Page 66 of Fractured Rhythm

“No time for a quickie,” Jax called out.

“How hard would it be to find a new lead singer,” I muttered.

“I heard that,” Jax shouted.

Cassie chuckled and leaned up on her tiptoes to give me a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back. Don’t follow me or we’ll never hear the end of it.”

Within forty-five minutes,we were back in the VIP section at Hideaway with drinks in hand. My urge to murder Jax had dimmed slightly. The second glass of whiskey helped. We were waiting for Charlie to show up, and I was nervous about Cassie meeting our new drummer. Cassie and I hadn’t talked about Charlie too much, but Cassie had the basics and I’d played a few of the new recordings for her.

I wanted her to like Charlie. I needed her to like Charlie. Cassie was as much a part of Steelwolf as the rest of us, even if it hadn’t felt that way in years.

“There she is,” Jax called out as Charlie made her way across the VIP section toward us, a tentative smile on her face.

So far, I’d never seen her tentative with anything, but it must be weird being thrown into our mix of crazy.

“Hey, guys, great place. I’ve never been up here before,” she said, stopping in front of me and Cassie. She thrust her hand toward Cassie. “Hi, Cassie. It’s nice to meet you. The guys talk about you all the time, and I wanted to say that I’m not trying to replace your brother. Jamie Steel was fucking amazing, and I’m really honored that the guys are trusting me with his music. I bet this is super weird. I mean, at least it is for me. I’m so sorry about your brother.”

Cassie stood still for a minute before she took in a visible breath. I put my hand at the small of her back so she would know I was there.

“Umm. Thanks. Yeah, it’s a little weird, but the guys sent me a few of the new recordings and you sound awesome.” She let out a soft laugh. “Jamie probably would’ve loved you. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Sorry about that rambling. I was a little nervous to meet you,” Charlie said, the uncertainty in her gaze gone.

“Me too,” Cassie said with a smile. “But now that we have that out of the way, what are you drinking?”

“Beer. Whatever’s easiest,” Charlie said.

As Cassie and Charlie settled next to each other on the couch, I looked at my other bandmates. Jax was grinning as he plopped himself down next to Charlie. She shot him a glare before she turned back to Cassie. Tristan was smiling, taking all of it in as he sipped his beer.

And I was just so damn happy that their introduction had gone smoothly. I took a sip of my whiskey and tipped my glass toward the ceiling.

Wish you were here, man.

I sat down next to Cassie, squeezing her hand in mine as she got to know our new drummer.

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