I heard Slater mutter something to Ayda, and I prayed to every god that pretended to exist that he was telling her to stand back. Not that she’d listen…
I swallowed harshly, my eyes rising up to Jacob who was stirring. His fingers twitched, and his legs moved before he slumped back down and fell asleep again. Too bad he wasn’t dead.
Travis’ feet crunched the gravel as he began to move away from me, but I stayed still. Always still.
“Come on, guys,” Travis challenged them all softly. “I’m playing the game. Tell me! What’s. The next. Move?” Hepaused, and I heard the creak of the leather as he folded his arms. “Or shallItellyouwhat’s going to happen here?”
There was a subtle shift from behind me. From the angle I was at, I could see Slater putting himself in between Ayda and Travis, forcing her behind him so she was protected.
“Club business, Ayda,” Slater muttered, but it was also for Travis.
“I think this goes a little beyond club business, don’t you, Portman?” Travis hit back at Slater. “I mean, my little brother was just being beaten half to death by your club president. Let’s not cry club business now because I’m staring at the pretty little blonde you’re all hell-bent on dying for.”
My fingers curled tight into my palms, and I almost contemplated spinning around and knocking that fucker to the ground, when Travis carried on with his little speech.
“How about I put my hands up in the air like this for you. Does that make it easier for you all to shoot me when you know I can’t get my hands to the guns strapped to my body?”
I heard Slater move, and I couldn’t stop the growl that erupted from the back of my throat.
“Don’t fucking move, Slater,” I commanded, breathing heavily. “Don’t move.”
“Fuck,” Slater growled.
“Slate, this is the Navs. They have the word rifle in their club name. You think he’s the only one who has a gun pointed at my head right now? Take a look around you? My guess is that there’re at least one or two guys on top of the storage units. Maybe a couple more hiding in the shadows waiting to pop out and surprise you.”
Travis’ low burst of laughter sounded anything but funny.
“Damn it, Tucker, I forgot how much I enjoyed beingaround you. Turn around for me, let me see that handsome face for a while.”
Grinding my teeth and pressing my lips together, I turned in a half circle until I was looking up at Travis, Slater, and Ayda in front of me.
Travis hadn’t changed much over the years. His hair was shorter, and his eyes looked darker, more in control than they once had, but he was still the same. His confidence in his abilities shone like no one else’s. If people thought I was a cocksure asshole, I had nothing on this guy.
“There he is,” Travis said through a smile, raising his hand in the air and delivering a signal to someone we couldn’t see. “You got me. I’m not here alone.”
Ayda’s eyes closed for a moment. Too long for a blink, so I had to assume it was a prayer. Her gun wasn’t pointed at Travis’ head anymore. It was pointed at the ground, the cold steel against her thigh where her dress stopped. Her finger was still pressed flat against the gun, but when her eyes opened again, chaos reigned behind the blue.
If ever there was a time for us to do the whole silent communication thing we did so well, this was it, and I only hoped she could see the stern look in my eyes when she glanced my way. The one that told her I loved her. I thought she was brave. I thought she was incredible. But if she got herself hurt, I’d be picking up the nearest gun and following her to wherever she went.
“I have to say, Tucker, it seems like your club is traveling on roads it doesn’t belong these days. First, you’re assaulting Babylon High’s football coach for no good reason—”
“Oh, I had my reasons,” I assured him.
“Remind me what those were again…” He tilted his head toone side, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I think you already know, Trigger.” I inhaled slowly. “He attacked a minor.”
“The Sutton chick, right? The chief’s daughter?”
I gave him a sharp nod, unable to say anything else.
“The chief of police who is letting his town go to shit. The one who now spends most of his days letting The Hounds of Babylon pull his strings so he can be the puppet who lets them get away with, I dunno…” His brows rose high as he leaned forward. “Murder?”
I frowned in confusion, my eyes searching his wildly as I tried not to swallow or show any signs of panic.
If Trigger Gatlin knew we’d been responsible for the explosion at the warehouse, it would mean disaster for all of us. It would mean the end of The Hounds. It would mean every Navarro Rifleman would question who we were and what we stood for, and I had a feeling it would mean every other charter of The Emps outside of Texas would now know, too.
I tried to remain cool, letting my confusion speak for me.
