Page 50 of Dagger

“You prepared to use her?” I asked the prospect.

His grin faded. “Gladly, boss.”

“Then we roll.” Turning, I made my way toward the SUV where Sophie and Elise were waiting. “You sure you’re good with the plan?” I asked my woman.

She jutted her chin. “We’ve been over it eighty-four thousand times, John. I’m good.”

I stifled a smile before my eyes turned serious, and I drawled, “Be careful, baby.”

She tipped her head back and caught my eyes.

Reaching out, I caught her pinkie with mine before dropping my hand and heading toward my bike. Grabbing my helmet from the handlebar, I shoved it on my head and pulled the chin strap tight under my chin. My stare slid toward Elise, who’d already jumped into the SUV and was starting it up.

“I’ll give you a two-minute start,” I shouted at her as I threw my leg over my bike. “Drive fast, but safely.”

She nodded at me as she drove past us toward the gates. “See you on the flip side,” she called out of the open window before pulling out of the compound.

My stare followed the SUV heading toward town, watching it pick up speed as Elise drove further down the main road.

My gut clenched.

“She’ll be okay,” Breaker muttered from beside me.

I turned my head until I was met with a familiar golden stare. “Any shit, you get your ass back here. Don’t take any chances. You’ve got two kids and a baby on the way. You need to be here to raise ‘em, Kit.”

His eyes swiveled to meet mine, and he dipped his chin.

“You got what you need?” I asked.

“What I haven’t got, I can make,” he said flatly.

Atlas barked a laugh, jerking his thumb toward Kit. “He’s like the Martha fuckin’ Stewart of bombs. Don’t matter if you haven’tgot one made up. He can conjure one up in sixty seconds with a wire coat hanger, some tape, a bottle of hooch, and a rag.”

I puffed my chest out proudly and called out, “That’s my boy.”

Soft laughter filled the air.

“Thirty seconds, Dagger,” Abe advised. “You ride outta here like a bat outta hell. We’ll be a minute behind ya.”

I started my bike, leaned forward, and revved the bitch until the pops of my Harley turned into a roar.

“Go!” Atlas bellowed.

I twisted the throttle and shot through the gates. Slowing, I turned my bike left toward town before speeding up again to catch Elise’s tail.

The timing was crucial. Elise had to pull up outside the mansion and get Brett to the gates, but we didn’t want to give Henderson the opportunity to strong-arm her inside. She hadn’t given him the heads-up she was heading there like he’d demanded, so at least we had the element of surprise on our side.

My role was to convince the mayor that Elise had betrayed us by helping Brett escape. To do that, we had to pull off some good acting. We knew we were taking a risk, but we could handle it, especially since me and Elise had several powwows about what was about to go down.

The days since Elise had come to the compound had flown by. We’d had countless meetings, and we’d all agreed that getting Stafford back undercover was crucial. We could prepare better if we had inside knowledge, and if Brett could hit the motherlode and discover concrete evidence, we could take the motherfucker down before it came to an outright war.

My mind wandered to Elise, and my chest warmed.

Having her around was strangely settling for me.

We hadn’t had much to do with each other over the years, but having her so close brought back emotions I hadn’t felt sinceI was a kid. Falling into a friendship with her felt so natural, especially since our banter was hilarious. My girl was funny and quick-witted. She seemed to enjoy yanking my men’s chains, and they responded to her like she was one of the boys.

The love I’d felt for Elise had never gone away, but getting to know her now had given me a newfound respect for the woman she’d become. There was no denying her strength and bravery, and I could’ve kicked myself for ever doubting her.

---