“Crap.” Alyssa winced.
Patch waved nonchalantly. “Don’t worry. Prez laid out the story for him. He’s not happy with your interference, but he agreed that the best thing for you was to lay low and let us protect you.”
I’d taken all the stuff for a sandwich out of the fridge and set it on the counter, but Patch’s announcement had both Alyssa and me gaping at him.
“He’s fine with me being alone at some undisclosed location with a sexy biker?” Alyssa asked incredulously.
Patch scratched his beard and shifted in his seat. Yeah, I didn’t think so.
“You lied to my dad?” Alyssa gasped.
“No,” Patch said, his tone unconvincing.
“Let me guess,” I said as I went back to making food for my woman. “He assumed we were keeping her at the compound. Where there are lots of people, including women and children, most of the time. And you didn’t disabuse him of that line of thinking.”
“More or less,” he affirmed with a shrug. “Oh, he also said he’d take care of the school shit, Alyssa. Something about finishing assignments and turning them in via email. Said he’d forward the info to Mac since we can’t use your email.”
Alyssa shook her head, then gave me a grateful smile when I put a plate in front of her with a sandwich and some strawberries. “I completely forgot about school. I have an assignment due tomorrow.”
“I’m sure he’ll get you an extension until everything is set up,” I told her as I went about fixing my own food. I glanced at Patch with a raised brow. “Is this all? Why exactly did it require an in-person visit?”
“Food and clothes, remember?” he muttered, shaking his head. “Ungrateful…”
Alyssa took a bite of her sandwich to hide her smile, but her amusement didn’t last long as Patch went on.
“You know her email is compromised and so is her phone.”
“Fuck,” I grunted, irritated at myself for being careless. I’d shut it down, but I should have dumped it on the way here. If her father had a tracker on the device, it was possible it could detect our location even when the phone was off. And someone could hack it to learn the location.
“I’ll take care of it,” Patch offered, and I gave him a chin lift before jogging up to the bedroom and locating her phone. When I returned, I tossed the device to Patch, who slipped it into a vest pocket.
I had to say that one good thing about Alyssa’s exposure to law enforcement and apparent research into at least one MC, she didn’t say a peep about her phone. Likely because she understood how it could put her in danger.
“What else?” I asked, sensing Patch had more to say but was reluctant.
He glanced warily at Alyssa, then back at me. He was giving me a chance to get her out of the room before he said whatever it was.
I was a little torn because I wanted to protect Alyssa from the harsher side of my life, yet as my old lady, she’d have to accept that I did shit most people wouldn’t see as justified under any circumstances. And there would always be things I couldn’t tell her when it came to club business, but this situation involved her, so she deserved to know. Sugar-coated, of course.
“What else?” I asked again, giving him my answer. But I also stared at him hard, warning him to tread carefully.
“The punks from her school were released on a hundred-dollar bail.”
“What the fuck?” I shouted.
“You’re kidding!” Alyssa exclaimed at the same time.
I’d told her about what went down there, including the little shits being arrested. Now I wasn’t so sure it had been the right thing because she looked scared for the first time since I’d picked her up at school.
“Hey,” I said softly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Ever.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know that.” Her tone was exasperated, and if I hadn’t been so confused, I might have laughed. “I’m worried about my dad. What if they tattle to their boss, and he comes after my parents?”
“We’ve got guys on your mom and dad,” Patch reassured her. “Besides, I doubt they’ll be breathing much longer. Dax and Patriot are hunting—” He broke off when I shot him a sharp look. I didn’t want him to tell her that my brothers were planning to kill the fuckers.
“Oh good,” Alyssa sighed, then her expression darkened to something almost like menace—but she was too beautiful to really pull it off. “I hope they find them quickly and kill them slowly.”
Patch and I stared at her in disbelief, waiting for her to indicate it had been a joke. But she just scowled and ate more of her meal.
“Bloodthirsty much?” Patch asked with a smirk.
“They have it coming,” she insisted. “They are shitty excuses for human beings and—oh, no…” She breathed the last words as an expression of horror crossed her face.