Page 2 of Dusty and Dented
Chapter Two
Dagger trailed alongbehind Panther’s sister.She was in a daze and he was worried about her.Not that he blamed her.He was hurting and he couldn’t imagine the kind of pain she must be dealing with.Still, he knew she had no one to look after her now that Panther was gone.He watched as she made her way to the parking lot and to her car but stopped her when she reached to open the driver’s door.
When his hand covered hers, keeping her from opening the door and getting inside, she looked up at him, looking at his face for the first time—today at least.He couldn’t say if she’d ever looked at him before or even noticed if he was around, but she was looking at him now, a scowl creasing her brow.
“Excuse me?I’d like to leave.”
“And you’re welcome to.But you’re in no shape to drive.Either you go with me on my bike, or you let me drive you in your car.”
“Excuse me?”Her tone got a little louder and she put her hands on her hips as she turned to confront him.“I’ll have you know that I’m an adult.I don’t need anyone telling me what I can and can’t do.I can get home on my own just fine, thank you.”She folded her arms under her tits and glared at him.
“I’m sure you’re more than capable, Andy, but you have a lot on your mind.I watched you for the last half an hour.”He tilted his head back toward where the crew from the funeral home was busy lowering the casket into the ground and loading flowers and plants into the back of a van.“You’ve been zoned out.Lost in your head.I’m not blaming you for it or saying there’s anything wrong with that,” he continued, holding one hand up to stop her when she began to protest.“I’m just saying I want to make sure you’re safe.Panther would want to be sure you’re safe, and since he can’t, I’ll step up.I’ll make sure you get where you need to be and that you don’t wrap yourself around a tree because you’re hurting so bad you lost track of what you’re doing.”
She continued to glare at him for a moment then her shoulders fell, and she let her arms fall to her sides.
“You’re right.I shouldn’t be behind the wheel.Not that I’d do something stupid like drive into a tree, but I’m not as with it as I should be to be driving.”
“Thank you.Do you want to take my bike or want me to drive you in this?”he glanced at the small SUV they stood next to.
She glanced toward where only his bike and a couple more still sat, the brothers who rode the other bikes sat astride them, waiting for him.With what had happened to Panther, no one was going anywhere alone these days.Now that she’d been seen with so many of them, that would include Andy ...at least until they could figure out who was behind the drive-by that had killed their brother and left their clubhouse riddled with bullet holes.
The clubhouse was the easiest part to repair, but the rest would take years, and some wounds, like losing Panther, would never heal.The closest they could hope for was justice.And they would get justice for Panther.Or at least their brand of it.
The trick would be making sure no one else ended up in the ground beside Panther.Or if they did, that it would be one of the brothers.The shooting that had killed his brother could easily have hit and killed one of the mamas or even Taylynn, Raven’s old lady.Then the Angels would be after more than justice—they’d be out for revenge.And the revenge of the Fallen Angels was something no one wanted to deal with.
“Let’s take this.I’m not sure I can get on the back of a bike today.”She turned and started to go around the car.
“Keys?”
“It’s unlocked and keyless.The key is in my purse, as long as I’m inside it will start.”
Dagger nodded, went around the car, and opened the door for her, then made sure she got inside safely and waited until she was buckled in to close her door and go back to the driver’s side.Once inside, it took him a moment to find the controls and adjust the seat so his long legs didn’t hit his chin as he tried to drive.Then he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Hardtack and Wrench letting them know what was up and asking them to get someone to pick up his bike and take it back to the clubhouse.
With the message sent, he hit the ignition button on the dash and started the car.He didn’t bother to ask where she wanted to go but put the car in gear and pulled out.They were headed to the clubhouse for now.That’s where the party was.They were going to celebrate Panther’s life in the way he would expect them to, and while Dagger was at it, he would make sure Andy was safe.
