Page 46 of Biker's Babygirl

“You just said?—”

“Isaidhe told me he sold drugs!” she snaps, brow furrowed as she glares across the room.

“Well then, if he was wining and dining you, like you said earlier, then youarean idiot. You should have known something what up and gotten out of there.”

“I never knew about all that other stuff until it was too late to walk away! Not without risking my life, which he reminded me of every single day!”

Shep looks at her long and hard and the tension in the room is palpable. Finally, he nods.

As much as I don’t want to see them fighting, witnessing the exchange makes me feel better. For one thing, finally we know why Ginny lied and was so secretive, and now she and Shep have finally had it out. Maybe things will get better now that they’ve cleared the air.

“Knock it off, Shep,” Ellie speaks up. “Is that why the boys found you in the woods?”

Ginny softens when she turns to Ellie. “Yes. I’d escaped, but I knew Lucas and his goons would be looking for me. Thankfully, the strange men stomping around in the woods happened to bethese guys.” She turns to me, her eyes shining with gratitude and something more.

The sight of it makes me smile, despite everything. God, I love this woman. I know it hasn’t been a long time, and I know we’re nowhere near happy endings just yet, but with every fiber of my being I want to protect her. And that little tiff with Shep just proved something else: She’s not a wilting flower. There’s still fight left in her.

Which is good, because with that brick sitting on the coffee table, the crude writing on its surface glowing in red marker, I know she’s gonna need it.

Ginny

“Well, that went well.” Duke gives me a tired smile as he pulls his shirt over his head.

It’s three hours later and we’re finally getting ready for bed. I am more emotionally and mentally drained than I’ve ever been. I try to smile back at him, but my lips quiver and fall flat. I try to turn away before he sees, but Daddy sees everything, it seems.

“Come here,” he says, mere seconds before he pulls me to him.

I know I don’t deserve this—his grace, despite all the trouble I’ve brought literally to his door. But I curl into the warmth and security of his arms, hating myself for accepting comfort, but needing it all the same.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble, the words muffled as I say them into his chest.

Duke sits on the bed, running a hand through my hair as though I’m the most precious thing he’s ever touched.

I want to pull away, but god, I need him right now. I need to know he loves me.

“Why are you sorry, kitten?”

At the nickname spoken gruffly from the lips of the man I love, I lift my head. “Because.” My lower lip quivers and my eyes fill with tears. It’s funny—I didn’t expect them. I didn’t cry once during the three-hour Q&A from the rest of the gang, so I’d assumed my tear ducts had gone into hibernation. But here they are—the visual representation of all the shame and regret I feel.

“Hey, now.” His warm, soothing voice makes the knot in my tummy relax. “None of that.” And he says it so sternly that even my tears obey him.

Sniffling, I try another tenuous smile.

“Ginny… it wasn’t easy, doing what you did tonight. I know it was hard for you to come clean and face that inquisition.”

“Especially your brother,” I admit.

“Especially him,” Duke agrees. “He doesn’t mean anything by it. He cares about me—about all of us. And since I love you”–He dips his head and kisses me—“that list includes you.”

I suck in a sharp breath, but as his brow furrows while he tries to work out what’s wrong, my tiny smile becomes a full-blown ear-to-ear grin.

“What?”

“You… youloveme?”

He does a double take and bops his finger off my nose. “What? I haven’t told you before?”

Still smiling so big I think my face might shatter, I shake my head.

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