Chapter 52
Chapter Fifty-Two
Drew
When I finally walked back out into the bar, I didn’t head straight for her the way I should have. I meant what I said to her about needing her to return my favor. I just had to hope that what I was about to ask her to do wouldn’t be too much.
After pulling Harry to one side and having a quiet word in his ear, I got the nod from him and headed back to my room to get dressed, passing Deeks in the corridor before I slid inside.
“Hey, Deeks,” I said, clearing my throat and crooking my finger at him. “I never thought I’d see the day when you moved faster on your feet than I did, but is there any chance you could find Ayda for me and bring her back here? If she asks questions, just plead ignorance.”
Deeks threw up both hands and shook his head.
“I don’t have to pretend to be ignorant around here.
I learned a long time ago that if I asked no questions, I’d have no lies to tell.
Consider it done.” He laughed and took off, rolling his shoulders in his old cut while I turned away and went inside my room.
It hurt to try and dress too quickly, so I threw on a baggy zip up hoodie and stood there, waiting in front of the door with my hands hidden deep inside the pockets of my sweat pants.
When she pushed through, I held my breath and smiled flatly at the woman that had finally given me a reason to live.
Her eyes widened briefly at my appearance before meeting my gaze, her tongue sweeping her lips before she smiled brightly. “You look nervous, Mr. Tucker.”
“That’s because I am, Hanagan.”
She walked toward me slowly, her smile fading a little as she reached out and wrapped one of her hands around my wrist lightly. “What’s going on?”
“Remember that returning favor I mentioned before?”
“Anything. What do you need?”
I studied the blue of her eyes the way I always did. No matter how often I looked into them, I always seemed to find myself getting a little lost inside the magic. My voice cracked when I spoke, and I began to wonder if this was a good idea at all.
“Tate’s going to be fine. It’s a long road ahead, but we can talk about that later. Right now…” I paused, pushing out another breath. “Right now, I’d like to take you somewhere. There’s someone I need you to meet.”
“Who?”
“You’ll see.”
“On one condition.”
“That figures,” I whispered back, trying not to smirk.
“Well, you can’t really drive like that, but I know you’re gonna try. So I’m taking the option away.”
“Always so bossy,” I said through a smile. “Sweetheart, I know I can be an idiot, but just trust me sometimes, okay?”
I pulled my hand out of my pocket and wrapped it around hers, making sure the fingers of her good hand were intertwined with mine.
Keeping her close to me as I took the lead, I didn't acknowledge her mutterings behind my back, but I could imagine her frown as I struggled to keep my pace faster than was probably sensible of me.
When we walked back into the bar, I headed for the door where Harry was standing with the keys to the van swinging around his finger.
Ayda came to a stop beside me, and I cast a sideways glance her way, raising a brow.
“Our carriage awaits, milady.”
“You’re such a gentleman.” She laughed with a small curtsey. “Whisk me away, Prince Charming.”
“I might struggle with the whisking, but I’m sure Harry will be happy to carry you down the steps if you need it.” I held up my hand for her to take, acting like the big bad biker prince she expected me to be as I grinned and waited. “No questions until we get there, okay?”
“I promise.”
As soon as she reached out and accepted my hold, I walked her out into the daylight and soaked up the clean air.
It felt like a lifetime since I’d been out there, breathing in the world around me rather than the smell of medicines, whiskey, cigarette smoke and leather.
I was already feeling cleansed with every breath I inhaled.
Ayda stayed true to her word the whole journey, never asking a question, even though she made no attempt to hide the fact that she wanted to.
Her constant fidgeting, chewing of nails and jigging of her legs gave her away, but every time I looked her way and smiled, she straightened up and smiled right back.
We were both nervous about what we were about to do—her because she didn’t know what that was, and me because I knew exactly where we were heading.
This was something that had the ability to make me sweat without having to lift a single muscle in my body.
The closer we got to our destination, the more I found myself sucking in breaths and blowing them out a little too loudly.
