drive. After getting her gun, she’d gone to Dave’s garage, but it’d been closed for the day. Worry simmered in Reggie’s belly. Dave wasn’t the type of guy to close his shop for no reason. As a man of southern heritage, he prided himself in work, went in unless he couldn’t get out of bed or couldn’t walk. With Dom’s warning still echoing in her head, Reggie’d hauled ass over to their house. She didn’t peel into the drive or slam the door. The last thing she needed to do was spook anyone, especially someone who wasn’t supposed to be in the house.
The comfort of the gun was firmly pressed against her lower back as she approached the house. Reggie was the only one who didn’t have anything to fear from her mother’s goons. Mom wanted her home, not dead. To Reggie, that was worse than death.
She knocked on the door, heart pounding against her ribs a little faster than Reggie would have liked. Pepper opened it, a smile on her face, wearing an over-sized male t-shirt. Reggie raised a brow. She didn’t look like she was under duress.
“Morning?” It came out as more of a question, as Reggie was unsure what was going on.
Pepper grinned, her long braids laid over her shoulder. “Mornin’, sunshine! You look like something the cat dragged in.”
Reggie’s shoulders eased. If anyone had been there, Pepper wouldn’t be her normal chipper self. Or maybe someone was there, but they didn’t seem to be threatening lives.
“Saved your ass, as I recall,” she said.
Pepper laughed. “True enough.” Stepping back, she gestured for Reggie to come in.
“No,” Reggie said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to interrupt.” Not that she knew what she was interrupting, but right now, the further away she stayed from Pepper and everyone else, the better.
“Interrupt what?” Trevor came to the door, wearing the same jeans he’d been in last night and no shirt.
Reggie’s gaze roamed over him appreciatively. She had no idea underneath the suit that the man was so ripped. A tattoo of something tribal and primal wrapped around his ribs. Smirking, she winked at Pepper. The other woman giggled.
“Nothing,” Reggie said. “I was just wondering where Dave was. Shop said it’s closed.”
Pepper nodded. “He ran into Baton Rouge to get something for your truck. Said something about idiots screwing up the order and he didn’t want you to have to wait after last night.”
Fuck! Reggie’s hopes of making a quick getaway were dashed. At least with her truck. She might have to boost a car and get the hell out of dodge. She wouldn’t be able to drive the truck anymore at this point, anyway. The video had given her away and her mother would find out everything there was to know about Reggie Dennis. That meant a new identity, new location, new job. None of which was as easy as it sounded. It also meant her next name couldn’t be associated with her former life at all. Her mom would look for that.
Reggie ran her fingers over her hair, the ponytail tickling the back of her neck. Her fingers dug into her scalp as she let out a slow breath, trying to figure out her next step.
Pepper’s face sobered, and she tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”
Reggie wished she could tell Pepper. In the last week, the woman became the closest thing to a friend Reggie’d known. Her chest tightened at the thought of leaving, and it’d only been seven damn days. Rule number one: Don’t get attached to the people where she stayed. Keep moving. Keep innocent people safe. Keep herself safe and away from her mother’s twisted ideals.
“Nothing,” Reggie said, shaking her head. “I should get going.” She forced a smile, hoping to relieve any worry they might have about the situation, but one look in her friend’s dark brown eyes said Pepper wasn’t buying it.
Reggie was losing her touch.
Trevor’s phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket, stepping away to answer it.
Pepper took the opportunity to step outside and shut the door. “Out with it,” she said. “What’s going on?”
Reggie didn’t want to run again. She just wanted to stop looking over her shoulder. She didn’t understand why this town was different from all the rest. How Josh, Pepper, Dave, and everyone else had gotten under her skin so easily. She just knew, for the first time, she didn’t want to lose the feeling.
Sitting on the front porch swing, she dropped her head in her hands. “They found me.”
“Who?” Pepper’s face scrunched in concern as she sat next to her.
Fuck it, she was leaving anyway. Might as well unload on someone.
“I…may not exactly have been honest about who I am,” Reggie said. She kept her eyes on her boots, focusing on them as though they’d somehow keep the judgment at bay.
“Ain’t many people who are,” Pepper said. “Don’t mean you’re not a good woman.”
She let out a breath, pressing the heel of her palms to her eyes. “That’s debatable, but there are people looking for me, and I just got word that they’re on their way. Hell, they might already be here. But I need to go before they catch up to me or people are going to hurt.”
“You’ve got friends here,” Pepper said, putting a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “If you don’t want to go with them, we won’t let them take you.”
