“The real question is could I go on if I didn’t spare them and something happened to you?” I raised a brow and flexed my jaw.
Smiling sadly, she nodded her understanding and drew in another breath. “Do what you have to.”
“Always do,” I mouthed back, grateful for her understanding. “Sloane and Tate will go to school as normal…”
“I wish there was a way to get Jacob fired. I’d feel much better if the one tie to the Navs was out of the school.”
“And I understand that… more than you know, but for now, an enemy in plain sight, working nine ‘til five every day is a much safer enemy to us than one hiding in the shadows, eyeing us like he’s the wolf and we’re the sheep.”
“Jacob may be in the light,” she said with a snort of derision. “But it’s the Nav that’s hiding in his shadow that I’m worried about the most. I just can’t get that haunted feeling to go away…” She trailed off, her eyes going distant, and her mind ticking almost loud enough for me to hear it.
“So let’s bring him out to play.”
“Tell me how. You know I’m on board. All in. Remember.”
My smirk tickled my lips as I stared at her through hooded eyes. “Believe me, that’s something I’m never gonna forget.
Chapter Twenty-Six
AYDA
Ithink there was a part of me that expected Drew to explode at my suggestion of getting involved. So much had been going on that I felt as though we had a dozen or so balls in the air and only a set of hands to catch them all with. In the same vein, I should have known better. This wasn’t just about him and me—this was the whole club and all of our futures. That meant using everything he had at his disposal to pull things off, including me. That didn’t mean he would be careless. I understood that. After everything we’d been through together, everything we’d survived together, I trusted him implicitly, and I knew I would be safe.
Meeting his gorgeous blue-green eyes, I nodded in understanding and extended him an invitation to continue.
“There were several ways we could have handled this, and believe me, the guys and I went through all the options in that room before we came to a unanimous vote. As much as I’d love to go and skull-fuck Jacob until he bled all the information I need from him, there are kids involved here. Tate might not seem young to us. He might not act it, and Sloane already seems ten years older than she is since Maisey’s death… but theyarekids, and that means we’ve all had to pause and take a breath.” He took another step closer. “Tomorrow morning, Sutton is going to meet with the head of Babylon High before he addresses the entire school. He’s going to spare us two of his men and put them on patrol for the entire week, on account of the anonymous report he’s received about a sexual assault on Babylon High grounds. He’s going to stay extra calm to throw the scent off Sloane being the suspected victim.”
Pressing my teeth into my bottom lip, I nodded in understanding. I hated that the assault had to be put out there like that, even without a name. It seemed like that was provoking the attacker by telling him that the assault was reported, but I also understood that it needed to be done.
“That makes sense. It protects Sloane from a retaliation attack and it lets the asshole who did that to her know there’s been some light shed on the situation, right? It also gives us eyes on Jacob and leaves a police presence at the school to watch over him and his association with the other MC.”
He nodded. “Not only that, it means the Navs won’t go anywhere near the place, and that’s the most important thing. Our top priority, besides you, is keeping Sloane and Tate safe. Speaking of which…” Drew rubbed his lips together, his brows knitting together for a fraction of a second before he looked up at me, practically cringing. “ I’m going to need to ask a favor from the both of them. A big one.”
“That’s always ominous.” There was a tone of humor injected just to take some of the weight off the conversation. “Hit me, and if I can help, I will.”
“I need them to pretend they’re dating again, and I need them to be convincing. Not just to Jacob, but to the whole school.”
I made a face, baring my teeth in a grin. “That’s going tobe a fun conversation. You want me to tackle that? It maybe easier considering I outed Kenny and Sloane before Kenny was even ready to admit there was something there.”
“Please, be my fucking guest with that one. This place is becoming like some teenage Bachelorette, and I have enough to deal with.” He faked a shudder. “The important thing is that Jacob needs to see two things. One: that everyone in the club is happy… including Sloane and Tate. We have no idea of Jacob’s association with The Navs, therefore we’re not concerned. Two: that everyone in the club has the backing of Sutton and the rest of the force in Babylon. Whoever it was that attacked Sloane, whether it had anything to do with the Navs or it was just some punk kid with too many raging hormones, they’re being watched. But we can’t let Jacob know that it’s Sloane who has been hurt. I have a feeling that he would take way too much pleasure in knowing we, as well as Sutton, had let one of our own get hurt. That’s why if Tate is on Sloane’s arm, and they’re acting happy and in love, it will throw Jacob off the fact that it was actually her who was hurt.” Drew swallowed, collecting his breath as he pushed his hands back into his jeans pockets again and shrugged. “This is the life of the MC, Ayda. It’s lies, games, smoke and mirrors. It’s not always easy when the web gets as tangled as this, but we do what we have to do to make sure we’re the ones who survive when the enemies strike.”
“I get it. You have to think about everyone as a collective, not just individually. You don’t have to convince me.” I took a breath and thought about everything, letting it sink in slowly. It wasn’t a bad strategy. Throwing everyone else off their game was smart. No one outside the club would know what was going on. This injected confusion and made everyoneelse have to think about what came next, while we would have eyes on every player. I could do my part to help this, and I would. “I’ll pull the four of them aside today, and I’ll make them understand. If you want happy, they’re going to be happy, Tate, Kenny, and Libby will be easy; they’re already a part of this life. Sloane may take some convincing. What else do you need me to do?”
“Well, Kenny already knows the score, but it would be a good idea for him to be there with you when you tell Sloane. Something tells me you’re not going to be too happy about the next thing I’m going to ask of you, though.”
I studied his handsome face, keeping mine neutral. “You know I’ve figured a lot of shit out when it comes to the MC. Whatever you need means whatever you need, even if I’m not particularly happy about it.”
“We’re going to need you to convince Rusty to close the diner for the night on Friday.” He rushed out his words, pausing abruptly as his eyes held mine. “And host a belated sweet sixteenth. For Tate. And all his friends.” He cringed. “And most of Babylon… including the entire MC.”
I sat in my truck staring at the front windows of the diner with some inner conflict. Deeks and Kenny had pulled their bikes into the spot next to the one my truck was occupying and were waiting patiently for my exit. Deeks, ever the understanding mind reader that I loved, just took his time pulling his gloves and helmet off, checking his phone casually like he had been expecting this. Kenny, however, was staring at me through the window in question.
I was being a chicken, and I knew it.
My best bet was to approach Janette. Janette was reasonable, she was kind, and she wouldn’t slap me with whatever she happened to be holding. Rusty was hard. Rusty was a traditionalist and a businessman. He was also wicked with a spatula and a ladle.
Shit.
At least I had some backup.
