in her head.
“Maybe … I can’t be sure,” Fat Louise tried to give her a break.
“I am.” Killyama gave her a considering look. “Whatcha doing wrong?”
Ginny brought her hand to her chest. “Me? Why’s it my fault?”
“Girl, maybe you aren’t giving him … encouragement for him to get his freak on.”
From Killyama’s and the other women’s expressions, they were thinking the same.
Killyama snapped her fingers as if a brilliant idea had come to her. “You need Crazy Bitch. She’s bringing another pizza when she closes the shop. That bitch has been with so many men she’ll be able to tell you how to get Reaper’s motor running.”
Fat Louise raised a wondering eyebrow. “If Crazy Bitch was so good, how come she got dumped so much before Calder?”
“Didn’t mean she couldn’t get their motors running,” Trudy said, taking up for the woman who was going to sneak her another pizza.
“Gavin doesn’t have a problem with his motor.” Ginny didn’t want them thinking there was something wrong with Gavin’s machine.
“Ah … then it’s lack of pressure.” Fat Louise sympathetically gave her the last of her M&M’s. “There’s a pill for that. Dalton has some. Get T.A. to sneak you some.”
Trudy put her feet back down onto the floor. “Those are vitamins!”
The women stared at her unbelievingly.
“I believe you.” Loyal to a fault, Ginny reassured her sister.
“You would,” Sex Piston rejoined. “Reaper’s got the same problem. Not being able to satisfy your man must run in the family.”
“Count yourself lucky. If I wasn’t knocked up, I would kick your ass. I satisfy Dalton so much that he has to drink a gallon of juice to keep up with me.”
Sex Piston folded her arms over her chest. “I rest my case.”
“Remember who brought you the pizza …,” Ginny reminded her sister when Trudy started to get up. “And you really shouldn’t be committing acts of aggression when you’re pregnant.”
None of the women seemed to agree with her. Instead, they discussed when and where to have Trudy’s baby shower.
“We can have it at the church,” Ginny suggested.
“Fuck nah, that won’t be any fun,” Sex Piston put in her two cents.
Trudy made her feelings known. “Same reason I don’t want to have it here. Dalton will throw out anything good to eat.”
Killyama hit the table, laughing. “Be careful he don’t throw you out.”
Trudy gave her a killing glare.
Ginny gave her the last few M&M’s, thinking that was what she was mad at.
“Next time, don’t mention sex in front of these bitches.”
“Sorry,” Ginny apologized, pulling the candy back, but Trudy snatched it before she could.
“I haven’t heard any shots in a while. You think it’s cool for Fat Louise to go out and get the pot stickers?” Tilting the candy in her hand, Trudy and the rest of the women focused on Fat Louise.
“I’ll go get the pot stickers.” Feeling sorry for Fat Louise, Ginny went to where Train was standing at the door and gave him a smile.
“Is it okay to go out?”
“The pot stickers?”
“There are two pregnant women in there,” Ginny pleaded. “Don’t ask me to go back in there without them.”
“Who else is pregnant? Killyama didn’t mention Fat Louise or Sex Piston expecting.” Train gave her a smile, and Ginny immediately understood why Killyama had fallen in love with him. “You’re pregnant?”
“No.” Confused as to why Train didn’t say his wife’s name, she said it for him. “Killy is.”
Train’s face drained of color. “It’s clear, wait here and I’ll take you.” Instead of opening the door, he hurried to the dining room.
Confused at his strange behavior, Ginny assumed she’d misheard him and went outside without waiting for him, not wanting to keep Trudy waiting. Ginny walked to Sex Piston’s car, seeing Viper, Dalton, and Knox talking at the side of the house. There were two coroner vans parked in the middle of the streets, and two men were placing a sheet on a body, and another two men were wheeling another sheet-covered body.
Opening the back door with her attention on the sheet-covered bodies being wheeled to the coroner’s van, Ginny started to reach inside Sex Piston’s back seat, only to find her hand caught and twisted behind her back as the man hiding in the back seat climbed out and jerked her to him as he raised his gun to her head.
Shocked at finding herself in the precarious situation, Ginny didn’t emit a sound, terrified the man holding her would start shooting at the four men within a few feet of them.
“Give me the fucking keys.”
The whisper in her ear had Ginny centering her focus on him.
“I don’t have them.”
