Page 38 of Pulse

As he drove off, he ran through his next steps. Another call to Birdy topped the list now that he had protection for Talia sorted.

What a shitty twenty-four hours.

At least he could work on this problem, knowing that Talia was safe, and his club would protect her.

Who knew what would happen if they found out why he was worried about her?

CHAPTER TEN

HE HADN’T BEEN kidding.

For the past week, a scowling biker sat outside her house at all hours. In an unexpected twist—she spread her fingers, peering through the blinds on her office window—they followed her everywhere she went.

Work? A biker came along.

Grocery store? They were there too.

Nail salon? Yep, a biker sat in the parking lot while she pampered her toes.

Unfortunately, that was the extent of her outings ninety percent of the time. Whoever these poor guys guarding her were, they had to be bored out of their minds with her mundane routine. Again, she was realizing she might need to find herself a social life.

After Pulse left a few days ago, she passed out and woke to a knock on her door a few hours later. A horde of smiling women armed to the teeth with a ridiculous amount of food bullied their way into her home and took over her life for the next three hours.

She’d appreciated their company, but the headache and exhaustion kept her from truly enjoying herself. The rest of them, though? They had a blast laughing, teasing, and acting silly.

Following the car accident, Talia took three days off work to allow her brain to rest, as ordered by her physician. Then she got back to real life—well, real life plus a babysitter.

And plans for the night. Liv had invited—ordered—Talia to join them at the clubhouse for a Friday night barbecue.

When was the last time she’d gone to a barbecue? She was mortified to admit it had been years. Occasionally, she hung out with Margo, but her friend was a partner in a busy law firm, had three kids, and had a husband who owned a small business. Her life was jam-packed with insanity. The rare occasions Margo could sneak away were spent on Talia’s couch, drinking wine, relaxing, and watching reality television. They always invited Talia for holidays, but she tended to pass on the offer, feeling like an outsider in their family unit.

The MC was a family as well. One full of happy couples and people who loved and liked each other more than most blood relatives.

Fear of feeling like an interloper had her on edge all day. That and the fact she hadn’t heard a peep from Pulse in the seven days since he’d showed up at her house.

“Girl, this is the fourth time I’ve walked past your office today and found you staring out that window. There better be a sexy man out there, or I’m gonna start worrying about you.”

Talia jumped and yanked her hand from the blinds. “Shit, Margo, you scared me.”

Her friend snorted. “I called your name three times.” She propped a hip against the door. She wore a trendy power suit in her favorite coral shade.

The way Margo always looked so effortlessly put together reminded Talia of Liv.

“What the hell is going on with you, Tal? You’ve been off since you came back to work. Is it your head? Did you come back too soon?” Concern had Margo’s forehead wrinkling.

Talia bit the inside of her cheek. She hadn’t told Margo the entire truth about the car accident. Margo thought the club was overprotective since Talia was their attorney, and a randomperson ran her off the road. As much as she trusted her friend and knew Margo could take a secret to the grave, Pulse’s story wasn’t hers to share, and doing so felt like a betrayal.

“Nothing is going on. I’m just…” Ugh, she felt like the uncool high schooler who someone swung an invitation to the football party. Her shoulders sagged. “I was invited to a barbecue at the MC clubhouse tonight, and I’m stressing about it.”

Margo’s face lit up, and she stepped into the office. “You were? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? This is fantastic.” She clapped her hands like an enthusiastic kid instead of a high-powered attorney. “I’m so excited.”

“Really?” Talia raised an eyebrow. “This is why I didn’t tell you,” she said as she waved a hand toward her bubbly friend. “You get all weird whenever I have plans.”

“Pfft.” Margo rolled her eyes. “What’s weird is a thirty-two-year-old woman who hides behind her work and avoids socializing because she’s terrified of having a feeling.”

“Hey!” Ouch, that one hurt. She refused to acknowledge how accurately Margo hit the nail on the head. Denial had served her well for this long—no point in changing things up now. “I am not afraid of having a feeling.”

Liar. It didn’t even sound convincing in her head.

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