No one knew what to do.

From the moment Harry approached Sutton, I’d been holding my breath, but I knew I wasn’t the only one. On either side of me, Deeks and Autumn’s breaths had become shallower, their bodies—like mine—leaning as far forward as they could manage, as did every man and woman at our backs.

We were all watching. Wondering what Harry could possibly be saying that would make Sutton’s eyes get that hollow. What would encourage him to pinch the bridge of his nose and shake his head in a desolate move before his glance flickered to the car?

No one dared move when Harry climbed in, and Howard looked over at us all with a one-shouldered shrug, his hands resting on the crap that lined his utility belt. The way he flinched as the low murmur of Drew’s shouts came from inside the car, and when—what felt like a millennia later—Drew was kicked out of Sutton’s cruiser ready to fight—and broken.

He was utterly broken in a way I never wanted to see a man broken.

I was the first to move, my body pushing back from the rail and rushing to the steps that would carry me to him. Jedd stepped in front of me before I reached them and put up his hand in a just wait a minute gesture.

“Get out of the way, Jedd.”

“Just—”

“I swear to God, if you say give him a minute, I will kick you in the nuts and follow up with removing a few of your teeth with my knee.”

“We don’t know—”

“Move!” I’d never heard my voice with the edge of violence it had. These men may be as much my family as Drew’s, but he was not going to stop me from going to him. Even if the gesture was designed to protect me.

Jedd half stepped and was half dragged by Slater from my path, and I offered a nod of thanks as I leaped the few steps and rushed to where Drew was kneeling, hunched over on himself. There was no way to know how he would react to my being there, but I was, once again, driven by instinct.

I kneeled in front of him, my left hand on my thigh as my right reached out and pushed into his hair, curling at the nape of his neck. I didn’t say anything for the longest time. Just let him bleed emotionally in any way he needed to. I had no idea what had transpired in the back of the car, but by Drew’s reaction, the exchange had been worse than any one of us could conceive.

I shuffled closer, ignoring the press of rocks into my flesh. The light had turned a strange orange glow that painted everything around us, making our little scene seem all the more surreal. When I was as close as I could get, Drew moved only enough to press his forehead against my thighs in seek of comfort.

“What just happened?” I whispered, keeping my fingers moving in the same constant and comforting rhythm.

He struggled to breathe, growling and blowing the air from his cheeks in one long stream before he inhaled like an injured, angry animal. The air reverberated against the sobs trapped in his throat, and the only sound Drew made was a rough, strained snarl in the back of his throat every time he exhaled again. The cycle repeated. Half of him breaking. Half of him willing his mind, soul, and body to work like a machine with no feelings. He couldn’t do anything with his hands still restrained behind his back, and even though I trusted him implicitly, I couldn’t help but think it was a good thing. He was being forced to break apart, for whatever reason, and breaking he was.

More than I’d ever seen him break before.

I could see the ring of red that mottled his skin under the cuffs, and looked up to Jedd, who was edging closer. We needed to set him loose eventually, and having the tools to do so would be needed. One solitary nod in the direction of Drew’s wrists and Jedd turned and headed to the porch. Obviously satisfied that I had the situation under control, he murmured to the rest of their guys, steering them inside so Drew could have time to gather himself. I saw a few of them look across at us with uncertainty, before giving in to Jedd’s commands, even if it was unwillingly.

“Jedd is getting something for the handcuffs, baby,” I whispered, continuing the gentle strokes. “It’s just you and me now. You and me.”

Drew raised his head slowly, his eyes red and swollen, his face lost and uncharacteristically scared. He parted his lips, and I watched as a tear slid over his mouth like a falling bomb he hadn’t wanted to set free.

I dropped my hands to his jaw, cradling him as I studied that hollow look in his eyes.

“You’re scaring me, Drew. Talk to me. Tell me what’s happening and let me help you.” I bent at the waist and brought my face close to his, desperate to see a part of his normal fortitude shining. All I could see reflected back at me was an edge of fear and very real, and very raw pain.

