“You bought a ticket before knowing if you were welcome or not?” She blinked a few more times before she scrubbed her hands down her face. “You’re confident, aren’t you?”
I snickered. “I had no way of knowing you would want me to come, I just hoped you would.”
She kissed my lips quickly and grabbed her bags. “We need to go get you packed then.” I took her bags from her hand and walked us to her BMW.
The flight wasn’t too long and there weren’t very many people on it. I was surprised we had managed to book a redeye so late and that there were so few people on board. Aiyanna was sleeping next to me with her head on my shoulder. There was something so peaceful about it. I checked my phone again even though I didn’t have service.
Jace had sent me three messages before we had taken off and Ian had sent me one.
Ian-Take care of her. I don’t know what happened but I do know you have a soft spot for her. If you took off, it’s only because she needed you to.
Jace-Use protection.
Jace again-Just kidding. Only sort of.
Jace again again-If you are taking off for her, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
I laughed to myself. That list wasn’t a very long one. I had discovered that early on after I had joined their team. I loved them all the same. Ian was something else though. He had been acting funny and was now super perceptive. It was like him and Jace had swapped bodies. He was more observant now. I made a mental note to ask him when I got back. The plane started to descend and Aiyanna yawned before she straightened up.
“We are about to land,” I whispered to her.
“Are you sure you’re ready for all of this?” she whispered back.
She had tried to talk me out of it all the way to the airport. Something about how her brothers loved a challenge and something else about how they would be too excited to meet me.
At this time in the morning our only option was renting a car, which I didn’t mind. The sun would be coming up soon but I felt fine, I had been through worse conditions. Aiyanna didn’t look like she could take another step. The emotions had finally taken their toll on her. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she had to blink several times to keep her eyes open. I tossed our bags into the back seat. Aiyanna was asleep before I even started the car. My heart ached for her. The stress couldn’t be easy to cope with.
Chapter Forty
Aiyanna
I woke up to sirens.I shot up in my seat and looked around. “What’s going on?” We had been pulled over.
The officer tapped on the driver’s side window. Derek clenched his jaw as he rolled it down. “Is there a problem, Officer?”
The man shook his head then his eyes landed on me. He looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. “Are you in danger, Aiyanna?”
I rolled my eyes. I remembered him now. I had gone to school with him. “The only one in danger here is you, I’m exhausted and I want to see my family.”
“I had heard you were back in town, I can’t believe it.” He smiled and thumped on his chest like he had found a missing piece of treasure.
“Why were we pulled over?” Derek forced out.
“I saw the rental plates and wanted to make sure.” He stopped.
I groaned. “He wanted to make sure we weren’t from out of town and what our business is around here at this time of the night. Am I right? The Navajo are protective of their own.” I squinted at him.
He chuckled. “Get to your brother safely, Aiyanna.” The officer scowled at Derek as he rolled the window up.
Cops on the res weren’t the best but when it came to their own, they were good men. I patted Derek’s arm and rolled over. Between the stress and the weird hours for our flight I still felt exhausted, I needed more sleep.
Chapter Forty-One
Derek
I didn’t wakeAiyanna as we drove up to her brother’s home. It was a nice cabin but it looked small. Aiyanna stirred as I got out of the car but she didn’t wake up. I started to take the bags out of the backseat when Aiyanna’s brother flicked on the porch lights and came out. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and had black tattoos covering his chest and some of his stomach. On one side of his chest, there was a chief with a massive headdress. On the other side, there was a wolf howling at the moon. I didn’t get a good look at the rest of the ink because that would have been weird to stare at him that long. Though I made a mental note to ask about them later. They were beautiful pieces and whoever had done them was extremely talented. I wasn’t against adding another piece to my growing collection. I didn’t have any room left on my arms, fingers, or hands. But I had plenty of space to cover on my chest and back.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Aiyanna didn’t say anything about a chauffeur.”
