Reaper's Salvation: A Last Riders Trilogy

by Jamie Begley

  “Hammer was the one who noticed we looked more alike as we grew older. My hair didn’t grow lighter until I was four or five, while Trudy’s was always light. I won’t miss having to keep up with maintenance, the contacts were a definite pain. Are you surprised? I can get Sex Piston to color it back, but I’d really prefer not to have to wear the contacts.”

  “Ginny, I have stopped being surprised by anything you do. Leave it, I don’t give a fuck about your hair or eye color. Anything else, you haven’t told me? That you’re an alien from Mars, had breast reduction, that your teeth are veneers. Kind of would like to know who the real you is or is everything completely fake as shit?”

  “Nothing about me that is important is fake.” Ginny met his stoic gaze with a golf-sized lump in her throat, afraid that she had lost the ground she gained in the shower with him.

  “Which is why you’re still in my bed and not at the Coleman’s. Like I said, I don’t give a fuck about your hair or your eye color.”

  Breathing easier at his matter-of-fact acceptance of her appearance, Ginny made an observation of her own. She had noticed a different air of confidence when he came downstairs, as if there was a weight lifted off his shoulders. Wondering about the changes, as she luxuriated in the care Gavin was giving her.

  At the end of the thirty minutes, he laid the blow dryer down on the dresser.

  “Put on something warm. We’re going out.” Gavin gave his order as he dressed himself.

  Wearing a pair of corduroy pants and a bulky grey sweater, she put on a thick pair of socks and tugged on a pair of boots. Taking a jacket out of his closet, he held it out for her to slide into. Adjusting the sling, Gavin then took out another jacket for himself before taking her hand and leading her to the door. Suki started to stir.

  “Stay.”

  Leaving the dog in the bedroom, they went down the steps. The living room was still full, and Ginny kept her eyes averted when she saw what many of them were doing.

  He slid his arm over her shoulders as they stepped off the porch to go down the steps. Reaching his bike, he took a helmet off Viper’s bike that she had seen Winter wear.

  “Put it on.”

  She started to argue with him that Moon hadn’t made her, then figured that might not be a wise decision.

  Gavin swung his leg over the seat. “Get on.”

  As he started the bike with one kick, Ginny grabbed Gavin around the waist and held on tight.

  They hadn’t passed the Porters’ land before it kicked in why Gavin had been so angry with her about her riding with Moon. You didn’t share this magic with just anyone. This wasn’t like riding in a car. On a motorcycle, it was you, the high-powered beast you were straddling, and the road. Like a blind person reading a book, you had to feel the road, your body reacting, and the rush of adrenaline you felt at the challenge.

  Ginny laid her head on Gavin’s back. She could never ride behind anyone else ever again, any more than she would ever be able to be with another man. Gavin might not love her, but he didn’t want her experiencing this with anyone else. She had given up being hopeful about many things in life, but Gavin loving her wasn’t one.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  “Where are we going?” Ginny practically bounced in her seat as Gavin shut the door of the Escalade he’d bought at the police auction.

  The excitement at doing something was exhilarating. For the last two months, they had been confined to the clubhouse, unless she went to Silas’s house for brief spurts of time or went with Trudy and Dalton to the doctor appointments.

  Gavin took her protection seriously, and she had been planning to put her foot down tonight when he unexpectedly told her to get changed into something warm.

  “Are we going to the movies?” she prodded him once he was behind the wheel.

  “No. Just wait. You’ll see.”

  Putting on her seat belt, Ginny was surprised when they didn’t turn toward town as he drove out of the parking lot. Her excitement ebbed a little bit when she realized they were heading toward Silas’s house. She thought maybe he was taking her out to a restaurant or the movies—like a real date.

  When they pulled into the driveway, she saw the lights were on inside. “Are we having dinner with Silas?”

  “No.” Getting out the Escalade, Gavin came around to open the door for her.

