“I denied them,” I whispered back. “They scared me.”

Cam’s face gentled. “Oh babe.”

“He’s bossy and annoying and intrusive and lives a narrow life and demands emotional closeness but keeps distant but that last part is because he lost his wife and his little daughter,” I went on. “And she was cute. He showed me a picture. She was wearing pink. She looked like him. She had the best of both of them in her.” Cam, Elvira and Tracy kept gentle eyes on me and I kept on. “But he thinks I’m funny and Dad and Meredith adore him and we banter and I like it. It’s fun and it’s safe, though I didn’t know it at the time, and he holds me while we sleep and he’s an unbelievably good kisser and even better in bed. He gave me four orgasms in thirty minutes and I didn’t even know that was physically possible.”

“Four orgasms in thirty minutes?” Elvira breathed.

“Four orgasms in thirty minutes,” I confirmed

Elvira put her hand flat on the table and her upper body started teetering as she mumbled, “Lordy.”

“Maybe we should get the smelling salts,” Tracy noted, her eyes on Elvira.

“Babe, I don’t have smelling salts,” Cam returned.

“I need to quit,” Elvira announced. “I gotta turn in my resignation. I can’t work with a man knowin’ his capacity to give pleasure. I mean, I can work with a man guessin’ his capacity to give pleasure but not knowin’ it. This is it. I hit the threshold. I never understood TMI. In my opinion, no amount of information is too much information but I’ve found it. I’m here.”

“You can’t quit because of me!” I hissed. “I get the sense that Hawk likes you and depends on you. If you have someone like that, you don’t want to lose them. He can’t lose you because I told you he can give multiple orgasms!”

“Those four orgasms were a multiple?” Elvira asked.

“No, those were mostly separate. He can only pull off three in a one-go multiple,” I answered.

“Holy crap,” Tracy breathed.

“No joke?” Cam asked.

Elvira teetered so I put my hand on her so she wouldn’t go down and looked at Cam. “Why do you think I let him keep coming at night? I told you he was good but he’s not good, he’s good.”

“Stop talkin’,” Elvira whispered. “Where’s the martini shaker? I need a reload.”

Cam got up and sauntered to the counter.

Then it hit me. “My God, if he doesn’t forgive me, I’m ruined for all other men.”

“Gwennie, honey, really, don’t stress. It hasn’t even been a day,” Tracy soothed.

Cam started pouring vodka into the shaker and decreed, “All right, this is serious for you and obviously he had reasons to be a motherfucking asshole meaning he actually never was one. So, you called, left a voicemail, said you were sorry. You wait. He doesn’t call you back by one-thirty tomorrow, you call again. Voicemails can get missed. He’s there, you explain and apologize again. He’s not there, you leave another voicemail. He doesn’t call back, say, for two days, you know where he’s at, you make a batch of cookie dough, you call us and we’ll all come over and eat it.”

Thank God. A plan.

That was all I needed.

I took in a breath, checked Elvira to make sure she was steady, let her go and looked at Cam.

“Thanks, babe.”

Camille nodded her head and poured in cranberry juice.

“He’ll call,” Tracy whispered and my eyes moved to her. She smiled her hopeful smile.

I smiled back but mine felt shaky.

Chapter Thirty-One

She’s My Sister

I lay on my side, my knees curled up to my chest in Cam and Leo’s guest bedroom and I flipped opened the phone, went to contacts, scrolled down and hit go.

I immediately got Hawk’s, “Talk.”

“Hi,” I whispered. “I don’t know if you got my other voicemail but I wanted you to know, I drove over to Cam and Leo’s tonight and had enough to drink, it wasn’t safe to drive home so I’m spending the night.” I paused. “I just… wanted you to know where I am.” I paused again then kept whispering. “I hope, even after what happened this morning, that you managed to have a good day, baby.”

Then I flipped the phone shut and stared at it.

God, I was such an idiot.

I tapped the phone on my forehead and then put it on the nightstand.

It was nearly midnight. Over ten hours since I called.

Shit.

I tucked my hands under my cheek and closed my eyes tight thinking maybe I should have texted.

Then I heard a scratching at the window.

My eyes flew open and I shot up to an elbow in the bed. I stared out the opened curtains and my heart squeezed.

Ginger was standing there, partially illuminated by streetlights and the entire left side of her face was swollen, bruised, bleeding and mangled.

“Gwennie,” I heard her pained whisper.