I kept glancing from left to right, inspecting the town around us as we drove down street after street after street.
Harry didn’t say much, either. He was fucking good like that.
He knew when to talk and he knew when to stay silent.
He also knew just how big this was for me, and I was convinced he was expecting me to yell for him to stop and turn around at any moment.
But that wasn’t going to happen. Even though I was nervous, I was ready. I was more ready than I’d ever been.
When the van eventually slowed and reached its destination, my heart dropped into the very depths of my stomach. I leaned forward in the front of the van, rubbing my palms over the tops of my thighs, making an ‘O’ shape with my mouth as I tried to find a steady rhythm to my breathing.
“We’re here,” I whispered, slowly turning to see her face.
Ayda’s eyes glanced all around us as she took it all in.
There was nothing for miles around, just empty fields with a few trees scattered here and there.
Her eyes were wide as she tried to work out what was going on, until she turned to face me and stared deep into mine again. “We’re here,” I repeated quietly.
“Where’s here?” she asked almost shyly as she reached out for me.
I glanced at Harry over her shoulder, but he was facing forward, his eyes closed as he took in this moment for what it was. I had no doubt he was praying.
Looking back at Ayda again, I took her hand and held it gently. “Here is where Pete is.”
“But—” Her eyes flickered to the window and back before dropping to her lap. “I thought he was in the cemetery, where my parents are.”
“That’s where his body is.” I looked back out at the overgrown land that meant more to me than I’d ever admitted out loud before.
The feelings of longing and loss hit me at just the merest glimpse of it, and I began to wonder if I could do this, until I spotted the place I wanted to take her, and all the determination I felt earlier came flooding back.
“But this is where my brother Pete is. This is where he rests.”
I found the door handle and pulled it back before I began to push the thing open. The smell of my childhood wrapped itself around me and I took a second to do what Harry was doing before I turned back to Ayda and looked up at her through cautious eyes.
“Will you come with me? I’ll explain everything out there.”
She didn’t hesitate. Her nod was immediate as her body carried her forward. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you.”
When we were both standing on solid ground, I pulled her closer and pressed my lips to her forehead. It was purely selfish. It was all for me. I needed to find some strength to go through with it, and I found it the second my lips touched her skin.
There wasn’t anything else to say or do so I turned and held her hand, making the journey through the overgrown blades of grass I used to hide in when we were kids.
Every shaky step I took seemed to hold a memory.
To the left were the trees that Pete had made me climb to try and conquer my fear of heights.
He’d brought me there for weeks on end and told me to scale those things, one after the other, until I reached the top and shouted down to him that I wasn’t scared no more.
I was always scared. I just didn’t let him see.
To the right, a short jog away, was a small stream that ran the length of the entire field and disappeared into a dense cluster of trees that Pete had told me held the ghosts of all the most infamous buried bikers, just to scare me.
He was such a bastard sometimes, always playing the older brother he should have been to me, and always pushing me to be the best I could be.
He wanted me to be fearless, to be formidable, to be unbeatable.
He spent so long trying to turn me into something unforgettable, he forgot to take care of himself.
With every memory that flashed through my mind, my jaw set tighter and my frown grew more painful. I hadn’t been there since he died. I hadn’t been for years.
All those years were now slamming into me hard, and if it was at all possible, causing more pain than anything my body was feeling on the surface.
I was tired, aching and broken, but as I squeezed Ayda’s hand in mine and looked up ahead, I saw the huge pecan tree that had been a part of Texas far longer than any one of us Hounds had been.
“You okay?” I asked as I turned to face her, curling my fingers around hers again.
Ayda was still looking around with curiosity until her face finally swung around and her eyes landed on mine. She reached up with her bad hand, her thumb running over my frown. “This place is beautiful, Drew, and I’m good. Just worried about you. Talk to me.”
“I’m good, darlin’. Don’t worry. It’s why Harry is here.” I smiled at her and stepped a little closer, taking the few final strides until we were just to the left of the tree that stood at the top of the small incline.