  About to head toward the house, she was surprised when he took her hand and turned toward their house. She was just there yesterday. The outer structure and the roof were now finished, and tomorrow the electricians were coming, so she couldn’t understand what he wanted to show her.

  When he continued walking past their house and went the small knob of the hill, past a copse of trees, she saw flickering firelights. A lump settled in her throat as they grew nearer and she saw what Gavin had done.

  “I thought we could have a picnic and watch the stars for a while.”

  Staring down, she saw the thick sleeping bags spread alongside each other, and Gavin had placed four lanterns around them. There was also a cooler to the side, a dozen or so pillows, and a thick blanket on one end.

  Sinking down onto the sleeping bag, Ginny let him unpack the cooler.

  “You did this before coming to the club?”

  “Yes.”

  The romantic atmosphere Gavin had created tugged at her heart. She had been searching for the perfect moment to share something with him, and he had done it for her. She couldn’t think of a better spot to tell him that he was going to be a father.

  Unpacking the cooler, he set out sandwiches and chips. The simple meal reminded her of when they had traveled to Treepoint after she had taken off from Nashville.

  “This is where Leah and I sat when we watched the stars,” she reminisced.

  “Silas told me.”

  As they ate, Ginny planned it out in her head how she was going to tell Gavin she was pregnant. She had been thinking about it since the moment she found out, but she put it off because she was paranoid about it being so early in her pregnancy. Then, as one month turned into two and so on, Ginny couldn’t explain why she held back.

  Spending so much time with Gavin for the last two months had only strengthened the love she felt for him, and despite how he never spoke his feelings for her, she knew he cared for her. She no longer heard the silent screams in her head at the level of intensity she felt before speaking with Pastor Dean, but they were still there, as if someone was caged inside of her and wanted to escape.

  Clearing away what was left of their meal, they lay down on the sleeping bags with the blanket over them to watch the night sky. Cuddled next to him, Ginny felt Gavin take her hand under the blanket. Feeling something slide onto her finger, she pulled her hand out from underneath the blanket.

  A beautiful ring and wedding band.

  “Marry me, Ginny.”

  Raising up on one elbow, Ginny stared down at the man who she would give her last breath of air to if he needed it.

  “Normally, you wait until there is a ceremony before you wear the wedding band.”

  “Normally, men aren’t asked to get the pastor’s permission, either. Marry me, Ginny. I’ll get Diamond to undo the paperwork that were married and then we can go to the courthouse and get married properly.”

  Ginny raised up into a sitting position to look down at him. “Did you even bother to ask for Pastor Dean’s permission?” She turned her head to the side when Gavin remained silent.

  “If you love me, it shouldn’t matter whether he does or not.”

  Blowing out an angry huff of air, Ginny stared up at starry sky until she could reply in a calm voice. Then she turned her face back to him. “It’s important to me.”

  Gavin sat up in frustration. “Why?”

  “Razer or Shade didn’t ask Beth or Lily why. They just did it. Can’t you do the same for me?”

  “Did they make it mandatory for them before they were married?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then why are you?
Just because they did?”

  “No, because it’s important to me.” Ginny placed her hand over her heart. “Do you know that every couple that Pastor Dean has married is still married?”

  “No.”

  “It’s not a rule to ask for his permission because of our faith, but it makes the women feel special that the men are willing to walk that extra mile for them. Pastor Dean had Harley Evan’s learn ten Bible verses before he gave Janine permission. Harley can’t read. Anytime anyone tried to help, he refused. Three months later, Harley recited the ten Bible verses, plus showed the pastor he’d gotten his GED. I’m sure Shade or Rider weren’t excited to ask for Pastor Dean’s permission, but they did it anyway, because unless he gives his permission, he won’t perform the ceremony. I don’t want to get married at the courthouse. Even if it’s just the three of us, I want him to read the words that I’m willing to pledge my life to you.”

  Gavin rested his long arms across his knees. “Then I guess we’re at an impasse.”

  “I guess so.” Ginny started to slide the ring off her finger.

