Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Ayda
I’d been hiding for most of the morning.
When I woke up, my limbs tangled with Drew’s, I was so sublimely happy and content I hadn’t thought much about my behavior the night before.
It could have been denial or ignorance, but for those moments we had together, the world beyond the door didn’t exist. It hadn’t so much as occurred to me that we were in my little retreat or that the door had been broken and cracked open.
No. All of that only occurred to me after Drew got up and wandered toward it, scratching his ass and rubbing his head in that adorable way he had.
It was when he tried to pull the door closed that it really hit home.
When I finally pulled the comforter back after hiding in embarrassment, I got up and stumbled over the dainty slip I’d been wearing in front of the whole hut and wanted to scream.
I took a shower in Drew’s room after a stealthy dash down the hall, and pulled on his sweats and hoodie so I was covered from head to toe in the baggiest clothes I could find.
I just wanted to blend in with the walls and not be seen, but the moment I convinced myself to step out of the room, I’d been faced with the whores and their whispering.
I’d been in the laundry room since, even with nothing to do.
I found a game on my phone and killed hours just swapping colored bubbles around.
It was a vortex of uselessness, but it was killing time until I could go back to the room without it looking like I was hiding in shame, which is exactly what I was doing, just in a more central location, which was less likely to have visitors.
“There you are.”
Unless they were actually looking for me…
I almost dropped my phone when Deeks came bursting through the door, his smile firmly in place and lacking the condescending vibe I’d been getting from some of the whores I’d had the displeasure of bumping into.
“I’m not going anywhere, Deeks. You don’t have to worry about babysitting me.”
“Oh, come on now. It wasn’t that bad. Most of the boys out there now just think Drew is a lucky son-of-a-bitch. You think those girls haven’t done much worse?”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Deeks’ hearty laugh was comforting. He wandered into the room, stopping in front of me and patting the knee of the leg I had tucked under me.
He wasn’t laughing at me. I knew him well enough to realize he had a deeper understanding of me than most of the people in the building.
Drew and Tate were a tie in first, Deeks a very close second.
“Promise me something, Deeks.”
“What’s that, kid?”
“If I ever have a really bad idea like that again, remind me of how I feel right now.”
“You don’t have anything to be embarrassed or ashamed of, woman. You threw yourself at your man. There ain’t anything wrong with that. From what I heard, it ended well enough.”
This time he was laughing with me. He could see the hidden humor in my eyes as I glared at him and felt my cheeks turn scarlet. He was probably one of the few people in the world that could have pulled it off, too.
“Okay, wise one, what the hell do I do about Kenny? Do I just avoid my brother’s best friend like he doesn’t exist? Do I talk to him about this shit and hope he moves on? Do I treat him like shit and hope he hates me?”
“You do the only thing you can do.”
“Talk to Drew about it?”
“See, you get it, darlin’.”
I let both my legs fall down the front of the dryer and swing as I watched him, my hand pushing my phone into the pocket of the sweats I was wearing. I needed some air. I needed to escape The Hut, even if it was just for an hour.
“Will you take me for a ride or a coffee or something? My car has been marked as scrap and I don’t have a replacement yet.”
“You don’t have to ask twice, but I ain’t taking you looking like a hobo. Go put something human on.”
I hopped off the machine and sped to the door. The best it was going to get was a pair of jeans. I was keeping the hoodie. It smelled like Drew and I found it comforting being buried inside of it.
I met Deeks by his bike after letting Slater know we were going. I knew it was only a matter of time until Drew got back, and I didn’t want him to worry if he came looking for me. I’d learned more than one lesson the night before. Respect was a two way street and I needed to start showing it.
The moment he pulled out of the yard, I spread my arms and threw my head back, ignoring the weight of the helmet as I looked at the sky with longing.
I loved the feel of the breeze kissing my skin and the warm embrace of the sun heating my clothes.
It was only when Deeks merged onto the interstate that I dropped my hands to my knees and leaned forward.
I knew where he was taking me. Rusty’s held salvation for the both of us.
