I think there was a part of me that expected Drew to explode at my suggestion of getting involved. So much had been going on that I felt as though we had a dozen or so balls in the air and only a set of hands to catch them all with. In the same vein, I should have known better. This wasn’t just about him and me—this was the whole club and all of our futures. That meant using everything he had at his disposal to pull things off, including me. That didn’t mean he would be careless. I understood that. After everything we’d been through together, everything we’d survived together, I trusted him implicitly, and I knew I would be safe.

Meeting his gorgeous blue-green eyes, I nodded in understanding and extended him an invitation to continue.

“There were several ways we could have handled this, and believe me, the guys and I went through all the options in that room before we came to a unanimous vote. As much as I’d love to go and skull-fuck Jacob until he bled all the information I need from him, there are kids involved here. Tate might not seem young to us. He might not act it, and Sloane already seems ten years older than she is since Maisey’s death… but they are kids, and that means we’ve all had to pause and take a breath.” He took another step closer. “Tomorrow morning, Sutton is going to meet with the head of Babylon High before he addresses the entire school. He’s going to spare us two of his men and put them on patrol for the entire week, on account of the anonymous report he’s received about a sexual assault on Babylon High grounds. He’s going to stay extra calm to throw the scent off Sloane being the suspected victim.”

Pressing my teeth into my bottom lip, I nodded in understanding. I hated that the assault had to be put out there like that, even without a name. It seemed like that was provoking the attacker by telling him that the assault was reported, but I also understood that it needed to be done.

“That makes sense. It protects Sloane from a retaliation attack and it lets the asshole who did that to her know there’s been some light shed on the situation, right? It also gives us eyes on Jacob and leaves a police presence at the school to watch over him and his association with the other MC.”

He nodded. “Not only that, it means the Navs won’t go anywhere near the place, and that’s the most important thing. Our top priority, besides you, is keeping Sloane and Tate safe. Speaking of which…” Drew rubbed his lips together, his brows knitting together for a fraction of a second before he looked up at me, practically cringing. “ I’m going to need to ask a favor from the both of them. A big one.”

“That’s always ominous.” There was a tone of humor injected just to take some of the weight off the conversation. “Hit me, and if I can help, I will.”

“I need them to pretend they’re dating again, and I need them to be convincing. Not just to Jacob, but to the whole school.”

I made a face, baring my teeth in a grin. “That’s going to be a fun conversation. You want me to tackle that? It maybe easier considering I outed Kenny and Sloane before Kenny was even ready to admit there was something there.”

“Please, be my fucking guest with that one. This place is becoming like some teenage Bachelorette, and I have enough to deal with.” He faked a shudder. “The important thing is that Jacob needs to see two things. One: that everyone in the club is happy… including Sloane and Tate. We have no idea of Jacob’s association with The Navs, therefore we’re not concerned. Two: that everyone in the club has the backing of Sutton and the rest of the force in Babylon. Whoever it was that attacked Sloane, whether it had anything to do with the Navs or it was just some punk kid with too many raging hormones, they’re being watched. But we can’t let Jacob know that it’s Sloane who has been hurt. I have a feeling that he would take way too much pleasure in knowing we, as well as Sutton, had let one of our own get hurt. That’s why if Tate is on Sloane’s arm, and they’re acting happy and in love, it will throw Jacob off the fact that it was actually her who was hurt.” Drew swallowed, collecting his breath as he pushed his hands back into his jeans pockets again and shrugged. “This is the life of the MC, Ayda. It’s lies, games, smoke and mirrors. It’s not always easy when the web gets as tangled as this, but we do what we have to do to make sure we’re the ones who survive when the enemies strike.”

“I get it. You have to think about everyone as a collective, not just individually. You don’t have to convince me.” I took a breath and thought about everything, letting it sink in slowly. It wasn’t a bad strategy. Throwing everyone else off their game was smart. No one outside the club would know what was going on. This injected confusion and made everyone else have to think about what came next, while we would have eyes on every player. I could do my part to help this, and I would. “I’ll pull the four of them aside today, and I’ll make them understand. If you want happy, they’re going to be happy, Tate, Kenny, and Libby will be easy; they’re already a part of this life. Sloane may take some convincing. What else do you need me to do?”

