Reeling from the driveby that killed one of his brothers, Dagger steps up to take care of the only family his brother had left. A sister who is left withdrawn and despondent by the loss. He’s just drawing her out of her shell when she disappears. Not knowing if the same club business that killed her brother is back, or if it’s something else, Dagger is desperate to find her.
Andy came back to Craven’s Creek, to the only family she had left, and now he’s gone. She has nothing left. Nowhere to go. No one to turn to. And no one will tell her why. It’s all she can do to get dressed and go to his funeral. How will life go on without the one constant in her life? Then, just as someone starts breaking down her walls, she’s taken from him.
He’d been sitting there at least an hour and was beginning to wonder if Andy had any food in the house. He had been too busy keeping an eye on her and making sure she ate, to eat much himself. He was considering going into the kitchen and looking for something to eat when the sound of heartbroken sobs came through the wall.
He couldn’t help the ache in his chest at how much pain she must be in. Her last family member was gone. Andy and Panther had been tight, they’d all known that, even if Panther hadn’t brought her around the clubhouse much.
It had been nearly an hour of her crying nonstop when Dagger got up and went into the kitchen. He was hoping to distract himself, because she wouldn’t want him to say anything, and he didn’t want to make her feel worse by saying anything.
He’d learned long ago that many women used tears as a weapon. A tool to manipulate people, and not just men, into doing what they wanted. He’d learned to ignore them, to not let them bother him. But something about Andy’s tears tore at him.
Dagger opened the refrigerator and stared inside, not registering what was inside for several seconds because his brain wasn’t on what he was doing but instead was on the sounds coming from the bedroom. After a moment, he realized there wasn’t much there. A full quart of milk that had expired a week and a half before, a few condiments and three-quarters of a case of water. He sighed and pulled two bottles free from the package. Breaking the seal on one, he tipped it back and drank until it was empty before crumpling it and tossing the bottle in the trash a few feet away.
He glanced toward the closed bedroom door and knew what he had to do. She was going to end up dehydrated if she didn’t drink something and the sobs didn’t sound any closer to stopping than they had when she started. He went to the door and knocked. Several minutes passed and nothing changed. She didn’t answer and her crying didn’t even slow. This wasn’t going to be simple or easy. He knocked again.
“Go away.” Her voice was nasal from crying but the spark of attitude that he was becoming fond of was there. That was good. At least she wasn’t totally withdrawing again.
Dagger shook his head. He went to the couch, sat and took off his boots before going back to the door. He knocked again but this time he didn’t wait for her to answer. Instead he tried the knob and was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked. He eased the door open, hoping she wasn’t naked, and found that he couldn’t see her at all. She was wrapped up in the blanket and looked like a large lump in the middle of the bed. A lump that shook as she continued to cry.
Not knowing what else to do, he moved into the room and stood for a moment beside the bed watching, waiting for her to look up and see him.
“Andy? You need to drink something, Andy. You’re going to make yourself sick.’
“I don’t want anything. Go away.”
“Not going to happen.”
“I don’t want anything.”
He sighed. She was going to be stubborn. Not that he’d expected anything else. Being more than a little bullheaded was part of how Panther had made it to be the Angels’ Sargeant at Arms. Stands to reason that his sister would have at least a little of the quality as well.
Dagger set the water bottle on the table beside the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress, waiting for a moment to see if she would react. When she didn’t even acknowledge his presence, he stretched out and rolled over, so he lay on his side, facing her.
“Come here,” he said, tugging her, blanket and all, so she lay in his arms. He could tell from where the sounds of her tears were coming from that he had the end with her head, and he just held on. He let her cry but held her wrapped in his arms so she would at least know she wasn’t entirely alone.
