I sighed as I held Jacob down. The knock to the head had temporarily stunned him, and all was quiet for a merry fucking second. I smiled a flat smile at Rusty and Janette who were standing behind the counter, their eyes wide and concerned as they looked between Jacob and me a dozen times.

Holding the little shit’s face in place, I heard the muted laughter of my brothers and chose to ignore it. It had killed me listening to that skinny fucker talking about screwing Ayda, but I knew his game. It was the lamest trick in the book. Now, it was time to show him how the big boys played.

Glancing up at the menu board, I swam in the silence and smirked at the collective gasp the whole of Rusty’s had taken.

“Janette?”

“Y-yes, Drew,” she answered quietly.

“You still got the roughneck special going on? Or do you recommend I stick with the steak and eggs today?”

I looked back at her, my own smile growing as that glint in her eyes came to life. “We can fix you up anything you want. You’re the guest of honor, as always.”

Jacob started to stir underneath my hand, his body wriggling as he came back to life. I squished that fucker’s face into the counter and pressed down harder.

“You’re too good to me, Jan.” I grinned. Looking over my shoulder, I glanced at Ayda. “What do you think, baby? What should I go for?”

“Steak and eggs,” she said, smiling up at me.

I nodded my head and turned back to Janette. “You heard the lady. Steak and eggs, please, darlin’. Coffees all round for the boys, and ask the other diners what they’d like. On me. An apology for the rat infestation we’ve brought in today.” I gave Janette a wink and watched as she stifled her laughter before walking through the swinging doors into the kitchen.

Jacob was struggling in my grip, his words coming out as nothing more than spitting and gasping noises while I used all the arm power I had to crush his ignorant skull. Sighing again, I bent down until our eyes were on a level, and offered him a smile.

“Hey,” I practically sang. “I’m the new boyfriend. Name’s Drew Tucker. You must be the ex?”

Jacob’s face wasn’t just red; it was turning purple, and his arms began to flail as he tried to reach up and pull me off him.

“I wish we could have met under better circumstances. I came in here today trying to be the bigger man, Jakey, but you just wouldn’t… stop… running… that mouth of yours. It was either give you a slap up the head and hope you remembered your manners, or shove a T-bone steak down your throat. I went for the one that wouldn’t choke you to death.” I grinned again, scrunching my whole face up with false happiness. “You should thank my girlfriend for that. An hour ago, I’d have killed you. She used all her magic to sate me just before we rode out here. I’m feeling more generous now. Calmer. Almost spiritual, actually.” I breathed deeply and smiled. “Feels real fucking good.”

“Sonofabitch,” Jacob spat out, his legs flailing everywhere.

I hadn’t wanted to think about it until now, but up close and personal, Jacob looked familiar. Especially now he was angry. The tone of his voice, the cocky, arrogant way he spoke, and that fire in his green eyes reminded me of someone…

I just couldn’t think who. A thousand enemies of the past ran through my mind, but nothing clicked. Another sign that my prison paranoia still lingered in me, even on the good days.

“My mother wasn’t all bad,” I huffed out through a laugh, biting back at his insult. “Can’t say the same about yours, though.”

Jacob’s eyes popped wide—all his features strained as the blood struggled to get to where it needed to be in his head.

“You talk a good game. You’re cocky enough to sit in front of an entire MC and insult your ex-girlfriend who they are now protecting. I’ll give you points for bravery, kid. You’ve got balls. They’re not quite full-grown yet, but you’ll get there after a few more chicks have sucked your dick.” I blew out a slow exhale and moved my face closer to his. “But what you failed to figure out is that while you may have been screwing my girl while she was lost and didn’t know better, I was probably out there fucking your mom in the back of that truck you’ve thrown in front of this nice place.”

“Fuck you,” he hissed.

“And that’s the thing about being an adult. I know Ayda has a past. She knows about mine. And nothing your sleazy little ass says can turn me off her. ‘Cause I’m the guy who pleases her so much now, she can’t scream. I leave her breathless. You… you just want to hear people cry your name to make your dick seem bigger… Coach.”

“Get off me,” he pushed out through squashed lips. The whites of his eyes were now turning orange and red.

I pressed my lips together and shook my head slowly. “Sorry. No can do. Not until you apologize to my old lady.”

