“The truth is that he did better than we could have hoped.” His finger rose to press against my mouth, cutting me off before I even thought about attempting to share mythoughts. “I know him hitting the chief of police wasn’t part of the plan, but he showed no fear and he brought home the info we needed. I don’t want to admit this any more than you want to hear it, but he was a natural out there. It’s gonna be harder for us to pull him back than I thought. When he made the decision to grab that little shit, I thought he’d lost his damn mind. I could have killed him myself. But he saw the cut, Ayda. He saw what the fake HOB patch was hiding.”
“What exactly was it hiding?”
Drew’s face seemed to brighten all at once, even if his eyes still looked as tired as I felt. “Some old patch that represents a group of kids from way back in the nineties. They were doing the same things these boys are doing. Saw themselves as big shots, went around stealing cars, starting fires, throwing bricks through innocent folks’ windows. Real set of assholes who were craving their parents’ attention or some shit. I don’t know. Four of them ended up with life sentences after setting fire to the gas station on the other side of Babylon. They hurt people, ruined lives to create egos.” He sucked in a breath, his sarcasm dripping from him as he spoke through the release. “Called themselvesThe Widow Makers.”
“So this is some group of kids copying another stupid group of kids? Why would they be dumb enough to wear your patches, though? Why now?”
“Wish we knew. They could be family of the old gang, seeking some kind of retaliation on the town, even though Babylon didn’t even try to defend itself at the time. From the stories I’ve heard, it all happened fast. But my guess is that they’re wearing our patches to get instant recognition. They want everyone scared and they want them scared fast—and who does everyone in Babylon already fear more thananything or anyone else?”
“The Hounds,” I whispered, wriggling on his lap. “They have to know that you and the guys aren’t going to take it lightly? Why incur your wrath? Why risk getting caught, even if they do want to instill fear in people?”
“Maybe they didn’t expect us to give a shit.” His hands moved around to the base of my spine, his chest expanding and the muscles flexing beneath his hoodie. “If we’re taking part in a confessional, before seeing how they squared up to Tate tonight, I wasn’t sure how seriously I was gonna take them at all. I didn’t want to give a shit. Now that I know what they stand for and who they’re connected to, they won’t be around much longer. I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s thanks to your brother that we know what we know now, and that can only be a good thing for everyone in Babylon.”
The pride was shining from Drew’s eyes. Tate had done them a service. He’d been asked to do something and he’d exceeded expectations. The kid never did anything by halves so I should have been prepared for it. From the moment he brought the Hounds into our lives, I had seen his focus shift slowly day by day. The running was the only thing he indulged in. He cut back on almost half of his practice time to do weights in the Hounds’ gym with Kenny and some of the others, and the Bulldog pride he’d been so certain of was slowly diminishing, replaced by running errands for the pack. He still loved football. I saw it on the field behind the yard where he threw the ball to some of the guys. I just wasn’t certain it was his endgame anymore.
“I need you to be honest with me, Drew. Tate’s not going to leave, is he? He’s not going to want the scholarship or the pro career in football. He’s going to buy himself thatStreet 500he keeps researching and he’s never going to leave Babylon unless it’s a ride out to another charter.”
His blue-green eyes shone back at me. “If I can stop that from happening, I will. I don’t want this life for him any more than I want you to have to endure it. And since when has he been researching bikes?” Drew’s smirk was weak, and I knew he was putting on a show to distract me. Some things didn’t need to be said for them to be heard.
“Since he rode with me into Corsicana. There’s a dealership there. He begged me to stop and I did, not thinking anything of it until I saw him climb on the damn thing. It suited him, Drew, and the smile he was wearing…” I dropped my head, leaning forward to rest it on his chest as my hands gripped just under his ribs. “You can’t stop this any more than I can. I love that you would try for me, but he’s made up his mind, and the kid is just like my dad in that respect. You could say no until you were blue in the face, but he’d only keep at it and resent me for taking it away from him. I have a feeling this will be his last season.”
I felt the heat of his words against me when he pressed his lips to my hair, while his hands ran up and down my spine in soothing lines. “Darlin’, sometimes you’ve just got to stop thinking so much and see where the road takes you. And sometimes you’ve got to believe in the power of bribery. He’s fifteen. Tate will do whatever you ask of him if we just dangle the right toy a few feet away from his grabby little hands.”
I let out a half laugh and turned my head to press my cheek against the warmth of his chest. “You think I’m stubborn? The kid is ten times worse, but he has charisma and charm. He’s going to be sixteen in just over a month, and in two years, he will be old enough to do whatever the fuck hewants.”
“The benefit of being part of this fucked up family is that you’re never of an age to be old enough to do whatever the fuck you want. Tate is no exception to that rule. We’ll figure it out,” he said, his hand making its way through the ends of my hair before I felt it slide down to my ass. “And you have your own charisma and charm. I like to call this charm,” he said through an obvious grin, giving my ass a squeeze, before he pulled his hand around and slid it between our bodies, groping my breast. “While these are called charisma.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I watched his fingers flex, his thumb brushing over my nipple that was beginning to become very obviously hard from the interaction with him.
“You named my ass and boobs? I’m honored. This is a first for me, Mr. Tucker,” I said a little breathlessly as my hands slowly slid from under his ribs to the buckle of his belt. My body was already responding, the tightening in my stomach reflecting where I was pushed against his thighs.
“I have more in my head, but I’ll never tell.” Taking me by surprise, Drew’s hand found its way to mine, pressing down carefully to stop me from doing anything with his belt, his other hand rising to my chin and forcing me to look up. “Not until you tell me what happened with Sutton, since we’re laying all our cards on the table.”
Dipping my head and slipping his thumb into my mouth, I sucked gently, my teeth grazing the edges as I pulled back, eventually releasing it with a soft kiss. “I’d be glad to explain, but later. I’m horny and he’s just going to make that go away.” Pushing up to my knees, I shuffled closer to him, my eyes still locked on his. “It’ll make a good bedtime story.”
“Ayda,” he groaned. “Your head is still bleeding, for fuck’s sa—Ooh. Oh, shit. Okay.”
Chapter Twenty
Drew
“I’m not sure I understand,” Slater said from the old sofa in my office. His ankle was resting over his knee as he ran his hand through the back of his hair and frowned at me.
“That’s because you’re a dumb fuck,” I said through a grin, my feet resting on the floor, moving my chair from side to side as I bought myself some time.
“Either that or someone slipped some strong shit in my coffee this morning, ‘cause I swear I just heard you tell us all that you want to work with Sutton.”
I gave him a sharp nod, my smile turning sarcastic as I widened my eyes.
Jedd leaned forward next to Slater, his hands clasping together in between his parted legs. “Gotta admit, brother, I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth, either.”
“I like it,” Harry piped up from across the desk, his cough cutting his last word off before he brought his hand to his chest and smacked it. It didn’t stop him from grinning like I’d just told him Liz Hurley was on her way to blow him, though. He’d always had a thing for her.
Planting my feet on the floor, I turned to him and frowned. “When was the last time you saw doc?”
“About what?” he choked out, growling as he cleared his throat.
“You know what, dickhead.”
