Page 39 of Dagger

She nodded. “Duh.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, and pressed a hot, too fucking quick, kiss to her lips. “Promise. Think about what I said about staying here.”

She let out a short laugh. “There’s only one thing I’ll be thinking about more than that,” she replied.

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said, kissing her one last time before I left, hopped on my bike, and hauled ass to the tattoo parlor.

***

I frowned when I pulled up to the shop. It was vandalized, but it looked like it was done by a bratty fucking teenager. “What the fuck?” I exclaimed as I took in the spray paint and the brokenwindow. The ink that stained the floor and the cash register. It was fucked but it wasn’t as rage-filled as I expected.

Diesel was there with Gio and Rebel. “Who’d you piss off?” Rebel asked with a grin.

“Who haven’t I pissed off?” I had a feeling this was more about Sinclair than me. “Did the cameras catch anything?”

Diesel shrugged. “Just got the footage to Slate. He’s looking into it.”

“This is a pain in the ass, but it doesn’t exactly send a message.”

Gio scratched his chin. “This is busy work more than anything. You got competition or your woman?”

I shook my head. As far as Sinclair knew, nobody wanted her at all, never mind enough to stalk.

“The hookah lounge owner says he heard a couple bikes taking off when the shop’s alarm sounded.” Maverick joined with an exhausted expression on his face. “Are we thinking Bloody Devils?”

“Has to be, right?” Rocky rubbed his face and let out a heavy sigh.

“We need have a chat with our new friends,” Diesel said, his voice low and menacing.

Chapter 21

Sinclair

Icouldn’t sleep knowing Dagger was out there in the dark dealing with something that could hurt him. Or worse. I didn’t know the specifics of what the Steel Demons did even though the town talked about them a lot, but I knew it was sometimes dangerous. My mind raced with the possibilities of what could happen and how it would impact Dani.

It was odd being inside his home, any man’s home, while he was away. I wasn’t a snooper, but I walked around the common areas because I was desperate to know more about this man who had left me captivated. The house was spacious and tidy, the only evidence a small child resided there was a purple blanket and a discarded hot-pink stuffed dinosaur. The place lacked personal touches like photos, which I found especially odd for a single father.

I wondered if a man who’d done such a good job at keeping his daughter at arm’s length could change so much. He’d taken his father’s words to heart, spending very little time with Dani to the point they hardly knew one another, and there were very few memories of her childhood documented. Poor girl. He was changing now, doing better for her, and that was a good thing, I just hoped that the damage done so far was reversible.

He’s trying, I told myself as I dropped down onto the sofa and pulled up a book on my phone. It was more than my own father had ever attempted. He always told me he did his bestas he committed to doing the bare minimum, and I accepted it. From him. From boyfriends throughout my life.

It was a pattern I was determined to break.

Finally, the front door opened, and I jumped to my feet without thinking. I paused for just a second, realizing that Dagger had been right about the security of his home. I hadn’t jumped or searched for a place to hide, instead I rushed to the door to meet him. “Are you okay?”

He paused in kicking off his boots and grinned. “I like having you worry about me.”

My nostrils flared, at the smile in his eyes and the sincerity in his voice. What was it about a sincere man that was so damn hard to resist? “Well?”

He shrugged. “The shop is trashed. Slate’s going over the footage.” That was all he said, but the slump of his shoulders told me he was more worried than he let on.

“This is my fault.” I wasn’t sure of it, but it just felt true. Whoever had been following me, watching me, must’ve targeted Dagger because of me. “I’m sorry.”

He bridged the distance between us, laying his hands on my shoulders with a heavy sigh. “What are you sorry for, Sinclair?”

“This is my fault,” I answered quickly. “If we weren’t connected, whoever has been watching me wouldn’t have come after you.”

His laughter was deep and filled with good humor. “If you really want it to be your fault, then I know exactly how you can make it up to me.”

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