Chapter Nine
Dagger
A loud rap sounded from the door to my office.
“Come in,” I ordered, laying my pen on the desk.
The door cracked open, and Abe poked his head around. “Atlas and Bowie are loading Brett up. Elise is already out there, waitin’. It’s time.”
Grabbing my cell phone, I got to my feet, rounded my desk, and headed toward Abe.
He turned for the corridor on my approach, falling into step beside me.
As we marched up the corridor, my buddy turned to me and asked, “You okay with the plan?”
I replied with one word, “Yep.”
“Want me to go over it with you again?” he offered.
Again, one word, “Nope.”
“Then you’re good,” Abe declared as we headed into the bar.
“Be better when we know for sure this is gonna work, brother. Gotta say, not feelin’ cool about sendin’ Stafford back into the lion’s den when we’ve got no clue if he’s been rumbled.”
“Henderson won’t suspect anythin’,” Abe assured me as we sauntered toward the main doors. “Bowie’s messed Stafford up. His face is unrecognizable. Poor fucker’ll sport a few scars after today.”
“Better scarred than dead,” I muttered, stepping into the parking lot and stilling as I took in the scene before me.
Sunlight glinted off the five bikes lined up and ready to go. My matte gold and chrome Fat Bob first. Next sat Breaker’s Dyna Glide with the painted blonde-haired, blue-eyed pin-up girl. Atlas’s beast of a Road King sat beside Bowie’s black and chrome Softail. Abe’s turquoise blue Heritage—the color identical to Iris’s eyes—was parked at the end.
I took in the sight of the men milling around the parking lot. Elise and Sophie were talking by the driver’s door of one of the club’s SUVs, with Atlas and Bowie seeing to something in the car.
“Stafford’s already been loaded into the back seat,” Abe told me.
“Is it bad?” I asked.
“He’ll live,” my bud stated. “But Bowie’s knuckles will never be the same.”
I chuckled. “Bo’s been boxin’ years. He’ll be good.”
Abe nodded toward the bikes. “He insists on riding with us. Five is as good as four. Remember you chase first, and we’ll ride a minute behind ya. That way, it’ll look like you chased after Elise, and we all scrambled after ya. We don’t want it lookin’ in any way contrived.”
“You and the boys packin’ enough firepower?”
“Yeah,” Abe replied. “Atlas looks like fuckin Rambo under his cut. All he needs is a camp-lookin’ bandana, and he could fly out to rescue his buddy Sam from a ruthless Russian colonel.”
My lips twitched. I’d watched that movie a hundred times and knew precisely what Abe was talking about.
“Bowie’s hands are bandaged like a motherfucker,” Abe continued. “Underneath his gloves, he looks like Huge-Hands Hans.”
“That sounds funny as fuck,” I stated wryly. “Wish I knew who the fuck Huge-Hands Hans is. He sounds like a goddamned trip.”
“Google that shit when we get back,” he muttered. “You’ll laugh your ass off.”
“Where’s Breaker?” I asked.
“In his room with Ned,” Abe replied. “Prolly givin’ her a goodbye fuck.”
“Nah,” I said thoughtfully. “Ned will be helpin’ her ol’ man get into the zone.”
“Yeah,” Abe agreed. “Watch your boy doesn’t veer off plan. You know what Kit’s like when he gets all soldier-fied and goes into firebug mode. He’ll blow the mayor’s mansion sky high, given half the chance.”
I smirked. “In the words of Doris Day, whatever will be will be.”
“Fuck me,” Abe breathed. “I gotta worry when you start quotin’ Doris Day, John. You sure all this cloak-and-dagger shit hasn’t got to your brain?”
I let out a chuckle. “I’m good, bud.”
The sound of a door slamming made me glance over my shoulder to see Breaker stalking toward us, with Kennedy holding the crook of his arm. Kit’s face had blanked, and his eyes were dark voids.
“We ready to roll?” Breaker asked flatly on his approach.
“Yeah. Just waitin’ for the go-ahead from Soph.” I jerked my chin toward the SUV. “She’s checkin’ on Stafford.”
His stare slid toward the vehicle and back again. “I need someone to ride bitch with me.”
My forehead creased. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Bring my bike back.”
I watched as Kennedy slid her fingers around his arm. “What the fuck are you up to?”
“Revenge,” he snarled.
A chill ran down my spine. “Son—” I began.
My boy cut me off. “Gonna make sure that sick fuck never sleeps easy again. He’s a boil on the ass of humanity. He took my sister from us for thirty fuckin’ years, and it’s not just about what he did to Soph and Elise. What about all the women and kids he’s hurt? I’m gonna play with him, be a shadow he can sense but can’t see. Gonna be his worst nightmare. I want him so wound up with fear that he can’t think straight. Just gimme a week.”