“He’s dying,” Drew whispered, barely making a sound.

My heart lurched, but I shuffled closer and focused. “Who? Who’s dying?”

He swallowed, and his face scrunched up in agony. “Harry.” As soon as he said the name, he winced. “My fucking Harry.”

The world felt as though it shuddered around me the moment Harry’s name passed Drew’s lips. My heart cracked open in my chest for me, for the whole MC, but mostly for Drew. The two men had a father and son dynamic that meant more to Drew than almost anything else. I closed the distance between us, my forehead pressing against his.

“How?” I whispered.

He growled, closing his eyes. “Cancer. It’s everywhere. He’s…” Drew couldn’t finish his sentence. His whole body turned rigid as the anger he felt tore through him, making his shoulders, arms, back, legs, and head, shake with denial. “I can’t fucking do this.”

Terminal cancer.

Harry had terminal cancer and had just dropped that little bomb on Drew before throwing him out of the car and taking his place. He was sacrificing the days he had left to give Drew a chance and wasn’t that just like Harry Rogers. Selfless and looking out for the only son he’d ever had, or needed. He just hadn’t realized how much this would break Drew, too. How much it would shred his soul apart and leave him as broken as the alternative.

I didn’t know how to make any of it right. I wanted to fix the situation and make it better, but it felt like sand slipping through my fingers, and I had nothing to catch the grains with.

“I know you don’t want to do this. I know what Harry means to you. But you can do this. You can do this because I’m going to be right beside you every step of the way. I’ll give you everything you need until you can process it all, and I will still be there holding your hands.”

Drew slowly looked up, blinking away his emotion as his eyes met mine. “I’m not leaving him there to die, Ayda. I’m not. I… can’t. Won’t.”

I knew he had more to say, but words weren’t working for him, and neither was his body. No sooner had he looked at me, he looked away, dropping his head and pushing it against my chest with all the injustice he felt as he rocked forward and pressed himself to me.

“Help me,” he pleaded quietly. “Please, Ayda… help me.”

My fingers brushed his bruised skin gently, my thumb tracing the beard under his lip as I dug deep. I couldn’t deny him, but at the same time, I needed to play devil’s advocate for him.

“You wouldn’t be the man I loved if you just gave up on him.” I smiled sadly. “What exactly did Harry say to you? What did Harry want?”

“To die like a Hound. To die in there rather than fade away,” he said in one long breath before he pulled back, falling onto the heels of his feet, unable to hide the pain on his face. “To be a fucking martyr. To save me, you, us…”

I nodded, already assuming that would have been the path he’d have chosen to take. A man like Harry would want to keep his pride. If he could help the MC on the way out then all the better for it. I just knew Drew couldn’t accept that without a fight. I also understood that, which was exactly why I would stand beside any decision he made.

“We’re going to figure this out. Maybe you can even take a vote on it, visit Harry later and keep him in the loop and let him vote by proxy.”

The thought of Drew going to jail made my insides shrivel, but I was his old lady. Support was all part of my role in his life. I was pretty damn sure what the vote would be, anyway. Everyone loved Harry, but he was asking to go out for his club and the boy he’d always loved as his son.

“Right now, we need to get those cuffs off you and put some ice on that eye of yours so we can clear our heads.”

“How the hell am I going to tell my club?”

I wish I had a response for him. I wished that I could do the talking on his behalf, but we both knew how protocol worked in the MC, and I wasn’t even going to insult him by offering.

“It won’t be easy,” I admitted, stroking his face with my fingertips. “Maybe that’s why Harry needed you to be the one to do it for him.”

Drew’s eyes searched mine carefully. “What if he’s lying?” he whispered. “What if he isn’t dying and he just wants to save me?”

“He wouldn’t lie about cancer,” I said softly, my head drifting side to side in denial. “He’s always been the one to shoot straight with you. You’ve said it yourself.”

“I need to hit something,” he said through gritted teeth. “I need to get out of these cuffs and go…” Drew swallowed hard. “I need to do something. Anything.”

