Page 100 of Dagger

He laughed. “Duchess. The kid’s as bad as his dad, Carl. Thinks he’s all that, when really, he’s full of shit. Goes around town actin’ the big man, when word has it, he’s mortgaged up to his balls, and he owes so much on his credit cards that I’m shocked Amex hasn’t ripped him a new asshole. All ‘cause he wants to be part of that country club set.”

I open my mouth to protest, then shut it again. To be fair, he was right, Carl Tucker was trying to be somebody he wasn’t, and his son was a little asshole.

“Well, there’s no need to gossip about it,” I muttered, grudgingly.

John threw his head back and laughed.

I smiled.

“Wanna dance?” he asked me softly.

“To this?” I asked incredulously as the Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’’ blasted through the speakers.

He chuckled. “I could tell Billy to take it down a notch. That’s the joy of bein’ Prez.”

I went to say something to yank John’s chain but I noticed his stare fell over my shoulder and stayed there.

“Fuck!’ he muttered.

Every eye turned to the entrance where a tall, muscular man with long hair stood in jeans, a black tee, and a cut. I recognized him as a Speed Demon, who I’d often said hi to over the years, though I hadn’t seen for a while.

His stare rested on John and the boys, and he jerked his head toward the corridor leading to John’s office and Church.

“What’s Hendrix doing here?” Sophie asked Atlas.

“He’s been on a little recon job for us,” he replied, planting an absentminded kiss on the top of her head.

My chest tightened.

Breaker rested his forehead against Kennedy’s and asked, “Do you mind if I go to a meet? I won’t, if you don’t want me to.”

She lifted her hand to stroke his face. “It’s okay. I know you wouldn’t ask unless it was important. Go.”

“I’ve had a beautiful day with you,” he breathed.

Ned gazed up at him and smiled.

John reached for my hand, giving it a small squeeze before turning toward the corridor where Hendrix waited for him.

I watched him walk away, my heart beating a little faster as I studied his purposeful stride. Granted, I was feeling unsettled—something was obviously going on behind the scenes—but I didn’t put my increased heart rate down to that entirely.

The fact was, I’d had the best day of my life.

Together, John and I cried as we watched Kit and Ned exchange wedding vows, and then later, we laughed hard with everybody at the reception. We’d joked and thrown banter at each other, which was new for us and, I had to admit, felt nice.I loved his company and was positive I’d enjoyed my day just because he was a part of it.

Cash, Kit, Bowie, and Atlas kissed their women and turned to follow John. Their expressions conveyed the party was over, and it was time to get serious.

Glancing around the room, I noted how the air had thickened. It was only just gone midnight—early for an MC party—but some of the men had gotten hold of their ol’ ladies and were making moves to leave.

“At least we got to say our vows and celebrate without the place turning into the Wild West,” Kennedy murmured, chewing on her lip nervously as she watched her man and his brothers follow John down the corridor, Abe hurrying after them.

“You know Kit wouldn’t leave the party unless it was important,” Cara pointed out.

I watched as a group of brothers made for the doors, shouting their goodbyes. “They all know something’s going on, so why are they all leaving?”

“They’re going to spend time with their loved ones before everything kicks off,” Iris explained as we watched another crowd of men heading for the parking lot. “Once the war starts, they won’t leave, so they’re making the most of their time with their families. The men will take anything thrown at them, but before they do, they need to make peace with what’s about to happen. No surer way of doing that than bein’ around your loved ones.” She glanced at us all in turn, a worried expression on her face. “They know, when it comes to a club war, it’s likely not everybody will survive.”

An icy shiver ran down my back, and my stomach tensed as my mind went over Iris’s words.

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