Page 64 of Held-
“We can still leave,” I whisper in her ear.
Her fingernails dig into my forearm as she plasters on a smile that doesn’t come close to reaching her expression. “I’m fine,” she whispers. “Really.”
She’s lying through her teeth, though I can’t help respecting the nerve it takes. Most women would’ve been gone already. A small part of me almost wishes she’d done the same.
Wrecker detaches himself from the blonde and saunters over, giving Cece a once-over that makes my fists twitch. He’s my brother, but right now, the possessive beast inside me doesn’t care.
“Well, well,” he drawls, swiping tequila from his beard. “What do we have here?” His gaze sweeps over her with the enthusiasm of a drunk man spotting the last slice of pizza.
I step in front of her, my jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth. “This is Cece. She’s with me.”
The weight of those last three words doesn’t miss. His eyebrows lift, and he backs off a step, hands raised in mock surrender.
“Just being friendly,” he says, flashing the shit-eating grin that always makes me want to rearrange his face. “Welcome to the family fun house, darlin’. We don’t get many ladies like you in here.”
“I gathered that,” Cece replies, her attention flicking briefly to a topless waitress passing by with a tray of tequila shots.
Big claps his hands together, oblivious to the tension. “Get the lady a drink! What's your poison, honey?”
Cece hesitates, and I can practically see her calculating how to navigate this minefield. “Just a beer, please.”
“A beer?” Big looks offended. “This is a party, not a church picnic!”
“Beer's fine,” I interject, shooting him a look that saysback off. To my surprise, he does, waving at the bartender to bring one over.
I scan the room, looking for the safest corner to steer Cece, but we're immediately surrounded by three more brothers. Domino, the birthday boy himself, pushes through the crowd with a crown made of beer cans perched crookedly on his head.
“Holy shit, you actually showed up!” He wraps me in a bear hug. When he pulls back, his bloodshot eyes land on Cece. “Andyou brought the preacher's daughter? Man, I thought Skelly was bullshitting about that.”
I feel Cece stiffen beside me. “Word travels fast.”
“Sweetheart, nothing travels faster than club gossip,” Domino grins, offering her a mock bow that nearly sends his beer can crown tumbling. “Especially when it's about our resident brooding bastard here finally getting himself a woman.”
I clench my jaw so hard my teeth might crack. “She's not a sideshow, Dom.”
“Course not,” he agrees, suddenly serious despite his drunken state. He looks directly at Cece. “Any woman who can get this grumpy fuck to smile is welcome in my clubhouse.”
A cold beer appears in Cece’s hand, delivered by a topless waitress who gives me a wink before sauntering off. I watch Cece closely as she takes a long pull from the bottle, her throat working as she swallows, doing her best to hide whatever discomfort she’s feeling.
There’s fire in her expression—determination, laced with something else. Maybe curiosity. Maybe rebellion. Either way, she’s holding her own better than I expected, which both impresses and terrifies me.
“Who do we have here?” a female voice cuts through the noise, and I turn to see Tasha, Domino's girlfriend, pushing her way toward us. Unlike the half-naked women circling the room, she's fully dressed in jeans and a tight tank top, her dark hair pulled into a severe ponytail. She turns to me, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. “You couldn't have brought her on a regular night, Bray? Had to throw her straight into the shark tank?”
“Wasn't planning on coming at all,” I mutter, grateful for Tasha's intervention. She might be a ball-buster, but she's got a protective streak a mile wide when it comes to outsiders. “Didn't realize it was party night.”
“Well, since you're here...” Tasha links her arm through Cece's, smoothly extracting her from my side. “Let me show you around. I need a break from the boys.”
Before I can object, Tasha is already pulling Cece away from me, disappearing into the crowd. My first instinct is to follow, but Dom claps a heavy hand on my shoulder, anchoring me in place.
“Relax, brother,” he says, his words slurring slightly. “Tasha will take care of her. Besides, you look like you need this more than me.” He shoves a shot of whiskey into my hand.
I down it without thinking, the burn doing nothing to loosen the knot in my stomach. Watching Cece disappear into this chaos feels as though I’m sending a lamb straight into a wolf den. Not because she’s helpless—far from it—but this place is built to overpower anyone who isn’t used to it. Hell, even I feel unsteady tonight, and I’ve been coming to this clubhouse for years.
“So,” Big says, leaning in close enough that I can smell the bourbon on his breath. “I can see you didn’t take my advice. She the reason you’ve been missing the last few days?”
“Didn't realize I needed your permission to have a life,” I growl, snatching another shot from a passing tray. The liquor burns down my throat, doing nothing to calm the anxiety churning in my gut as I scan the room for Cece.
Big laughs, but there's no humor in it. “When that life involves bringing civilians into our world? Yeah, brother, you do.”