Page 69 of Dagger

“Hey, Daddy,” she murmured, pushing her face into his chest. “Missed you, too.”

I smiled at them fondly.

Colt told me what happened before he left. Honestly, I didn’t know what to think about it. If Colt had gone behind Bandit’s back, he would’ve shot him dead. What John did sickened me, but another side of me was grateful he didn’t kill Colt for betraying him and the club.

Maybe it was because I knew how brutal the club used to be, because even though I didn’t condone John’s actions, I understood them. He was an MC prez and had to command respect amongst his brothers. If one of the men betrayed the club, he’d have to take action, or else the others would think he was weak, and he’d lose all respect and, ultimately, all control.

The club had come a long way in recent years, but it still had strict rules around traitors and betrayal. Add on the fact that Freya was John’s daughter, and I could understand how he’d lost his shit. I was there when Iris was kidnapped and assaulted. I knew how vulnerable the women of the club were, especiallyliving in the same town as a mayor who ran a trafficking ring and worked with the same club that took Iris on that awful day.

I’d do worse if I thought Sophie was in danger.

A hand took my elbow just as a husky voice murmured from behind, “Let’s go get a drink.”

I whipped my head around, my throat drying as Adele pulled me toward the bar.

“Wait,” Sophie called after us. “I’m coming with you.”

“Down girl,” Adele called back. “It’s all good.”

I gulped as my stomach began to jump with nerves at the mere thought of the conversation I was about to have.

Adele knew everything, including the fact that her husband had carried a torch for me throughout their marriage. It wasn’t something I felt good about; if anything, I carried guilt for it. Knowing I was a factor in the breakdown of their marriage didn’t feel good at all.

“Red or white?” Adele asked as we approached the bar.

“Beer?” I replied, question in my tone. “I’ve tried the wine in this place. It’ll take the roof of your mouth off.”

Adele laughed. “The girls drink it from boxes,” she explained, amusement evident in her voice. “Though, if I was married to one of my boys, I’d be chugging it from boxes too.”

The server placed two bottles of Bud on the counter, popping the tops off.

I gave him a nod of thanks, grabbed a bottle, and followed Adele to an empty table, while trying to calm my racing heart.

This conversation was going to be awkward.

Adele took a seat and nodded to the one opposite her. “I dunno why you’re looking so nervous. It’s me who needs to apologize.”

I sat before asking, “Why doyouneed to apologize?”

She leaned forward, her eyes cast down as she picked at the label on her beer bottle. “I married John knowing he was in lovewith you. The night we met, he told me everything. He was so cut up about you; I could hear the pain in his voice. Deep down, I think I knew even then that something must’ve happened to stop you from being with him.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” I insisted gently. “You weren’t involved in our situation.”

“I know, but I didn’t help your situation, either.” She sat back in her chair, her eyes glazing over slightly as she thought back. “When I met John, I was grieving my mom’s death. I saw him sitting at a bar, and he just seemed lost. I think it drew me to him because it was exactly how I was feeling, too. I didn’t really have anyone I could talk to, so I approached him, thinking he’d get it.”

It shouldn’t have hurt—I mean, thirty years had gone by—but every word was like a knife stabbing my heart. “It’s not my business,” I breathed.

“You have to know,” she asserted. “That first night—we—well—” she sighed, “I think we both needed comfort. He didn’t make any plans to meet up the next day, and I was okay with that. I never expected to see him again, but then later I found out—”

Understanding washed over me. “You were pregnant,” I whispered.

She nodded, her stare glued to mine. “I knew from day one John wasn’t mine. I also knew you’d married somebody else, so I sought him out and gave him the choice.”

My heart sank. “And John married you.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. “I knew he loved you, and he’d never feel that way about me. I made him promise that if I ever met my person, he’d let me go. He agreed, so we went to City Hall and did it. It felt weird, and I knew in my soul it wasn’t right, but I was scared of being alone and pregnant, and terrified of raising a kid alone,” she shrugged, “so I threw caution to the wind.”

My brain whirred with questions.

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