Page 33 of Ginger

I wanted to believe him—to believe in the protection they offered. But I'd spent too many years learning that safety was an illusion.

"What if you can't?" I whispered, voicing my deepest fear. "What if he's too powerful?"

Bronx's laugh was cold. "Baby, you have no idea what we're capable of."

With that last word, he led me upstairs. I was surprised to find KiKi already waiting, her expression a mixture of concern and determination. How the hell had she beat us?

She reached for my hand.. "Come on. I've got face masks and ice cream, and you look like you need both."

I hesitated, looking back at Bronx and Reno.

"Go," Reno said gently. "We need to meet with the others. We'll come get you when we're done."

"Don't worry," KiKi said, her voice deceptively light. "I may look like a harmless little thing, but I've got a gun and I know how to use it."

That surprised a laugh out of me. "You do?"

She winked. "Honey, I’ve lived here for years. I learned a thing or two."

As she pulled me toward my suite, I glanced back at Bronx and Reno. The look they exchanged sent a chill down my spine—it was the look of men planning violence.

For all the horrors I'd faced, I never expected to find myself sitting cross-legged on a plush carpet while a beautiful woman applied green goop to my face. KiKi hummed as she worked, her fingers gentle against my skin.

"There," she said, leaning back to admire her handiwork. "Now we wait twenty minutes for it to dry, and you'll have skin like a baby's bottom."

I tried to smile, but the mask was already tightening. "Thanks."

KiKi studied me, her eyes far too perceptive. "You know, the first time I met Vegas, I was terrified of him."

"Really?" That surprised me. She seemed so comfortable here, so at ease with all the men. I’d thought I was the only one scared of him.

She nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I was working at a strip club downtown. Some asshole customer wouldn't take no for an answer, and Vegas happened to be there." Her smile turned wistful. "I never saw what he did to the guy, but I never had trouble from him again."

I digested this information, trying to reconcile it with the cold, calculating man I'd met. "Do you ever... feel trapped here?"

KiKi laughed, the sound bright and genuine. "God, no. I've never felt safer. These men—they're dangerous, yes. But not to us." She reached for my hand. "They'll move heaven and earth to protect what they care about. And honey, they care about you."

“But Vegas was going to throw you out.” How could she defend this club knowing she was on borrowed time?

Her smile faded. “They have rules, Ginger. It’s to protect themselves and us. By deciding to keep this baby, I’ve broken them, which means I have to face the consequences.”

“What if they decide I’m too much trouble to keep around? Will they throw me out too?”

She gently took my hand. “No. Your circumstances are different. They’ll defend you until the end. You’re not a club girl anymore. You’re an old lady.”

I wanted to believe her, but doubt gnawed at me. "You don't understand what Rayburn is like."

"Maybe not," she conceded. "But I do understand what these men are like. And if I were betting on who would win in a fight between them and this Rayburn creep? I'd put every penny I have on our guys."

Our guys. The casual way she included me in their strange family made my chest ache.

"What if I bring trouble to all of you?" I whispered. "What if someone gets hurt because of me?"

KiKi's expression softened. "That's not how it works here. Your troubles became their troubles the moment they decided you were theirs. And trust me, they're very good at solving problems."

Before I could respond, a sharp knock at the door made us both jump. KiKi rose gracefully to her feet.

"Who is it?" she called, one hand reaching for something beneath the coffee table.

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