Page 139 of Dagger

John leaned forward again and gently kissed the tip of my nose. “Thank you, baby.” He pulled back slightly, his stare holding mine. “One more question.”

I rolled my eyes. “What?”

A small smirk played around his lips. “When all this is over, will you go on a date with me?”

I laughed. “A date? Aren’t we a bit old for that?” I nodded toward the building. “You already built me a house, John, and you want to start dating?”

His smirk spread into a grin. “We’re never too old for romance, Leesy. We gotta lotta time to make up for and a lotta getting to know each other again.”

My heart sank. “What if you don’t like what you find?”

He deadpanned. “Already do. It’s always been you, and it always will be. I gave you my heart and soul when I was a twenty-one-year-old kid who thought he’d rule the world. The date’s for you; I want you to feel special, I wanna do traditional and court you again, and I want you on the back of my bike, where you belong.”

My heart swelled at John’s words.

He spoke from the heart, and he wasn’t the type of man to blow smoke up my ass. John Stone wasn’t a smooth talker, and he didn’t use pretty words to love-bomb me. Whenever he spokeabout his feelings, it was all the more romantic because I knew he meant every word.

“Do you really think we can do this?” I whispered, hoping with all my heart we could.

He squeezed my fingers. “We owe it to ourselves to try, baby. It got ripped away from us, but I never stopped lovin’ you. I know we’re different people, but there’s nothing I’ve seen that makes me think we can’t rise above the bullshit and be happy. You’re a good woman, strong, loyal, and gorgeous. What’s not to damned well love?”

Well, what could I say to that?

This man had not only saved my life; he’d given me something I’d craved every second of the last thirty-four years.

Family.

Add to that the fact that he’d kept Bessie for me and subconsciously was so determined to get me back that he even built me my dream house; it meant my answer was pretty much a sure thing.

It seemed we were doing this.

I just hoped we both knew what we were letting ourselves in for. There was a lot of baggage to unpack and sort through. Years worth of trauma and pain weren’t going away with a smile and a kiss.

A little voice in the back of my mind whispered how, up to now, things had been easy, which was fine, but I couldn’t help wondering if all this was happening too fast and a little too easily.

I guessed only time would tell.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dagger

The sun still hadn’t risen when we drove through the gates of the compound at five A.M. the next morning. I pulled into a parking space and cut the engine before clicking my seat belt off and turning to Elise.

“Remember what I said, baby,” I murmured, taking her hand in mine. “First sign of trouble, I want you to take the women and kids and get down the Cell.”

She twisted in her seat until she rested on her side, facing me, and nodded slowly. “Please be careful, John.”

The reassuring grin I gave was fake because I didn’t feel reassured whatsoever. In fact, my guts were churning, and my chest felt tight. Nevertheless, I waved a nonchalant hand and told her, “We’ll be fine, baby. Look at who we’re dealing with. Those assholes haven’t got two brain cells to rub together. Bear’s not even there, according to Colt, so it should be an easy cleanup.”

Elise’s pretty green eyes narrowed. “Where’s Bear?”

“If he’s got the sense he was born with, he’ll be in Mexico by now,” I muttered.

“That’s just it,” she argued. “He hasn’t got a lick of sense. The last thing you should do is get complacent. These are dangerousmen. They’ll kill at the drop of a hat, and I’m certain they won’t want to lose the money their sick business brings in. Desperate people do desperate things; please don’t forget that.”

I leaned closer until our foreheads were almost touching. “I’ve got it covered, baby. You gotta trust me. There’s no scenario I haven’t gone over and planned for. This is where my military trainin’ comes in. I was a good soldier, and I never let my skills get rusty. We’ve got the edge on them ‘cause we’re trained in war; they’re scrappy, hotheaded motherfuckers. There’s shit happenin’ behind the scenes that I can’t divulge, but you gotta relax, babe. I got it covered. I wouldn’t leave my club or you out there swingin’.”

Elise’s eyes warmed, and one side of her mouth curved. “I know.”

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