Ginger's Two Goals [The Ghost Riders 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
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The Ghost Riders 3
Ginger’s Two Goals
Ginger has her life planned, and it doesn’t include two sexy bikers, but Ajax and Murdock plan to make themselves her ultimate goals. She wants a home, a career, and a family to call her own. She can’t have that living with a bunch of bikers, can she? But how can she get them out of her heart now that they’ve found a way in?
Ajax and Murdock want more than a biker babe to ride with them. They want a woman to love and build a home with. Can they prove to her that happiness isn’t always based on material things? Will she learn to follow her heart instead of a plan?
Someone else sets their sights on Ginger. Keeping her safe could cost them their dream with the woman they love because she thinks they are trying to take away her freedom when all they want to do is give her everything.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 40,589 words
GINGER’S TWO GOALS
The Ghost Riders 3
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
GINGER’S TWO GOALS
Copyright © 2013 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-220-0
First E-book Publication: July 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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GINGER’S TWO GOALS
The Ghost Riders 3
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Ginger Adel loaded the last of her things into her car with a sigh. All that was left to do now was to double-check the apartment then turn in her key and hit the road. She walked back inside and looked around what had been home for the last five years. The place was a dump in every sense of the word, but she had managed without any help from her useless family. She could honestly say that she’d done it all on her own.
Now, at twenty-six years of age, she was moving back to Reo, Texas, where it had all begun. If it weren’t for Jessie, her best friend, Ginger wouldn’t have gone back for all the oil in Texas. But Jessie lived there and had begged her to come back. Seeing her friend so happy gave her a small seed of hope that maybe even she had a chance at happiness one day. She didn’t begrudge Jessie one second of her new life with her men, Vernon and Rhodes, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it would truly last.
Shuffling through the tiny apartment, she checked all the cabinets, drawers, closets, and shelves one last time to be sure she hadn’t left anything. The furniture hadn’t belonged to her when she moved in, so she left it much as the previous tenants had. One step up from the trash heap, it would do for the next poor soul who needed a place to start.
She locked up and climbed into the car to drive over to the landlord’s building to turn in the key. Old Mr. Jeffers wasn’t a bad sort, but he tended to growl more than he talked. She knocked on his door and waited for him to answer. When he opened the door almost immediately, she rolled her lips in and bit them to keep from smiling. Everyone knew he sat at his window with binoculars to watch everyone’s comings and goings.
“I brought my keys over. It’s clean and locked up tight.”
He growled and took the keys from her. “Guess you left the furniture as well.”
“Figured someone could use it and I didn’t have any way to haul it off.” She waited for the next growl.
There it was. “Won’t be hard to rent it out. Got a list wanting in.”
“I figured you would. I’d better get on the road. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me.” She started to turn away but the old man growled, snagging her attention.
“Hold up.” He shut the door and disappeared for a few seconds.
Ginger frowned. What was he doing? She looked at the time on her cell phone and frowned. It was already nearly nine and she still wanted to grab something to eat on her way out of town.
The door opened again, and Mr. Jeffers shoved an envelope at her.
“What’s this?” She took it and noticed that her name was printed neatly on the outside with the date she’d originally rented the apartment.
He growled and frowned. “Your security deposit. Figure that since you’ve always kept that place cleaner than when you rented it and seeing as I’ve already got renters for it, you should have it back. Might need it on the road.”
Ginger grinned at the old man. If she hadn’t known how much he hated to be touched, she would have hugged him. The money would definitely come in handy. She still had to get a job when she got back to Reo.
“Thanks, Mr. Jeffers. I really appreciate it.”
“Go on with you. I’m missing Family Feud.” He shut the door in her face without another word.
Ginger did a little dance and shoved the envelope into her purse before walking around the building to where she’d parked her car. To her surprise and annoyance, two men leaned against the driver’s side door, waiting on her.