He was let off the hook from being a shoulder to cry on, and I was given the only mother figure I had to talk to about my stupid mistakes.
He was on the exit when I saw the bikes fly by, continuing down the interstate.
They weren’t wearing patches, but they were riding together, weaving in and out of traffic with an ease that reminded me of the guys in the Hounds.
I honestly didn’t think much about it until one of them looked back at us.
“Did you see that?” I shouted, tearing my helmet off as Deeks pulled into his usual spot at Rusty’s.
“The riders?” Deeks asked, removing his own helmet and resting it against the gas tank. “I saw them. They followed us for two miles, but I think it was just a coincidence.”
I twisted in my seat, my leg swinging over the back as my eyes followed the bikes that were much farther down the interstate.
Maybe he was right; maybe it was nothing, but it was one of those moments where all the hair stands up on the back of your neck, inexplicably leaving the cold fingers of suspicion to drip ice water down your spine.
A lot of people rode bikes, especially in Texas, and it didn’t mean they were in an MC, but it was rare to see people like that around Babylon.
I just hoped they were passing through. The last thing any of us needed was more trouble.
“Don’t worry about it, Ayda. I’ll call Drew or Harry while you’re with Janette. It’ll be fine.”
I nodded in agreement and let my helmet drop to the seat of the bike.
If anyone knew what to do about the riders, it was Drew.
Looking over at Deeks, I had a feeling this was another one of those need to know basis kind of deals that had been laid out, so I headed for the door to the diner and shook off the shadow of doubt that was following me, replacing it with the biggest smile I could manage.
“You’re late!” Rusty shouted from beyond the window. I could barely see him, but his voice was like God’s as it rang through the place, and was actually filled with mirth for once. I stopped in my tracks and leaned back to get a menu.
“Okay, this is Rusty’s, but who the hell are you? We all know Rusty doesn’t…” I feigned a gasp, “…smile.”
“He’s just happy to see you, honey, and don’t you listen to her, Rusty. You keep on smiling, baby.”
I walked straight into Janette’s open arms as I skipped behind the counter.
The place always gave me the feel of going to Grandma’s.
It was familiar and homely and filled with people I loved.
Not working there for a while was weird for me, and I missed them, but as Drew had reminded me, it was all about my safety as well as theirs.
“You want coffee and a muffin?”
“Two please.”
“Deeks with you?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s just making a call. How’s things been?”
Janette worked as she talked, her feet carrying her around the place with ease.
It wasn’t long until I was on the other side of the counter, helping her out, chatting away as I filled up the salt and pepper shakers, combined the half bottles of ketchup and filled the napkins.
It was busy work and it felt natural to be doing it as we gossiped like we did.
As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one noticing strange people on bikes, or the small gang of kids with fake patches.
It was the talk of the town. It hadn’t occurred to me that Deeks had been outside for almost an hour until I refilled my coffee and started nibbling at his double chocolate chip muffin.
I excused myself and headed to the door, sticking my head out and finding Deeks sitting on his bike talking to three other older gentlemen on their bikes.
“Ayda! Come meet, Michael, Rich and Don. They were the folk on the bikes.”
I was pretty sure that in Deeks speak that was the all clear.
The small group looked friendly enough, and one of the men stood up and smiled behind his silver beard and offered me a hand in greeting.
“Nice to meet you, Ayda. We were just telling Deeks about the Lone Star Rally in Galveston. You ever been?”
“No, sir, but isn’t that in the beginning of November?”
“It sure is, but we rented a place and had thanksgiving down there. It’s real pretty to ride down the coast, especially around sunset. You should give it a try next year.”
“Isn’t it cold?”
The guy leaned against his bike and gave me a warm smile before launching into a long story about the days and the weather.
I was beginning to understand why Deeks was still outside with them.
I just hoped he’d managed to give Drew the all clear, too.
These were obviously just riders, no affiliation or club, just good people on good bikes, enjoying what they could of the fair weather.
That was enough to give me pause, but it still had me wondering about the people Janette had mentioned passing through a few days earlier.