“I was always coming back, Owen.”
“You were meant to die in there.” He spat, fists curling tighter in Ayda’s hair.
I nodded slowly, my nostrils flaring. “I know.”
“You were meant to fuck up, get more years added on. Or at the least, come out weak. Weak as piss and full of shit. That’s how it should have been. That’s what we tried to guarantee would happen.”
I was breathing like a bull, the angry muscles twitching in my jaw. “I know.”
“But then this bitch came along.”
I took a step closer too quickly. My need to save her was kicking in until I saw Eric side-eye me and offer a subtle shake of the head. Owen’s gun was too close to Ayda, and the finger he held over the trigger was unsteady, ready to pull back at any moment.
“What happens if you kill Ayda, Owen?”
“You live a life of misery.”
“Apart from that.”
“Maybe that’s enough for me.”
“Nah.” I shook my head, my lips tense and flat as I struggled not to charge at him. “That’s not enough for you. You want more than my misery. You need more than that. That’s why you got cozy with Mayor Walsh, right? That’s why you gave him intel on the club, told him shit he shouldn’tknow, and then that fucker got to pass that knowledge onto whoever the fuck needed it. Anyone who wanted me dead. You wanted me gone so you could take the lead.”
Owen blinked, looking me dead in the eye before his shoulders started to shake and his laughter poured free. His head tipped back for just a second before he pulled Ayda closer, so his mouth was by her ear, his face turning darker.
“I don’t know what it is about this piece of pussy, but she somehow made you impossible to kill.”
I gulped again. “And how many times have you tried?”
“Too many.”
“Motherfucker,” I heard Slater whisper behind me.
“The Emps couldn’t kill you, even when I set that whole Widow Maker fake MC shit up for them and got those kids fixed up with old cuts and put all the plans in place for them to end your life in that warehouse. All they had to do was put a bullet in your head. But too many damn egos ended up being in one space, each trying to give the great Drew Tucker a performance before they put a bullet between his eyeballs. So, I turned to The Navs. And they only proved that they sure as shit don’t know what the hell to do with the rifles they have tattooed on their skin, even though Itoldthem how to get rid of you that night at Rusty’s. Fuck...me. I can’t even get guys on board who know how to blow up a damn house and kill all the people inside it. Trust me to find the one bunch of men that let a girl like Ayda escape her own house before we blow it up. Fucking joke.” Owen sighed in frustration and shook his head. “Yeah, I’ve tried to finish you, Drew. In more ways than you know. Seems like the only way to make it happen is to do it myself.” He pushed the gun harder to Ayda’s head. “And if you won’t die on the outside, maybe I’ll just make sure youcease to exist on the inside by killing the one thing you love more than your own fucked up reflection.”
“I will make your death so slow, you’ll be screaming for weeks before you take your last breath,” I pushed out through gritted teeth.
“It’ll be worth it,” he sneered.
“Owen,” Eric said calmly, forcing Owen’s eyes to snap open and turn Eric’s way. I looked at him, too, not knowing what he was about to do. “Don’t hurt her.”
“What the fuck do you care, old man?”
Eric didn’t respond. His eyes didn’t flinch or flicker, and his arm was as steady as ever as he waited, gun held high and in place.
“Y’all are going to kill me anyway. There are three guns pointed at me right now, and one human bomb just waiting to be set free. I’m good, but I’m not that good. I can’t move that fast. If I let her go, I’ve got nothing. May as well take her out with me, right?” He tugged on Ayda sharply again, her eyes now popping wide open and her lips parting as she found me straight away and focused on my face.
That’s right, baby. Look at me. Use me as your anchor. You’re not dying today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
I’ve got you. Somehow…
“You can’t survive this, Owen,” Eric warned him.
“Then I may as well go out in a blaze of glory.” He grinned.
“Not before I’ve had some fun with you first,” I growled, forcing Owen’s attention back to me.
“I’ve never been scared of you, Tucker. That’s what you want people to be. All I see when I look at you is a boy who failed to become a man. A boy so unsure of himself, it makesme sick to watch you lead this club with that patch on your chest. You don’t scare me, Drew. I pity you.”