Page 42 of The Biker Alien

He lets out a growl. “I might’ve,” he says.

“Might’ve.”

“I don’t want to lose you, and if I thought you wouldn’t stay if you knew… Hell, I don’t know if you’re going to stay now, and you know. Do you see my dilemma? Of course I would rather you know and accept me for who I am and stay, but… I understand it’s a lot to take in, and our future hinges on whether or not you can—”

“You expect me to just go and be with you for the rest of my life,” I say slowly. “We had one date that was interrupted.”

“Before it was… blown up, you and I, we connected.”

“Yes, but one date! One romp in the hay doesn’t mean that I owe you the rest of my life! Especially when you consider everything that’s followed ever since!”

“I get that. I know that it’s frightening, but it won’t always be like this. I swear it won’t. You and me, we can get through this.”

“How?”

“Joelo.”

“You’re going to kill him?”

“I went to his headquarters to save you, get you out of there, and…”

“You didn’t intend to leave. You were going to kill him.”

“Yes.”

“I stopped you by grabbing your arms and dragging you out of the room,” I say slowly.

“I don’t regret much at all when it comes to you, but I should’ve killed him. It would’ve only taken a few seconds.”

“We weren’t alone in the room,” I remind him. “Jamey was there. You shot the one guy in the shoulder, but he still could’ve had a gun on him.”

“You’re knocking out Joelo was amazing. It distracted Jamey and the other guy long enough for us to get out of there. We make an amazing team.”

I grit my teeth. A part of me actually does like being recognized like this, and he’s not wrong. We were able to get out of there and to safety together. Separately, what had happened? I was approached at my place of work. I had to defend myself at my home, killed two of them, and had been kidnapped by a third.

My life has gone to shit since I ran out of Alec’s place carrying my shoes.

Well, duh. This all started because his home had been shot up when we had been together.

Literally together. Our bodies joined together.

If that’s not a sign that maybe we shouldn’t be together…

Or maybe it’s only a sign that we shouldn’t be together while Joelo is an issue.

I killed two of the Grelites.

I killed people. It doesn’t matter that they’re aliens.

Oh, God. It hasn’t sunken in until now what I did because I had been immediately captured and then rescued and on the run, but it’s all catching up to me.

A sob bursts out of me, and I sink to my knees as the hot water pounds on my flesh, beating me with tiny little bullets. He spray is stronger, almost too strong.

I rock back and forth as I cover my face with my hands, still crying. I’m a killer. A murderer. Maybe. I don’t know. They came to capture me, but I don’t know if they had weapons on them at the time. Without weapons, it couldn’t have been self-defense, right? But I had been trying to defend myself. I felt bodily threatened.

“Teri.” Alec sounds like he’s right outside. “Can I do anything?”

I can’t bring myself to say anything, and he draws the curtain aside. The shower isn’t all that big, especially not for someone as tall and built as he is and me with my extra weight, but that doesn’t stop Alec from climbing in, clothes and all. He pulls me onto his lap, cradling me, whispering something, but I can’t hear him over the roar in my ears.

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