Page 45 of Biker's Babygirl

Silence reigns supreme once more.

Ellie is the one who breaks it this time. “We won’t let you go it alone, Duke. You either, Ginny. We’re in this together.”

Elvis nods at once.

I’m relieved, but I can practically feel the rage radiating off my brother. I won’t be able to relax until I know what he plans to do. “You have your license,” I speak up. “And your share in the business, of course. You could always take it and?—”

“Oh, grow up,” he snaps. “You know I’d never leave you to fend for yourself, even if I don’t agree with your choices.”

I stare at him for a long moment, and as I do I realize it was never rage coloring his expression—it’s been fear this whole time. And based on everything that Ginny has said to us, there’s a lot to be afraid of. The way her fingernails press into my hand shows she knows it, too.

But there’s a long moment of tense silence as each of us process this.

Finally, it’s Ellie that clears her throat and speaks up. “So, let me get this straight: your ex-boyfriend is the son of the biggest mob boss in Cancun.”

Even though Ellie’s statement is matter-of-fact and free of judgement, I can feel Ginny go stiff.

“Yes.” Her voice is soft, and she lifts her chin as though she expects an attack over this admission alone. Or to be thrown out of the house. I already told her that would never happen, but I have to admit that even I’m having a hard time making sense of everything that’s she told us.

“How long were you together?” Ellie speaks again, clearly having elected herself team captain of this investigation.

“Almost two years.”

“And how old is he?”

“He’d be twenty-seven now,” Ginny answers after a short pause.

My eyebrows shoot up. That meant that he had been twenty-five dating her when she was seventeen. Of course, from everything she’s told us, that is at the bottom of a very long list of his sins. I sneak a peek at Ginny just to see how she’s handling all this. Her face is full of stony resolution, her mouth set in a firm line. The only thing betraying how this conversation makes her feel is the way her foot swings back and forth like a pendulum.

“How did you escape?” The words pop out before I even realize I’m going to ask them. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ellie’s brow arch. Her expression saysabout time you decided to join the conversation.But I train my eyes on Ginny, waiting for her answer.

She, however, drops her eyes to her lap. “The night before I left, we got into a big fight. You have to know when I met him, I had no idea what he did.” She looks up sharply, her eyes wide and worried. “You have to believe me.”

I nod. “Of course I believe you.”

She gives me a tiny smile. “When we met, he was posing as an Army recruiter at my high school. He showed me a lot of interest, and that was new for me. I liked it,” she admits, her voice sounding tiny and far-off, as it had most of the time she’d been relaying her story.

It’s hard for me to imagine that someone as beautiful as Ginny didn’t have boys—particularly boys her own age—crawling all over her, but she’s sensitive and soft-spoken too, so I know it’s possible people her own age didn’t “get” her.

“He made it clear he thought I was pretty.” Even now, all this time later, she cringes at the memory. “He told me I had what it takes to be in the Army, and even though I had zero interest, I let him take me out. A ‘recruiting meeting’ he called it. And he made me feel like the most special person. Like the only girl in the room, even though I knew I was just an unsophisticated kid. He… he reminded me of that later, whenever I tried to leave. That I’d liked it.”

I squeeze her hand, silently encouraging her to continue even as I promise myself that one day,I’llbe the one to make her feel like the only girl in the room.

“Before I knew it, he was showering me with gifts. I was young.” Ginny’s voice quavers on the admission. “And I’d never had anyone like him pay attention to me before. By the time I figured out he’d lied to me, I was in love with him.” She gave an embarrassed shrug.

I see Shep open his mouth and cut him off before he can say whatever is on his mind. “How did you find out?”

She uttered a short, sad laugh. “By accident, of course. His brother came to get him. I could tell he was upset, and when Lucas tried to introduce me, he didn’t even look at me. He said, ‘you’re still playing this game? We’ve got to go. Dad needs us.’ Those must have been the magic words, because Lucas just told me he’d call me later and they left together.”

“And he told you later about the drugs?” Ellie asks, her voice soft but warm with compassion.

Ginny nods miserably. “I know I should’ve told him to get lost and had nothing else to do with him. I know it was stupid.”

I squeeze her hand again, trying to communicate what I desperately hope she knows:I’m here for you. You’re not alone. You’ll never have to feel alone again.

“So, you decided to be wined and dined by a mobster,” Shep states flatly.

Ginny’s head jerks up, and she glares at him. “I didn’t know that!”

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