  Gavin caught the movement. “It’s a good thing then that we’re already married.”

  Taking one of the pillows, Ginny bopped him with it.

  Plopping back down on the sleeping bag, he reached out to curl an arm around her shoulders to tug her down next to him.

  “You’re such a nimrod.”

  “Shh … the stars may hear you.”

  “They already know,” she smarted off. Then, raising to her elbow, Ginny opened her mouth to tell him she was pregnant and he better get a move on when she stopped. Closing her eyes, she could hear a male voice screaming in her head.

  “Planning a ceremony isn’t as much fun as you expect. To this day, I can’t stand cake because Taylor had to try five different bakers before she chose.”

  Ginny tilted her head to the side. Was he seriously mentioning Taylor’s name after proposing to her?

  Being so close to Gavin, the screams’ intensity became unbearable. They were back to the level that she had heard months ago. The hurt she felt at hearing Taylor’s name dissipated. Gavin was in agonizing pain.

  Ginny laid her hand on his cheek, turning his face toward hers. “I love you. No woman on earth will love a man more than I do you.”

  His face grew serious at her words.

  “You can’t pretend he doesn’t exist because you’re afraid to get hurt again.”

  Gavin jackknifed back into a sitting position. “I don’t know what in the fuck you’re talking about,” he snapped.

  “The part of you who you’ve locked away; let him out, Reaper.”

  “You’ve lost your mind.” He angrily shrugged away from her touch when she reached out to him again.

  “No, I haven’t. You know I haven’t. You want to pretend you’re Reaper, but Gavin is still a part of you. Until you acknowledge him, you both will never heal.”

  “Drop it. I’m done talking about this.”

  “We need to talk about this.” She tried to soothe him while still holding her stance. Someone had to answer the pleas of the man she heard screaming. If Reaper wouldn’t fight for Gavin she would.

  “You want to talk about something? I think we have something more serious to talk about than a figment of your imagination.”

  “I’m willing to talk about anything. Are you?”

  Reaper blew past the part where he was willing to talk about him, focusing his attention on her. “When are you planning to tell me you’re pregnant?”

  “What makes you think I’m pregnant?”

  “I know you are.”

  “Really? How sure are you?” She narrowed her eyes on him, raising her chin just as stubbornly as his was. “As sure am I about you having a part of you locked away?”

  The light cast from the lantern flickered across his face.

  “There isn’t,” he snarled.

  “Then I’m not pregnant.” Laying back down, Ginny shoved another pillow under her head.

  “That’s not how being pregnant works.”

  Ginny gave him a determined stare. “I don’t need you to ‘mansplain’ anything to me, thank you very much. It’s my body, and if I say I’m not pregnant, I’m not pregnant.”

  “Woman …”

  Seeing the telltale sign that she was getting to Reaper when he raked a hand through his hair, she gave him a smug grin. “I’ll admit to being pregnant when you’re ready to tell me you’ve got a part of yourself locked away. And …” she drawled out, “while you’re at it, get Pastor Dean’s permission for us to get married. If my father was still alive, he would have already put a load of buckshots in your britches for messing with his baby girl.”

  Ginny stared up at the sky trying not to burst into laughter at his poleaxed expression. She knew she was being ridiculous in her demands, but she didn’t care. She was fighting for her man, and she would use any weapon available to her, even if it was the child they had created.

  She was a great believer in learning from observation. If Trudy could use being pregnant to get what she wanted out of Dalton, Ginny wasn’t above using the same method.

  “It doesn’t work that way.” Reaper snorted in frustration. “We’ll see who lasts.”

  “Yes, we will.”

  “Aren’t you going to take a shower with me?”

  Looking up from the magazine that she was reading as she lay on the bed, Ginny nearly changed her mind. Naked, Gavin was a work of art. Damn.

  “No, I took a shower before we went out. I’m good.” Her lips pressed together to keep from smiling at his irritation when he went into the shower alone.

  Big jerk.

