Page 65 of All Our Ghosts

Dex shrugs. “You have every right to be jumpy, Andrews.”

The hair on my neck stands up at the same time a chill runs down my spine. I glance around the bar quickly, feeling like I’m being watched. I know it’s not Blake. She’s busy dancing, whooping, and hollering at a girl on the pole I don’t recognize. Dex lifts his hand and brushes the strands of hair from my shoulder. My body freezes for a moment, unsure how to take such an intimate gesture but as he leans into me I know it’s only so he could speak freely to my ear.

“You have to start learnin’ to trust me, kiddo.”

He pulls back with a smile that quickly fades as his eyes flicker to something behind me. He stands up straight, setting his bottle down on the bar top. “Well, this night just got interesting.”

I furrow my brows and turn to see what he’s looking at. My heart stops as soon as I do and the ball in my stomach rolls again as a pair of blue eyes bore into me.

Even with the loud music I can hear the heaviness of his boots as he marches towards us. His hands have balled into fists at his sides and his scruff is longer than the last time I saw him. Dark strands of chestnut hair are soaked and stuck to his cheeks. At some point between us arriving and now it must have started raining, making the one man my chest has been aching for look that much more menacing.

“Holden,” I whisper as he reaches us.

KADENCE

“Good to see you, Nash.” Dex mocks from behind me.

“I leave and you think that gives you a pass to push up on Kadence?” Holden’s voice is low but booms between us. His eyes are dark with anger but he’shere, in front of me, and that’s all I care about.

Dex’s laugh echoes against the music. “I think you need to take a breath, Nash.”

“Oh I’ve done plenty of breathin’,” he rumbles. “You wanna explain to me why you brought her here?”

I shake my head pulling myself from the daze his presence has put me in. I raise my hand to press to his chest but stop myself. “I’m here with Blake.” I try, but he shoots me a look that forces the words to get stuck in my throat.

Holden shakes his head and takes a step backward, glancing between the two of us. “I know what I saw.”

I raise a brow. “And what was that?”

“Him touching you!” His hand flies up, making me flinch back. I don’t mean to but the movement is so quick that it would havestartled anyone. Holden’s eyes go wide, watching me as Dex takes a step forward.

“Hey! Take a breath, Nash, this isn’t what it looks like,” Dex booms.

Holden lets out a breathy, hollow laugh. “Un-fucking-believable. I hope you both will beveryhappy,” he mutters before turning to the exit.

I shake my head. “Holden!” I yell after him but he’s already marching away from us. I follow him as he pushes the front door of Moon open, making a beeline straight for his bike. The heavy pour of rain makes it hard to see as I burst through the door behind him. “Holden! Stop!”

He turns back to me as he climbs onto his bike. “Go back inside, Kadence.”

I stop in front of his bike, shaking my head. “No.”

Holden stands up. “Go!”

I stomp my foot. Actually stomp my foot like a child and shake my head. “I’m not going anywhere till you let me explain!”

He grabs a hold of his handlebars and leans over the front of his bike. “Explain what? That you’ve been getting cozy withWolfein my absence? Hmm? What lies are you about to tell me now?” He bites, venom in his voice.

“I never lied to you!” I yell back at him.

The door to the club slams behind me and I don’t have to look back to know that it’s Dex’s boots crunching in the gravel. I never take my gaze off of Holden.MyHolden who came back.MyHolden who I’m about to lose, again.

“No,” he agrees and sits back down on the seat of the bike. “ You just didn’t tell me the truth. Do you know how hard it was telling you everything? To be honest, for the first goddamn time in my life with someone?"

I suck in a breath as his words stab my chest in dagger form. His bike roars to life. The sound is more ominous than it ever has been before. “Holden, I wanted to tell you everything I just–”

Blue eyes peer back up at me, his gaze still angry as he stares at me through wet lashes, “Move,” he warns over the engine.

“Where are you going to go?” I ask, my voice turning hoarse trying to yell over the rainfall and the sound of his bike, knowing how pitiful I sound but I don’t care.

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