“Then you’re the reason I’m happy.”
“Ayda!”
“No, hear me out, Tate,” I said, placing my hand on his over the door handle. “I know this new world we live in is terrifying. I understand how much the thought of losing more people makes your insides shrivel up. Believe me, I get it, but these risks, these moments of gut wrenching fear, they’re worth it for me. That doesn’t mean I expect you to do the same. You know if you want to go live somewhere else, all you have to do is say the word. I love Drew, I love these boys, and I love The Hut, but you’re my brother, and you will be forevery day of forever.”
“I could never ask you to give this up… I couldn’t—”
“You couldn’t give it up either, huh?” I asked gently. “Then it’s probably best we sit down and have us a good, old-fashioned heart to heart about it, and it’s about time you were honest with yourself about what you want out of life, Tate. The Hut, the pack, they’re always going to be here.”
It was at that point the door opened, and Drew, in all of his broken and bruised glory, leaned against the door frame, looking between us.
His eyes landed on Tate’s as he folded his arms across his chest. “Not that I was eavesdropping or anything, but your sister’s right. We’re always here for you, brother.” The way he said the word brother had Tate’s eyes flickering nervously between the two of us. It wasn’t said as just a term of endearment, but as a mark of respect. It was Drew’s way of telling him he was one of the pack now, and that they loved him like he had always been their own.
I smiled, gravitating toward Drew as I always did when he was nearby, but my eyes were on Tate. “You have the world in the palm of your hand. You have choices that not many do, and you have the support of everyone around you, because believe it or not, we just want you to succeed. You still have a few years to explore your options, to be a kid and enjoy it. All I’ve ever wanted for you was to follow your dreams, Tate, because I found mine.”
I grinned up at Drew. I’d always had big dreams for myself growing up. I had a career planned out, I knew what city I wanted to live in, and I’d always known that I would have a big family one day. The one thing I hadn’t counted on was circumstances changing, but life had put me on a path,and no matter how much I hated some of the things that had happened along the way, I would never regret where I ended up.
The smirk he gifted me with that time wasn’t filled with certainty or arrogance. It held nothing more to it than a happiness he was getting braver at showing, day by day. He eventually tore his gaze away to focus his attention back on my brother.
“No one expects you to find this easy, T. Truth be told, I’m still learning about all this myself. I’m walking blind, but if I’ve learned one thing this last week, it’s that I can’t control what I feel for your sister. Not every kind of love is gonna be easy, but all I know now is that I’d rather spend my life on the edge with her than doing or being with anything or anyone else out there and playing it safe. I’ve got something important to protect, and you’re included in that. The stuff on the outside heals, but I can’t fix myself if I lose Ayda. I’ll do whatever it takes to make the two of you happy. I’ll fund any college you want to go to. You have options. You just need to talk to us.”
I smiled up at Drew. The man I saw behind closed doors wasn’t always the man everyone else got to see. I knew that Tate rarely got to see anything other than Drew Tucker, president of the Hounds. This time, he was witnessing the man I loved with every part of my body, heart and soul.
“See, Tate? There are no rules, no right and wrong. You can have the whole world. You just have to go after it.”
Drew leaned down to whisper something in my ear, leaving me no time to protest, even if I’d wanted to before he stood up straight again.
“Why don’t the two of us step away from your sister for a second, Tate. Let’s have a man to man chat about what optionsyou have. You can ask me anything. Shoot any shit my way, I can take it. I’ll be honest with you about the club, the lifestyle, your sister, anything you want.”
I hadn’t expected the comment to come, but when Tate’s eyes lit up and moved between us, all I could do was nod and smile, my hand reaching out and squeezing his before I backed away and winked at them both. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
I’d only taken two steps back when Drew grabbed a hold of the door frame, twisted his head back over his shoulder and gave me a look. “Don’t you go too far. A favor for a favor.” Then he shut the door carefully, leaving me standing bewildered and amused. There were no words for how much I loved that man.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Drew
When I finally walked back out into the bar, I didn’t head straight for her the way I should have. I meant what I said to her about needing her to return my favor. I just had to hope that what I was about to ask her to do wouldn’t be too much.
After pulling Harry to one side and having a quiet word in his ear, I got the nod from him and headed back to my room to get dressed, passing Deeks in the corridor before I slid inside.
“Hey, Deeks,” I said, clearing my throat and crooking my finger at him. “I never thought I’d see the day when you moved faster on your feet than I did, but is there any chance you could find Ayda for me and bring her back here? If she asks questions, just plead ignorance.”
Deeks threw up both hands and shook his head. “I don’t have to pretend to be ignorant around here. I learned a long time ago that if I asked no questions, I’d have no lies to tell. Consider it done.” He laughed and took off, rolling his shoulders in his old cut while I turned away and went inside my room. It hurt to try and dress too quickly, so I threw on a baggy zip up hoodie and stood there, waiting in front of the door with my hands hidden deep inside the pockets of my sweat pants.
When she pushed through, I held my breath and smiled flatly at the woman that had finally given me a reason to live.
Her eyes widened briefly at my appearance before meeting my gaze, her tongue sweeping her lips before she smiled brightly. “You look nervous, Mr. Tucker.”
“That’s because I am, Hanagan.”
She walked toward me slowly, her smile fading a little as she reached out and wrapped one of her hands around my wrist lightly. “What’s going on?”
“Remember that returning favor I mentioned before?”
“Anything. What do you need?”
I studied the blue of her eyes the way I always did. No matter how often I looked into them, I always seemed to find myself getting a little lost inside the magic. My voice cracked when I spoke, and I began to wonder if this was a good idea at all.
