Marcus pulled off his helmet, and nodded at the man beside him. Bree fought a smile when she saw the teenaged girl behind the counter fan herself at the sight. Then he turned and crooked his finger at Bree.
The options were to go to him, or risk him coming over to speak to her. Bree went.
“We need to talk,” Marcus said.
“About what? The water heater is working fine.”
“I just came from talking to your man.”
He paused, like he was giving her time to answer. But since she didn’t have a clue what the answer was supposed to be, she simply said, “Okay?”
“I’m surprised to see you here without him.”
It was an odd conversation. “Well, like you said, he’s working, and it’s a gorgeous day for ice cream.” Bree saw that they’d caught Allison’s attention. Her friend waved like she was offering to come over, but Bree shook her head. Allie and Marcus didn’t need to meet.
“Let me rephrase. I’m surprised to see you here without an escort. You know what he’s working on, right?”
She nodded.
“And he isn’t worried about you running around town, without a police escort, looking the way you do?”
What the hell?Was Marcus threatening her? Because if he was, it was a bad one, since she couldn’t tell for sure. “Not so he’s mentioned.”
“You should talk to Parker. It’s not safe for a pretty little thing like you to be running around unsupervised.”
Was that another threat? Or a warning?
“Your friend shouldn’t either,” Marcus added.
“She’ll be fine. Nobody is getting to Allison. I fucking guarantee it,” Bree said. Nobody was allowed to even think bad thoughts around her, let alone act on them.
“I’d forgotten how loyal you were to your friends. You aren’t J.J.’s baby sister anymore, are you?” Marcus took a moment to smile at her before issuing a final warning. “Watch your back, Bree. It doesn’t look like Eric’s going to watch it for you.”
She strolled back to Allie and Leandra, trying not to look like she was in any particular hurry.
“What was that all about?” Allison asked.
“Nothing.”
“Well, nothing fills out his jeans pretty nicely.” When Bree she gaped at her, she said “What? I’m window shopping.”
“Don’t even window shop at that store. That’s Marcus Forrester. He’s trouble. Both he and Eric say so. For some reason, he’s decided he can use me as his own personal messenger service,” Bree said. This run-in had to be an accident. She and Allie hadn’t intended to come here, but Allie had requested it. Marcus and his buddies had come in from the other direction. It was still creepy as hell that they kept running into each other.
“What’s the message? Why is he using you to talk to Eric? Doesn’t he know that you two aren’t…” Allie’s voice trailed off. “Holy shit!”
“Don’t shout. I do not want more attention.”
Her news and secrets brought a huge smile to Allison’s face. A real one. “First things first,” her friend said. “What was the message?”
“He was surprised that Eric is “letting me” run around Winnipeg without a bodyguard. Since I’m pretty, apparently,” Bree said. “He said Eric should be doing a better job watching my back.”
“I wonder what he meant by that,” Leandra added.
“Do you know Marcus?” Bree asked her.
“I know of him,” Leandra said.
Allison worked on her milkshake. “It sounds like it might be a threat, but I don’t think it is one. Direct is much more effective, and Mr. Marcus Hotpants over there doesn’t look like the beat-around-the-bush type.