Ayda was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Deeks who’d moved around the counter to be closer. It was instinct for him now, like it was for most of the guys. Ayda looked down at Jacob like he was a spider that had crawled out of the toilet and needed to be squashed. She blinked once and smiled up at me, her whole expression changing.

I gave her a wink and turned my attention back to Jacob.

“We’re ready when you are.”

He was breathing like an animal, all spit and rage and desperation pouring from his mouth with every breath he took. “I’m not sorry for shit.”

I pushed my lips together and blew out dramatically, looking up at my other Hounds as I rolled my eyes, lifted Jacob’s head up and slammed it back down again.

His whole body curled in on itself, the pain spreading farther than his head now as he struggled to focus. Even his arms were going weak as he scratched me like a damn wildcat, using nothing but his nails to try make a dent.

“I hope you teach your football team better manners and discipline than you’re showing me.” I breathed down on him, pushing my face to his and turning serious on his ass. “Last chance you get before I do shove that bone down your throat, and it will have fuck all to do with steak.”

Jacob blinked several times, clearly trying to rid himself of the spots, stars, or whatever the hell he was seeing when he looked at me.

Closing his eyes, he sucked in a breath and ground his teeth together. “Ayda.”

She barely blinked at the sound, but she stepped closer and leaned in, her voice pitched low as she spoke to him. “That’s not an apology, Jacob. Drew doesn’t make idol threats, which leaves you one of two choices here. Apologize, or take the punishment for ignoring him. I don’t give a shit about you. You mean nothing to me, but if you think you’re going to manipulate me by threatening Tate’s position on the team, you’re going to lose every time. Apologize, or have your throat used as a stump grinder—your choice to make.”

She was hot when she went old lady on a situation, something she was getting better at the more she realized she was the heart of The Hounds. It was her instinct now. She’d found her home. Ayda was becoming who she was always meant to be.

I stared at Jacob with amusement, my brow rising.

“I’m fucking sorry,” he pushed out in a rush.

“That didn’t sound very sincere,” Ayda said, laughing quietly.

“Exes,” I sighed, rolling my eyes in Ayda’s direction, proud as hell of her. “You need me to make him beg for forgiveness, darlin’, or shall we just let him scurry off to the sewer?”

My brothers all reacted, each one offering a different huff of amusement at how I was handling Jacob. To be honest, I was surprising myself. Every single part of me wanted to rip his limbs apart and send him out of Rusty’s in a body bag, but I’d made a promise to Pete under that tree when I’d said my goodbyes. I told him I wanted to live more. To quit hurting people. To be different. I remembered those wishes every day. Now every situation I walked into, I tried to handle differently.

This was as peaceful as I was going to get with a man who had touched my woman before.

I looked up at Kenny. “What do you think, brows?” I asked him.

Kenny shrugged. “I haven’t killed anyone in a while,” he responded, sounding bored for Jacob’s benefit.

“Not sure this guy is worth the bloodstains.” I cringed. “Deeks?” I asked, looking his way, noticing how he was standing there with his arms crossed like a proud father.

“Gut him like a fish,” he answered with a smile.

“Ooh. Messy,” I hissed. “Back to you, Ayda.”

“Castration?” she said sweetly. “I think Rusty has a really sharp knife back there.”

“Have you ever castrated someone before, baby? That shit takes weeks to wash off. Plus there’s all the wastage, especially when you take their balls apart and shit. I don’t know. Seems like a lot of hassle for this creep.”

Jacob tried lashing out one more time, but he had no fight in him. A man can be built like a machine but the second you cut off the oxygen to his brain he becomes nothing. He’s a mouse in a trap. Jacob was my mouse and I was dangling all sorts of cheese in his face.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said through a resigned sigh, and the moment those words were out of his mouth, I let him go, watching as his body swayed back and forth.

Ayda stared at him, no sympathy in her blue eyes as he raised a hand and rubbed his temples idly. She waited until his body stopped flagging from side to side before she met his gaze.

“You’ve forgotten how different Babylon can be from the rest of the world. Whoever you were out there, he can’t survive here. The sooner you heed that advice, the easier your life will be. You’re not the big man on campus. You’re nothing now. Nothing. Leave or learn some respect. Those are the only choices you have left.”

I leaned back on the counter, resting on my elbow as I watched her deal with him.

“You’ve no idea what you’ve just done,” Jacob whispered like he was talking to himself.

