Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,44
thing, but being the president’s old lady is an entirely different animal. He leads the men. The president’s old lady fills that role for the ladies. You’d be the first old lady if you’re his.”
My head spins. “I don’t even know where I stand with him.”
“No one ever does,” Lindsey warns. “Club life isn’t for everyone. Outsiders don’t do well here.”
“I was an outsider,” Blair acknowledges.
“You’re a different story.”
“Ignore her, Grace. She’s just protective of her uncle.”
“Someone should be.” Lindsey throws her hands up in the air. “He’s had a lot of bad in his life. I want to make sure he doesn’t get anymore.”
I lean forward and catch Lindsey’s eye, making sure she’s listening to me when I speak. “Listen, I like Eugene a lot, actually, but I have no idea where this is going to go. We’re still feeling it out... I think.”
“Just don’t hurt him. He seems to care for you. If you can’t handle this, you need to tell him now before he gets in even deeper.”
Is it really that obvious? We’re attracted to each other, sure, but we barely know anything about each other. I don’t even know his middle name or his birthday. How did we go from screwing around once to me leading the women of this club? If his own niece looks at me with such disdainful conviction, I assume others will too. He and I really need to talk.
“Enough about all that stuff,” Blair asserts, her voice high and uncomfortable, and just the thing to break the tension in the air around us. “Tell us about you.”
“There’s really not much to tell, to be honest.”
“Bullshit. My uncle wouldn’t be that interested if you weren’t something special.”
“I really don’t know why he’s interested in me,” I admit.
Blair takes a long look at me. “For one, you’re stacked, and you’ve got this innocent librarian look going for you.”
“I what?” I practically shriek, pulling my cardigan tight across my chest. Blair’s bluntness is shocking. Do all women talk to each other like that? I’ve never really had close girlfriends to know if it is, or if it’s just a biker chick thing. Whatever it is, I’m not sure I’m comfortable talking about my body like this.
“Can I ask you about your job?”
“What would you like to know?”
“How do you handle it? It has to be hard, ya know, being in the middle of the fray of broken families. While I deal with the aftermath in my line of work, you’re there when the split happens.”
“It’s not easy. I used to be able to shut off my emotions and do my job, but I’ve realized recently that not every case calls for a removal.”
“You mean Kevin and Natalie?”
“I do. A few days ago, if you would’ve told me I’d be here in this position, I’d have said you were off your rocker. But talking with Eugene and the kids, learning about everything they’ve been through from their own perspectives has changed mine.”
“So why did you come here to remove them?”
“It was a court order. I’m bound by the law to do it, but I can’t take them away from Eugene. Not after finding out the real truth of why they’re with him.”
“What will you do now?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. The legal ways take too long, and the illegal ones are too dangerous. It’s like a coin flip with no good options on either side. I’m not sure if your uncle told you, but I filed to be a foster parent. If my friend in the inspection office can get it pushed through, I can file to take legal custody of the kids while the issues with their father get worked out in court.”
Lindsey’s face falls. “My uncle wouldn’t have custody if you did that. You could take them away any time you felt like it.”
“I couldn’t do that. Kevin and Natalie trust your uncle. They need him, yet he’d never get approved to be a foster parent with his record. But I can. It’s the best option we have while the club deals with their father.”
“You’re risking your job, aren’t you? Pushing through that application with your internal connections can’t be legal.”
I almost laugh. Nothing this club does errs on the side of legality, but here sits their president’s own niece, questioning mine. Irony at its finest.
“I am, but if that’s the price I have to pay, so be it. They can’t go with their father, and putting my trust in the legal system is