Page 18 of Marked by the Protective Biker

I know he is, because I saw his bike out front.

She nods. “Yeah, but he’s in the middle of a piece.”

“A piece,” I repeat.

She smirks, but I don’t feel like she’s making fun of me. “Yeah, a tattoo.”

I nod. I knew what she was talking about, but I’m trying to hide my disappointment.

“He’ll probably be another hour or two.”

“Oh,” I say, not wanting to leave until I talk to him but also feeling weird about sitting here.

She leans across her desk. “I was about to head out and go to the clubhouse. You wanna come? Felon will be along after he’s done.”

I scrunch my nose up. “The clubhouse?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

This is not like me at all. I’m not the type to just do things on the fly. I need to think about things and examine every side of it before I do anything. I’m about to tell her no when she comes around the desk and stands next to me. “Look, I know Felon. And he wants to be with you, but…”

Her voice trails off, and I pull my shoulders back. “But what?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Let me guess. He thinks you won’t fit into his world. He’s literally a felon and he says you deserve better.”

My mouth drops open. “How… how do you know that?”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not hard to figure out. He’s constantly worried about you, wanting to protect you. Hell, he has half the club on high alert looking out for your ass. He’s told everyone that you’re off limits, but when I asked when he was going to bring you around, he said he wasn’t. He said you’re too good for his world.”

A hurt like I’ve never felt before comes over me. Is that what he thinks about me? He thinks I’m too good for him? He’s crazy if so, because he’s one of the best men I’ve ever met. My silence has Alice leaning toward me. “So… are you too good for us?”

I jut my chin at her. “No, of course not. And yes, let’s go to your clubhouse and wait on Jack.”

I’m not sure which of us is more surprised, but Alice doesn’t hesitate. She grabs her purse and gently pushes me toward the door. We’re almost out when I hear a man call Alice’s name.

“Where you going?”

She rolls her eyes and looks at the tattoo-covered, bearded man. “Out.”

He growls, and I swear it vibrates the walls. “Alice.”

She stops with one hand on the door. I look between the two of them, and I can feel the air thicken. Alice shakes her head. “What do you care, Gunner?”

His jaw tightens, and I freeze. Gunner is not someone that I would want to mess with, but Alice doesn’t seem scared at all. He stalks toward us, and while I tense up, second guessing my life right now, Alice just laughs. “Stop before you scare Emily.”

That seems to draw Gunner’s attention because he looks at me for the first time. “You Felon’s?”

I scrunch my nose up because I don’t understand. It’s like he’s talking a foreign language or something. “Huh?”

He gestures down the hall. “You Felon’s ol’ lady?”

My eyes about pop out of my head. “Uh, no, uh, we’re uh, friends,” I stutter.

His face is grim. “Friends.”

Alice laughs, and it almost sounds maniacal. “Yeah, friends. You know the concept. It’s like you and me, pal. We’re friends.”

She pushes the door open, and Gunner says her name again. “Alice.”

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