Page 58 of Ruthless

"Hey, man, I'm here at the hospital. Can one of your brothers do a little protection duty while Della is here? I need to get Ginger home, and she's afraid to leave her friend."

"Anything you need. I'll send Gabe. How's the girl doing?" he asked.

"She's in rough shape, but she’ll heal." I didn't want to get into the details. "I appreciate this, brother."

"Good to hear. He'll be there in ten."

The entire time that I'd been on the phone, Ginger's eyes had been on me while she listened in, so I didn't need to fill her in on what had been said. Her smile and the shining appreciation in her pretty eyes was all the confirmation I needed that she was on board.

"Thank you." Her soft words were followed with a sweet kiss that warmed my blood. I growled low, fighting the urge to pull her back to me when she drew away.

"We'll wait for Gabe to get here and then take off, yeah?" She nodded. "We'll grab something to eat somewhere, and then go home."

"I am hungry," she admitted.

I was hungry, too, but for her. I'd feed her, take her home for a long soak, and then fuck her into oblivion. I would make her forget, if only for a little while, the shit that had gone down today.

"Have you talked to anyone about how long Della will be here?"

"A nurse came in earlier, she said probably a few days." I nodded, sensing that she wanted to say more. "Do you think he'll try anything else?"

She didn't need to say his name. I knew that she was talking about Daryl, and I wasn't going to lie to her. If anything, the truth would make her more aware of what was going on around her. Until Daryl was found, neither she nor Della was out of the woods completely. "If he's smart he won't, but he's on drugs, and he owes someone money, someone bad. He may place blame for his predicament on one of you. He didn't get what he needed from Della, so I'd like to say he won't be back, but the truth is, when someone is desperate and on drugs, they don't think rationally. "

Ginger nodded in understanding. "Will someone be here as long as Della is here?"

"Yeah." I didn't want her to worry about it. "I'll see to it. Gabe is on his way now."

"Did I hear my name?"

We both turned toward the door to see a huge biker with a blonde Mohawk saunter into the room. He looked like a fucking Viking. Gabe was the Sentinels' VP and a good man to have in a fight. He was a mean, tough motherfucker, and one hit from his huge fist and you were out. "That was fast, brother."

He grinned. "I was five minutes away when Tanner called." He looked toward the hospital bed, his grin fading. "Damn." That was an understatement. "I won't leave her side," he promised in a serious tone. He glanced down at Ginger. "And who's this pretty lady?"

"Ginger," she said as I pulled her to her feet. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here."

"Thank you for coming. Della is my best friend, we're sisters really." There was an emotional tremble in her voice.

"Don't mention it, sweetheart. Anytime."

I knew that Gabe meant it, but I didn't like the look of interest in his eyes when they were on my woman. I wrapped my arm around Ginger, feeling the need to show him that she was mine. The smirk and knowing gleam in his eyes revealed that he'd gotten the message loud and clear. No other words were necessary. His slight nod satisfied me.

"Did Tanner fill you in?" Gabe nodded brusquely. "No one but her nurse and doctor get into this room. You call me for any reason."

"Got it, brother."

I steered Ginger out of the room and out to my bike.

We'd grab a bite to eat, and then head home.

And then I was going to fuck her brains out.

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