Chapter Five
Ayda
Considering what a bad day it had been, I found myself almost in high spirits when I came home that night. It was ten thirty, I had nowhere else to be, and walking into a clean house didn’t hurt, either.
Heading to the fridge, I grabbed myself a beer and kicked off my shoes with a groan of appreciation.
Standing on my feet for four hours doing absolutely nothing productive was more draining than it should have been.
At least I’d had some entertainment. The MC had been out in full force.
There was coming and going from the bar across the street for most of the night.
Most of them were absolutely annihilated.
Huge, leather-clad men were stumbling around like teenage girls, their arms slung around scantily clad women who seemed more than eager to please.
I envied them their freedom, but that was about the crux of it.
I had more self-control and pride than that.
They didn’t have the responsibilities I did and they wasted it all.
I just needed something to hold my attention, and the distraction came in the form of a six-pack, microwave popcorn, and a cheesy eighties movie in the darkness of my living room.
There was nothing like the brat pack to make you feel better about your life.
I was just up to the part where the hottie showed up at her sister’s wedding when there was a hammering at the door.
My popcorn had a near miss with the couch as I scowled at the door over my shoulder and felt around in the flickering light of the television for the remote to mute it.
The little screen in the corner told me it was almost midnight.
Pushing myself up, I tiptoed to the door and peeked through the blinds, my shoulders sagging with relief as I noted the uniform on the other side.
It wasn’t half as scary when you knew half of the people in town, and this was someone everyone knew.
Unlocking the three sets of deadbolts and pulling it open, I smiled at Chief Sutton.
He wasn’t bad looking for his age, and I seemed to be the only one he didn’t feel the need to hold his gun when speaking to.
Most people in town didn’t take offense on account that they were used to it.
“Evening, Chief.”
“Miss Hanagan. I’m sorry I’m disturbing you so late. The MC is out in full force this evening and I know you work late most nights. Sloane was worried about you and Tate. She asked me to check in on you.”
I shifted from one leg to the other, suddenly feeling a kernel of popcorn dislodge from my shirt and drop down into my bra. I had to fight the inclination to grab for it as I smiled at the chief, completely confused as to why he or Sloane would be worried.
“Oh, that’s a lovely thought, Chief, and I appreciate your concern, but Tate’s in bed, and I’m in for the night. To be honest, neither Tate nor I have interacted with the MC outside of serving them coffee at work. We stay out of their way and they do whatever it is they do.”
“Whatever it is they do is exactly what I’m worried about.
The boys are having a celebration tonight.
I have a couple of them in holding cells for trying to ride loaded and I’ve given warnings to the rest. They’re generally not too bad in town these days.
They don’t like to crap where they eat, but tonight appears to be an exception. ”
“Well, like I said, we’re both in for the night, but I appreciate your concern, sir. It was really kind of you to come by and check on us. Thank Sloane for me, too, won’t you?”
“I will. Lock up and have a good night, Miss Hanagan.”
“You too, Chief. Be safe out there.”
He turned away, his hand on his gun as he took off down the porch steps.
The only signal that he’d heard me at all was a wave over his shoulder before he climbed into his cruiser.
I waved him off, waiting for him to be out of sight before pulling the popcorn from my bra, throwing it in the grass and shutting the door behind me.
“You just had to date the chief of police’s daughter didn’t you?” I mumbled, heading back toward Tate’s room, half laughing and half shaking my head in frustration. I stopped outside his door and took a deep breath before pushing it out of my way and staring at the disaster zone.
“Hey, bright spark, your girl just got her dad to check on—”
The words got stuck in my throat as nothing but the mess met me.
His bedside light was on, and the sea of clothes littering the floor cast deep shadows over the cheap rug that was curling at the edges.
I could see a piece of paper on his pillow but I was dubious about entering, unsure of what lay beneath the material.
If I hadn’t been so worried, I wouldn’t have gone in at all, but that paper taunted me from its place.
