Page 106 of Dagger

Roars of laughter filled the room.

“I can fire those babies in my sleep,” a man shouted.

“We can have some fun with them, Atlas.”

“Whose cock did you have to suck for them?”

Atlas raised a hand to calm the men. “No cocks were sucked in the procurement of any weapons, brothers, but I gotta admit, I probably would’ve gone down quicker than a hooker wanting a salary bonus to get those shooters in our arsenal.”

Snorts of laughter filled the bar as the brothers busted a gut.

If Atlas ran a meeting, it would be a shit show, but my SAA could get on the men’s level and have them eating out of the palm of his hand like no other person I knew.

“The Feds are surrounding Mapletree and Hambleton to make sure no Sinners get out once they start swooping in, but regardless of that, we want you riding in pairs at least,” Atlas ordered. “If you’re gonna take your women and kids to the airport, do it in groups, but remember, no man rides alone.”

Sounds of agreement went up, and then the men quieted again.

“Hendrix and Prez went over a plan last night, and this morning, the rest of the officers finessed it. We’re not playin’, so if any Sinners turn up here, looking for vengeance, they’re gonna get more than they bargained for. This bullshit’s gone on long enough, it’s time we put a stop to it once and for all, and our Veep’s gonna assign roles and go over everything, but before we continue, there’s one thing I wanna ask ya.”

The room fell so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop.

Atlas grinned and boomed, “Say it with me, boys.”

Men leaped to their feet and began to stomp on the hard wooden floor. Roars filled the air, along with yells and hoots, as Atlas bellowed, “Mess with a Demon?”

I stood from my seat, along with the other officers, as every man in the room got to their feet before yelling in unison.

“…And we’ll raise Hell.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” our SAA roared before turning to Cash and nodding to give him the floor.

Boots stomped so hard I wouldn’t have been shocked if the floor caved in.

I sucked in a breath, listening to the sounds representing honor, brotherhood, and a brethren that was so loyal, they would give up their lives for each other.

It was the most beautiful sound in the world.

Cash stood to his full height and waited for the commotion to die down.

Eventually, silence reigned, and Cash grinned at the boys from the stage. “So,” he began. “As Atlas said, we’ve come up with a plan, and we’ve assigned roles that we think play to your strengths. Get out your cell phones; you may need to take notes.”

The men went into their pockets and grabbed their phones.

Cash’s grin morphed into a knowing smirk. “Right, boys,” he drawled. “This is the way it’s gonna go. Have any of you seenGame of Thrones...?”

Chapter Eighteen

Elise

“Keep it coming, Elise,” Iris encouraged. “We’ve got a lot of hungry men out there. Church will be over soon, and I want food on hand in case they have to head straight out.”

“On it,” I called out, flipping the slices of bacon over, which had been browning in the huge pan, to stop them from burning.

“How are those eggs coming along, Layla?” she asked.

“Nearly there,” Layla replied, stirring the huge pot of scrambled eggs she’d been cooking for the last ten minutes.

I moved out of the way of the industrial oven, allowing Iris to pull the door open to inspect the sausage patties that had been cooking.

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