Page 5 of Dagger

“Elise was a mess back then,” Abe added. “She lost a lotta loved ones in a short space of time. The entire town knew she wasn’t handlin’ shit well. I don’t doubt Henderson would have used Elise’s state of mind to take advantage of the situation.”

“It’s sick,” Soph cut out. “How do you rip a newborn baby from its mother?” she paused as her gaze fell on me, “and its father?”

“Takes a special kind of psychopath,” Abe agreed.

Silence fell over the room as his words sank in.

Abe was right. We were dealing with an animal.

“Stitch, baby,” Atlas muttered, turning Sophie to face him. “Want you and Belle to stay locked down at the clubhouse for now. Henderson may know who you are. He could’ve had tabs on you for years, He may come after you to keep Elise under his thumb.”

Sophie didn’t hesitate. “I’ll call my boss. I have some surgeries booked in, but after they’re over, I can take time off. I didn’t take all my maternity days, and I’ve got vacation time owed. If I have to, I’ll take unpaid leave.”

He nuzzled his nose against hers. “That’s my girl.”

My SAA looked at Sophie with so much love and reverence, it made my heart tug. It was how I should’ve been with Elise. He had Sophie’s back, no questions asked, and she had his.

They put me to shame.

Atlas rested his forehead on hers. “I’ve got ya. You know that, right? There’s nothing we can’t handle together.”

My heart melted as I studied her sudden wide smile. She whispered, “I’ve never been more sure of anything, big man.”

“You wanna talk to Elise?” he asked her. “Or d’ya need some time to mull everythin’ over? No right or wrong answer, baby. You do what you need to.”

“I want to talk to her. Will you come with me?” she asked.

He dipped his chin, “Yip.”

She cupped his jaw, smiling.

An uneasy feeling hit my gut. “I dunno what you’re gonna get from her, Soph. She’s shut down.”

Her eyes swung to mine, and I marveled at the flecks of gold lighting them up as they flashed indignantly. “What do you expect? That poor woman’s been to hell and back. She lost everything and everyone she cared about. The fact she’s not locked away in a padded cell is a testament to her strength,” her eyes glazed over in thought, “if somebody took Belle from me, I think I’d die.”

A deep growl rumbled through Atlas’s chest. “Fuck me,” he rasped. “Just the thought of it makes me wanna hulk out.”

My eyes flicked pointedly to the heap of mangled bikes. “Tell me about it.”

Abe barked a laugh. “Bandit’ll be rolling in his grave.”

“Good,” I muttered. “It’ll teach the old bastard a lesson.”

“Was he involved, too?” Atlas demanded.

“No, but he didn’t fuckin’ help matters. The old goat jumped to some fucked-up conclusions and made shit worse. He wasn’t fair to Elise, though God knows I wasn’t either.” My eyes slid to Sophie, who looked at me intently. “Made mistakes, Sophie, big ones. The shit I did changed lives. Now I gotta make up for it in any way I can. There’s a good woman in that clubhouse, awoman I fucked over, albeit unknowingly, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“What did you do?” she whispered.

“Promised her everythin’, believed lies, gave my everythin’ to someone else.” I tipped my head back, eyes lifting toward the heavens. “Gotta lot to make up for, and I don’t quite know how I’m gonna go about that.” My neck bent, and my gaze caught hers. “I let you down, too.”

Sophie’s forehead scrunched up identically to the way her mother’s did, and I wondered again how I’d never noticed the similarities.

“You didn’t know,” she protested.

“But I should have,” I admitted. “My girl was loyal. Should’ve dug deeper.”

“So make it up to her,” Soph told me. “Show her you’re sorry.”

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