Chapter 49
Aiden
“Dagger needs a rendezvous with the Reaper,” I tell my men, seated around me in church, before pulling a deep drag from my smoke.
“Fuck that!” Davis bites out from the other end of the table.
“For trying to claim your girl?” Raef pipes up, his dark eyebrows furrowed.
I make eye contact with Stone and Archer, who know more than the others.
“No.” I tap the butt of my smoke so ashes fall into the tray before bringing it back to my lips.
“I’ve been keeping some things to myself.
Archer and Stone have been helping me look for proof.
I’m almost positive he was the informant on those two lackeys for the mob, and yesterday, he personally delivered a message to Mia at Lavish.
A threat to me.” I exhale another cloud of smoke.
I’m down to a few cigarettes a day, saving one for when I finish fucking Mia senseless every night.
Stone and Archer already know Dagger was at the club. Just like they know I was hunting for information on Mia weeks ago. But this is the first time the whole club will hear what’s going on since I’ve put all the pieces together.
“And he threatened her.” I clench my jaw to keep my cool, a difficult task these days. “He pulled a gun on her.”
“Why would he threaten her?” Davis asks, leaning back in his chair.
“He’s fixated on her,” Stone pipes up.
I look around the table, knowing I can trust all of my men, and it’s time they knew everything.
“Mia’s brother is a Hound.”
Curses erupt around the table.
“She’s their sergeant Mason’s sister,” Archer explains. “Nicola Tyler’s sister.”
“Fucking Christ.” Davis rubs his thick dark beard.
I look at each of them pointedly. “Her sister disclosed that another man was involved in her rape, but before Mia could find out who, Nicola OD’d. Twelve weeks ago. Heroin.”
“Fuck…” Raef grunts out. “Poor fucking girl.”
“Even so, if no one else is gonna say it, I will,” Davis says boldly. “This chick is a threat to our club. She’s got your dick in a fucking vise. Maybe it’s time to—”
My fist hits the table. “If you want to keep your fucking tongue, you won’t finish that sentence.” I know where he’s going with this, because if I were him, I’d say the same thing.
“Understand where they’re coming from,” Stone says cautiously. “It’s not like you to keep shit like this from us, Prez. For pussy…” Stone knows he’s in uncharted waters, but he’s had that look in his eyes for weeks.
Heat rises through me, and it takes everything I have not to lunge across the table and bounce Stone’s head off it. “Mia isn’t pussy,” I assert, clenching my fists so hard my knuckles are white.
Stone raises his hands in defense. “I’m not trying to antagonize you, boss. Just stating the facts.”
I lean forward. “We had suspicions that Dagger was involved with Gator and Marco. Yesterday, we determined that the knife Dagger gave me after my first gun shipment”—I look around the table.
Almost all of them were there—“belonged to Mia’s sister.
Mia saw it at my house and identified it as the one Nicola lost the night she was raped.
So, whether you’re with me or not, Dagger is a fucking dead man, and now you all understand why.
He’s a threat to the club, and now that he’s threatened Mia, he’s threatened me. ”
“We understand your fight, Brenin,” Archer says softly, knowing I’m about three seconds from blowing a fucking gasket, “but we questioned everyone after Gator and Marco died. Dagger wasn’t even in the state.”
“His VP backed him. But it’s bullshit,” I say firmly.
“We need more proof than a knife,” Davis argues. “He’s a fuckin’ boss.”
“And fuck, our pipeline to the north?” Raef shakes his head as he puts out one smoke and immediately lights another.
“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s gonna fucking hurt,” I say honestly. “Thousands of dollars a month if the Leonellis drop us and use someone else. I know the implications.”
Rumbling continues around the table. I don’t need their permission, but I do want them to understand why Dagger will die at my hands.
“Prez, we hear you and we’re with you, but we need to know,” Archer says firmly, to a hum of agreement from around the table.
I know I’m asking a lot. Now that the ATF is along the border, coming through Savannah is the only way, and losing Dagger as a contact to the north will fuck us.
“How do you know you can trust her?” Raef asks, and fuck, he’s really starting to annoy me with all the goddamn questions.
“She had to tell me the truth. I gave her some help, in the form of Pentothal,” I admit.
“Fuck…” Stone runs a hand through his hair. “You and this girl…” His words trail off.
“Mia,” I correct, “is mine.” Every one of them understands exactly what that means. She’s under my protection, and she’s one of us now.
“We need to vote to take him out,” Stone says. “Unless we find unequivocal proof.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t fucking care.
“Aye,” Archer agrees, “we can’t start a war, Brenin. Not until we know for sure.” I set my sights on him, shaking my head.
“Tally has seen a lot more shit than any ol’ lady should. I don’t want to hear one fucking word from you,” I retort to Archer, pointing at him.
“Tally was my wife before I fully trusted her, for Chrissake,” Archer answers.
“I trust Mia now,” I tell them sternly. I’ve had enough of trying to convince them. “And just so we’re clear, I don’t need your fucking permission to kill a man.” The table is silent, because all of them have killed for reasons having nothing to do with club business.
“Whether you’re with me or not, whether there’s proof or not, the moment I find Dagger, I’m gonna rip his fucking eyes out of their sockets with my bare hands and let the crows feast on his dead skull.”