Reggie huffed out a laugh. She didn’t mean to, but Merrydale had never seen the likes of a big crime organization. It wasn’t all blazing weapons and showdowns with cops, but there were close calls and people who disappeared. Reggie’d never killed anyone on her mother’s order. Even when her father had been alive, he’d never been in power, not really. He’d been the head of the family, sure, but her mother had definitely been the neck, guiding the head exactly where she wanted it.
“It’s not that simple, Pepp. If it was, I would have found a home a long time ago.”
She gave a harrumph. “Finding home ain’t always so easy. Maybe your truck was meant to break down here in Merrydale. Maybe you were meant to work for Josh, seeing how easily you fell for him.”
Reggie whipped her head up, blinking at her friend. “What?”
Pepper rolled her eyes. “Honey, even the blind could feel the sparks in the air when the two of you are around.”
“Wonderful.” Reggie rubbed one of the bruises on her ribs. “Either way, Pepper. People will get hurt. My mother—“
The sound of her big rig cut her off. The engine roared in good health as it pulled into the drive. The brakes gave their signature squeal as it came to a stop and she could smell the natural scent of its engine lingering in the air. Her heart fluttered with relief. Dave had been able to get her rig fixed, and she’d be able to get the hell out of dodge before Angelo and Dimitri landed. They’d ask about her, and people would know she’d left. The truck wouldn’t be good when the duo got a description of it. Reggie would have to bail on it, but right now, the sight of it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Dave got out of the truck and hopped down. He walked over and, without hesitation, pulled Reggie into a hug. The initial strength made her gasp as it pressed against her various bruises. He loosened his grip but didn’t let go.
“Thank you for keeping my girl safe.” He stepped back and smiled at her, before taking her chin with his fingers in a light grip, guiding her face from side to side. “If I ever see them bastards, I’ll kill ’em myself.”
Letting go, he put his hands on her shoulders. “I won’t forget what you did.”
Reggie dipped her gaze, feeling a sense of awkwardness at being praised for beating up two men. Granted, they’d been assholes, but she tried to avoid trouble. If she had done so in the first place, her mother wouldn’t have figured out where to find her. Still, a sense of pride washed through her at having been able to protect her friend. A few bruises were a small price to pay for Pepper’s safety.
Dave pulled out Reggie’s hand and dropped the keys in her palm. “No charge.”
Any other time she might have argued, but instead she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Thanks Dave.”
“Daddy,” Pepper said. “We were just in the middle of something. Think you can go keep Trevor out of trouble.”
“That’s okay,” Reggie said shaking her head. “I’ve got to go.”
“Reggie—“
“I’m good, Pepper,” she said in an even tone. “I promise.”
“You’re a bad liar.”
“Maybe so, but I need to gather my things and get out of here.”
The front door opened as she said the last. “You’re leaving,” Trevor asked. “Does Josh know?”
Reggie’s heart clenched at the thought of going back to the bunkhouse. She had to get her things. The sonogram of Sophie was there. Reggie couldn’t leave it behind.
“Not yet. If he’s at home I’ll tell him, but otherwise—“ she trailed off. The next sentence was going to sound callous. “Can you say goodbye for me?”
Trevor frowned. “After everything he’s done for you, you’re ready to bail without even talking to him?”
Anger tinged his words. Reggie felt like a jerk for having even asked, but what other choice did she have? If she stayed, Angelo and Dimitri would find her. They’d force her back to Chicago, back to her mother, and to a place she’d sworn she’d never go again.
“Trevor,” Pepper said, giving him a sharp look.
“No,” Reggie said. “He’s right. Josh has done a lot for me, and if I could stay and say goodbye, I would.”
“Then why aren’t you? Why are you leaving so fast?”
The lawyer in him came out quickly. Reggie needed to make an exit, and fast. “Just know that it’s something I have to do.”
“That’s not good enough.” Trevor crossed his arms over his chest. “He cares about you.”
“That’s enough, Trevor,” Dave said in an even tone. “Reggie’s been through enough and she doesn’t need you snapping at her to make things worse. If she’s got to make a quick escape, I reckon she’s got her reasons.”
Reggie could have kissed him at that moment.
“I’m really sorry,” she said to all of them. “But I have to go.” She pulled Pepper into an embrace, realizing she was going to miss having the other woman around.
Pepper hugged her with strong arms. “You get into trouble, you come back here.”
She smiled and pulled back, blinking past the moisture in her eyes. “You got it.”
Reggie knew she wouldn’t.