Page 16 of Marked by the Protective Biker

I kiss her again, fighting the urge to tell her I love her. Then I grab my clothes and walk out of her bedroom. By the time I get to the front door, I pick up my cut and put it on.

“Jack,” Emily calls.

I turn to look at her, and she’s standing at the edge of her living room with wide eyes. She’s tugging at the shirt she’s wearing. “Your shirt.”

I look at her from head to toe, devouring the sight of her. “Keep it.”

I open the door, giving her a pointed look. “Lock this,” I tell her and then walk out.

As I walk down the porch, I open my phone and start dialing. I may not have a future with Emily, but I’m still going to protect her.

CHAPTER 10

EMILY

The prison is abuzz when I walk in the next morning. Normally, I’d stop and chat with a few people, but today I’m not in the mood. I walk past everyone, and once I get through security, I set my purse and tote bag down in my office and fall back into my chair.

I try to shake off my mood, but I can’t stop thinking about last night with Jack.

I haven’t seen him since he left. When I walked out of my house this morning, his two friends were sitting on the corner, and they followed me to work. I guess they’ve given up on trying to hide in plain sight.

I’m disappointed. Jack said he had to go last night, but I had hoped to see him again. Now I’m left wondering if he got what he wanted and he’s done with me.

Knock. Knock.

The sound on the open door has me sitting up, and I’m embarrassed that the warden has caught me daydreaming.

I stand up. “Sir. Good morning.”

He comes to stand fully in my office. “Hey, Emily. I just wanted to pop in and let you know that the group sessions and individual sessions are on hold today. I know you have some paperwork you could probably catch up on, but if you want to take that home with you, you can.”

My mouth falls open. I’m not sure what’s going on. “Uh, what happened? I don’t understand.”

The warden crosses his arms over his chest. “You should have come to me yesterday about the incident.”

My mouth drops. “The incident?”

He nods. “Yeah, safety is my number one priority here, and I’m sorry that you were not protected yesterday. I know Bradley does everything he can, but I’m getting more help.”

I open my mouth. “It wasn’t Bradley’s fault, he…”

The warden nods his head and interrupts me. “Yeah, I know. But after everything, we’re pausing therapy until we have more security in place.”

I can’t believe he’s making such a big deal out of this. Yesterday was not that serious. I hold my hands up. “Warden, seriously, yesterday was not a big deal.”

His eyes widen, and he clasps his hands together in front of him. “Richard Biggs is in the infirmary.”

“What?”

He nods. “Yeah, I thought you heard. Last night he was beaten so badly he’ll be in the infirmary for a few weeks.”

He’s about to walk out of my office. “Who… who did it?”

He gives me a knowing look, letting me know that he’s probably heard about Jack’s announcement and knows about his devotion toward me. “James Kelly. He has some kind of affiliation with the Exiled Guardians.”

I suck in a gasp. No. “Uhhhh—” I stutter.

The warden nods, “Yeah, but all the witnesses say it was self-defense.”

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