“Well, Kenny already knows the score, but it would be a good idea for him to be there with you when you tell Sloane. Something tells me you’re not going to be too happy about the next thing I’m going to ask of you, though.”

I studied his handsome face, keeping mine neutral. “You know I’ve figured a lot of shit out when it comes to the MC. Whatever you need means whatever you need, even if I’m not particularly happy about it.”

“We’re going to need you to convince Rusty to close the diner for the night on Friday.” He rushed out his words, pausing abruptly as his eyes held mine. “And host a belated sweet sixteenth. For Tate. And all his friends.” He cringed. “And most of Babylon… including the entire MC.”

I sat in my truck staring at the front windows of the diner with some inner conflict. Deeks and Kenny had pulled their bikes into the spot next to the one my truck was occupying and were waiting patiently for my exit. Deeks, ever the understanding mind reader that I loved, just took his time pulling his gloves and helmet off, checking his phone casually like he had been expecting this. Kenny, however, was staring at me through the window in question.

I was being a chicken, and I knew it.

My best bet was to approach Janette. Janette was reasonable, she was kind, and she wouldn’t slap me with whatever she happened to be holding. Rusty was hard. Rusty was a traditionalist and a businessman. He was also wicked with a spatula and a ladle.

Shit.

At least I had some backup.

I finally turned off the truck and slipped out, pressing the button on the key fob and jumping when the chirp of confirmation made the horn honk. Kenny was amused enough to smile, but it was Deeks who was hiding his belly laugh, something that was exacerbated by the flip of my middle finger in his general direction. I didn’t wait for them to follow as I marched toward the doors and slipped into the cool shadowy interior of my second home.

Sam was working a double shift and was flitting from table to table like a hummingbird would dance from flower to flower. Jan was, as always, looking after the customers at the counter, and I could see Rusty working as diligently as ever through the window. Everything was so familiar to me, and my shoulders sagged as the tension slowly eased from me. Asking a favor this big was going to be rough, yes, but as I eased farther into the comfort of the place, I knew it wasn’t going to be impossible. I just had to get this over with, remove the anxiety. If they said no, I would find an alternative. I had to.

I approached the counter first, smiling as I made a grab for Jan’s hand and pulled her toward the swinging doors that would take us both back to where Rusty was slinging grease and humming an Elvis song. Elvis meant he was in a good mood at least.

“Hey, what’s going on, sugar?” Janette asked, alerting Rusty to our presence. He didn’t stop what he was doing, but the humming stopped and his head canted in our direction, telling us we had his full attention.

I looked between them, my words gathering and reforming several times before I found the right pattern. “I need a huge favor from you guys.”

“A favor?” Rusty grunted.

“Yep. And you’re not going to like it.”

The metallic tang of him scraping the grill ate up the second of silence that had fallen and left me scratching every itch I had in a matter of seconds. Rusty never said a word, but Janette couldn’t keep quiet for that long. Her curiosity demanded she investigated further.

“What kind of favor?”

“The club would like to throw Tate a sixteenth birthday celebration, here, in the diner, on Friday night… uh, invite only.”

The bubbling hiss of the fryers and the quiet din of conversation beyond the window was the only sound in that kitchen for at least ten heartbeats. I wasn’t even sure either of them were breathing, and for entirely different reasons.

“Close for a night?” Rusty finally asked.

“Yes, sir.”

Rusty picked up a stack of meat and arranged them on the surface in almost perfect lines, while Janette grabbed for my hand and squeezed. We waited for what felt like an eternity for him to think it all through. He was through flipping them when he finally wiped off his hands and turned to face me.

“Will this be helping you, Drew, and the club?”

“Yes, sir.”

Rusty looked to Janette. There was an exchange between the two of them, eyebrows lifted, heads tipped, and cheeks were scratched, but a whole conversation seemed to take place in between those gestures, and Rusty’s dark eyes turned on me.

“Don’t make a habit of it.”

I looked between the two of them. Jan grinned and nodded. Rusty shook a basket of fries, while my mouth fell open in surprise.

“You really are a big, old teddy bear, aren’t you?” I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around Rusty, chuckling as he complained his way through the gesture and patted me awkwardly on the back like that was the most foreign thing in the world to him. Janette’s big smile of adoration had me shaking my head as I released him and rushed to her. She was much more willing to accept the hug and held me close, much like a mother would hold her daughter.

