Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
My brows drew together as I rubbed the back of my neck. “Um, no. You can’t just turn my question back around on me when that’s what I asked you. No way am I answering until you give me a good reason not to scream for the security guard.”
I should’ve already been calling for help, but I didn’t get any threatening vibes from this guy. As someone who had spent her life being a wallflower, I had a lot of time to observe people. I was a fairly good judge of character, and I couldn’t picture this guy hurting me, no matter how intimidating his size was, especially compared to mine.
“Shit,” he hissed, his nostrils flaring. “I get why you’d want to scream, but if you do, I’m gonna wind up in prison…probably for a fuck of a lot longer than the law intends if Timkins has his way, judging by his track record.”
I frowned up at him. “The judge would be angry about you being in here, but that doesn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t be assigned to your case, and judges only have so much leeway. There are very strict guidelines for sentencing.”
“Like a fucking lamb to the slaughter.” His thumbs stroked over my arms, making me happy I’d thrown on a sweatshirt so he didn’t see the goose bumps left in the wake of his touch. “You’re too damn sweet to be working in a place like this if you don’t realize that there’s always a way to get around the rules when you have enough power.”
“Is that how you got in here? Because you’ve got power, too?” I tilted my head to the side, a lock of my hair sliding over my shoulder and curling around his wrist. “Do you have something to do with why the security guard warned me that the biometric scanners are down, and I just needed to use my code to get into the office?”
“The only connections I have are my club brothers.”
That wasn’t really an answer either way, but it sparked more curiosity in me. “Club brothers?”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered as he unzipped his leather jacket to show me the vest beneath it. Releasing one of my arms, he tapped one of the patches over his broad chest. “I’m a Silver Saint.”
I clearly needed to get out more often because he said it as though I should’ve known who the Silver Saints were when I’d never heard of them before. I didn’t even know there were any motorcycle clubs in the area. The only reason I had any clue what that vest meant was because I’d seen MC cuts just like it on television.
Based on the storylines on those shows, I should’ve tried to run screaming from the room. But I read an article a month or two ago about how a motorcycle club had helped protect a little girl who’d been bullied at school after her dad died, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the reason I wasn’t getting a scary vibe from this guy was because he was one of the bikers who tried to make a difference. Considering he hadn’t threatened to hurt me—or just gone ahead and done it—I figured the odds were good that my instinct about him was right.
“Here’s the thing…I’m not sure why you’re here, but if I don’t make the copies that I was ordered to take care of, that will raise some questions I’m pretty sure you won’t want me to answer. The guard put my name down in the log, so my supervisor will be able to easily confirm that I was here.” I lifted my chin while pursing my lips. “And if I’m in here too long, the guard might come looking for me, which I’m guessing is the last thing you want to happen.”
He scrubbed his hand over his beard. “Are you trying to protect me from getting caught?”
“Maybe?” I shrugged. “I’ve been accused of seeing the bright side of everything before, so I guess that could be what I’m doing now. But I figure if you haven’t hurt me yet, then you’re probably not going to.”
“Hurt you?” His head jerked back. “Never.”
There was no missing the outrage in his dark eyes. “Then I think I should make those copies so we can get out of here before the security guard shows up.”
He stuck close as I completed the task Miss Stuchy had assigned me. Once it was done, he picked up my purse and turned toward me. “Did you drive yourself here?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “I don’t have a car, so I took a rideshare.”
“A fucking rideshare by yourself on a Friday night.” The vein in his temple throbbed as he shook his head. “No way in hell is that happening again.”