I studied my youngest boy thoughtfully.
His golden eyes, usually so full of life , were empty. Breaker told me some stories about the things he’d had to do in the military as part of this therapy, but I suspected he’d done way worse than he’d admitted. Something dark had marked my boy’s soul.
He hadn’t come to me with a plan, but it wasn’t exactly a shocker. Kit preferred to work alone, and backup would only slow him down. He was a born soldier and protector but had something dark inside him that needed to be let out and fed occasionally so he could function right.
Kennedy was perfect for Breaker because she understood what he needed and accepted it gladly. She loved every part of her ol’ man, including his dark side. If he told her this was somethin’ he had to do, I had no doubt in my mind she’d have supported him.
Did I like the thought of Kit going it alone?
Hell naw.
But I’d lived a lotta years not believing in my son, and I swore when he went through rehabilitation for PTSD, I wouldn’t let him down again.
Now was the test.
“You gonna kill him?” I inquired as if it was an everyday occurrence.
“No,” he declared. “You are. I’m just gonna torture him.”
My lips gave a twitch.
Kit knew I wanted the kill and wanted it for me, too.
I’d fantasized about all the ways I could snuff out Henderson. I wasn’t a man who treated life like a commodity, but the mayor had robbed me of my woman and my daughter, and he was gonna pay for his sins. He’d screwed with my family for the last time. There wasn’t a universe that existed where I wouldn’t get my revenge.
“Yo!” Atlas’s voice boomed. “We gonna get this show on the road or stand around chattin’ it up all day like the damned Golden Girls?”
I swiveled my neck and yelled, “We were waitin’ on you.”
“Let’s fuckin’ roll,” my SAA shouted.
I jerked my chin, then bellowed, “Prospect!”
Within seconds, Billy appeared from the enormous garage where the bikes were housed. “Yeah, boss?” he called over.
“You’re ridin’ bitch with Breaker,” I announced. “Do exactly what you’re told when you’re told. You got your weapon with ya?”
A slow grin spread across Billy’s face. “Fuck, yeah.”
“What ya got?” I demanded.
He reached inside his cut and pulled out a sexy black Walther.
Atlas whistled under his breath. “Nice. Is that last year’s model?”
“Yeah,” Billy said proudly.
“You prepared to use her?” I asked the prospect.
His grin faded. “Gladly, boss.”
“Then we roll.” Turning, I made my way toward the SUV where Sophie and Elise were waiting. “You sure you’re good with the plan?” I asked my woman.
She jutted her chin. “We’ve been over it eighty-four thousand times, John. I’m good.”
I stifled a smile before my eyes turned serious, and I drawled, “Be careful, baby.”
She tipped her head back and caught my eyes.
Reaching out, I caught her pinkie with mine before dropping my hand and heading toward my bike. Grabbing my helmet from the handlebar, I shoved it on my head and pulled the chin strap tight under my chin. My stare slid toward Elise, who’d already jumped into the SUV and was starting it up.
“I’ll give you a two-minute start,” I shouted at her as I threw my leg over my bike. “Drive fast, but safely.”
She nodded at me as she drove past us toward the gates. “See you on the flip side,” she called out of the open window before pulling out of the compound.
My stare followed the SUV heading toward town, watching it pick up speed as Elise drove further down the main road.
My gut clenched.
“She’ll be okay,” Breaker muttered from beside me.
I turned my head until I was met with a familiar golden stare. “Any shit, you get your ass back here. Don’t take any chances. You’ve got two kids and a baby on the way. You need to be here to raise ‘em, Kit.”
His eyes swiveled to meet mine, and he dipped his chin.
“You got what you need?” I asked.
“What I haven’t got, I can make,” he said flatly.
Atlas barked a laugh, jerking his thumb toward Kit. “He’s like the Martha fuckin’ Stewart of bombs. Don’t matter if you haven’t got one made up. He can conjure one up in sixty seconds with a wire coat hanger, some tape, a bottle of hooch, and a rag.”
I puffed my chest out proudly and called out, “That’s my boy.”
Soft laughter filled the air.
“Thirty seconds, Dagger,” Abe advised. “You ride outta here like a bat outta hell. We’ll be a minute behind ya.”
I started my bike, leaned forward, and revved the bitch until the pops of my Harley turned into a roar.
“Go!” Atlas bellowed.
I twisted the throttle and shot through the gates. Slowing, I turned my bike left toward town before speeding up again to catch Elise’s tail.
