Page 143 of Dagger

I waggled my eyebrows. “You know about ‘em?”

A slow grin split his face. “Fired a couple in my day. They’re fuckin awesome pieces of kit. They’ll take a small aircraft down.”

I chuckled. “Yep.”

Atlas huffed frustratedly. “Still don’t know why I can’t take it with me.”

Arrow’s head reared back. “Brother. They’re not exactly discreet, plus, you’ll blow yourself up if you don't know how to use it.” He nodded toward the equipment. “It’s too heavy for a bike anyway. Imagine strapping that motherfucker to your back? You’d topple over.”

Atlas scratched his chin, his eyes glued to the AT4. “I guess…” his voice trailed off.

I gave Arrow big eyes, then moved to the middle of the room, stuck my thumb and forefinger in my mouth, and let out a loud, piercing whistle.

The hum of murmurs turned to silence.

“We all got what we need?” I yelled.

Shouts of “Aye” and “Yeah, Prez” rang out.

“We all know our positions and our roles?” I inquired loudly.

More calls of agreement.

I shoved the magazine into my Glock, hauled both bags containing my M24s onto my back by their straps, and nodded toward the parking lot. “Let’s fuckin’ roll.”

A collective cheer went up, and my brothers headed toward the doors. We filed outside and headed toward our bikes, clapping each other on the shoulders and wishing each other good luck.

An engine roared from the gates and I craned my neck to see Blade ride in to join us.

I gave him a loose salute and threw my leg over the saddle. Then, I switched my engine on, and grabbed my brain bucket from the handlebars, marveling at the smell of gas and leather permeating the air. Thepop-pop-poppingof Harley engines rose through the crisp early morning air like a dawn chorus, which, to my ears, was far more beautiful than any birdsong in existence.

The smile on my face mirrored the swell in my heart.

I loved the life, and I loved my brethren, but soon my involvement would be limited to club rides and family cookouts. As much as I knew I needed something more than retirement, I recognized the club was a lot. There was so much I wanted to do and see, and I needed Leesy by my side to do that. The choice was surprisingly easy but still unsurprisingly poignant.

A flash of movement caught my eye.

My stare lifted to see the ol’ ladies filing through the doors of the clubhouse, their arms filled with kids.

Leesy was the second woman out after Iris. Sophie and my boys’ ol’ ladies followed them. My woman held one of the twins in her arms, and my heart clenched with both admiration and a touch of melancholy.

I would've given up every possession I owned to see my woman’s belly swollen with my baby. I would've worshipped the Gods for eternity if they’d given me and Leesy a piece of that beauty. Sophie was living proof of what a protective mother Leesy was, so it was a travesty that we never got to raise a kid. They would’ve been the luckiest child in the goddamned world to have a mother as loving as her.

Still, all wasn’t lost. We had a million grandbabies to spoil, and we’d have a lot of fun doing it. We’d make the most of the blessings we had, and I’d move mountains to make everything up to her.

I’d fill that child-sized hole in her chest if it were the last thing I did.

Leesy’s pretty green eyes locked onto mine, and she mouthed,Be careful.

I shot her a wink and a cocky grin, mouthing back,Always.

The revving of engines got louder, indicating the men’s impatience.

Steering my bike, I slowly rode toward the gates and pulled to a stop, waiting for the boys to get into position.

Breaker, our road captain, had decided we’d ride in double formation, with him at the front to the left of me, Atlas and Blade behind us, then Bowie and Abe. Patched members took our six in twos, makin’ the line about twelve bikes long and around twenty-five men strong. The growled revving of bikes rose to a deafening crescendo, the men’s way of letting their Road Captain and Prez know that they were ready to rumble.

Breaker craned his neck and looked back down the line. Then, his arm went up in the air, and his finger twirled. Hollers went up, and we slowly rode through the gates and onto the main road, where we turned off, taking the back roads to avoid town.

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