I was going to have to kill my brother.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ayda
Hiding had actually turned out to be quite productive. I had four platters of sandwiches that may never get eaten, cut into perfect triangles and ready to go. I’d been checking my phone every thirty seconds for the last hour, picturing exactly what Tate was doing and where he should be. Unfortunately, the very obvious threat that had been directed at me that morning had been playing on my mind since I’d realized school was over and football practice was coming to an end.
Draining the last of the beer from my bottle and throwing it in the huge trashcan, I put my hands on my hips and stared at the sandwiches again. Might as well do something to distract myself. I wasn’t leaving anytime soon—at least not until we got the all clear, and with everyone as drunk as they were, I couldn’t see that being anytime soon.
Picking up the pastrami, I used my tray balancing skills from Rusty’s and headed to the door, butt pushing it out of the way. The moment I did, the smell of cigarettes and stale beer almost brought tears to my eyes. The radio was in full swing, another one of my favorites drowned out by idle chatter and the laughter of the men.
I’d honestly thought that no one would want to eat, butthe sandwiches were almost gone before I found a surface clean enough to put them on. The ham went even faster, and the chicken salad was gone before I was halfway across the room. The men liked their mayo.
“Maybe you should take some of these to Drew,” one of the guys said with a laugh as I brought the turkey sandwiches out. Before I knew what I was doing, I put on the brakes and backed up to the man that had spoken.
“I’m sorry?”
“Drew,” he said, nodding to the bar where the big guy known as Jedd was leaning over a slumped over Drew. Admittedly, he looked wasted, but I shrugged and smiled at the guy. Drew had two legs. If he wanted sandwiches, he could come get them.
It didn’t matter what I did after that. My attention was divided between Drew and worrying about Tate. When all of the sandwiches were out and their fate was decided, I started to clean up as much as I could, my eyes gravitating across the room with every smash of a bottle at the bottom of the bag, as though it would somehow glean his attention.
Had I had a chance to analyze my own behavior, I’d have probably noticed that what I was doing wasn’t healthy. This projected anger I had was for all the wrong reasons. I should have been pissed off that I’d been put in danger. I probably should have been angry that my brother was out there after a thug had threatened me, which I was upset about, but not directly at Drew. I should have been fuming that I was being held against my will in a cesspool of sex, alcohol, and some pretty depraved behavior. Yet, over all of that, what I’d chosen to be upset about was the girl.
I almost cried out in relief when I saw Deeks’ familiarface heading towards me, looking hurt about the sandwiches. He was gazing at one of the bigger guys who was hoarding a platter all to himself in the corner of the room. The moment I saw him, I pushed through the crowd, my hands landing on his shoulders. He actually looked sober.
“Where the hell have you been, Deeks?”
“Boss sent me out on a little errand,” he said, watching another stack of food pass by. “Tell me you saved me some sandwiches, Ayda.”
“You’ve been out there alone?” I asked, staring daggers across the room at the man still moving around slow enough to make a sloth look supersonic.
“Not technically.” Deeks grinned, stepping aside and revealing Tate, who seemed more interested in his surroundings than seeing me. At least he was until I threw my arms around him.
“Ayda, stop.” The kid tried to pry me away from him and gave up, pulling me close with a chuckle. He’d never seen me in this environment before, and for the first time since I’d seen Drew with the whore, I was concerned about something other than how they’d made me feel.
“Shut up, T. You have no idea how worried I’ve been.” I looked over at Deeks and mouthed a thank you. He honestly had no idea how much I owed him. If Tate had been hurt, threatened or anything I didn’t have a chance to fix, I would be the one stalking that creepy Cortez guy.
The sentimentality between my brother and me was over the moment Tate tried to shake me off as one of the whores passed by giving him a lingering look. It was at that point I suddenly realized I had a problem on my hands. Tate was safe from the danger out there, but he was far from safe when itcame to alcohol poisoning and depravity in The Hut.
I wasn’t sure he would ever cheat on Sloane, but then again, men had a tendency to think with their dicks when they were tanked up on alcohol and a piece of ass was being offered up on a silver platter, which was exactly what was going on here. It was also the trap Drew had fallen into. A trap he was used to living in every night of his life.
My stomach dropped, and I slipped away from Tate, my hand grabbing his forearm as his body gravitated to a game that required taking off clothes when you lost. Not something Tate needed to be a part of.
“There’s a plate of sandwiches for you if you take him to the kitchen for me, Deeks.”
“Sold.” Deeks had a hand on his back and was pushing him toward the kitchen before Tate could argue. He knew there was beer in the fridge as well as I did, and with food in there, he’d be happy for at least an hour. The only problem I had now was building up the courage to talk to Drew about somewhere to put my brother, and possibly sleep if we were being held there over night.
I took a breath and paced behind some of the taller guys who were standing between the bar and me. I glanced between each, watching as Drew spoke to his friend, his drunkenness obvious. He was listing to the side, and his balance was less than great, but even I could see how close he was to toppling off the stool. Heading over there to catch him seemed easy enough, and it was most certainly an icebreaker. I was a grown woman, completely in control of her faculties and hormones. I wasn’t attracted to him at all. It was a moment of weakness because I was being flirted with. The man could make me mad without trying; that was all it was.
I watched him sway from side to side and growled at myself, rolling my eyes as I burst through my line of privacy screens and pushed through to the bar, ducking under his arm as he started to go.
“Easy there, Tucker.” I glared at Jedd before moving my eyes to Drew, realizing what a mistake I was making. “How about you take a break for a while? It’s still early yet.”
His eyes were shut in a sleepy state as his head leaned in closer to mine and he whispered. “You smell like someone I know called Ayda. Do you—” A small hiccup escaped the back of his throat and I watched as he sucked in sharply and pressed his lips together before speaking again. “Do you know her? Dresses a little bit plain, always so moody, but has a nice ass and a pert pair of tits?”
“Quite intimately, actually.” I huffed, trying to balance his weight. “And I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
I looked up at Jedd with a questioning glance, but all I got in return was a smirk as his palms lifted to the ceiling, he backed up and walked away. Son of a bitch.
