Page 23 of Outcast
He whistled sharply as he turned, and Sugar trotted out the door behind him.
“You’re all going out?” I said.
Holden and Bailey exchanged a look. Bailey shook his head no.
Holden cleared his throat. “We’re going up to the pool hall. They have half-price drinks on Wednesday nights.”
Bailey groaned. “Axel will shit a brick.”
“He’ll get over it,” Holden said. “Both of you will.” He held up his wrist, displaying a tattoo I hadn’t seen before. There was an infinity design, sort of a figure eight, and inside each loop were words:BroandCode. “Brothers, remember? Even Gray.EspeciallyGray.”
“Especially?” Bailey said. “Whyespecially?”
Holden locked eyes with me. “Because he was my first brother. Hell, he was the first person to ever have my back. So now, I’ve got his.”
My throat grew tight. “Thanks, Holden.”
He nodded once. “You’re still on tow truck duty.”
I groaned, and Bailey laughed. “You know, I’m almost glad you’re here, so at least I don’t have to do that bullshit ever again.”
“Ever again?” I barked. “I better not be on shit dutyforever.”
Holden smirked. “You want off it? Bring me some new business. You can scout out the bikers when we get to Ball Breakers.”
We went over to the house and took turns showering and getting ready. I dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, then spent the next fifteen minutes styling my hair. It was thick and wavy, definitely my best feature, but it took some work to look good.
Holden banged on the door. “Train’s leaving the station. Move your ass.”
I grumbled under my breath, teasing at the strands with my fingers one last time before opening the door. “Didn’t know we were in a rush.”
“A rush?” Bailey called from the stairs. “You take longer to get ready than Nova does!”
Holden smirked. “Your hair looks very pretty, though.”
I slugged his arm playfully on reflex.
Holden flinched, face going white.
I snatched my hand back. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.
Bailey came flying down the hall. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Gray?”
“I wasn’t thinking?—”
“Did you get fucking amnesia while you were gone?” Bailey spit, eyes hot with fury. “Youdon’ttouch Holden without his say-so.”
“I know!” I swallowed. “I’m sorry, Holden. It’s been a long time, and I just slipped. I’ll do better. I promise.”
He nodded, lips pressed tight. His color was coming back. His breathing was a little shaky, but it wasn’t the desperate gasping that accompanied a panic attack.
He closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. Goddammit. I can’t believe I’d forgotten about Holden’s aversion to touch. It’d been really bad when he was a kid. Full-on panic attacks that were scary as fuck. Mom said it was because his bio parents abused him. We had to give him space and time to heal, she said.
But all these years later, and he still wasn’t healed. It broke my fucking heart.
“Do we need to cancel?” Bailey asked. “I can call Axel and?—”