The timing was crucial. Elise had to pull up outside the mansion and get Brett to the gates, but we didn’t want to give Henderson the opportunity to strong-arm her inside. She hadn’t given him the heads-up she was heading there like he’d demanded, so at least we had the element of surprise on our side.
My role was to convince the mayor that Elise had betrayed us by helping Brett escape. To do that, we had to pull off some good acting. We knew we were taking a risk, but we could handle it, especially since me and Elise had several powwows about what was about to go down.
The days since Elise had come to the compound had flown by. We’d had countless meetings, and we’d all agreed that getting Stafford back undercover was crucial. We could prepare better if we had inside knowledge, and if Brett could hit the motherlode and discover concrete evidence, we could take the motherfucker down before it came to an outright war.
My mind wandered to Elise, and my chest warmed.
Having her around was strangely settling for me.
We hadn’t had much to do with each other over the years, but having her so close brought back emotions I hadn’t felt since I was a kid. Falling into a friendship with her felt so natural, especially since our banter was hilarious. My girl was funny and quick-witted. She seemed to enjoy yanking my men’s chains, and they responded to her like she was one of the boys.
The love I’d felt for Elise had never gone away, but getting to know her now had given me a newfound respect for the woman she’d become. There was no denying her strength and bravery, and I could’ve kicked myself for ever doubting her.
Even as a man in my fifties, I had lessons to learn, and I vowed to myself I would for Elise. Knowing what she’d sacrificed for me, the club, and our girl sickened me.
I’d spend the rest of my life proving myself to my Leesy. Though first, I had to deal with her fuckhead husband.
The gated community where Henderson lived loomed ahead. I slowed my bike and leaned to take the turning I needed. As I hit the central strait, I looked ahead, and immediately saw the SUV at the top of the long road that passed through the streets leading to Henderson’s house, which stood out, slightly elevated from the other homes.
It was just like him, stuck-up, self-involved, and delusional. It was typical of Henderson to think of himself as some kind of king looking down on his subjects. He was a man, not a god, and he’d bleed red when I took my retribution.
The glint of the sun bouncing off metal caught my eye. I returned my focus to the SUV, which had already pulled up outside the gates of Leesy’s old house. Two men loitered at the SUV, one of them in the process of hauling Stafford over his shoulder.
I hit the throttle, ensuring my approach was loud enough to draw attention.
The two gophers stretched their necks up to see what the fuck was happening.
Pulling up, I slowed to a stop and yanked my helmet off. “What the fuck have you done?” I bellowed at Elise.
Her face paled, and she wrung her hands nervously. “You don’t understand, John. I didn’t have a choice. Brett’s hurt, and he needs to see a doctor. I couldn’t leave him there; he would’ve died.”
I caught movement from the corner of my eye as Henderson stepped out of the oak double front doors. “Elise!” he crowed. “What a surprise.”
Showtime.
Ignoring his ass, I shoved my brain bucket onto the handlebars, dismounted, and stalked purposefully toward Elise. “You fuckin’ betrayed me!” I roared in her face. “Why would you do that? We took you in.”
“You don’t understand, John,” Elise reasoned, her tone fearful. “There’s more to it than you realize.”
“You fuckin’ bitch!” I spat.
Elise rocked back on her heels, her face filling with remorse. “I’m sorry.”
The sense of disgust I felt for yelling at Leesy burned through my gut, but we’d planned this down to the finest detail. I hated treating her this way, but we had to fool Henderson for Stafford’s sake. There was a lot riding on this handover, so we had to be convincing.
My ears pricked at my men’s engines roaring in the distance. They would be here any minute, and we could finish the job and get the fuck out of there.
“Good morning,” a voice called from the direction of the house.
Slowly, I twisted my neck to see Henderson stroll toward us. “You put her up to this,” I accused.
He approached the gate with a satisfied smile plastered across his smarmy face. “Don’t be surprised, Stone. It’s better you learn she’s a traitorous cunt sooner rather than later.”
“I’m sorry, John,” Elise whimpered, reaching out to clutch my arm. “I swear I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice.” I jerked my thumb toward my chest and bellowed, “You should’ve come to me. We could’ve talked it through. Instead, you lied to my men, stole one of my club’s vehicles, and helped that sick fuck escape.” I ran a frustrated hand over my head, my voice lowering. “Jesus, Elise. Can’t you see the mess you’ve fuckin’ made, woman?”
A tear tracked down Elise’s cheek, making my heart contract. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, but her apology was drowned out by the roar of motorcycle engines as my men surrounded us.
