Page 103 of Dagger

Abe jerked a nod of agreement.

“I’ll let my boys know to look out for him if he’s there when we move in,” Colt assured him. “We’ll bring him straight home.”

Abe dipped his chin in thanks. “Obliged, Son.”

I sat forward, arms to the table, and looked at each man in turn. “We have to roll this out to our brothers. Call Church for tomorrow mornin’. We need to give ‘em the heads-up. Want them to make informed choices when it comes to their women and kids.”

“I’ll send a group message,” Abe told the room. “Nine o’clock?”

“Make it eight,” Cash countered. “If any of the men wanna ship their women and kids out, we should give ‘em a couple of hours head start.”

“Good idea,” I said, shooting my eldest an approving smile.

Abe pulled out his cell phone and started tapping on it until our phones all beeped with notifications.

“Done,” he confirmed, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

“Any other business?” I asked the room.

A chorus of “nays” filled the air.

“Meet back here at seven-thirty to go over the agenda for the meeting. All of you, go talk to your women. Remember, club business is just that, but tell ‘em enough so they can decide if they want to go on a little Vegas vacation. Now, get the fuck outta here,” I drawled. “Hendrix, can you stay back for a powwow?”

Chairs scraped across the wooden floor as the men stood and made for the door, giving Drix and me chin lifts as they walked past.

I waited for the last one to walk out and close the door behind him before lounging back in my seat, studying Drix. “What did you see?”

“Nothin’ good, Prez,” he muttered. “They were all out back, drinkin’ and partying. The place is in the middle of nowhere, so nobody can hear what they’re doin’, and they’ve got complacent. One of ‘em was beatin’ the shit out of his woman, and I had to stand there and let it happen. Can’t say I’m feelin’ too good about it.”

“Greater good, Hendrix. Just remember, the Feds will have her outta there in a few days. I know it doesn’t feel like you did the right thing, but if you’d have walked into the fray, you would’ve fucked up the mission.”

“Yeah,” my bud agreed, though there wasn’t much enthusiasm in it.

My stare roamed over him, taking in how much better he looked compared to the last time I saw him.

“How’s the Virginia chapter? I mean, you don’t write, you don’t call…”

Hendrix chuckled. “It’s goin’ good. Giving Blade the VP patch was the best decision I’ve ever made. He’s a fine soldier, and a talented one at that. He’s the type of man you wanna do well for. I can understand why Kit thinks so much of him.”

“It’s weird,” I murmured. “Deep down, I always blamed him for Kit’s PTSD, but then I talked to his doctor at Grand Junction, and she made me realize I let him swing, too.”

“Hollister saw it and tried to help. Made him go to the Army psychologist, but Kit knew what to say to slip through the net. He didn’t wanna pop smoke, and he ensured he wouldn’t be forced out.”

“Yeah, he told me after the fact,” I admitted. “Got nothin’ against Blade. I blame myself more than anyone else.”

“We all had a hand in it, Dagger,” Hendrix pointed out. “We all knew; we didn't wanna face it ‘cause it meant facin’ our own demons, too.”

“Never thought of it like that,” I replied.

“I got a club full of talented brothers,” Drix went on. “And every one of ‘em’s fucked up in their own way. The military made my men soldiers, but they stripped their humanity away, and I’m there tryin’a feed it back into them. They work hard and play hard. They fight and fuck it outta their systems, but that’s okay as long as nobody gets hurt. I have an ex-army shrink who comes in weekly, and it’s helpin’. I get ‘em down the gym all hours. We talk, we laugh—fuck, Dagger, at times we cry, but we do it together.”

I grinned. “Sounds like a trip.”

“Never a dull moment.” Drix snorted.

I paused briefly before asking, “You found a woman?”

A flicker of pain flashed across his face. “No.”

---