There was still a chance she could escape Gavin’s wrath with a little luck. She had formulated the plan on the drive. She would lag behind the girls as they went into the club, then duck upstairs and change clothes. If Gavin was in the room, it wouldn’t matter, because none of men had seen her dressed in the woo-woo outfit. Ginny conveniently forgot that Gavin would consider Train, Cade, Stud, and Calder men.
Fat Louise’s husband parked beside Stud’s van. Sex Piston, Crazy Bitch, and Killyama were out of Stud’s van before she and Trudy.
“Took you long enough.” Sex Piston took out her comb to make last minute adjustments to her hair. “Don’t look like a scaredy cat. Reaper isn’t going to eat you. Wait—that’s the whole point. If he doesn’t, I’ve wasted my whole Saturday.”
The women burst into laughter.
“Move ’em out, girls. Diamond is on her way with the burgers.” Crazy Bitch, Calder, Fat Louise, and Cade walked to the steps of the club.
Train came from the other side of the van. “Where are they going?” he asked Killyama. “You said we were picking up Reaper. Why didn’t he just meet us at the diner?”
“Change of plans.” Killyama took Train’s hand and began walking toward the club as she explained, “Diamond wanted to join us, but Knox refuses to step foot in the diner with Marty there. She placed an order and is bringing it here with Knox. That way, we can all still hang out together.”
“Damn, she’s good,” Ginny whispered to Trudy so Train couldn’t hear.
“She’s my idol,” Trudy whispered back.
As they neared the top of the steps, Ginny released Trudy’s arm to let her go inside first.
“Hi, Nickel, do you happen to know if Gavin is in his room?”
Nickel gave her an unblinking stare. “I wouldn’t know. I’m out here.”
“Oh … yes. I meant, do you know if Gavin is in the club or out?”
“He’s inside unless he went out the back door.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
When she turned from talking to Nickel, Trudy was waiting inside the doorway. She had waited for her. Darn it.
Time to switch to plan two.
Inside the club, Ginny put her foot on the bottom step.
“I need to run to the restroom.”
Trudy pulled her back down the steps. “Hold it.”
“Trudy—”
“Evangeline,” Trudy mocked. “Why is it you’re the bravest person I know until it involves Reaper and sex? Then you wimp out.”
“I don’t want to pressure him.”
Trudy made a face at her. “Save me.”
“Ditto.”
Left with no choice, Ginny was ushered into the main room with Trudy hanging onto her arm like a leech. Moon was playing pool with Jewell. Cade and Train joined them while Calder and Stud took the other table.
Viper and Shade were coming in from the kitchen. They took one look at who was in the room and left.
“That was rude.” Ginny sent Trudy an apologetic glance.
The insult was like water off a duck’s back. “Who cares?”
Trudy dragged her to the bar. “Have a seat. I’m going to play bartender.”
Ginny slid onto a stool. “Barkeep, I’ll take a ginger ale.”
Trudy looked cute as a button, maneuvering her baby bump behind the bar to get her a bottle of soda. “I’ll take one of these, too.”
Ginny was unscrewing the lid when Crazy Bitch badgered Moon to turn the music on. His eyes lit up when Diamond and Knox walked in the front door carrying bags of food.
Everyone in the main room gravitated toward the kitchen to eat.
“Who got married?”
Puck went around the counter to slide the cake to the side.
“Willa made it for someone’s wedding yesterday. The groom backed out, so she brought it here for everyone to share.”
“Willa told me she was making a wedding cake for the doctor who checked me out at the hospital. I feel bad for her.”
“I don’t.” Crazy Bitch went searching through the cabinets to find a plate, then went rummaging to find the silverware. “The bitch is better off without the low-down motherfucker.” Cutting a humongous slice of cake, she then took her two burgers and order of fries and carried it out of the kitchen and into the main room.
Ginny had to smother her laughter when Puck stared after her, awestruck.
“She’s married.” Ginny felt bad dashing his hopes.
“Happily?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck.”
Ginny placed a couple of burgers on his plate. “I have a friend I can hook you up with,” she consoled him.
Puck cut himself an extra-large helping of cake. “No, thanks. I’m going to need some time to get over her.”
Ginny was getting Crazy Bitch to set out several trays of appetizers from the refrigerator when Beth, Razer, Lily, and Shade came in from the back door.
Hungry, Ginny ate a couple of burgers. She had tried to sneak out a couple of times, but one of the women would catch her each time. Doomed to fail, Ginny began loosening up when it was apparent Gavin wasn’t in the house. Either that or he was asleep, which was a win-win in her eyes. She would stay thirty more minutes, then go upstairs, even if she had to climb up there from the tree outside the bedroom window with one hand.