A rush of wind had the tendrils of her hair stirring. She stared at Gavin as he pivoted on his heel, sighting her beside the car.
Viper, Dalton, and Knox turned at Gavin’s sudden movement, registering what was going on and edged to different sides of the car, coming toward her.
“Don’t fucking move, or I’ll blow her fucking brains out!” the gunman behind her shouted, seeing what they were trying to do.
“Dude, let her go, and you can get in the car and leave. None of us will stop you.” Gavin raised his hands in the air as he squatted, placing his guns on the grass. “You can drive out of here, or you can be carried out on a stretcher if you hurt her.”
“Make them drop their guns and let the others go, and I’ll think about it.”
Ginny felt the gunman gaining confidence as he pressed the gun harder to her temple. “Careful,” Ginny warned. “You don’t want to hurt your only way out of here.”
“Bitch, shut the fuck up.”
Ginny cringed when the gunman pressed his cheek against hers.
“Hurry the fuck up. I don’t have all fucking day. Make them—”
A sudden explosion had Ginny screaming, thinking the gunman had shot her since the sound was so close to her.
Falling backward with her arm still twisted behind her back, her eyes wildly went to Gavin, wanting to see him one more time before she died. The excruciating pain in her arm had her releasing another scream as she found herself laying on top of the gunman who had pulled her down with him.
“I’ve got you, Ginny. Stop screaming.”
Ginny felt herself being lifted into Gavin’s arms before he placed her on the hood of the car. She took shuddering breaths, moving her chest away from Gavin’s.
Sitting on the car, Ginny reached for her arm, nearly blacking out from the pain. “My arm …”
“Train!” Gavin bellowed.
“Move, Reaper. Let me see her.”
Gavin moved to the side as he gently placed his hands under hers as she cupped her arm.
Greer slid in to take Gavin’s spot, reaching out to touch her.
“No. Don’t touch me!” Ginny turned more toward Gavin, blocking Greer from touching her. His haggard features had her shaking her head at him. “I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Then why were you yelling your head off?” Greer pointed out.
“Because I thought I was dead. What happened?” Ginny looked at the group of men who had gathered around her.
“I shot the motherfucker,” Greer said complacently. “I was sitting in the Escalade behind him. Blew the windshield out of my new vehicle. Guess I’ll be taking one of the others.”
“I’m confiscating those vehicles for the sheriff’s office.” Knox’s face went bloodred as he disputed Greer’s claim.
“Bullshit. I give it t
wo days before they’re parked in front of The Last Riders’.” Leaning against the car, Greer placed his hand on the hood, then gradually started inching toward her as he talked. “You can have two, but one is mine for me doing my civic duty.” Greer snorted.
“Stop it, Greer,” Ginny demanded, seeing what he was trying to do and scooting away from him. “Gavin can drive me to the hospital.” Ginny reached out to place a fingertip onto his cheek. “You can’t help yourself, can you? That’s why you’ve been so fanatical about getting everyone in town vaccinated, because you didn’t trust yourself not to break and then heal them if any one of them got sick.” Ginny’s lips trembled when Greer let his guard slip and she was given a rare insight of the man within. “How many have you already healed?”
Greer turned his head away to tug his loose britches up. “I ain’t—”
“Greer, don’t lie,” Ginny said softly. “You’re skin and bones, and your hair is getting greyer every time I see you.”
“Holly ain’t the best cook in the county—”
“I’m not buyin’ it.” Ginny shook her head at him. “Thank you for trying. You took my pain yesterday. Let Train and Dr. Price fix me today. Give yourself a break. The rate I’m going, I’ll probably need you tomorrow.”
“Let me see her,” Train said from behind Greer.
Greer didn’t immediately step away. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.” Ginny leaned forward to place a light kiss on Greer’s cheek. “Holly’s a lucky woman.”
Greer gave a shit-eating grin. “I tell her that all the time. Going to invite you to dinner so you can tell her yourself. She don’t believe me when I tell her.”
Ginny gave Greer a misty smile. “I think she does, Greer. I really thinks she does.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Train set his medic bag on the hood when Greer moved away. “Sorry, brother.” Train carefully began examining her arm. “I got distracted, and she slipped out of the house.”
“What was so damn important that you came outside?” Gavin grumbled by her side.
Sheer willpower kept Ginny from flinching away when Train slowly tried to straighten her arm. “I was getting Trudy her pot stickers—”