Page 63 of Dagger

He stopped pacing and glared at me. “You got him! You got everything. The house. Our dad. A perfect little life, and what did I get? Not a fucking thing!”

I laughed. At first it was just a nervous tick, laughing because I wanted to scream, to cry, to run, to do anything to save myself. And then that laughter turned from nervous to angry. “Oh, I got everything? Let me tell you what you missed out on, Nick. Can I call you Nick?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. “My mom died when I was a little girl, and my father might as well have gone into the casket with her because he was gone in all theways that mattered. He fell apart and couldn’t survive without her. Drinking and gambling and owing money to every bad guy in town. He was there, sure, but I was the one who paid the bills, cooked the food, and kept social services from taking me away.”

“Liar,” he spat, and shook his head, as if that could ward off my words.

“I wish it was a lie. I wish I had the perfect fucking life you imagined in your twisted mind, with my dad and me going to baseball games and watching sitcoms on TV. But that wasn’t my life, and now some psychopath is here to seek revenge because he’s jealous of my shitty childhood!” I was breathing hard, my pulse pounded, and fear caused a hot, sizzling sensation just beneath the surface of my skin.

“You’re lying!”

He started pacing again and then stopped. He started again and stopped. Again. “This is all your fault. He never came back. Because of you.”

Maybe that was true, I had no idea, but I knew my dad. “If he had come back, it would’ve been because you had something valuable that he could use. Be grateful.”

“Lies!” In that moment he looked like a little boy throwing a tantrum because he couldn’t stand to hear the truth, and that was when real fear snaked through me. He refused to hear reason, and he was so much bigger and stronger than me.

I couldn’t talk him off the ledge.

I couldn’t beat him in a fight.

I was screwed.

“He would have come back for me, for us, if it wasn’t for you. You took the life I should have had and I’m here to take it back.” His eyes were wide, crazed.

Oh shit.

I was truly worried now. He wasn’t here to tell me how I ruined his life, he was here to take my life because he thought I got the better end of the deal. “You’re not thinking clearly, Nicholas.”

“Don’tfuckingsay my name! Just…don’t.” He tugged at his hair.

If I could make my way back to the door, I’d be halfway to free. Maybe one of Dagger’s neighbors would see me and call the police. Maybe I’d make it to a busy intersection before he got me, and hopefully, some upstanding citizen would help.

I needed help, but there was no one who could help me. Dagger was at the clubhouse with Dani and not due back for hours. I had to save myself. “Fuck it.” I got to my feet and ran to the door as fast as I could. My hand gripped the doorknob and twisted just as a large hand grasped a chunk of my hair and slammed my face into the door.

Pain radiated through my head and down my neck and back, so bad it made my legs weak. And then everything went black.

Chapter 34

Dagger

I’d been sitting listening to my club brothers giving updates on all of our businesses and we were just starting to wind down the meeting. We all turned to look at our Prez for the final item.

“Bloody Devils,” Diesel said simply. “Reaper brought some of his product to the dispensary the other day. Says it’s cleaner and more potent than the last two runs we’ve been stocking.”

Maverick snorted. “Dude would say that.”

A few chuckles rippled through the room, Diesel continued. “Jokes aside, the guy’s trying to build something, and I respect that. If he can come up with the goods, then we might be onto a winner…” he paused. “But I’m not sure I trust them yet.”

“Agreed,” Rocky, our VP added. “I say we buy a batch but keep it as a one-off. Then maybe if he proves himself, we take him up on his generous offer.”

I stayed quiet, arms crossed, listening. I’m not one of the officers and ultimately, while the MC is a democracy, when it comes to club business the officers get the final say.

Diesel finally raised a hand, silencing the room. “I’ve sampled the stuff. It’s good. Real good. Cleaner burn, tighter buds. Might even do better in our downtown shop.”

That got a few nods.

“But…” Diesel continued, “we’ve got history with our current growers. We know where the plants come from. We know the transport routes. We know the hands touchin’ the product. With Reaper, we’re guessing.”

He looked around the room. “This club doesn’t guess.”

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