Page 114 of Dagger

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, Dagger. It’s like you say to your boys: nothing worth having comes easy. Take a leaf outta your own book, brother.”

I gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Just bad timing is all. I finally get somewhere, and she has to take off for her own damned safety. It’d be good for somethin’ to go easy for once, Abe, especially when it comes to me and Leesy.”

“Seems to me you’ve waited thirty years for this, John,” he relayed. “Another week won’t kill ya.”

I grinned. “Yeah, it won’t. I’ll call her and chat; that way, at least, we can get used to each other again.”

Abe gave me some side-eye. “Look at us assholes, pretending we’re good with sending our ol’ ladies away. We should just admit we miss ‘em already, and it feels like we’ve had a limb cut off.”

“I’m with ya there,” Cash piped up from behind us.

I craned my neck to address my eldest. “You eavesdropping?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “If I wanted to eavesdrop, I’d be listening to men more excitin’ than you two old farts whining about missing your women.”

“Get the fuck outta here,” I joked. “You’re Cara’s damned shadow. Surprised you’re not rocking in a corner, sobbing your heart out.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “So, the sooner we get our asses into Church and get chatty with Hendrix’s men, the sooner we get our girls back where they belong. Hope the boys are in the mood to play, ‘cause if Colt thinks we’re gonna allow him to take all our potential toys away, he’s lost his damned mind.”

My lips twitched at Cash’s words.

Should’ve known he was looking for payback. He was my boy, after all, and after Bear held a gun to Cara’s head, it became personal.

I checked my watch. “We’ve still got ten minutes before the meet. Get Billy to put some coffee on. It may be a long afternoon.”

“On it,” Cash muttered, setting off for the clubhouse.

My eyes followed the good-looking bastard while my thoughts turned to what lay ahead. “Do we need to calm the men down?” I asked my bud. “They’re gung ho as fuck. This war has been a long time coming, Abe, and I’m worried they’re too damned excitable. We need to keep clear heads if we’re gonna clean up efficiently and avoid attention from the law.”

We began to walk toward the clubhouse. “They’ll settle when they get in their groove. We have to remember the majority of our brothers are soldiers. Once they morph into war mode, their military training will take over.”

“Cash and Bowie aren’t military,” I pointed out. “Maybe we need somebody to run this show who’s had tactical training.”

Abe’s head swiveled to face me. “Ya think?”

“Maybe for this operation,” I continued. “Hendrix told me his new VP was a talented lieutenant and a good tactician, and you already know he worked closely with Kit.”

“Team them up,” he advised, then catching the look on my face, he demanded, “What’s the problem?”

“Cash.” I looked up at the building. “He may not take too kindly to it. He’s ready to take over, brother. My boy has settled, thanks to Cara and Wilder. He’s got everything going for him, and I’m tired, Abe. I love the club, and I’ll always have a finger in the pie, but I wanna retire the gavel. It’s time to pass it on.”

“Then you give him his final test,” Abe stated.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “You’re right.” I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. “But if he fails, I’m fucked until he gets his head out of his ass.”

Abe chuckled as we entered the packed bar. “Yup.”

Shouts of greeting went up from the men.

I planted my feet apart and folded my arms across my chest. “Women got away safely,” I informed them. “Are all yours covered?”

A wave of “yeahs” hit me.

Nodding my approval, I called, “We gotta meet now with Hendrix and his boys. They landed a few hours ago and are holed up at Atlas’s house on Willow Tree Street. You all okay with the plan and know your roles?”

More “yeahs” filled the bar.

“Then we start tonight.” I looked around the room, trying to catch every man’s eye. “There are no men on this earth I trust more than you. We couldn’t be closer than if we shared blood. I’d trust every single one of you with my life. This shit ends now, and then we can go on being what we are,” I grinned, “fuckin’ awesome.”

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