“Thank you. So much. You have no idea how much this helps.”

“I have work to do.” Rusty was grumbling the words, but I saw the twitch of his cheek as he tried to hide his smile. I wanted to hug him again, but I knew I was pushing my luck so I allowed Janette to lead me out into the diner again.

“The old fool would do anything for you, sugar. Not that he’d ever admit that.” She cupped my face with her hands and kissed me on the cheek. “You just let me know what you need and it’s all yours.”

“I love you, Jan. Both of you. Thank you.”

I got a chuckle in response and a nod to the door where Deeks and Kenny were sitting in a booth turning their coffees into sugary messes. “Best get out of here before Rusty puts you to work.”

“I wouldn’t mind, but I have another impossible task to do.”

“I’m not going to ask.”

“Best not,” I agreed, and gave her a gentle hug. “I will see you tomorrow, though.”

“Same time?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We said our goodbyes, and I collected my bodyguards from the table while saving their hearts from the diabetes all that sugar was sure to create. When I got to back inside the truck, I turned the engine over before I pulled my phone from the center console to text Drew. I needed the heat now that the afternoon was giving way to the colder night.

I hit send and stayed where I was, waiting for the response.

It pinged through only a couple of minutes later.

Wedding reception? I knew he was joking, but my stomach seemed to drop to where my toes were beginning to heat up from the warm air blowing from the trucks heating. I felt strange. Like someone had just turned me upside down and shaken me. I had to remind myself several times that he was joking before I gathered myself together to respond to him as nonchalantly as I could.

It took longer for him to reply the second time, and I could imagine him glancing at his phone as he tried to multitask with organizing the men while flirting with me. Drew was good at most things, but fast typing on a small screen wasn’t in his particular skillset.

What the fuck was happening? He was supposed to be the one freaking out right now. That I’d even responded to his joke about a wedding was designed to show him that I’d noticed what he’d said. It wasn’t to inspire him to continue or even make me think about that particular scenario. Who would give me away wasn’t something I should be worrying about. I still had to convince my brother to sell the lie that he was dating his ex again.

What the hell did I do now? Respond with the same nonchalance and make things weird or laugh it off or… I had a solution.

God, I hoped I’d at least scared him right back. This was going to be the longest wait yet, and this time both Deeks and Kenny were staring at me, but I was sure that was because I’d lost any color I’d possessed in my face.

His response came quickly.

I dropped my phone in my lap and covered my face with my hands, not really sure that I’d read the response right. Was he serious? I could feel the odd conflicting tears welling in my eyes as the passenger side door was pulled open. When I looked up, I saw Deeks’ concerned stare, his eyes moving between my phone and me.

“What’s wrong, doll?”

I sniffled only once but looked up to scrutinize him for a long moment. I shuffled in my seat, tapped my teeth with the nail of my index finger. I drew in a breath to speak, released the air and then tried again.

“Deeks, hypothetically, if I got married, would it be weird if I asked you to give me away?”

There was a choking sound. Then a wheezing. Then the truck dipped as he used the oh shit handle to pull himself inside and close us in alone together. Kenny’s odd brows dipped for only a second before he pulled his phone out and occupied himself, leaving me to meet Deeks’ eyes.

“There something going on you ain’t told us about, kid?”

I swallowed, looked down at my phone then back at him again. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling anymore, other than dizzy and as giddy as a child that had just been told they were going to Disney.

“I think Drew is hinting at marriage.”

“And you look scared shitless.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head and brushing a stray tear away. “Not scared. Just surprised. It’s not a proposal, just an it’s gonna happen one day kinda thing, and here I am freaking out. He said it in a text message.” My voice pitched up an octave. “A text message.”

“Have you responded?” Deeks asked, his lips pressed together as though he was trying not to smile.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Answer him.”

“With what?”

“Whatever your heart and your head decide on.”

“Okay,” I agreed and looked down at Drew’s text again, before typing my own response.

“Breathe, kid. You’ll pass out otherwise.” Deeks was openly laughing now, but my eyes were on that phone laid in the palm of my hand as though the small rectangle was filled with explosives.

When the cell vibrated in my hand, and I saw Drew’s name and face flashing up at me, I stared at Deeks before answering.

