I hadn’t meant to throw up all over Slater’s boots. It just happened, but the fact that he was being so pissy about it was making the thudding in my head even more painful. He only had himself to blame. What that lanky fucker expected to happen when he was bouncing his foot up and down on my stomach in the back of the van, God only knew.
“Here, take some water,” Kenny said quietly, pulling out a bottle of the pure stuff from fuck knows where before holding it to my lips.
I didn’t answer him, but my hands clung onto that bottle, and I drained it. I could hear Slater cursing and stomping around as the van came to a stop.
“Swill your mouth out then take a mint,” Kenny said casually, watching as I did exactly what he said like he was the older of the two of us. “Any better?” he asked, slapping an arm around my shoulder as I sat on the bench in the back and let my head fall into my hands again.
“Champion.”Champion.The very thing my father always used to say when asked how he was doing, making me sound just like him, despite the years of his absence.
“Yeah, you look like you could go ten rounds withTyson,” Kenny joked, choking out some kind of laugh that made it obvious he didn’t find anything funny at all. Slater threw the doors open, and the moment the fresh air hit me, I closed my eyes even tighter, locked my jaw and just soaked that shit in. There was a certain smell to this place that was practically in-fucking-describable. Once you were in the yard and you gave yourself up to club life, the whole atmosphere around you shifted.
It was a big welcome back embrace from my home, and I couldn’t wait to get inside and collapse on my bed. But I was also nervous. Not that I wanted to admit that to the guys around me now. Not that Icould.I was Drew Tucker. That man wasn’t allowed to be weak.
Dropping my hands, I let my eyes peel open, cleared my throat and looked out through the open doors. From where Harry had parked, I could see all the bikes lined up in position and the faint light from the front porch of The Hut. My eyes fell to the Harleys for just a short while before Kenny slapped my back again, turning to hop out of the van, too.
“They’re all waiting for you, brother,” he said quietly. I wasn’t sure when Kenny had turned from a boy to a man, but as my eyes caught his, I knew that transition had happened while I’d been away, and his zigzag eyebrows didn’t reflect shit about him anymore.
“Who’s in there?”
“Everyone.” Kenny nodded at me.
“Just our charter?” I asked.
“For tonight,” Slater almost whispered as he ran his free hand over his forehead.
I knew what that meant and I was grateful. It meant that for tonight, I wouldn’t have to put on a show to all the menfrom far and wide, who would eventually make their way down here to test me and my strength again. I’d be scrutinized, assessed, judged and more importantly, challenged. It was all part of the job.
Groaning as I let my body rise to a stand, I kept my head ducked, jumping down onto the gravelly ground beneath me and stumbling to find my feet. Both my hands gripped my brothers’ shoulders before I allowed myself to look up, and when I did, it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen. Our patch sign hung over the doorway of the wooden building that was my home.
Hounds of Babylon Motorcycle Club, Texas.
The one image that was tattooed across almost every inch of my chest because it was the mark of our patch, stared down at me: the central skull with his two guarding canines on either side.
Just like that, clarity took over. I could see what I stood for and why I was born. I was a member of the pack; a man who was created to become something greater than his father envisaged he himself could be.
“You can clean that shit up tomorrow,” Harry grumbled as he walked in front of us all and brought me out of my trance. My head snapped up to his and for the first time since I’d woken up, a small smile started to play on my lips again.
I ignored Harry’s quiet insults as the guys behind me shut up the van, and I made my way over to the front doors of the building. The steps creaked beneath the weight of my heavy boots while I took them slowly, savoring each moment and sound that was pulling me farther forward. When my hand eventually found the entrance, I stood staring at that door for far too long. Every breath I took made me feel like the oldme was resurfacing. Before I even knew what I was doing, I pushed against the wooden slats and let the warmth of my home drag me in.
“Drew!”
“Tucker!”
“And he’s back…”
They were all shouting. The air became thick with heavy accents, cries of my name and the sound of boots walking towards me while they all clapped like seals. It was embarrassing as shit and all I could manage was a raise of my brows as I began to scratch at the side of my face awkwardly. My eyes soon fell to Jedd who was standing behind the majority of the crowd with a smirk on his face and his arms folded across his chest.
“What? No banners?” I mouthed over at him.
Lifting his chin, he rolled his eyes and swirled a finger above his head before dropping it back down across his chest again. That was his signal for the cops.
Pushing past the faces in front of me, I tried to keep smiling at each and every one of them before making my way to stand in front of Jedd. He was a smarmy fucker and a few inches taller than me, with more black hair all over his body than a damn wild animal. But he was good at what he did. He was a good VP and second in command—or should that be a good leader, now?
“What’s happened?” I asked, adopting his pose as I looked up at him. “Trouble?”
“Nothing unusual. Couple of the guys got taken into holding. Public intoxication bullshit but we know it won't stick.”
“Shit. Not what we needed tonight. This unusual thesedays?”
