Page 24

“Steele?”

“Who else would bring you breakfast?”

The lock on the handle clicked, and the door popped open. “Hey.” Kodiak turned away and returned to the dresser. “Lock the door.”

“Jesus.” I crossed the room. Stacks of cash littered the top of his dresser. My chest tightened as I flashed back to my life with the Crawlers. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He grinned, reached for the bag in my hand, and pulled out an egg sandwich.

“This doesn’t look like nothing.” I picked up a pile of bills. Had to be a couple grand in this stack alone. With a quick calculation, there could be fifty thousand sitting on the dresser.

There was only one way of scoring this much cash, and it wasn’t fucking Bullet’s kittens on camera. But this was Kodiak. I’d know if he was dealing. I’d know if he’d sunk too deep in that shit again. He liked a bit of blow, but I couldn’t imagine he’d fuck over everything we’d done to get away from the Crawlers and this shit.

“What’s going on, Kodiak?”

Kodiak grabbed the bills from my hand and placed them next to the other stacks. “You know me.”

“I do know you, so what the fuck is this? I know you’re not dealing because I know you wouldn’t fuck over the Hellers by bringing more trouble into the MC.”

“This has nothing to do with the Hellers. It’s my business.”

I fisted his cut, grabbing his name patch. “Not when you wear this. What the fuck? Are you being serious right now?”

He shrugged off my hold. “Don’t start with me. These guys spend more time riding their old ladies than they do their bikes. Church is supposed to be about the club, about the brotherhood, but these guys run it like a Sunday social.”

I raked my fingers through my hair. “You can’t do this here.” I indicated the money. “Are you dealing?”

“Fuck, dude, I’m not dealing. Fuck that shit.”

I sat at the end of his bed and clasped my hands between my knees. An uneasy feeling crawled over my flesh. I’d been in this scenario with Kodiak before, and it always led to trouble. “Promise me that isn’t drug money.”

He chewed the last bite of his sandwich and shrugged. “I can’t do that.”

I tipped my head, rolled my shoulders, and released a forced exhale. “I’m ready.”

He reached into the bag for another sandwich. “For what?”

“For you to tell me you robbed a bank. Tell me you sold your kidney and your left nut. Anything but that you’re pushing product.”

“I’m not pushing product.” Kodiak unwrapped the second sandwich and took a big bite. I’d lost my appetite.

I cocked a brow and waited.

His gaze locked hard on me. “I had an opportunity to make a score. Nothing will come back on the club.” He polished off the sandwich in two big bites, then continued to sort the bills into stacks. “All I need to do now is a little laundry. I’ll take my share off the top and deliver the rest.”

“Christ. We finally got a chance for something good here.”

Kodiak glanced over his shoulder at me with a devious fucking smile on his face. “It’s still good. No one knows shit, and they won’t. This won’t come back on the club because nothing is coming back to me.”

I rested my forearms on my knees. “I can’t go back.” My tone took on a serious note. “I need to think of Lili. These guys bring their families—their kids—to the clubhouse.” I glanced at the money. “Nothing good can come from that.”

Kodiak leaned against the dresser. “Any damage is already done. I can’t undo the deal. I got you, Steele. I’m not doing business in the MC.”

I nodded. Kodiak was like a brother. If he said he could keep the club clean, I had to trust him.

“Where were you last night?” Kodiak counted more bills.

He had secrets, and I guess I had mine. “I met up with an old friend. We had a couple of drinks, so I crashed at their place.” I stood and stretched. “I need to get going. I have a feeling Nat’s in her brother’s ear. If I lose my job, it’s going to be harder to get a place for me and Lili.”