Chapter Twenty-Eight
AYDA
No matter how many times I’d been there in the training room for one of Drew’s bouts with the other Hounds, or how desensitized I thought I was about watching him warm up for a fight, there was nothing in the world that could have ever prepared me for what was about to go down in this warehouse.
The air around us crackled the moment Drew conceded, a cacophony of noise exploding as Hounds and Navs alike shouted and talked over one another, desperate to encourage or issue threats. I wouldn’t have listened if I could have avoided it, but as it was, I was frozen to the spot, my heart in my throat, pounding so hard it drowned out most of the noise, while an odd sense of my future thrummed in my gut, reminding me what was growing there.
We couldn’t escape this now, and the part of me that was beginning to think like Drew understood why. Wars were made up of battles, and Drew and his Hounds had fought so many of them defensively over the years that this final round, where it mattered the most, meant he had to scale an offensive, even when our enemy had the upper hand. Drew wasn’t thinking about me, the baby, or his men as he rolled hisshoulders and bounced on the balls of his feet. He was thinking about the future. About freedom, security, and more importantly, peace, even if that meant we had to live it without him.
Tonight was his final stand. The night where he showed his enemies every last one of his strengths.
The rolling bloodlust that was slowly traveling around the room and transforming every man inside of it was now seeping inside of me. Tendrils of it worked through my flesh, setting my nerves alight until my whole body thrummed with it. I needed something to sate this new thirst because that volatile drive was the only thing stopping my emotions from overwhelming me.
With a desperate and angry swipe of my hand, I knocked away the arm of the Nav still holding me, and I pushed closer to the love of my life.
“Drew!” I called out, my body coming to a stop as arms folded around my waist to stop me from reaching him. I pushed them away again but stayed where I was as I waited for him to acknowledge me.
He flinched, his face twisting at the sound of my voice. He couldn’t look at me, but I saw the way he swallowed down his regret as he ran a palm over the knuckles on his right hand before he gave in and glanced up through hooded eyes.
His apology was there. I could see it.
But I also saw that he had to do this.
There was no other way out.
“Win,” I said loud and clearly. “You win.”
Drew held my gaze for a second, allowing himself a moment to take me in, but that moment flew by too quickly, and then Drew was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his neck stretched and his chin raised high as he stared back at Trigger like he was capable of killing him with nothing more than a look.
“I take a guy out—you let one of mine go. We got a deal?” heasked Travis one last time.
“We have a deal.”
“You try back out of that deal, find a loophole, throw any surprises, and I’ll kill you first.”
Travis raised both brows, and after careful consideration gave Drew a nod of approval.
Drew exhaled heavily in response, never taking his eyes from Trigger as he continued to bounce on his feet and point at Eric.
“I win this round, and Eric gets cut loose.”
Trigger hissed, dragging air in through his teeth. “Let’s save the most important ones for the later rounds. I’m not about to make this easy for you and give you a reason to stop fighting after two rounds, Tucker. Ayda and Eric go last.”
I expected Drew to argue at that, but he merely closed his eyes to compose himself, drawing in another breath that seemed to set his adrenaline on fire before he released it quickly and opened his eyes again, this time pointing at his brothers across the room.
“Moose.”
“Moose it is,” Trigger agreed, and then he summoned a man of his own.
The giant who’d pushed Drew into the warehouse was the first to take him on. The towering body of steel creaked when he walked into the space between Trigger and Drew. Trigger wanted to tire Drew out fast, and he clearly thought this was the best way to go about it.
The guy was huge. His face twisted in concentration as he sized up Drew and obviously underestimated him. That was something I wasn’t willing to do, but it didn’t stop that icy finger of fear from tearing down my spine.
This wasn’t like boxing I’d seen on television. There was no announcer telling me when the fight would start. There wasn’t a bell, a whistle, or a referee. It wasn’t even close to thecontests I’d seen in the training room. It started the moment the giant stepped forward and took a swing, his long limb lashing out and curling around faster than I’d expected him to be able to move.
Drew dodged it, leaning away and pulling his chin back before he danced backward, his hands up high as he bounced from side to side. The giant Nav threw another punch, his steps heavy and hard as he marched forward, and Drew moved like he knew where his opponent was going to go before the move was made. His eyes had changed, shifting from being concerned, to being alive with adrenaline. No one else was in the room with him but his enemy as he waited patiently to strike.
The Nav charged, his pace picking up until they were both at the ropes, and a large growl came from the Nav as his anger took over and he made another swing at Drew, only to miss as Drew ducked under his arm, bounced around and danced behind him on the balls of his feet. His back was to me, all flexing muscle and damp, bare skin as he continued to send the Nav in circles—the dirty giant who now looked like he wanted to eat Drew alive.
