Page 51 of Dagger

Even as a man in my fifties, I had lessons to learn, and I vowed to myself I would for Elise. Knowing what she’d sacrificed for me, the club, and our girl sickened me.

I’d spend the rest of my life proving myself to my Leesy. Though first, I had to deal with her fuckhead husband.

The gated community where Henderson lived loomed ahead. I slowed my bike and leaned to take the turning I needed. As I hit the central strait, I looked ahead, and immediately saw the SUV at the top of the long road that passed through the streets leading to Henderson’s house, which stood out, slightly elevated from the other homes.

It was just like him, stuck-up, self-involved, and delusional. It was typical of Henderson to think of himself as some kind of king looking down on his subjects. He was a man, not a god, and he’d bleed red when I took my retribution.

The glint of the sun bouncing off metal caught my eye. I returned my focus to the SUV, which had already pulled up outside the gates of Leesy’s old house. Two men loitered at the SUV, one of them in the process of hauling Stafford over his shoulder.

I hit the throttle, ensuring my approach was loud enough to draw attention.

The two gophers stretched their necks up to see what the fuck was happening.

Pulling up, I slowed to a stop and yanked my helmet off. “What the fuck have you done?” I bellowed at Elise.

Her face paled, and she wrung her hands nervously. “You don’t understand, John. I didn’t have a choice. Brett’s hurt, and he needs to see a doctor. I couldn’t leave him there; he would’ve died.”

I caught movement from the corner of my eye as Henderson stepped out of the oak double front doors. “Elise!” he crowed. “What a surprise.”

Showtime.

Ignoring his ass, I shoved my brain bucket onto the handlebars, dismounted, and stalked purposefully toward Elise. “You fuckin’ betrayed me!” I roared in her face. “Why would you do that? We took you in.”

“You don’t understand, John,” Elise reasoned, her tone fearful. “There’s more to it than you realize.”

“You fuckin’ bitch!” I spat.

Elise rocked back on her heels, her face filling with remorse. “I’m sorry.”

The sense of disgust I felt for yelling at Leesy burned through my gut, but we’d planned this down to the finest detail. I hated treating her this way, but we had to fool Henderson for Stafford’s sake. There was a lot riding on this handover, so we had to be convincing.

My ears pricked at my men’s engines roaring in the distance. They would be here any minute, and we could finish the job and get the fuck out of there.

“Good morning,” a voice called from the direction of the house.

Slowly, I twisted my neck to see Henderson stroll toward us. “You put her up to this,” I accused.

He approached the gate with a satisfied smile plastered across his smarmy face. “Don’t be surprised, Stone. It’s better you learn she’s a traitorous cunt sooner rather than later.”

“I’m sorry, John,” Elise whimpered, reaching out to clutch my arm. “I swear I had no choice.”

“There’s always a choice.” I jerked my thumb toward my chest and bellowed, “You should’ve come to me. We could’ve talked it through. Instead, you lied to my men, stole one of my club’s vehicles, and helped that sick fuck escape.” I ran a frustrated hand over my head, my voice lowering. “Jesus, Elise. Can’t you see the mess you’ve fuckin’ made, woman?”

A tear tracked down Elise’s cheek, making my heart contract. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, but her apology was drowned out by the roar of motorcycle engines as my men surrounded us.

“Prez?” Atlas shouted over the noise. “What the fuck’s goin’ on?”

“She helped Stafford escape,” I bit out, staring at Elise. “I came after her, but I was too late. We’ve lost him.”

Atlas glowered at my woman. “We took you in. We fuckin’ helped you.”

Elise ducked her head, unable to meet the SAA’s glowering stare.

Grabbing Elise’s arm, I tugged her toward the SUV. “Get in the car and drive your lyin’ ass back to the compound. If you deviate, I’ll shoot your bitch ass.” Swiveling my head, I glared at Henderson. “Stay the fuck away from her. You got what you wanted, but don’t think it’ll be so fuckin’ easy next time. She’ll be under armed guard from now on.” I hauled the door of the SUV open and shoved Elise inside. “You’re not getting away with this. You’re fucked now.”

She stared up at me with her huge green eyes and whimpered.

My heart clenched, but I ignored the ache in my chest and slammed the door shut, shooting her an angry look through the open window before I turned on my heel and stalked toward my bike.

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