Page 46 of Dagger

“I thought falling in love made you gentler.”

“Yeah, with Nikki. The rest of the world can fuck off.” He hit my chest with the back of his hand. “Now let’s go get some answers.”

We watched them from a parking lot that gave us a good view of the front doors of the clubhouse. Diesel and Gio watched the back exit, while Maverick and Rocky watched the south exit that led out right to the street. We all converged on the clubhouse at once, willing to talk, but ready to kick ass if need be.

I really hoped it was necessary, because this asshole was getting to me. Worrying about Sinclair was like a full-time job, especially during the hours she was out of my sight.

Maverick and Rocky joined us at the front door and Rocky gave a short nod as a sign to me. I balled my hand into a fist and pounded on the door until a biker pushed it open with a pissed off scowl.

“What the fuck do you want?” His gaze widened in surprise when he realized it wasn’t a bunch of tweakers, considering the neighborhood. “Oh, uh, what is it?”

“Who’s the prez of this shit?” I asked.

The man swallowed visibly and shouted over his shoulder. “Reaper, some fuckers are out here asking for you.” He smirked at us and stepped outside, folding his arms like he was some kind of badass.

Reaper stepped out wearing a scowl that turned to unease when he saw us on his doorstep. “Steel Demons,” he mumbled. “What can I do for you?” He folded his arms in an effort to appear unaffected, but his pinched lips and strained eyes told the truth. He was worried.

Good, he should be. “What business do you have with Sinclair Bronson?”

Reaper frowned instinctively, and goddammit, I believed him. “Who the fuck is that? Never heard of the dude.”

“You got your prospects scaring the shit out of anyone?” I asked.

“Nah, we got ‘em recruiting girls. Gotta get more money rollin’ in, you know?” He ran a hand through his long black hair and sighed. “Let me lay it out for you. I know who you are and so do most of my guys. We ain’t ready to kick up no shit with you. Yet. It’ll be a while before we become a pain in your ass, I can admit that.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Rebel grunted.

“I’m just trying to be honest here. We’re looking to build relationships right now,” he said as his gaze finally landed on Diesel. “For example, I can get my hands on premium weed. Good price for bulk purchases.”

Diesel nodded. “We can talk about that another time.”

Reaper grinned. “All right. Now, you’re looking for information on this dude, what’s his name?”

“Sinclair,” I barked. “And she’s not a dude. Someone’s been stalking her. Trashed my shop.”

“Steel City Ink,” he mused. “My boys been getting their new ink there.”

“Which is why your MC came to mind.”

He laughed. “Like I said, we’re not ready for that kind of shit yet. But you can ask my prospects what they know.” He shouted into the building and three men who looked barely legal to buy a six-pack rushed outside, stopping abruptly as they took in the scene.

“Uh, what’s up, Reaper?” A young, skinny guy in torn jeans and a white t-shirt with greased back hair flicked his gaze between me and his prez.

“This here is T-bird,” Reaper said with a proud smile. “On account of he looks like he’s right out of that movie,Grease.” He laughed and patted T-bird’s chest. “Tell ‘em what you told me about what you saw at Steel City Ink.”

“Your boy Falcon did my ink,” he said, showing off a fiery dragon going up his side. “Anyway, we took a smoke break and I went outside for a toke or two. Saw a few guys hanging around. They weren’t wearing cuts but one of the guys had a Dead Ravens tattoo on his neck. Left side.”

“What were they doing?”

He shrugged. “Mostly lurking around, looked like maybe they were casing the joint. I didn’t think it was the ink shop, notwith the fancy boutiques, the spa, and all that other shit on that block.”

“Did they say anything?” I asked, impatient with all his fucking details.

“Nah. They were mostly quiet, other than a few whispered words. Figured it was a B and E type of thing.”

“You sure it was the Dead Ravens?”

T-bird nodded. “Yeah. Ran into them at Big Juggz a day later, you know that titty bar run by that Chinese grandma everybody knows it’s a front for the Jade Dragons?”

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