Page 162 of Dagger

With a bullet to the head.

Every Speed Demon member was invited down to the Cell and given ten minutes each with Bear and the other Sinners. Henderson looked on in terror until, eventually, he pissed himself.

Throughout the night, I stripped Robert Henderson of his pride and dignity, the same way he did to me more than thirty years before when he blackmailed the woman I loved more than anything in the world and forced her to leave me. There was contentment in the knowledge that Henderson’s last hours were spent hanging naked from a meat hook in a basement, watching his accomplice, Bear Rawlins, get beaten to death, knowing he was up next.

Bear’s chest had been rattling for thirty minutes, indicating it wouldn’t take long for him to die, so I sat back in my chair and asked the men, “Who wants to finish him?”

“Me,” Breaker snarled.

I noted his blood-splattered tee and the tiny slivers of Bear’s flesh covering his fists.

My boy’s monster was a fucking crazed animal. Over time, I’d witnessed Kit do unspeakable things for the club and his family, but only against the people who did unspeakable things to us first.

Kennedy, Kai, and Kady went to sleep every night knowing they were safe and protected, and I loved that for them.

In a nutshell, this shit was therapy for my youngest son, but deep down, he knew Bear’s kill belonged to somebody else.

“I’m doin’ it,” Cash scraped out.

Kit’s face twisted angrily. “He threatened my woman—”

“Yeah, and he butted a gun to Cara’s head,” Cash interrupted, his tone brooking no argument.

Kit stared at his brother, pausing briefly before finally nodding his assent.

Atlas stepped back from where Bear hung and muttered, “Make it hurt.”

Bowie walked past Cash toward the back of the room where I sat, clasping his older brother’s shoulder in support.

“You good, Son?” Abe asked from where he leaned with his back to the wall, his left leg cocked so his foot lay flat against it.

I smiled.

Abe, ever the support system, even when we were killing people.

Cash nodded, walking over to the chair and getting his Ruger from the pocket of his cut.

This wasn’t easy for him. In fact, none of us relished killing, barring Breaker, but even then, he had to prepare his mind for it. We weren’t built that way, and we certainly weren’t evil men. Every one of us believed that life was precious and should be respected, but we also knew we couldn’t let this slide.

The Burning Sinners signed their death warrants thirty-four years ago when they took Abe’s ol’ lady. Everything they’d done since merely added to their crimes against humanity.

Cash walked back to stand before Bear and lifted his gun, holding it with both hands. A second later, a deafening bang ricocheted through the Cell.

Leaning forward, I watched the bullet rip through Bear’s throat. His shocked eyes widened as big as they could through all the swelling, and a sickening choke filled the room as he fought for breath.

Then his eyes turned vacant, and his life slipped away.

Atlas approached Cash and rested a hand on each shoulder, his arms locked straight. “You did good, Veep.”

Cash’s eyes lifted to meet Atlas’s, and he nodded.

My chest tightened painfully because I knew taking a life would mark my boy. But I also knew he needed to do it. Since the day Bear used Cara as a human shield, back when he’d stormed our compound looking for April, Cash had vowed to get vengeance for his Wildcat.

Killing Bear meant he wouldn’t sleep easy for a week, but if he allowed somebody else to do it, he wouldn’t sleep easy for a lifetime.

My stare swung to Henderson, and my fingers touched the knives laid out on the table beside me. The cold metal sent a thrill through my skin, sinking into my blood and bones.

It was time.

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