“Dammit.” Glancing down at her watch, she saw she needed to leave before Lisa returned back from dropping Darcy off at the daycare. Lisa was a creature of habit, and Ginny had seen her dropping of Darcy off at the daycare when she was still working at the diner.
She was about to give up and was closing the closet doors behind her when felt a metal grate under her foot. Bending down, she used her fingers to pull the heating vent upward. Disappointed, she closed it but searched for another. Opening the closet again, she grinned when she saw a tip of one peeking out from under a shoe box.
“Please … please …,” she chanted as she opened the grate in a desperate attempt to find something and nearly gave a cheer when she saw a shadow.
Sinking down on her bottom, she lifted the metal top and pulled out a box out. Unfastening the lock, Ginny wanted to crow in triumph. Making sure she remembered the position of the objects, she searched through them, her triumph slowing turning to failure at only finding sex toys. Hell, Ginny couldn’t even blame her for that with a little girl in the house.
She closed the box in disappointment, though, glad she had worn gloves. When she reached out to slide it back in the hole, a metal hook on the base of the box caught her eye. Laying the box on its side, she pulled the hook and closed her eyes in relief.
Flipping through the stacks of pictures, she found several t multiple prints. Taking one that had Lisa having sex with a man she recognized, she closed the box then slid it back in its hiding spot. Putting the picture in her back pocket, she then made sure everything was how it was when she entered.
She was passing Darcy’s door when she stopped and went inside. Removing a glove, she placed the glass of water on the coaster on the little girl’s nightstand, left the room, and went downstairs to let herself out the back door.
After putting her shoes on, she returned the way she had come, throwing the gloves in the back-alley dumpster.
She was unlocking her car door when she saw Lisa’s car pass, heading toward her home. Once inside the car, she took out the picture. The woman who had called her trash too many times to count had numerous lovers; it had been hard to choose which one to take, but the one she was staring at showed who the real trash was.
Disgusted at Lisa’s choice of lover, she reached into her glove box and found an empty envelope to seal it inside. Locking the picture in her glove box, Ginny started her car. She started singing along with the song on the radio, swinging out into the early morning traffic, and headed to work all while deciding who would be best to bring Lisa to her come-to-Jesus moment. She’d always planned to give any evidence she could find to Pastor Dean, but she needed someone a little more cutthroat than the good pastor. She didn’t want to give Lisa the ability to explain the picture. No, she needed someone less holy ….
* * *
“Anyone need a refill?” Raising the coffee pot over the table in the kitchen, she interrupted Viper as he talked to Shade, Rider, and Cash.
Rider and Cash motioned for her to refill theirs.
“Sorry to interrupt you, Viper,” Ginny apologized. “I’ve been promising myself to clean the coffee machine for the last week, and I want to today if no one wants anymore.”
“No, go ahead.”
Moving away, she pushed the button for the clean cycle, then went back to unloading the dishwasher.
She was laying food out for to prepare cooking lunch when the men stood to leave. Through her lashes, she saw Shade reach for his leather jacket, his hands going to his pockets as Cash held the back door open for the men. Letting Viper and Rider go first, she saw Cash give Shade a curious frown when he didn’t immediately go out the door.
“What’s that?” she heard Cash say to him, and her heart stopped beating, waiting for Shade’s answer.
“Nothing.” Motioning for Cash to go ahead, Shade placed his hand on the door as he used his other hand to slide the picture into his back pocket.
Raising her head, she felt her heart restart now that no one was looking her way.
Shade went out the door, and then her heart stopped again when he turned. Ginny nearly dropped the bag of potatoes she was carrying to the counter when his eyes met hers.
“Did you forget something?” she asked, holding the potatoes closer to her chest. Even though she’d left the picture for him to find, the man scared her to death.
“I was about to ask you the same question,” he said, raising a quizzical brow.