Page 56 of Brazen Being It

He exhales. “They already do. You’re family.”

“Do you feel like part of the club? The family?”

He laughs, low and gravelly. “Me? I was angry for a long time about something I couldn’t understand until now. Always trying to prove I was more than Shooter’s son. More than Axel’s little brother. You gave me somethin’ worth fightin’ for beyond a name, beyond the club. I don’t care about their acceptance and in finding that peace for myself, I found I’ve had the acceptance all along.”

I close my eyes, overwhelmed by the honesty in his voice.

The next morning, I wake wrapped in his arms, my head on his chest. Sunlight filters through the slats in the blinds. There’s a peace in the air I’ve never known.

Still, a weight presses down on me. Not fear, guilt.

I don’t deserve this. This man, this club, this life. I’m just a girl from a rundown Arkansas motel with nothing but trauma to her name.

I slip out of bed, pad to the kitchen, pour a cup of coffee, and stand at the window. I hear his footsteps behind me, feel his warmth as he steps in close.

“You’re thinking too loud,” he says, automatically knowing I’m lost in my own head.

“I don’t belong here.”

“You do.”

“I’ve lied. I’ve put people in danger. My mom’s a junkie and a whore, and I ran with monsters for most of my life.”

He turns me to face him. “And you escaped it. That makes you stronger than any of ’em.”

I want to believe him.

He lifts my chin. “This isn’t pretend anymore, Cambria. I want this. All of it. You. Me. The life we’re buildin’. You saved me from bein’ a bitter bastard with a chip on my shoulder. You showed me what it looks like to fight for someone. What it is to have something of my own.”

I’m not sure when the tears start, but they don’t stop. He pulls me into his chest and lets me cry. I don’t have to hide anymore.

When I pull back, I search his face. “You serious?”

“Dead.”

I laugh, watery and raw. “Then what now?”

He grins. “We live. We heal. We figure out what the hell comes next.”

And for the first time in forever, I think I’m ready for that.

Ready for real life, love, and a future that belongs to both of us.

FOURTEEN

DREW

Brazen enough to believe in it

Axel’s leaningagainst the bar, arms crossed, eyes like razors as I walk across the floor of the clubhouse. He’s got a bottle in his hand, swinging it low by his thigh, half-empty. The club’s quiet now—too damn quiet for my liking.

Frankie’s gone.

Cambria’s safe.

Salentino’s at war with Javier Almanza across the border, his empire crumbling day by day if the word on the street is right. We’ve had a handful of close calls, but the Hellions are holding strong. The club’s as solid as it’s ever been.

But this—this silence with my brother—feels like something’s coiled tight in the air, ready to strike. It’s a tension I know better than to ignore. The last time Axel looked at me this way, I was seventeen, and he was about to teach me what it meant to be a Hellion. Back then, I was angry and wild and burning for a fight. Now? I know better. Or at least, I hope I do.

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