I didn’t think. I threw the bedclothes back and raced from the room, the panels of Cam’s long, sexy, satin nightgown that would make Meredith’s mouth water and had slits up each side practically to my hips tangling with my legs. I went straight to the front door, unlocked it, threw it open and dashed out, running and frantic. I made it to the edge of the house, turned and collided headlong with something big, hard and solid.

I looked up into Hawk’s face.

“Gwen,” he said, “get back in the house.”

“Ginger,” I whispered worriedly, rounded him, started to fly and stopped dead.

Ginger was down on her ass, back to the house under the guest bedroom window. Her knees up, her head bowed.

I ran to her, yanked up the panel to my nightgown and dropped to my knees beside her.

“Honey, look at me,” I whispered but she didn’t raise her head and she was breathing funny. “Ginger, honey, please,” I begged, reaching out to take her chin gently and lift her face to me.

I saw it and sucked in breath. It was worse close up. A lot worse.

Hawk crouched low at her other side, took her chin from my hand into his own and carefully pulled her head his way. He had his phone at his other ear and he spoke as he scanned my sister’s face.

“I need a pick up at Freeman’s for Gwen and guards to stay with her at the warehouse until I get there. We were right, Ginger was going to her and she’s here. Call Doc, he needs to head out, she’s a fuckin’ mess. Safe house. Then call Lawson, he’s up.” He stopped talking a moment then said, “Out.”

He flipped his phone shut and shoved it into his cargoes.

“You havin’ trouble breathin’?” he asked Ginger.

“Ribs,” Ginger replied.

“Fuck,” Hawk muttered. “Can you handle me carrying you into the house?”

Ginger ignored him. “No cops.”

“Your plays aren’t workin’, Ginger, you’re gonna try mine.”

“No cops,” she repeated and I reached out and grabbed her hand, holding on tight.

“You love your sister?” Hawk asked suddenly and Ginger pulled her chin away from his hand, then she whimpered. “I asked you a question,” he pushed.

“She’s my sister,” Ginger answered and the tears hit my eyes, no warning this time, they just hit them and spilled over.

And they did this because this meant yes.

I moved closer and held her hand harder.

“Then trust me to do right by you,” Hawk replied, knowing what she meant.

“You can’t fix this,” Ginger told him.

“I sure as fuck can try,” Hawk returned and looked at me. “Let her go, I need to get her up.”

I let her go and Hawk leaned in and lifted Ginger in his arms. This didn’t cause whimpers, it caused moans. I raced ahead of him, swiping at my face, opened the front door and left it open while I moved around the room turning on lights. Hawk came in and laid Ginger down on the couch while I moved down the hall. Leo was already out of his bedroom and I rushed to him.

“I’m so sorry, she found me, Ginger’s here,” I told him quietly.

“Fuck,” he muttered and Cam came out, her eyes alert.

“Ginger’s here,” I told her.

“Fuck,” she muttered.

I raced away and Leo and Cam followed me. Ginger was on the couch, Hawk was nowhere.

This alarmed me but I moved straight to Ginger and got down on my knees by the couch. I took her hand again and she turned her head away.

“We’ll get you sorted, honey, promise,” I whispered.

“Don’t call Mom and Dad, Gwen,” she told the back of the couch.

“Right now, I’m about you, Ginger.”

She turned to face me. “Don’t call Mom and Dad.”

“I won’t,” I promised.

“Promise it and mean it and not like you meant it when I told you I snuck out and met Darren Petri and then you heard he had the clap so you told on me. Promise it and mean it.”

Jeez. Darren Petri was ages ago.

“Ginger, you kept sleeping with him and he had the clap,” I reminded her.

“He was cute,” she reminded me.

She was right. He was. Still, he had the freaking clap and she told me they didn’t use protection. What was I supposed to do?

Suddenly Hawk was crouched at my side. “Gwen, reunion later if you’re lucky. Go get your shit,” he ordered and then held a dishtowel with ice to Ginger’s swollen face.

I watched her eyes close when the towel gingerly hit her skin and I could tell that felt good.

“I’m staying with Ginger.”

“Go get your shit,” Hawk repeated and I looked at him.

“Baby, I need to stay with my sister,” I whispered.

“No, Gwen, you need to trust her to my care and go get your shit,” he stated and scarily went on. “My boys’ll be here in five to take you to my place and I’m takin’ care of her. I followed her here and others followed me. She needs to be gone so your friends’ll be safe and you need to be gone. Get me?”