“Anything shiny,” Shade’s father answered. “She kept stealing my badge,” he added gruffly. “And I had to let her pick out a cell—” Will broke off then continued. “Wait—Hammer had her keep a secret cell phone that only he and I had the number to.” Will took out his cell phone, but Viper stopped him from making the call.
“Let me have the number. We know she’s with the FBI right now, and I don’t want to alert them to the fact that she has the phone if they haven’t already taken it from her. I’ll have Knox see if he can find the location of the signal from it before we make a call.”
Viper looked down at his cell phone to make sure he received Will’s text with the number before continuing. “Going back to what we were discussing before”—Viper put his phone away—“we have to take in account considering how long it has been, that whatever Ginny took is going to be irretrievable or has been destroyed. Allerton’s a smart man. He’ll have come to this same conclusion. What it comes down to is why he wants her so bad, even if the item has been lost forever? I think he’s wanting to make sure she didn’t see him kill her friends. He’s never let out a fart in public, so I can see him doing whatever it takes to keep his image intact. The tricky part for him is to decide just how much Ginny knows. He’s going to study Ginny. If she’s fooled us for all these years, as to her identity, she might be able to convince him that she doesn’t remember or know anything and he’ll let her go.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Willa asked.
“Then Ginny and Reaper are on borrowed time,” Viper stated the cold hard truth.
“I have money.” Willa moved away from Lucky to stand beside T.A., laying a hand on her shoulder. “Tell Dustin what you need, and I’ll have it transferred to your account. I want to help Ginny, whatever the cost.”
“Same goes for me,” Dalton agreed. “I’ll also get on the phone to some of my contacts. Several of them have yachts; I’ll see what insights I can get from them about Allerton and his island.”
“We have to prepare to fight fire with fire, so I won’t be saying no to either of your offers. I, as well the Last Riders, will be getting our hands on what cash we can on short notice, but we’re going to have to have large sums at our disposal. Anyone else?” Viper asked, wanting to end the meeting so he could coordinate with Rider and Shade.
Looking at the group circled around him, he was met with silence.
“Then everyone get busy.”
Turning toward T.A. again, Viper said, “I’ll make sure to keep you informed. Go home and get some rest. I’ll be sending some brothers to guard your place. If Allerton now knows Ginny is alive and he gets nothing out of her, he might want to use you as a bargaining chip. I want to make sure that isn’t going to happen.”
Dalton shook his head. “Save your men. I’ll make sure she’s protected.” The movie star, who was famous for his good looks, exuded a dangerous aura that couldn’t be mistaken. Dalton could and would take care of his own. “Besides, Ice and Jackal are on my plane now, so they should be here in the next hour.”
Viper nodded. “That’s one worry off my mind, then.”
Viper started walking to where Shade and Rider were standing but stopped when T.A. called out to him. “Viper? If you are able to get a message to Evangeline, could you tell her something else for me?”
“Yes.”
“Tell her I’m going to—” T.A. broke off, unable to go on.
Sex Piston didn’t have the same problem. “Tell her we’re waiting to welcome her ass home.”
Chapter Six
Once they were in the air, Reaper tore Ginny’s present open to uncover a small, black velvet box. Flipping the box open, he saw a pair of black pearls. He swallowed hard before opening the envelope.
To replace the one I stole. This will suit you much better. You can use the other as a spare if you lose one. I found these when I lived in Clindale. T.A. saved them for me. I meant to make charms out of them, but I decided I wanted to give you a piece of me so you wouldn’t forget about me and how much I love you. They are found in the deepest part of the ocean, yet they could never reach the depths of the love I have for you.
Love,
Evangeline
Opening the box again, Reaper took out one of the earrings, putting it through the empty hole she’d left after taking his earring. He took the other black pearl and replaced it with another earring. Setting the empty box and card aside, he started reading the information that Knox had put together for him in the short timespan he’d given him.