“Prez?” Atlas shouted over the noise. “What the fuck’s goin’ on?”
“She helped Stafford escape,” I bit out, staring at Elise. “I came after her, but I was too late. We’ve lost him.”
Atlas glowered at my woman. “We took you in. We fuckin’ helped you.”
Elise ducked her head, unable to meet the SAA’s glowering stare.
Grabbing Elise’s arm, I tugged her toward the SUV. “Get in the car and drive your lyin’ ass back to the compound. If you deviate, I’ll shoot your bitch ass.” Swiveling my head, I glared at Henderson. “Stay the fuck away from her. You got what you wanted, but don’t think it’ll be so fuckin’ easy next time. She’ll be under armed guard from now on.” I hauled the door of the SUV open and shoved Elise inside. “You’re not getting away with this. You’re fucked now.”
She stared up at me with her huge green eyes and whimpered.
My heart clenched, but I ignored the ache in my chest and slammed the door shut, shooting her an angry look through the open window before I turned on my heel and stalked toward my bike.
“Stone!”
I stopped and turned to face Henderson.
“She’s easy to keep to heel,” he drawled. “A hard slap keeps her obedient. You can control her through food, too,” he added. “She likes her desserts but be careful how many you allow her; she runs to fat very easily. You’ve got to keep an eye on that.”
I sucked air in through my nose and mounted my bike, fantasizing about all the inventive ways I could kill the motherfucker. The urge to shove my arm through the gate and squeeze his neck until it broke almost overwhelmed me.
“Get on your way now, Stone,” Henderson continued, glancing toward one of the men guarding the property. “My security team might get a little trigger-happy if you and your gang of misfits hang around much longer.”
My throat worked as I bit down a retort. Then, after cracking my neck from left to right, I took my helmet from the handlebars and shoved it on my head. “I’m gonna stab that bastard to death,” I vowed under my breath.
“John,” Abe warned, his tone purposefully low to keep the words out of earshot. “We’ve got what we came for. Be smart.”
“He’s right, Prez,” Atlas murmured from beside Abe. “What’s done is done. Stafford needs you to keep your head.”
Shaking the murderous thoughts from my mind, I fired up my bike, vowing to myself that one day soon, I’d wipe the smug piece of shit from the earth. I wouldn’t rest until Henderson was a mere afterthought. I’d make sure the memory of him faded into obscurity along with his sick, twisted bloodline.
I glanced down at the line of bikes, taking in Billy, Atlas, Abe, and Bowie before slowly riding over to the SUV. Craning my neck, I jerked my chin at Abe, who gave me a nod and rode up the other side of the car. One by one, Bowie, Atlas, and Billy surrounded the vehicle.
Raising my hand, I twirled my finger in the air, and we set off.
I waited as Elise turned the SUV around, and we headed for the clubhouse, me and my boys staying in formation around the SUV. As we got further away from Henderson’s house, I swiveled my head toward Elise, and our eyes caught before I turned my face back to watch the road.
Elise had just run rings around Henderson. What made it even better was that the stupid prick didn’t have the first clue about how skillfully he’d just been played.
I couldn’t work out how she hadn’t found enough to lock Robert up and throw away the key. If the scene she’d just played out was any indication of her skills, Henderson didn’t stand a goddamned chance.
Elise showed me new facets of her personality every damned day, and I could’ve kicked my own ass at how badly I’d underestimated her. The woman was a force to be reckoned with.
Not for the first time, the realization of how perfect she could’ve been for me, and the club, made my gut churn with self-loathing.
We’d had everything, and I threw it away at the word of my dad, which was fucked up when I considered how the bastard never believed Elise was good enough for me.
I was a biker, the son of a notorious one percenter who taught me everything about the ruthlessness it took to run an MC; therefore, I had to ask myself how I could have been so na?ve?
All the way home, my thoughts were consumed with Elise and everything that had gone down in the last couple of weeks until we finally turned into the clubhouse gates.
My gaze caught on Colt. He stood talking animatedly to Cara and Cash, who had his arms full of a wriggling Wilder.
They stopped gabbing when we drove through the lot and parked in our designated spots. I hoofed on my kickstand, dismounted, and jogged around to the driver’s side of the SUV—that Elise had parked adjacent to my bike—and opened the door to help her out.
Leesy’s gaze darted up to mine, and we smiled brightly at each other.
“You deserve a fuckin’ Oscar for that performance,” I told her. “Even I felt a stab of guilt for frightenin’ your ass, and I was in on the act. Thought you were gonna sink to your knees and start sobbing.”
