Page 83 of Gunner

The light banter from before slipped away. Jasper stood next to Alice, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His gesture brought me comfort.

“What are you saying?” he asked.

“There might not be any reason to be alarmed, but to be on the safe side, can you two go out of town for a while until the baby arrives?”

“What?” Alice placed a hand on her swollen belly. “You think they’ll come after me and my baby?”

“It’s possible.” I swallowed the knot in my throat. She was my sister, and I’d put her life in danger to close a case. “I’m not saying it will happen, but I don’t want to give anyone a chance to get close to you.”

“But we can’t leave,” she said. “Our doctor is here. We have everything planned for the birth of this baby. We’re having him at home, and our team is already aware of this decision.”

“Alice, please, I just need to know you’re safe. I should never have agreed to put you in that prison to bait these criminals. I wish I could go back and change all that.”

“I was the one who suggested it, and I don’t regret it. I’m staying right here in my home and having my baby just as I planned. That’s that.”

Jasper’s and my gaze met above her head. Whenever she uttered those last words, she couldn’t be persuaded to change her mind. Jasper’s worry mirrored my own.

“Just think about it.” I checked my watch. “I should go rescue Zeus.” And offer my apology. Did I even need to apologize? Gunner had to know there was no way I could have outed us earlier. He had nothing to lose.

Jasper walked me out with my arms full of food. As if she was packing me a picnic for a fancy date, Alice had given me more than I’d expected. Did Gunner have a sweet tooth? She’d added cake, strawberries, and even whipped cream. Subtle wasn’t my sister’s middle name, but I loved her to death. She was only trying to give me a push to find true love—whatever that looked like.

“Ben, be straight with me,” Jasper said. “Because I’ll make her leave if I have to. Should I be worried?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m worried. Nothing indicates Alice will be a target, but you should be cautious just the same. Don’t let her go out alone. I can have a car patrol the street during the night too.”

He let out a sigh. “Thank you. That’ll make me feel a lot better.”

“It’s the least I can do. I’m sorry I put you all in such a dangerous position.”

“Don’t worry about it. Alice wanted to, and I agreed. As long as she’s safe, that’s all I care about.”

His words should have comforted me, and they did, but as I drove away, they left me unfulfilled as well. I didn’t doubt Mason had cared about me. Somewhat. But he’d never looked at me how Jasper looked at my sister, and had never spoken about me that way to anyone. Gunner wasn’t the sort of man to give me that either, so what the hell was I doing with him?

Except he’s defended you, fed you, watched your pet, and gave you the best orgasms you’ve ever had.

I parked my car at the compound and stared at the motorcycles to my right and left. For almost a decade, I’d been persecuting this club. Not everyone had forgotten that. Certainly not Tango, who seemed to pop out of nowhere when I was around. And of course he had to be the first person I ran into in the hall.

“Well, what do we have here?” He studied me from head to toe. “If it isn’t the president’s bitch in heat.”

The boulder-sized man behind him touched his shoulder. “You heard what Gunner said. Leave him alone.”

“Hey, I’m not touching him.” He stepped back, hands raised. “Can’t a man express himself anymore? It’s a part of the institution. I’m sure of it.”

“Constitution, you idiot.” His companion shoved him aside and nodded at me. “Chief.”

I gave him a smile of appreciation. The last thing I needed was to have a confrontation with a petty, small middleman when I had a fight coming with Gunner for sure.

“You know where I can find Gunner?” I asked. “I’m here to collect my dog.”

“The dog’s with Chris, I think. Gunner’s back there in his room. Turn left, then the room at the end of the hall.”

“I think you’re here for more than just that dog, aren’t you, Chief?”

I slipped past Tango. “Just so you know, no one would suspect you have a small dick if you weren’t so desperate to overcompensate with your mouth.”

His companion burst into laughter as I walked away. Fuck, I’d forgotten how good it felt to confront instead of backing down, but my victory was short lived. My spirits fell when I stood in front of Gunner’s room. The door was ajar, and I knocked.

“Come in.”

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