“Wizard is good enough to handle anything that fucker throws at him,” Shade agreed.
“Being good isn’t getting the job done. I’m tired of this bullshit. I made Wizard the new president in Ohio for a reason. I need him always there, not every other month. I can’t send Moon back to Ohio; he makes more trouble than he’s worth, and he’s just as bad when I send him to Nashville. Kaden has already said he doesn’t want him back.”
Shade had tried to keep Moon away from Kaden’s back-up singers without success. He was catnip to women, and he didn’t have a problem taking full advantage of every opportunity given.
The men sat, each lost in their own thoughts as to how to best keep Ginny safe while at the same time returning to their normal lives.
“We all know who you should send.” Shade was the first one to voice his thoughts aloud.
Viper shook his head. “He won’t do it. I’ve already asked.”
“Don’t ask. Order him.”
“I agree,” Rider inserted. “Gavin could shake the tree and put Ginny’s stalker off guard.”
“Telling Gavin anything is difficult. He just goes to his room or rides off.”
Shade was tired of tiptoeing around a touchy subject. Nothing was going to change where Gavin’s behavior was concerned until the right person spurred Gavin into giving a damn again. That person was sitting next to him.
“I’m glad you agree. You go tell him.”
Rider dropped his spoon into the parfait glass. “No, you go talk to him.”
Shade stared at him pitilessly. “The only one that could ever get Gavin to do something he didn’t want to do was you. It has to be you.”
“I said no.”
“Then you might as well move to Nashville, because Ginny won’t move back here until she’s sure Willa and the other women are safe. She’s already said she won’t go back to Queens City when Mouth2Mouth’s contract is up in four months. She’s searching for a new place to live without telling anyone her intentions. She’s tired of looking over her shoulder.”
“How do you know?”
“Penni. She thinks that she’ll cut and run as soon as the contract is up, if not before then.”
“Fuck,” Rider growled. “She’ll run right into the stalker’s hands if she does.”
“She’s willing to take that chance to protect the people she loves.”
“You’re not just saying that to get me to talk to Gavin?”
“Get Knox to show you her checking account. For the last two weeks, she’s been taking out large of sums of money that she was saving for a house. She’s hoarding her cash so she can disappear.”
“Fuck me.” Rider threw his napkin on the table. “I’ll take this month again. I’ll come up with a plan—”
“Talk to Gavin.”
“He won’t talk to me anymore than he does to Viper. The only ones he talks to is Colton, Peyton, and Diamond.”
Shade could tell from Rider’s stubborn expression that he wouldn’t try to sway Gavin into helping.
He was tired of beating his head against a stone wall to get Rider to open up about the real problem between him and Gavin.
The club was going to have to solve this problem themselves. Lily was his main priority. He wasn’t going to give someone another chance to use her as a pawn, despite how much he wanted to protect Ginny.
The stalker had accomplished his goal.
Viper picked up the ticket that the waitress left on the table as they rose. Outside, the men were getting on their motorcycles when they saw Greer Porter crossing the street from the jailhouse.
Shade was tempted to start his bike and ride away, especially since Greer’s grumpy attitude always gave him a headache. Already having to talk to him once today, he was determined to stay quiet and let Viper handle the obnoxious asshole.
“Afternoon, Viper.”
“Greer.”
“I remembered something after Shade left. He asked if I noticed anyone new around town. I told him that, with that fancy pants that T.A. married, newcomers have been in and out for the last couple of weeks.”
“So?”
“About a month ago, Knox asked me to drop a part off to Jo for the motorcycle she was working on for him. As I was turning in her driveway, I saw a black Xterra sitting across the street. I thought someone had parked there to go hunting in the woods. They had backed in far enough I almost didn’t see them.”
Rider’s usually carefree countenance underwent a dramatic change. “Who was it?”
“How in the fuck am I supposed to know? I was going to check it out after I dropped the part to Jo, but it was gone when I came back.”
“You should have checked it first!” Rider shouted.
Shade shook his head at Rider, trying to get his attention. It was too late. He had offended Greer by yelling at him, and you didn’t want to offend Greer. It just made him a bigger ass.
Greer gave Rider a fuck you with his finger then started walking across the street.
“Wait, Greer! Ignore him. He’s just worried about Jo and Crux,” Viper called him back.
Greer gave Rider the evil eye as he returned. “He yells at me again, that shotgun in my truck is going to do some damage.”
Rider clenched his handlebars. Shade knew it was killing him to do what he was going to have to do next.
“Sorry,” Rider mumbled.
Greer gave Rider his patented shit-eating grin that more than one brother wanted to stomp off his face.
“Like I said before I was rudely interrupted, it was gone when I came back. I figured they were just out hunting or looking for ginseng. That part of the woods has several places they can dig up the root. It won’t be the first time I’ve seen people coming out of there with their baskets filled.”
“Do you think that’s what they were doing?”
“I thought so, but after I talked to Shade, I remembered something else.”
“What?” Rider snapped when Greer didn’t explain what he remembered right away.
Shade knew it was a bad sign when the mercenary Porter hitched his gun holster farther up his waist. He wasn’t disappointed.
“I haven’t been able to take Holly out to a good steak dinner for a while. King won’t let me back in his restaurant.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Rider ground out.
“You do that. Of course, even if he does, I couldn’t exactly afford one of those fancy dinners anyway.”
Shade had to look away before he burst out laughing at the sight of Rider trying to keep himself from strangling Greer.
“It’ll be my treat.”
“I enjoy a couple of beers with my dinner.”
Steam was practically coming out from Rider’s collar.
“Order whatever
you want. It’ll be my pleasure.”
Shade thought Rider had gone overboard with the pleasure bit, but he stayed out of the negotiations. His wallet had taken the hit too many times when he needed Greer’s help. Rider could fork over his own cold hard cash for the information.
“Naturally, I can’t take my woman out not looking my best. I’m going to need a haircut.”
“Naturally, I’ll take care of that, too. Give Knox the bill, and I’ll reimburse you. Anything else?”
Greer hitched his gun belt up again. “Now that you mention it, Bubba got fired from the bread store. He could use a job. I’d be much obliged. Jessie’s cousin is about to eat us out of house and home because he doesn’t want to tell his pa he was fired.”
Shade was about to say fuck no to that demand when Rider answered before he could.
“Tell him to come to the factory tomorrow, and I’ll make sure we find a job for him.”
Finally satisfied that he had the last concession out of them, he offered the information he held back.
“I remembered the Xterra had a sticker on the bumper. It was one of those that Muller puts on his rental cars. I already called Muller’s; they’ll have a list of names of those that rented cars out that day waiting for you.”
Greer had done most of the work for them.
“Thanks, Greer.” Rider begrudgingly forced the words out.
Greer shrugged. “I would have given the information for free if you hadn’t yelled at me. Next time, mind your manners.”
The three men watched the middle Porter walk away with varying degrees of irritation.
Shade couldn’t hide his laughter any longer.
“I tried to warn you,” he goaded Rider’s anger even more. Rider couldn’t stand being outsmarted.
Rider’s hand was shaking as he started his motorcycle. “I had a horse when I was growing up. It was so mean no one could ride it. It bit anyone that came too close. One day, it took a chunk out of my father’s hand. It took sixteen stitches. He was so mad that he shot it when he came home from the emergency room. I couldn’t understand then why. Now I do. If Greer pulls that crap on me again, he’s going to be crossing over that rainbow bridge the same way that horse did.”