Page 34 of Dagger

I stood up and moved closer. “You can either agree to go with me to the club, where we have a nurse and a doctor who can check you out, or you can disagree and I can drag you there, kicking and screaming. I’m fine with either option.” And then I smiled while I waited her out.

Indecision weighed heavily on her delicate shoulders. Her eyes darted back and forth while she tried to figure out if I was lying or not. When her shoulders sagged, I knew I had her. “Dani isn’t there, is she? Seeing me like this will scare her.”

Damn, how could this woman have walked through so much of her life alone when she was so kind and so caring? The way she was always so thoughtful when it came to my daughter only made me want her more. “It’s late, Sinclair. She’s at home asleep in bed.”

She blinked, spinning until her eyes landed on a clock. “Oh. Right.”

“You want me to carry you?”

A small smile touched her lips. “No, I’ll walk.”

“Too bad.” I smiled, giving her a few minutes to get herself together while I went outside and checked for signs that this motherfucker had been to her house recently.

“Find anything?” she asked in a small, hesitant voice.

“Nah. There are signs he’s been here recently, but not tonight.”

“He probably followed me from here.”

I nodded because anger grabbed me by the throat and refused to let me answer. I took her hand and pulled her towards my bike.

“I can’t get on that!”

“Sure you can. Your car needs to go back to the shop and your car has been a target of his twice now.”

She paled and I wrapped an arm around her, letting her bury her face in my chest for a long moment. Sinclair inhaled and exhaled deeply before she pulled back. “Thank you, Dagger.”

“Of course,” I told her, and kissed the top of her head. This woman had gripped me in a way no woman had. My protective instinct was on high alert when it came to her, which meant it was time to put my foot down about her recklessness. “Come on. You’ll love it, and even if you don’t, you get to hang on to me, and that’s a win.”

She rolled her eyes and accepted the helmet I handed to her. “Go slow.”

“Sure,” I snorted, and tightened the chinstrap for her. I didn’t have many women on the back of my bike because it tended to send the wrong message, but fuck me if having her on the back with her chest pressed against mine wasn’t the best goddamn feeling ever.

“Woo-hoo!”

Scratch that, the sound of Sinclair having fun on the back of my bike felt even better.

***

Katey, our club doctor, who’s also Sniper’s old lady, arrived at the clubhouse just as we did, offering a sympathetic smile to Sinclair. “I’m Katey.”

“Sinclair, nice to meet you. And thanks for interrupting your evening for this even though I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Katey flicked a gaze my way. “Maybe, but anything to appease an overprotective man.”

“I’m not overprotective, I’m just protective enough.” I folded my arms, glaring hard at the women, but neither of them were affected.

Katey laughed. “Come on, let’s go.” She guided Sinclair inside and sat her down while she began her exam. She checked Sinclair’s eyes, pressed on the side of her cheeks, then checked her eyes again, getting her to follow her finger. “Good news is that nothing is broken, and your neurological exam is fine,” she declared with a friendly smile.

Sinclair nodded. “And the bad news?”

“It’s going to hurt like a bitch for a few days, but nothing that can’t be fixed with a couple painkillers.” She studied Sinclair and then me before she turned back to Sinclair. “I don’t think you have a concussion, but I need to be sure. Do you live alone?”

Sinclair swallowed and nodded. “Yes, why?”

She sighed heavily. “I need you to be supervised for the next twenty-four hours.”

“So I need to go to the hospital?”

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