Pulling her other hand away from her face, I lowered it into her lap and dipped my head to catch her eyes.
“The kid’s fine. He’s had worse injuries than this out on the field. Ain’t that right. Tate?”
He mumbled something beside me that sounded vaguely like reassurances, but he was in as much shock as she was. Reaching up, I brushed a small trail of blood out of the way before it dropped over her brow, sighing heavily as my skin prickled.
“You didn’t hit anything. You stopped the car. You’re safe now. The heart and pride can take a back seat for a while. We need to get you home so we can take a look at your head.We’ll deal with all the other crap another day.”
“This is my fault, all my fault. I just… I’m an idiot.”
She swiped the tears from her cheeks with her trembling hand and sucked in a steadying breath. As she released it in a long stream, her cheeks pinked and her eyes closed, the sudden burst of emotion catching up with her. In need of drawing attention away from her emotional outpour, she held her hand between us, her eyes fluttering open as she studied it.
“I can’t stop shaking.”
Trapping her hands between both of mine, I stilled her, keeping my eyes on hers as I pressed my palms together and held her firmly. “There. All stopped,” I whispered through a sad smile. “I’ve got you now.”
Ayda stared at our hands for the longest time. Her breaths seemed to return closer to normal with every cycle of inhales and exhales. When she finally looked up and met my eyes, all I could see was everything she wanted to say, but couldn’t with Tate in the car. Instead, her fingers curled around mine.
“I want to go home.”
“That I can do,” I breathed back. “I’m just going to need a phone from one of you to call the guys so we can get this thing towed away. Plus, Harry is better with tending to the wounded than I am, believe it or not.” I smirked, lowering my mouth to her fingers and brushing my lips over them.
“Right. My phone,” she said, tearing her eyes away from mine and looking over at Tate, who pulled her purse from between his body and the door sheepishly.
I didn’t wait around to ask what that look meant. Slipping out of the car, I pulled her bag out with me and reached inside for her cell. Scrolling through like the big thumbed, useless idiot I was, I found the number saved under ‘Home’ anddespite the situation, felt my lips curling into a smile.
Kenny answered, but it was fleeting. He slammed the phone down in anger, still pissed at me for the Tate shit, and told me they’d all be here within fifteen minutes. That was enough time for me to have a walk around to the other side of the car and check the damage. It wasn’t anything that a good wash down, a brake test, and maybe some new tires couldn’t fix, but I wasn’t going to tell Ayda that. From now on, she’d be riding in a car that at least had some airbags.
I helped Tate out, watching as he cracked his neck when he stood up straight, the new, baby-like wrinkles on his scrunched up face showing he was in more pain than he wanted us to see.
“You think you can make it up there, brother?” I asked, pointing back to the mudslide I’d come down. Not too far to the left was a gravel path, one that would be much easier for two wounded Hanagans to climb. Well, one at least. Ayda wasn’t going to do anything but rest in my arms, no matter how much she fought me on it.
“Sure.” Tate nodded. “I’m good.”
The kid was earning more and more points for bravery as the day wore on.
“You grab her bag. I’m gonna go get your sister.”
“Got it,” he croaked out before clearing his throat.
“We’ll talk about everything later, Tate.” My hand tapped his shoulder gently before I ran around to the other side of the car and pulled Ayda up in to my arms. As predicted, she told me she was strong enough, and she told me she could walk, but my silence as my arms curled under her body told her this wasn’t up for debate. With her hands clasped around my neck, I felt her breathe in against the leather of my cut beforedropping her head to my chest and giving up her fight.
By the time we made it back to the roadside, the men were pulling up in convoy—one tow truck, two bikes, a repossessedRamtruck and a crashed outCorolla. We couldn’t have looked more like aMickey Mousemotorcycle club if we tried.
Sliding Ayda into the front seat of the repo car, I let Harry through as he gave her the full check and tried to talk her around. No part of me wanted to take my eyes from her, but it was only when she repeated that she wanted to go home that I knew I had no choice. She needed looking after the way she’d done for me so many times before.
Walking back around the hood, I paused when I saw Slater coming towards me, his feet slipping and sliding as he climbed back up the slope with the end of a rope in one hand.
“Didn’t you see the pathway over there?” I smirked, pointing over his head and watching as he squinted down in the dark before cursing quietly to himself.
“I like a challenge.” He eventually grinned.
I was just about to reply when I saw his eyes drift over my shoulder and heard the thunderous roar of engines rolling down the street we were parked on. It was now the early hours of the morning and no one should be on the streets of Babylon except for us and the cops, and seeing as we were all accounted for, the fact that three bikes were heading our way had my spine straightening and my eyes narrowing as I turned to watch them fly past us.
Only then did the noise seem familiar, and I remembered the bikes that had tore past me on my way to rescue Ayda and Tate.
As I watched their backs disappear into the distance, Iheard Slater step up closer behind me.
“Unmarked,” he said quietly.
