Page 40 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

“No,” I told her.

A little naïve, maybe. Reckless. Stubborn. But definitely not weak or stupid.

“And I’m sure Jake doesn’t either.”

Lauren shrugged. “Well, he definitely thinks I’m a child who can’t make my own decisions or take responsibility for my actions. He thinks he’s responsible for everything.”

“You mean for what happened yesterday? Yeah, I can imagine he’d blame himself for that. If the Devils didn’t know you wereliving with the leader of Black Storm, after all, they probably would have…”

“I’m not talking about that,” Lauren cut me off.

My eyebrows bunched up. She wasn’t?

“Though, of course, he’d blame himself for that, too,” Lauren said. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “What do I have to do to make him see that I’m not fragile or helpless?”

I said nothing. I didn’t think that question was addressed to me, anyway.

She gave another sigh. “Maybe I shouldn’t have texted him for help.”

“You did the right thing,” I assured her.

If she hadn’t texted Jake, things could have gotten much worse for all of us.

“Maybe I should have texted Max.”

Come to think of it, why didn’t she?

“Or you.” She looked at me. “Would you have come?”

I would have gone to her without a second thought.

Before I could answer, though, Lauren looked away. “Then again, I don’t have your number.”

Right. I hadn’t given her mine yet.

“I could give it to you, though,” I told her.

Her eyebrows arched. “You would?”

“Only so you can call me if ever you’re in danger,” I explained hastily.

She frowned. “I wish I didn’t have to call anyone when I’m in danger. I wish I could fight just like you.”

Was that a compliment?

I scratched the back of my head. “Well, I only learned to fight because I was trained to.”

Lauren lifted her head, her eyebrows raised. As she turned to look at me, her eyes glimmered with excitement.

“Maybe you can teach me.”

“No,” I said automatically.

She got off the couch. “Why not?”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Because I have other things to do.”

She pouted. “So you’re avoiding me, too, after all.”

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