My beautiful woman’s green eyes danced. “You were convincing as all hell. Did you see Robert’s smug face when you told him you were putting me under armed guard?”
Footsteps sounded from behind us. “How did it go?” Cash asked.
“Better than we could’ve hoped for,” Atlas declared as he lumbered over to join us. “Elise put on a show. I swear to God, when she started trembling, I almost hulked out at Prez.”
Elise shrugged. “It was a team effort. We all had a hand in it.”
“I’ll call Hannigan and let him know our man’s back undercover,” Colt muttered. “With any luck, he’ll get back on the case soon, and we’ll start gettin’ updates in. How did Henderson react?”
“Smugly,” Atlas stated. “He didn’t suspect a damned thing.”
Colt squeezed Elise’s arm, gave us all chin lifts, and turned for the clubhouse.
“We need to fill the boys in,” I said, turning to Abe. “The club needs an update. It’s about time we filled everybody in about Elise and what we’ve discovered. We gotta discuss our next steps.”
“On it.” Abe bumped Elise’s shoulder with his. “You did good, Duchess. Almost came to your rescue when John got in your face. The tears were a nice touch. Never could stand to see a woman cry.”
Elise let out a tinkling laugh. “I feel like we finally accomplished something today.”
“What about Kit,” Cash asked. “Did he get in?”
“We kept Henderson and his militia occupied,” I confirmed. “Knowing my boy, he used the time wisely.”
Cash’s mouth twisted with humor. “Let’s hope he sees some shit from the shadows. It’d be sweet if we could take Henderson down without the town turning into the gunfight at the O.K. Corral”
“It helps that he can keep an eye on Stafford, too,” Atlas interjected. “If Henderson suspects he’s a mole, Breaker’ll get the Fed outta there in a jiffy.”
“Then we’re set?” Cash asked.
“Yeah, we’re set, thanks to Elise.” My attention shifted to my woman, who seemed almost embarrassed by the praise we’d piled on her. She was the sole reason we got Stafford back undercover, and I had to give credit where it was deserved.
“He’s a sick fuck,” I announced.
“Well, duh,” she sassed.
Cash busted out laughing.
Atlas chuckled.
“How often did Henderson control your food?” I demanded gently.
Cara’s intake of breath was audible.
Elise rolled her eyes. “Every time he thought his control was slipping. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. He thought he was starving me, but I used to go to the coffee shop and eat.” She deadpanned. “You know how much I like pastries.”
“Prospect!” I bellowed.
Billy sauntered out of the garage. “Yeah, boss?”
“Get your ass down to Martha’s and buy out all her desserts,” I ordered.
Elise’s eyes bugged out.
I dug into my pocket, pulling out the wallet that was attached to a chain I’d clipped to my belt loop. Cocking my head to one side, I asked my woman, “What are your favorites?”
Leesy eyed the Benjamins I was handing to Billy. “I can’t eat hundreds of dollars’ worth of pastries, John,” she protested.
“You don’t have to eat ‘em all today,” I argued.
“Oh, well, that’s okay then.” She jammed a hand to her hip. “My ass will expand. I can’t burn it off the same way I could at eighteen.”
“Give a fuck,” I declared. “That fuckhead starved ya. Eat the desserts, Leesy, and stick your middle finger up at Henderson while you do it. You’ve got a bangin’ figure, especially when it’s filled out, and all fantastic hair, tits, and ass. What are ya now? A hundred and twenty? If that? You’re beautiful, but you’ll still be beautiful if you ate somethin’.”
Elise’s mouth parted slightly in surprise, and her green stare bored into mine. Suddenly, her mouth curved, and she beamed up at me. “I’ll take lemon heaven bars and spandauers.”
“Good choice,” Cara called out from behind me. “Lemon heaven bars are the shit. Can I have some, too, John?”
“I’ll share them with you,” Elise called back, her dancing green eyes never leaving mine. “I’ll have hundreds of dollars’ worth to eat my way through.”
I smiled down at Elise, my heart expanding at the pure joy on her face.
Seeing her so happy was like a salve to my soul. Leesy was solid, but Henderson had still somehow conditioned her. He was still controlling her because even here, she didn’t eat enough. At first, I assumed it was because she was recovering from her beating, but after Henderson let that slip, I could read between the lines.
And that shit was about to stop.
Elise had always loved her food, and I wanted to give something back to her. Furthermore, it wasn’t healthy for her to be so small. Her well-being was important to me, mainly because we both had to live until we were old and grey if we were gonna get back the years Henderson took from us.
It was too late to give her babies, but I could give her the family she yearned for and more.
I just needed to persuade Leesy to let me.