CHAPTER THREE
Tina
I hugged the teddy bear tight to me. I couldn’t imagine why it would be in Talon’s office in the first place. It felt out of place in a biker bar. But it made me feel better. Talon was looking at me, his face unreadable. I bit my lip. What was I even expecting him to do? Hunt down an annoying loan shark and kill him? I didn’t even know the man’s name. Not to mention I would never want anyone killed over me. I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
“It sounds to me like your father owed money to the Demon biker gang. They deal in brothels and drugs.”
The knot in my stomach tightened. It wouldn’t surprise me if my father got addicted to drugs. When I was living with him, he spent most of his money on gambling and alcohol. I guess it got even worse with him. “He could have gotten involved with them,” I said. “I haven’t spoken to him in years. I don’t know what he got into.”
Talon’s expression softened a little. “We can help you, Tina. You won’t have to pay them, I promise.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“Well, he said you needed to pay him back in two days, right? I’ll have some bikers tail you for protection until then. When he shows up, we’ll make it clear you’re protected. He’ll back off when that’s clear.”
I bit my lip. I didn’t like the idea of strangers tailing me for two days but it was better than the alternative. “Thank you,” I said. “I-I don’t have any money to give you. Is there any other way I can repay you?” I blushed when I realized what he might want. I had to admit Talon was gorgeous, but he scared the shit out of me. I doubted I would be able to sleep with him, even if it got me out of this mess. “I-I mean I can wait tables and clean and stuff. Maybe I could work off the deb that way.”
He shook his head. “No. We don’t charge for protection. You won’t owe us anything.”
It felt too good to be true. Would I really be out of this mess so easily? Just two days and it would be over? “Thank you.”
He smiled. “No problem. I’ll walk you out. And I’ll have someone follow you to make sure you get home safely.”
It was probably stupid to trust him. But I didn’t know what else to do. Not unless I wanted to uproot my entire life. I did that once already. I didn’t want to do it again.
Talon stood up with me and I was struck with how much bigger he was than me. He was at least a foot taller than me and he was muscular. Even under the leather jacket I could tell he was built with muscle. His dark eyes matched his hair which was long, but didn’t hide the jagged scar on his eyebrow. He was terrifying.
I realized we had been staring at each other for a second and I looked away. I was still holding the stuffy. My cheeks burned as I put it back down on the couch. He probably thought I was so childish.
“You can take it with you, if you want,” he said.
I shook my head. “No. Thank you.” As if this day wasn’t embarrassing enough.
We walked back out into the bar. There were a few glances from some of the bikers, but for the most part, no one seemed to notice us, even though the bar was crowded. I was happy to be getting out of there. The sooner I got out, the better.
Talon called over another man. He was older, probably in his sixties, and he looked friendly. At least, he gave me a friendly smile. “Tina, this is Doc,” Talon said. “He’ll make sure you get home safe tonight.”
Doc raised an eyebrow at Talon but then smiled and nodded, clearly accepting his orders. “Pleasure to meet you, Tina,” he said.
I smiled hesitantly back. “You too.”
We walked outside into the parking lot. I pointed at my car in the back. “That’s my car over there,” I said. As if it wasn’t obvious. There were only a few cars in the entire lot which was mostly overrun by motorcycles. And from the sounds of it, most of the people inside were regulars.
“I’ll go get my bike,” said Doc. “Don’t worry. Whatever trouble you’re in, Talon will sort you out. I promise.”
I smiled, feeling a little more reassured.
And then, when Talon and I were only a few feet away from my car, it suddenly blew up with a loud bang that left my ears ringing.
Talon acted quickly by tackling me to the ground and shielding me from the explosion. There was distant shouting but it barely registered for me. My car just blew up. How was I supposed to get to work?
Talon dragged me to my feet. He was saying something to me, but I couldn’t hear it over the ringing. His brow furrowed in concern. Then he put an arm around my shoulders and steered me towards the bar.
Somehow I ended up back in his office with Doc, who had a medical kit. “I’m going to take a quick look at you,” he said, his voice calm. “I have to make sure you weren’t injured in the blast.”
“I’m fine,” I said. My voice came out in a monotone. “Talon shielded me. He might be injured.”
“I’m okay,” said a deep voice beside me. It took me a second to realize it was Talon. He was sitting right next to me on the couch. How did I miss that?