Page 183 of Dagger

I leaned forward so he could see the seriousness of my answer. “I regret my part in that, Cash. All it ever did was cause you strife. There’s no such tradition. You’re the third generation of Prez’s. Start your own fuckin’ traditions.” I shot him a knowing wink. “What the fuck did Bandit know anyway?”

A slow grin spread across his face. “How ‘bout keep it in the family?”

“Like the Targaryens?” I challenged.

He barked a laugh, then asked, “Best man for the job?”

I gave him a slow nod. “Perfect.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Elise

Four Days Later

Looking down at my beautiful Belle sleeping soundly in my arms, I suddenly knew what it was to hold the entire world.

Leaving her, Sophie, and Atlas would shred me, but unlike before, we’d talk every day, and I’d be back eventually.

It was unbelievable how it took me more than thirty years to find my Constance, and here I was, months later, about to leave her again.

So much had happened in such a short space of time that my head spun with it.

I’d found my daughter and acquired a granddaughter and a new son. I’d fallen back in love with John and acquired his family too. I’d started off married; then, I’d been made a widow when my husband finally got what he deserved for his sick crimes.

Everything had been set up, so Bear took the fall. He was accused of knifing Robert Henderson to death before driving his SUV off a five-hundred-foot cliff in Farmington Canyon, Utah.

The vehicle exploded as it hit the earth, with him inside, and the car burned so hot that there was nothing left of him to find.

The Speed Demons were finally enjoying a time of peace and growth.

Cash had already expanded the building company into Mapletree and was talking about setting up a yard over there. The Demons couldn’t infringe on the Sinners’ territory before, but now they no longer existed, Cash had taken immediate advantage.

Two new members were joining the club from the Vet Center in Grand Junction, along with a vet that Kit had met at one of his meetings. Billy—now known as Carbine, seeing as he was so good at shooting one—couldn’t wait to meet three new prospects he could boss around.

John and I were leaving that day.

He was in Church at that very moment, making a speech to his brothers. I was on tenterhooks in the kitchen with all the girls, worrying myself sick and trying not to cry because we were leaving almost everything I held dear behind.

John’s bike had been secured to the bed of his Ford F150, along with our luggage, and we’d said all of our goodbyes.

All I needed now was the man himself.

Our road trip would begin with a drive across the country to New York to see Niagara Falls. We’d planned to stay overnight in every state we drove through, so it would take us a week or so. From there, we planned to drive back west through the most northern states until we hit California, where I was going to meet my doctor, Melanie, in Sacramento. Then, we planned to vacation in San Diego until mid-December, after which we’d head home for Christmas.

I hadn’t had another full-blown episode since the big one, but I did have a couple of smaller meltdowns, which I survived with the help of my man. Whenever I felt myself getting stressed or my anxiety got too much, he’d guide me into his room, and we’d lay down on his bed and talk about all the things we were goingto do and see together, the same way we did back when we were two starry-eyed kids who thought we had the world at our feet.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Sophie asked from the chair beside mine.

My gaze veered up from Belle and I stared at my beautiful, kind, beloved daughter. “Yeah. I’m okay. Just feeling melancholy.”

“I know,” she smiled, “me too. But you’ll only be gone for three months, and it’s only right that you and John should spend some time together. God knows it took you two long enough.”

Reaching toward the countertop, I covered her hand with mine. “I’ll FaceTime every day. I refuse to miss seeing my granddaughter grow up; they change so quickly at this age.”

Our eyes met, and she smiled sadly.

Sophie knew I was thinking how I never got to see her change, or any of the other beautiful children John and I were meant to have. She also knew it was my biggest regret.

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