“Okay. We can do that. Jedd’s waiting on the porch. He’s giving us some time.” I smiled sadly up at Jedd and nodded, letting him know it was safe to approach.

“Ayda?”

My eyes dropped back to Drew’s.

“You’re about to see a side of me you might not like. Grief is one emotion I can’t handle. I’m sorry for the man I’m about to become…”

I shook my head. “Do what you need to in order to get through this. I’m not going anywhere.”

Jedd moved in quietly and crouched to unlock Drew’s wrists.

Once free, his hands fell into his lap like lead weights. He took a moment. Whether that was to let himself feel or to chastise himself some more, I wasn’t sure. The moment didn’t last long. After a long exhale, Drew stood on shaky legs, nodding at Jedd before he turned back to me and held my gaze.

“I love you,” he mouthed.

I gave him that same sad smile.

“I love you, too,” I mouthed back, before pushing to my feet and brushing the sharp pebbles from my bare legs. There was only one more exchanged look between us before Drew turned and headed back to The Hut next to Jedd. He never said a word. His silence was stony, and his words were measured and deliberate, and Jedd read that for what it was.

I followed them both, taking the door from Jedd as he held it open for me. Once I was inside, I pushed my hands into my pockets, looking for my phone so I could call Tate back into the bar to hear what Drew had to say, but I immediately felt the emptiness. My phone was gone.

I rolled my eyes at myself and about turned on my heels before heading right back out the door. I knew where it had to be because I’d had the damn thing when I was standing on the porch. I’d been about to call anyone who would listen about what had happened to Drew and possibly be able to help make a difference.

I kept my eyes on my feet to stop the shining sun from blinding me now it was above the horizon. I blinked as little dots swam in my vision leaving everything fuzzy around the edges. I retraced every step I’d taken and found the phone exactly where I’d been kneeling with Drew. I crouched, my knees cracking with my bone weariness as I reached for the small black rectangle. My fingers barely brushed the edge of the screen when a well-worn pair of boots came into my line of sight.

I glanced up, wincing as the sun haloed the new addition and temporarily filled my vision with even more spots. I couldn’t see much of him from this angle. I just saw the flannel shirt and the scruffy gray stubble that littered his jaw. I don’t think I’d ever seen him before. I grabbed my phone and pushed to my feet studying the man standing before me.

He was very handsome. His hair was salt and pepper, leaning heavily toward the salt. His skin was weather-worn, and his eyes had creases carved into them. His stubble was days old from the looks of it and his eyes… his eyes were a beautiful mix of green and blue that startled me.

“Hi.” I ventured, lifting a hand to cover my eyes to blot of the intensity of the morning sun. “Can I help you?”

“You’re Ayda, right?” he asked, his deep, gravelly voice almost hypnotizing.

“I’m sorry, you are?”

“I’m here for Harry.”

“He’s not—”

“Not for him, love.” A hint of an accent played on the edge of his voice with the endearment and caused my head to tip to the side in curiosity. “He asked me to come.”

I narrowed my eyes, looked between him and The Hut before making a call. This really wasn’t the best time for visitors, but if Harry had asked him to come—well, maybe he’d told this guy about the cancer. Maybe Harry had told him some things Drew would need to know.

“Right. Okay,” I said, pushing my phone into my pocket. “I guess you should come on in then.”

I headed to the porch, hyper-aware of this man at my back. I held the door open behind me as I scanned the room for Drew, and found him by the bar knocking back another shot of scotch. Before I could call his name, he turned to look at me, almost as though he’d been waiting for my arrival.

His eyes locked on mine instantly, the sadness lingering and showing every ounce of exhaustion he felt. The entire club surrounded him, waiting for Drew’s version of events, no doubt, but the silence that was there when I first entered soon began to disappear. The slow rumble of noise grew. The whispers. The deep breaths. The mutterings.

When Drew looked behind me, his face fell, growing paler in an instance.

The shot glass in his hand slipped from his fingers, smashing against the bar. Drew didn’t move anything, only his lips as he sucked in a sharp breath and stared.

“Dad?”