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br /> The closer she got, the harder her heart pounded. Why she got so flustered around them, she didn’t know. It wasn’t like they had ever dated or anything. Hell, she’d only known them for about a month. Ajax and Murdock had helped Jessie’s men keep both of them safe when Jessie’s brother had tried to take Jessie from them.
She stopped just short of the curb and crossed her arms. Neither of them said a word. They just watched her with blank expressions.
“What are you doing here?” she finally asked.
“Waiting on you, babe.” Murdock pushed off the car and walked over to where she stood watching them.
Even standing on the curb a good four inches higher than where he stood, Murdock towered over her five feet four inches. He stood a good six feet three inches at least and probably weighed a good two hundred and thirty pounds. He had light-brown hair that hung past his collar, and he kept a short beard that was a shade darker than his hair. Hazel eyes peered down into hers as she struggled to keep from dropping hers. Everything about him screamed badass, from the intense expression made even more noteworthy by the scar at the corner of his left eye, to his muscular, broad shoulders and chest.
Ajax didn’t move or make a sound from where he remained leaning against her car, as if he had all the time in the world. Of the two men, he was the one she felt the most nervous around. He didn’t talk a lot, and when he did, his voice sounded rusty from disuse. Despite being a good inch or two shorter than Murdock with less muscles and a leaner body that would still make any woman drool, she was hard-pressed to notice the differences in their height and weight. His presence made him seem bigger than his partner.
He wore his black hair spiky, about a half-inch or so in length. His dark eyes could only be described as intensely disturbing, almost contentious. Combined with his perpetual five-o’clock shadow, the man just looked plain intimidating. When he walked toward you, his loose gait was definitely predatory, a tiger stalking his prey.
Ginger shivered despite how warm the morning had turned out to be. What where they really doing there? How had they found her and why?
“I mean, what are you doing here in Springdale? How did you find me?”
Murdock reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “We came to escort you back to Reo. Jessie told us where you were. She didn’t like that you were driving all by yourself.”
“Seems you left early one morning without telling anyone you were gone after Vernon and Rhodes told you to wait until they could either go with you or send someone else with you. Not a smart idea, baby girl.” Ajax moved away from the car and crossed his arms.
“Look. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I don’t need anyone to babysit me.” Ginger felt her temper flare as common sense skipped out the door.
“See, there’s where you’re wrong. You have no business out on the road by yourself. It’s not safe for a woman all alone these days.” Murdock took a step closer so that his jacket brushed against her blouse, grazing her breasts.
“I–I’m not stupid. I don’t take chances and have taken several martial arts classes on self-defense.” She took a step back, knowing it made her look foolish on the heels of her tirade.
“No one said you were stupid, babe, just foolish.” Murdock didn’t move any closer to her.
“Why didn’t Vernon or Rhodes come if they were so worried?” Ginger asked.
“Vernon was getting ready to come after you when we got back in town. We came instead.” Ajax walked over to where their bikes were parked. “Time to get on the road, baby girl.”
Murdock reached out and took her hand in his. His grasp was firm, but far from bruising. He led her over to her car and opened the door for her, making sure she buckled up. Before he closed it, he pulled something out of his back pocket and held it out to her.
“This is a small radio that is connected to our headsets so we can talk to each other. If you need anything, just push here”—he showed her the button—“and we’ll hear you. You can hear us when we talk to you as well, so don’t wreck if one of us says something to you.”
Ginger frowned and took the little radio. “I’ll be fine.”
His lips formed a half smile before he closed the door and strode over to his bike. She busied herself settling in for the long drive and nearly jumped when Murdock spoke over the radio.
“You about got your nest made in there?”
She turned and glared at the two men who were obviously waiting on her. She didn’t bother responding. Instead she backed out of the parking space and headed for the highway. They had a long trip ahead of them, and with her late start, they would probably need to spend the night somewhere along the way. She didn’t like driving at night.
