Page 47 of Dagger

“I don’t know, Robert,” I whispered. “If the club finds out I helped Brett escape, they’ll kick me out. I’ll have nowhere to go.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to choose what’s more important to you:the cluboryour pictures. I’ll give you twenty-four hours. Use the time wisely and keep your ear to the ground. I’ll wait for your call, but don’t take too long.” A click sounded, and the line went dead.

Slumping back in my chair, my gaze went to Colt, and I handed his cell back, griping, “He’s so damned sure of himself.”

“For the leader of a sex trafficking ring, he’s fuckin’ stupid.” Colt took his phone and pocketed it.

“The asshole’s called the shots for thirty years,” I explained. “Robert can’t understand he’s losing control. I’ve been so compliant over the years that he underestimates me. He thinks he holds all the cards purely because he knows I’ll do anything for my daughter. Is it sick that I find karma in the knowledge I can use his weakness to my advantage?”

“Not at all,” Colt replied. “Especially when we both know he has no intention of givin’ you those pictures. He’ll fuck you over.”

I shrugged uncaringly. “I’ve got my Constance in flesh and blood. He can burn them for all I care.” Turning to John, I inquired, “So, what happens next?”

I froze when I saw Stone staring at me like he’d never seen me before.

“You okay there?” I prompted.

“Who the fuck are you, and what have you done with my Leesy?” he questioned. “The way you just handled him—Jesus, woman—you nearly hadmefooled.”

Over the years, I’d had to learn to look after myself. John knew the eighteen-year-old girl, and I kept forgetting that my involvement in all the subterfuge was new to him. I got why he was shocked; in the past, when we were together, he’d tended to run roughshod over me, but he’d have to learn I’d since grown up and found a backbone.

“I’ve lived with a monster for a long time, John. What did you think I’d do, curl up in a ball and let him destroy me? Maybe if he hadn’t taken Sophie from me, I would have. I’d lost you, Dad, Connie—everyone who mattered. I couldn’t bear to lose her too.”

He leaned toward me, and gold met green. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him.

“No, Leesy,” he replied. “It’s not. But I’m gonna say it and mean it every fuckin’ day until it sinks in.”

The sincerity in his tone made the knot in my stomach loosen.

I wasn’t used to such kindness. After living with an animal for so long, John’s meaningful apology almost embarrassed me. Even when we were together, he’d rarely said sorry, and on the few occasions he had, it was usually to wheedle out of something he’d done, or to get his own way.

Over the years, I’d noticed the changes in him. I’d seen how well-liked and respected he’d become, and even though he had a reputation for being steadfast and liking things done a certain way, it was also known he was a man of honor.

I’d been around the dregs of humanity for a long time, so it was easy to recognize when something was fundamentally good. Watching John love on his club, his kids, and his grandchildren brought a warmth to my chest I hadn’t felt in years.

John Stone two-point-oh was close to smashing through the bricks I’d built around my heart.

I was in trouble.

Chapter Nine

Dagger

A loud rap sounded from the door to my office.

“Come in,” I ordered, laying my pen on the desk.

The door cracked open, and Abe poked his head around. “Atlas and Bowie are loading Brett up. Elise is already out there, waitin’. It’s time.”

Grabbing my cell phone, I got to my feet, rounded my desk, and headed toward Abe.

He turned for the corridor on my approach, falling into step beside me.

As we marched up the corridor, my buddy turned to me and asked, “You okay with the plan?”

I replied with one word, “Yep.”

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