“Excuse me?” I asked, raising both brows.

When he lifted his head in my direction, I saw that look again. I saw something familiar that had me frowning with curiosity as all my old enemies rattled around my head chanting one by one, not me, not me, it ain’t me.

I studied him as he studied me, and if I’d been more in tune with things, I’d have understood what he was trying to tell me. I’d seen that face a thousand times before. When someone hates you, there are two ways they look you in the eye: one with fear. One with the knowledge that it might not be their time yet, but one day they are going to fuck you over… you just won’t know when.

“You’ll see,” he all but growled as he slid off the stool and stood on shaky legs.

My brothers taunted him as he tried to leave, and Ayda’s eyes followed him all the way to the door.

“It’s your choice, Jake.”

He turned at the door and glanced at each and every one of us. “Fuck all y’all.” Then he pushed out through the door, smacking it against the wall with rage before he disappeared into the parking lot.

I didn’t feel the need to tell Ayda I’d had one of the boys cut his wires so his car wouldn’t start. I was too high on the look of satisfaction she was wearing when she turned back to me.

“Oops,” was all I offered her.

Pressing her palms on the counter, Ayda used the surface to lift her body, her top half swinging closer as she kicked out. It was a silent request for a kiss, but the words were my incentive. “Have I told you that I love you today, Tucker?”

“Nope,” I answered, popping the P, even though she had. I was still leaning on my elbow, staring at her like she was something I could devour on the spot.

“I love you.” She pushed that little farther over the counter and pressed her lips against mine. Rocking back, she repeated the cycle all over again until, after the fourth I love you, she slipped her tongue between my lips, ignoring the catcalls that rose around us.

I wasted no time pulling her to me and keeping her there, my tongue assaulting hers with a possession I had no shame in showing. I could never get close enough. There was no such thing as too much when she was kissing me, touching me, or pressed against me. It took two seconds for our kiss to turn desperately hungry, and that was when I picked her up and spun her around, planting her on the stool where Jacob had been sitting before I stepped in between her parted legs.

The men around us grumbled. Deeks made cries of how he couldn’t see his girl doing that. Kenny pretended to be sick. Jedd made himself known for the first time with his wolf whistle. Slater’s cackle filled the air enough to tell me he was turning my name into a joke at whatever table he was sitting at.

I didn’t give a shit. I was alive. I was pumped, and I’d gone through every emotion possible during that day until it had turned into night. All I wanted to do was kiss Ayda and smile against her lips every time we bumped in the wrong direction.

When we eventually pulled away from each other, I pushed both hands through her hair and held her at the back of the neck.

“You okay?”

“Never better,” she said huskily, as Janette slid our food onto the counter beside us. She looked up at me, those blue eyes searching mine, plowing beyond the surface and venturing deep enough so I could feel her there. “Thank you.”

“Be careful what you’re thanking me for. Something tells me I’ve just woken a beast dressed as a skinny coach,” I told her honestly. “He isn’t just going to go away. You ready for another fight?”

Ayda laid her palm flat against my cut and her gaze turned serious. “I’m thanking you for always having my back. Jacob’s not smart enough to cut his losses and run. He’s too proud to take that on the nose and live quietly. I don’t care what words he throws my way, but if he even tries to take our differences out on Tate…” Her eyes flashed. “He’ll find out just how much I’ve changed.”

“Tate will be safe. Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. I’m gonna find out what Jacob’s is, and I’m going to exploit the fuck out of it.” I pushed my forehead to hers and whispered, “I got skills, darlin’.”

“I know you do. I just hope there’s enough there to crush him like the bug he is.”

“No one is ever that confident without having a colorful history.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Then let’s look, and when we find whatever it is, let’s nail his ass to the wall.”

“I love it when you get violent,” I whispered as I brushed my lips over hers.

“I love it when you encourage me,” she said, nipping my bottom lip.

The sound of yelling from outside the diner pulled everyone’s attention, including ours, away from what they were doing. Jacob’s frustrated shouting and ranting filled the air before he cursed The Hounds in every which way imaginable.

And while everyone else in the diner laughed and cheered at the way we’d screwed him over, I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes and fake a smile as I looked around at them all.

I knew that kid.

I just had to figure out where from.

And why the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention when I thought about those green eyes staring back at me.