  She got up to undress, sliding on a nightgown, then went to the dresser and opened the top drawer that held his shirts. Taking out a leather jewelry case, she placed the rings that he had given her inside before closing the drawer.

  Returning to the bed, she slid under the covers, curling her hand over her small bump.

  “Don’t worry, sweet one; we got this.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Swatting a glittery balloon out of the way, Reaper closed the door after working a back-breaking shift at the factory. Being greeted by a floating baby foot balloon wasn’t totally unexpected, as Ginny had been telling him nonstop about all the decorations she purchased for T.A.’s baby shower tonight. Still, it was kind of sad to see the club house room decked out in baby blue with swirly ribbons hanging down from the ceiling.

  “I could cry,” Nickel moaned, coming into the room with the rest of the brothers.

  “The brothers in Ohio would have cardiac arrest,” Jesus groaned in aggrievement.

  Puck stepped in rainbow-colored shit. “Better not let Wizard hear about this. He’ll never let Viper live it down.”

  Suki gave a low whine, sensing the pain from the brothers who were complaining about their club room being taken over by the women who were stacking baby shower presents on the two pool tables.

  Reaper gave the brothers a killing glare when Ginny sighted him and made a beeline toward him.

  “The first one who says something to her will be working an extra shift.”

  The brothers took off down the hall for the kitchen instead of going farther into the main room. From the loud grumblings coming from that direction, Reaper had no doubt that Ginny decked that room in girly shit, too.

  “You’re here!” Ginny enthused as she grabbed his arm. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

  He couldn’t flat-out lie to her with a clear conscience. “It’s exactly like you said it would be.”

  “I know, right?” Ginny pridefully surveyed her handiwork. “Sex Piston and Killyama think Trudy’s going to love it. Is it bad of me I wanted more balloons than when Lily had her baby shower?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with a little healthy competition.” Congratulating himself on being able to keep a straight face, Reaper took a long look at what Ginny was wearing. Did the woman think he was stupid? She was wearing a dark brown ani
mal dress that came to her knees, with a chunky black sweater that was meant to be loose but was unable to hide the burgeoning belly she was developing.

  “How long is it going to take you to get dressed?” She nudged him toward the steps.

  Reaper wasn’t fooled by her attempt to distract him. He had been living with her dodging and distracting him every time he tried to talk about her being pregnant for the last two and half months.

  “Why do I need to change? I was going to grab something to eat and stay in our room.”

  “I have literally told you a thousand times that you have to keep Dalton company. He’s not any happier than you. The least you could do is make it more bearable for him.” Ginny voice went an octave lower. “I don’t think he cares for Sex Piston.”

  “No shit? I can’t imagine why.”

  Ginny gave him a glare that put his death glare to shame.

  “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be back. That good enough?”

  He guessed it was when Ginny gave him an air kiss on his cheek as she moved away after hearing Sex Piston yell from across the room. “Hurry up, little bitch. Trudy will be here any minute.”

  Grumbling to himself with no one to hear, he went up to his room with Suki to lay out clean clothes before getting in the shower. Turning the water to hot, he luxuriating in the warmth of the spray. Every fucking bone in his body hurt. He had helped load two delivery trucks with a massive order, after working on the house that he and Ginny were building. This morning they put the wooden flooring in the bedrooms upstairs.

  Washing his hair, he felt the length of stubble on the side of his skull was getting longer. He needed to shave it, but he didn’t have the energy. Determined for Ginny and him to be settled into the home before the baby was born was being waylaid by the wet weather and a series of mid-steps that caused multiple delays.

  He’d been so distracted with his new life at home, he was surprised to see an email this afternoon regarding the investigation on the islanders’ disappearances. He’d already discovered from meteorological reports that no hurricane had hit Clindale with the force Allerton had described. The discovery had him hiring two ex-military investigators to find out what happened to the islanders. So far, little had been found, and the men were now methodically going through many of Allerton’s patrons to see if they played a part as well.