The expensive gold metal flashed when light hit it, highlighting the tiny dangling charms. Reaper wished he had paid more attention to the different charms. He had given his first girlfriend in high school a charm bracelet, with several little trinkets commemorating places they had seen. The only one he vaguely remembered on Ginny’s was a Christmas tree with small stones of different colors that shone when the light caught it.
A strong emotion gripped him, one he hadn’t felt in so long. At first he wasn’t sure what it was, until Ginny lowered her hand and the sleeve covered the bracelet again. It was jealousy, attacking him so swiftly and viciously at his heart, trying to jumpstart a reaction from him.
He coldly pushed the emotion aside, concentrating on who could have given her the jewelry. She could have bought it herself, but somehow, Reaper didn’t imagine Ginny spending that kind of cash on herself. She lived simply and frugally, hoarding the decent salary Kaden paid her. No, the bracelet had been a gift.
From Shade’s dozier on her, Ginny’s brothers had been estranged from her since she was twelve, so that left them out. Her foster parents had turned their backs on her once she graduated high school, leaving them out too. Was it Willa? They were close as sisters, which made it a firm possibility that she could have given the bracelet as a gift. Lucky would be able to answer that question for him.
Does it really fucking matter who gave her the bracelet? Reaper castigated himself. Except, a tiny section at the back of his mind, the section that had been duped by Memphis, Crash, and Vincent was signaling something was off about Ginny. He didn’t know what, but until he found out, every-fucking-thing mattered.
There was something else off. In the report on Ginny, Penni told Shade that when Ginny began her singing career in a karaoke bar, she needed a friend to sing with her to help with her stage fright. Shade also explained that the only reason she was willing to perform now was to draw her stalker out. The woman standing in front of him, waiting for her cue, showed no signs of stage fright. Either Ginny was now used to performing regularly or, once again, there was something off about the change in her.
Both little kernels of doubt had his instincts on alert. Was the reason Shade and Rider couldn’t find out who was stalking her because Ginny was withholding information from them?
A bright circle of light swept around the stage as the band ended the current song. Reaper studied Ginny’s composed profile as she was introduced to the waiting crowd. For someone who was supposed to suffer from stage fright, Ginny seemed remarkedly coolheaded.
When the light hit the side of the curtain she was behind, Ginny moved to the side and stepped out onto the stage and the music switched to another melody.
Moving forward now that she was out the way, Reaper was able to view the stage and watched her stand before the microphone stand; the lights hit her full-on, creating a glow around her. When her hand touched the microphone, the shouts and cheers from the crowd automatically stopped, as if the audience were holding their breaths in anticipation. Reaper realized he was doing the same, when he felt a buzz from holding his own.
It was like being transported into a different world when she sang. From the vacant expressions on the audience’s faces, they were right there with him. He had seriously underestimated just how good Ginny was. Ginny made you feel every word she sang as if she’d written the song solely for you.
The bright lights and being on stage highlighted what he missed before—Ginny was star. She might not be famous, but it was there for all to see. For the short time she sang, it was clear—even to someone as inexperienced as him—her future in music would be golden.
Breaking his focus from her took all of his willpower. Assessing the faces in the audience helped, forcing his concentration away from Ginny. Male and female alike were spellbound, making it difficult to take them out of mix of potential suspects.
Mason had been knocked unconscious from behind, so whoever was responsible would have had to drag or carry him down the long narrow corridor to reach the side door of the kitchen of the nightclub. Reaper didn’t think the stalker was just lucky the corridor was empty. It had been meticulously planned after they had found out Kaden called the meeting. The kitchen would have been empty until the evening, giving Ginny’s stalker the opportunity to stash Mason in the freezer without getting caught.
Reaper’s gaze went from table to table as Ginny sang, each word allowing them to experience the emotions the song conveyed.