They had barely made it to the interstate when her stomach growled long and loud, reminding her that she hadn’t had anything to eat. With the guys showing up out of the blue like they had, she’d forgotten her plans to drive through somewhere and grab something to eat on the way. Now she’d have to hope they would at least stop for lunch. She wasn’t about to ask them to stop for anything less than a mandatory bathroom break.
Every once in a while, Murdock would ask how she was doing. She would tell him she was fine and grind her teeth when her stomach growled in protest. The clock on the dash said it was closing in on twelve thirty. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she wanted to ask them to stop or not. Ginger hated being a problem for people. Her mom had always complained that she was the albatross around her neck, keeping her from doing what she’d wanted to in life.
After her two older brothers had gotten old enough to pretty much take care of themselves, her mom had planned to go back to school to become a nurse. Then she’d gotten pregnant with Ginger, and according to her mom, her life was over. She’d made sure to tell Ginger that at every opportunity, too.
“Hey, baby. We’re hungry. How about stopping at the next exit and grabbing something to eat?” Murdock’s suggestion couldn’t have made her happier.
“Fine with me. I’m following you.” Murdock had taken the lead with Ajax behind her.
Twenty minutes later, Murdock signaled that he was taking the next exit. She followed with Ajax right behind her. They followed the road to the left and pulled into a truck stop that promised clean showers and good, home-cooked food. She planned to stock up on some snacks before they left so she wouldn’t get caught hungry again.
Murdock and Ajax parked next to her and waited for her to unbuckle and climb out of the car. She couldn’t take her eyes off of them as they stretched before leading the way into the truck stop.
“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room. I’ll meet you in the diner.” To her shock, Ajax nodded at Murdock and followed her.
He didn’t say a word, so she figured he needed the restroom as well. She quickly took care of her needs and washed her hands before walking back out to find Ajax waiting on her at the entrance, arms crossed with his usual blank expression.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Waiting on you. Murdock’s got us a booth.”
She shook her head and stalked over to the diner, where Murdock sat waiting on them in a corner booth. To her amazement, he stood up when she approached. She quickly slid into the booth and picked up a menu only to have to move further around when Ajax slid in next to her. His grin only aggravated her more. Sure, they were good looking and sexy as hell, but they were bikers and she wasn’t about to get mixed up with them.
When they’d been on the run last month with Jessie and her men, she’d enjoyed their company and didn’t mind being around them so much. When it was obvious they had taken an interest in her, she’d backpedaled, trying to put some distance between them. She had decided to move back to Reo to be close to Jessie and farther away from her messed-up family, believing that Ajax and Murdock would go back to whatever MC they belonged to. When they had announced they were going back to Nevada for a few days, she’d been surprised how that had bothered her.
She’d figured that was a good time to run back home and pack up her stuff. She had already turned in her resignation at the hospital over the phone, so all that had been left was to move out of her apartment and turn in the key. Now she was homeless and jobless but looking forward to a new start, albeit in her hometown.
While she’d been looking over the menu, the waitress returned to take their drink order. The guys got coffee and water. She opted for Diet Coke and was thankful they didn’t serve Pepsi products instead. She could deal with Diet Pepsi if she didn’t have a choice, but she much preferred the crisp taste of DC. It just seemed to go down better.
“I’ve already gotten us a room for the night in a little town about four hours from here. That will put us getting there between six and seven, I think. Jessie said you don’t like driving in the dark,” Murdock said.
“I can if I need to, but I would rather not have to. If you need to get back, I can manage just fine on my own.”
Ajax snorted. “No way are we leaving you to drive the rest of the way by yourself. We’ve got plenty of time to get there.”
“Don’t you need to get back to Las Vegas soon?” Ginger asked.
The waitress arrived with their drinks then took their meal orders. They all settled on the meatloaf special. As soon as the waitress had disappeared, Ajax leaned over the table and smiled.
“We’re not going back to Las Vegas, baby girl. We moved to Reo. We’re part of Dom and Reece’s club now.”
“Why?”
Murdock chuckled. “I’d think that was obvious. You.”
Chapter Two