Page 41 of Dagger

Chapter 22

Dagger

“Dad, look!” Dani pointed to an exhibit on prehistoric animals in their natural habitat. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she took in every detail as she bounced on her toes. “It’s so cool, isn’t it?”

My heart constricted as she read what she could, sounding out the words she didn’t recognize before looking up to Sinclair for confirmation. She’d been the one to recommend the children’s museum and Dani insisted that she come along, which was what I also wanted so I didn’t put up a fight at all.

“It’s really cool,” I offered, and attempted to focus on the ancient creatures instead of the woman beside me. The woman who occupied my thoughts even when she was right next to me.

“Do you see how big the insects are?” she pointed out to Dani, smiling as she explained something about higher oxygen levels or some shit I didn’t really understand.

“That could eat me!” Dani giggled and reached for Sinclair’s hand with an affectionate smile.

This felt odd as fuck. It felt surreal. It felt really fucking domestic. And the craziest part was that I wasn’t freaked out about it. My heart wasn’t racing and my legs weren’t wobbling. It felt right and normal, it felt like this was how it should’ve always been. This was what Dani deserved, two attentive parents. Weekends spent together.

“You okay?” Sinclair’s hand rested on my arm and then she rubbed gently with furrowed brows.

I blinked. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Her hand slid down my arm and tangled with my hand, our palms pressed together like we were a team. “You seem off.”

She was right. Ifeltoff and I couldn’t say why. “Give me a minute?”

She nodded, her expression full of worry, but she just turned her attention back to Dani, giving me what I’d asked for.

I walked away from my girls and paused, scanning every face inside the museum until I spotted the lone face that looked out of place among the groups of families. A man by himself, not smiling but scowling. But his expression wasn’t on me, it was just past me.

Sinclair.

Whatever else I’d thought about whoever the fuck this asshole was, this wasn’t about me or the Steel Demons. It was about Sinclair.

My blood ran cold. My hands tightened into fists. My feet froze as indecision went to war inside me. Did I go after the fucker or stay close to Sinclair to keep her safe?

I started walking casually in his direction, looking around like I was oblivious that we had a shadow. It pissed me off that I hadn’t noticed him until now when we’d been at the museum for at least an hour.I was distracted.My dad’s voice sounded inmy head, reminding me that caring about people was a weakness that could get someone—namely, me—killed.

I shook off his words, told myself that it was a chicken shit belief that let him keep everyone at a distance because he was too fucking scared to give a shit about anybody but himself. I wasn’t him, not anymore. I passed the asshole and even though he appeared casual to the untrained eye, I saw him freeze when I passed him, felt the weight of his gaze following me.

But Sinclair’s pull was too strong for him, and when I turned to watch him, his gaze was on her again. He watched openly, unafraid of being noticed by anyone but me.

“Slate,” I said the minute he answered the phone. “He’s here at the museum. Can you get a clean image of him?”

Slate, the asshole, laughed. “You want me to hack into a museum surveillance system?”

“Yeah, what the fuck are you asking stupid questions for? Can you do it or not?”

“Of course I can. Where are you?”

I spun around, searching for some clue where I was. “No fucking clue. Dani and Sinclair are looking at some prehistoric shit, like stuffed animals and shit.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know if I need anything else.” He ended the call before I could say anything else.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and made my way back to the girls, passing the stalker. I stopped and turned to him, startling him. “See something you like?”

He took a step back, but his gaze narrowed at me. He took another step back when he realized I had a solid five inches and thirty pounds on him. His gaze flicked to Sinclair and back to me. “No. I don’t see a goddamn thing I like.”

I took a step forward, biting back a smile when his eyes went wide with fear. “Then I suggest you move along, because you won’t like what happens if you don’t.” I stared him down, watching him try to swallow his fear before he marched off.

I wasn’t dumb enough to believe this was the end of it, but I managed to put his presence behind me and focus on Sinclair and Dani when I found them transfixed by a display on electricity.

---