“Deeks?” Drew asked bluntly. “Really?”

I looked over at the man sitting next to me and grinned. “Yes. Do you remember when you first told me I was going to pay off the debt to the club? That first day you weren’t very kind, and I was freaking out… a lot. Then this very rough looking man almost walked into me and gave me some sound advice and a great smile. He took me under his wing after that. He steered me in the right direction and has been nothing but a father to me since. I love Tate, he means so much to me, but I want to be his best woman one day, and I don’t think it will have the same significance if I ask him to do this. And Rusty, I love him, too, but—do I really have to explain this to you? It’s hypothetical, right?”

There was a beat of silence that lingered on the other end of the phone until I heard Drew drop into a chair with a thud, his hand landing on the desk before he barked out a fit of laughter. “Ayda Hanagan? Are you… nervous?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled, covering my eyes with my free hand.

“You are,” he cried out, his laughter tickling the edge of his voice. “You’re nervous as hell. Fuck me… that was the cutest, yet most confusing, long-winded explanation I’ve ever heard you push out. Did you even breathe through that?”

“I’m changing my mind about being in love with you, jerk.”

“Let me guess,” he chuckled, carrying on despite my abuse. “Deeks is sitting next to you right now. You’re kinda pale. Hands shaking. Hold one out in front of you. Go on.” I heard the scrape of his chair, his voice moving closer to the speaker as he whispered, “Are you tremblin’, darlin’? Has Deeks had to calm you down?”

I dropped my hand from my eyes and peered over at Deeks helplessly.

“Am I that predictable?”

“Completely and utterly transparent. Put Deeks on the phone for a moment.”

I knew I was going to regret this the moment I did it, but I handed the phone to Deeks with a shrug and watched Deeks’ face light up when it was pressed to his ear. “Pres?”

The only thing I got from Deeks’ side of the conversation was grunts and agreements, his eyes moving to me and away as a smile crossed his features making his beard twitch. That was until he turned my way, his smile cheesy and his silent laughter making his chest bounce.

“A little bit,” he told Drew, breathless and happy.

I could hear Drew’s voice, but not the words he was saying. His commands, whatever they were, grew louder and louder.

“I’ve done my best, Drew, but you know how she is.” Deeks nodded once. Then again. His eyes never left mine as he struggled to stay in control. By the time he was ready to hand the phone back to me, he was practically blue from all the breath holding he’d been doing.

“Oh, yeah. No doubt about that. Consider me schooled. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. Yep. Of course. Uh huh.” Deeks’ cheeks were rosy by the time he held the cell out to me and let his laughter trickle out again. “He wants you now.”

I took the phone tentatively and narrowed my eyes at Deeks in an attempt to intimidate him, but he was giving nothing but his humor away, leaving me to discover what was coming next for myself.

“You’re making me crazy.” I huffed my response, not caring that it would just entertain them all the more.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Hanagan?” Drew snapped. “It shouldn’t be a shock to you that I’m spending the rest of my life with you. If it is, prepare to be smothered by my intentions for the foreseeable future.”

“I wish I could explain this to you.” I gazed down at my lap, my smile bright. “I wish I could tell you how incredibly happy the thought of marrying you makes me. How much I want all of this, with you. I just never… I guess I never thought you would be quite so cavalier about it. You caught me by surprise. I should have known really. You love keeping me on my toes.”

“I also love you on your knees, so instead of telling me what it means to you, you can show me when you get back to The Hut. I’m hard just hearing you squirm over our future together,” he said without hesitation, his voice low and heated. “Sort yourself out, baby. I ain’t lettin’ you get away. Not today, not ever.”

The tangle of heat and anticipation wound together in my body so violently my hand dropped to my stomach. He always did have that effect on me. I took a deep breath and gazed over at Deeks, my cheeks heating for a whole different reason now, one that had Deeks waving me off in denial and fleeing the truck as quickly as he could manage.

“I’m on my way home now. Knees and all.”

“That’s my girl.”

I ended the call and dropped my cell into my bag, backing out of my spot carefully. Life was nowhere near boring anymore, and no matter what that said about me as a person, I didn’t care. I loved my life and every single person in it. Just not all of them in the same way that I loved Drew Tucker.