I turned to check the bathroom, but the door was open and the light was off. The little shit had climbed out of the window. As I turned to look, it only confirmed what I already knew. It was wedged open an inch so he could let himself back in. He’d left the house, but for what?
“You’re so fucking grounded,” I mumbled, kicking the football jersey to the side before venturing toward the bed, cautiously.
I almost twisted my ankle on the empty bourbon bottle by the side of it, my breath hissing out of me as my concern grew.
He wasn’t a drinker and it had been half full, which meant he’d been loaded when he left.
I was just grateful he only had his learner’s permit, or I’d probably end up bailing him out of jail, or worse, the hospital.
Planting my ass on his bed after inspecting it for God knows what, I pushed the note under the light and started to read.
Ayda
I know you said you’ve got this under control, but I can’t let you keep doing this. I’m going to make this better. I’m the man of the house and it’s time I started acting like it. If you find this, please don’t worry. I will be back soon.
Love you
T.
Man of the house? Where the hell had he even heard that before? I’d made sure he hadn’t had some misplaced misogynistic view of the world after our parents died.
Locking his window so he had no choice but to come to the front door, I hopped and skipped over the shit on his floor, before heading back to the living room and settling myself on the couch with a blanket to watch the television on quiet.
Dread was circling my heart like a vulture, my blood chilled as my eyes locked on the door and stayed there. Even if I did fall asleep, it would be the first thing I would see when I opened them. The chain would be more than enough to disturb me.
Time dragged. Every minute felt like ten, and every hour like four. I eventually went for a bath in an attempt to calm myself down, keeping the door sitting wide open so I could hear my kid brother’s endeavor to get into the house.
It was only when I woke with a start that I realized I’d been dozing.
The flash of light that lit up the room as someone turned into our drive sent me to my feet.
My body propelled toward the door with more impetus than I intended when I tripped over the blanket that was twisted around my legs.
It was only when I fumbled with the lock that perturbation gripped me and I froze, my forehead slamming against the door.
What if it wasn’t Tate at all? What if it was Sutton coming to tell me that there had been an accident? What if it was our social worker coming to tell me what a shitty job I was doing and that my baby brother was going to stay in their custody? Just… What if?
Even with those thoughts, I had to know.
I had to face what was on the other side of the door and deal with it.
But first, I had to find my breath. Placing my hand on the cold steel, I gulped in as much oxygen as I could manage, my jaw tightening to stop the quivering of my bottom lip.
I had to get a grip and pull myself together.
“Come on, Ayda. Stop putting off the inevitable.”
It was after the next breath that I did just that and pulled the last barrier between the truth and me out of the way, blinking into the bright beam of headlights, forcing my forearm to rise and cover my eyes.
“Tate?” I asked, stepping forward onto our small porch, the screen door slapping closed behind me.
“I’m sorry, sis.”
The relief from hearing his voice made my shoulders sag, but it lasted only a second as I heard a voice that didn’t belong to him demanding his silence.
It was about that time I realized I was half naked and barefoot.
I backed toward the door, torn between running to my kid brother and retreating to the safety of my home.
It was fight or flight. Having my vision taken by the blinding high beams did nothing to ease the consternation of the situation, but the maternal instinct that rose inside of me demanded I move toward the problem.
“What’s going on, T?”
I stumbled to the side, my arm coming up to meet the other as I attempted to escape the light pointed directly at me. Stubbing my toe on a pebble as I tripped from the porch, I cursed, pulling my foot up to my waist, only aware of how little I was wearing when I heard a shuffle.
The moment I was out of the beams, the scene unfolded from the tangle of dots that the residue of the lights had caused.
Tate hadn’t come to me for a reason. Standing with him was a guy, one hand closed around the top of his arm with almost brutal force.
The shadows were so deep around him, I couldn’t see much more than the fact he was tall and really fucking broad. He made Tate look small.
“Who the hell are you, and what the fuck are you doing with my brother?”