As the distance grew between Pete and me, I allowed myself to relax against her, laughing and rolling my eyes as my hand ran up and down the top of her arm. “Have you always been dramatic, or is this a recent development?”
“Are you calling me a drama queen? ‘Cause you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
“Believe me, sweetheart, neither have you.”
“You’re a dramaqueen,too? Oh, this I have to see.” She laughed and leaned her head back on the shoulder closest to her, turning her head in search of a kiss.
Stopping just short of the bike, I turned and carefully placed my hands on Ayda’s cheeks. Now that she was in my grip again, I allowed myself a few seconds to appreciate her, letting my eyes go on a small exploration of her face before lowering my lips to hers. The soft, barely there moan that escaped her did the same thing it always did to me. Besides the obvious, it made me count my lucky fucks for the fact that she was still around and willing to stick by me.
I drew the moment out, making her feel the weight of my emotions while I could, because I had a feeling that once she heard what I was about to ask of her, I wouldn’t be getting kissed like that again any time soon.
Chapter Nine
Ayda
The drive to Rusty’s was quiet. I didn’t have my radio on because I wanted to think, which left only the sound of the car, the road under the tires, and the roar of Drew’s bike following me. There were kisses, and then there were kisses like the one he’d just given me. It was full of unspoken words, and I was curious about what he thought was going to piss me off so much.
The moment I pulled into the parking lot, the familiarity of the place filtered in and shifted the nagging doubt that had followed me from the cemetery. Rusty’s had always been a home away from home. There were days I felt like I could handle anything the world threw at me, simply because I was within its walls with my second adopted family. The old proverb, “Home is where the heart is” was pretty indicative of my life these days. The Hut and Rusty’s were the two places in the world where I wasn’t thinking about what was next or dwelling on the charred remains of our previous family home.
With the cold wind blowing off the interstate, I rushed to the door and inside, my ass holding the thing open for Drew as I let off a little shiver at the sudden change in temperature. The smell of bacon and fresh coffee twisted around my senses and made my stomach howl, just as Drew’s hand flattened on it.
“You’ve awoken the beast,” I whispered, venturing farther inside to my favorite booth in the place—the one Deeks always hid in when he was following me around. It was also the one Drew and I ended up in so we could avoid the stares. Living in a small town sucked most of the time, but when people were making assumptions, it was even worse. I’d heard it all. I was pregnant, doing drugs, and gang initiated by sleeping with every Hound in the pack—in some cases including all the other charters that had rolled in. I’d heard every idle piece of gossip and all the bullshit stories they could conceive. I’d heard everything but the truth, which was simple even in its purest form. I loved Drew Tucker, and his bunch of misfits was like a pack of brothers, all ready to draw blood in the name of my honor.
Pulling off my coat and sliding along the vinyl covering, I dragged my legs up under me and grinned across the table at Drew, who was running his hands through his hair and arranging his cut without so much as a glance around the place. I envied him his ability to shut out the rest of the world, to look without seeing. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he wasn’t constantly on high alert, but sometimes I liked to believe that the rest of it—the gossip and judgment of Babylonians—was just white noise to him.
“Okay, Mr. Tucker, once you and I have coffee, you need to start talking. The intrigue is killing me.”
His signature smirk was ever present as he ran a thumb down one side of his beard and assessed me. Drew’s hands fell to the surface in front of him before he linked them together.
“Let’s hope Janette isn’t too fast on her feet today then, huh?”
“Janette’s always quick on her feet. Sam, on the otherhand…” I said with a grin, my eyes hitting the kitchen door to see Sam’s face light up. She was working more since I’d cut back on my hours, and though she didn’t mind it, or the money, she looked exhausted most of the time. She didn’t bother coming over immediately. She headed straight to the coffee pot, giving me time to look back at Drew. “Coffee’s on its way. If you give her a complicated food order, you might just get the time in.”
“Dammit.” He groaned playfully. “I was hoping for Janette. She doesn’t hide her love for me like the rest of them do. Together, we could have made a beautiful distraction from the shit I really need to hit you with.” Drew’s eyebrows rose, his arms and hands sliding forward on the table before he ran his tongue over his lip and bit down. “Before we get into anything, you need to answer me one question.”
“Drew, you’re killing me here. Talk already.”
“Patience.”
“Drew.”
“Do you trust me?” he asked firmly, ignoring my not so silent pleas.
“With mine, and more importantly, my brother’s life. You know that.” I reached over and nudged his hands with mine on the Formica of the table.
“Good answer… because it’s Tate’s life that I’m going to be needing to borrow from you for something.”
The air stuck in my lungs the moment my brother’s name fell from his lips. The tips of my fingers were so cold. I barely noticed Sam sliding the mug of coffee onto the table, or the brief conversation she had with Drew. He ordered us both food, his face turning back to mine the moment she was out of earshot.
“Talk fast. I trust you. You know I do, butlifeandborrowdon’t sound very promising.”
Shuffling in his seat, he rolled his shoulders once before leaning forward and dipping his head to get as close as he could. “I wouldn’t do or ask anything from either of you if I thought that anything was going to happen, so just hear me out. Club business is club business. Don’t think for one moment that I don’t want to keep you away from that, because I do, but there are things going down with these kids, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that you have to go to the level of those you’re trying to defeat if you want to figure out what the fuck is going on.”
He paused, his lips parting to say something before he quickly decided against it, choosing instead to clear his throat and take a different route.
“It wouldn’t be anything dangerous, and me and the boys would be right beside him the whole time, but I want Tate to approach these kids. Try to find out what the hell is happening and who they are. This could work in your favor, too, Ayda. This isn’t just me sending him on some mission. This could be our chance,yourchance, to scare him off this life we both know you don’t want him leading. Tate talks the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk…”
There were a million disasters popping in my head, and a million and one scenarios that ended badly. The truth was, I had a choice to make, because Drew was right. The direction Tate was taking was away from the one he’d always talked about. He was intrigued by, not just the life that the Hounds led, but by the brotherhood, the acceptance, and the sense of belonging. I knew all of this because I felt it, too. I may not have had a dick, but these men were family to me. Thelonger I was there, the closer Drew and I became, the more I was a part of it all. I didn’t want to take that away from Tate, mainly because the wordnoonly seemed to bring out his determination.
