Greer lifted Ginny onto the seat, then got in beside her. Tate, one of Greer’s brothers, sat stoically behind the steering wheel as he pulled out to do a U-turn to drive out of her neighborhood.
Staring sightlessly out the window, she saw orange flames glowing in the rearview mirror. Her neighbors were standing outside their homes, watching as everything she owned burned to the ground.
Her fight gone, she scooted out of the truck when they arrived at the police station and took a seat in the lobby as Tate and Greer took a seat next to her. All three sat there, listening as the dispatcher talked back and forth to Knox.
She twisted the blanket around her when she heard Knox radio the dispatcher to send for a tow truck to her address to pick up a burnt car.
“Let’s go sit in Knox’s office.” Greer started to rise.
Ginny shook her head.
“Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Tate said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
She stared ahead dully, looking out the plate glass window, watching as customers went in and out of the diner. Their lives went on unaffected by what had turned hers upside down once again.
Greer reached up to put more of the blanket around her. “Your car insurance should pay—”
“It was a used car. I only had liability.”
Ginny appreciated Greer’s and Tate’s encouragements and staying with her. And they were still with her when Knox, Viper, Shade, and Jackal came into the station, their faces grim masks.
Jackal looked like he had tangled with a mountain lion. His face was covered in grime, his T-shirt fared better, and his pants were ripped practically to shreds.
Viper moved to stand in front of her. “Your house is gutted. The Last Riders will make this right.”
“What caused the explosion?”
“We won’t be able to tell for sure until it’s investigated,” he hedged.
“You believe it has something to do with me working for The Last Riders, or you wouldn’t have to make it right.” She turned from staring out the window to squarely meet Viper’s eyes.
“The insurance I have will only cover the cost of the loan I took for the house. I haven’t lived there long enough to build up any equity.” Ginny went back to staring out the window. “I won’t even get enough to get back the deposit I put down on it.”
“I’ll make it right. You’ll get your deposit back, and I’ll personally buy any house you want.”
“No. Thank you, but no. If I get enough out of the insurance to pay the loan off, I’ll be okay. My kitten is dead, isn’t she?” she asked, bracing herself for the answer that she knew was coming.
Jackal moved in front of her. “I climbed the tree to get it. When I was coming, she jumped out of my hand and ran into the street. One of your neighbors accidently hit it when he was trying to move his car from the driveway next to yours. I tried to save it.”
“I know you did. We heard the car almost hit you, too.”
She had nowhere to go. She had no idea what she was going to do. She had nothing left, except the clothes on her back. She couldn’t call Hammer or Trudy; what if Viper was wrong and the explosion had nothing to do with The Last Riders. It could have been the enemy she had been running from since she was three years old, testing to see if Hammer or Trudy made contact.
“Viper, is your invitation for me to stay at the club still open?” She’d had to clear her husky voice to get the words out.
“Yes.”
“Then, would you mind if we go? I’m tired.”
“Of course.”
When she rose, the men parted to let her go first, except for Shade. His enigmatic gaze caught hers.
“How did you know the cat was dead?”
“Because anything I love always gets destroyed.”
* * *
Ginny stood staring at the shell of the home that she had been so proud of owning. Not only was it in ashes, but so were all the dreams and hopes she deceived herself that she could make come true. The truth was her dreams were never going to come true. If she stayed in Treepoint, she would always be outside looking in.
The night her house was destroyed, Penni had offered her a job as a caterer for the band she managed. Ginny waited until Penni was ready to leave before making up her mind to accept the offer.
The Last Riders thought she was leaving because Raci—the woman responsible for giving out her name and address—had offered her up to the cartel to strike at the club. Willa confessed to her that Raci had done it to save her cousin and husband, who had been kidnapped by the same cartel that killed Fat Louise’s father and sister. Willa hoped the information would keep her from leaving. It didn’t.