Page 60 of Dagger

All I knew was that until this mess was sorted, she was in danger—as was my little girl. I’d wanted to take them both to the clubhouse, but Sinclair wasn’t feeling well this morning. She said she thought she’d caught a stomach bug and had spent the past fifteen minutes hugging the toilet bowl.

I hated leaving her, but dragging her out when she was like this wasn’t an option. “Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” I asked.

There was the sound of the faucet running, then she called out. “I’m sure it’ll pass.”

“I don’t like the thought of you being here alone. I can ask one of the old ladies to drop by, if you want?”

She came out of the bathroom. Her face looked waxy, and she had dark circles under her eyes. “I’m feeling a bit better now. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s weekend. I can call my friend Sarah and get her to come here if that makes you feel any better? We keep talking about meeting up outside of school,” she said.

“Yeah, you do that. But don’t leave the house, okay? Until we can figure out what your brother wants, I don’t think it’s safe,” I muttered as I finished my coffee.

“Okay,” she agreed and pulled out her phone to text her work colleague.

“Dani, shake your tail feathers,” I called out for the fifth time because my daughter couldn’t decide what to wear. “Dani!”

Seconds later, the door opened, and she appeared with a backpack. “I’m ready.”

I took one last look at Sinclair who was nibbling on a piece of dry toast. I really hated leaving her.

“You two go, honestly, I’ll be fine. Sarah texted me back and said she’ll come over later this morning.”

***

Dani was quiet on the ride over, I think she sensed something was wrong. I hadn’t wanted to scare her, but my little girl was smart.

“Look, Chopper’s here!” I said as we entered the clubhouse, hoping to distract her with her favorite dog. It worked and she ran off without a backwards glance.

I went in search of my brothers. A few of them were in the office and they stopped talking the moment I walked in. “You were talking about me,” I said in a serious tone.

“Yeah,” Slate sighed. “You ready to listen now or are you going to pout again?”

“Listen to what?” I muttered. “I spoke to Sinclair. She had no idea she had a brother, you found anything else out?”

“He was born in New Jersey. I’m guessing her father might have hooked up with his mother at a casino or something. There’s no evidence that her father returned to Jersey, so I’m not sure if he even knew he had a son.”

“So how did this brother find out he was Terrence’s son?”

Slate pulled up another photo of Nicholas, in a suit this time. “He worked at an insurance company, and he used his access to look up Terrence, often, actually. But after his mother died, he really searched and found out that he’d died. Found out about the other family, shortly after which he quit his job and went off grid.”

I let out a low whistle and ran my hand through my hair. “So he had time to stew. Time to fixate.”

“Yeah,” Slate confirmed. “And from what I could dig up, he was close to his mom. Real close. Losing her probably unhinged him.”

Rocky stepped forward, arms crossed over his broad chest. “You think he blames Sinclair for having the life he never got?”

“That’s my guess,” Slate said. “Kid grows up with nothing, finds out his old man had a whole other family he actually gave a shit about, even if it wasn’t perfect. Maybe that snapped something loose.”

I thought about Sinclair’s face last night—how pale she’d gone, the way her voice had cracked when she realized the manshe’d smiled at during the bake sale might be the same one watching her from the shadows. I clenched my fists at my sides.

“He’s already been near her twice. I don’t like how bold that is,” I said.

“He’s escalating,” Maverick chimed in from the corner. “Whatever he’s planning, he’s getting ready to act.”

“Well, he won’t get the chance,” I growled. “Sinclair’s staying locked down for now, and I want eyes on the house.”

“You think she’ll go for that?” Rocky asked, one brow raised.

“She doesn’t have a choice. This guy’s unstable. She’s vulnerable, and Dani—” My voice caught for a second, and I had to swallow the lump forming in my throat. “She’s too damn close to this.”

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