Page 2 of Steele

Sully dealt us each five cards. I leaned back in my chair. I had a shit hand, but I didn’t mind losing loose change because I enjoyed watching Sully’s tells. His lips twitched, and he combed his fingers through his beard as he considered his hand.

Sully was the king of penny bets. Starting off with a quarter would have him choking on air. Kodiak tossed a quarter into the pot and took three cards. Murph met the bet and took four cards. Like me, he was prepared to lose to watch Sully play his hand.

“Rich fucks,” Sully grumbled and slapped a coin into the center. Then he dealt himself three cards. A good guess would be that both he and Kodiak held a pair. Pretty sure Murph and I were fucked, but I had a poker face.

“I’ll stand.” And then I tossed in another quarter.

Kodiak smiled. We’d been friends for all of my adult life. We met when we were seventeen. We patched into the Crawlers together. He was the best man at my wedding, and he was the first person I turned to when Natalie asked for the divorce.

And he was the first person I’d asked to give me cover when I’d plotted with Bullet to betray my club. I’d turned against the Crawlers, and he’d had my back. And we both protected Vega.

Wrench, the former prez of the Crawlers had a target on Vega’s back. Vega wouldn’t have a problem putting down an enemy, but he wasn’t one to pick a fight. Wrench had ordered him to take out a Heller. There had been a battle at the container yard, a Heller had been killed, and a war had escalated. I’d taken a stand. I’d chosen a side along with Kodiak and Vega. We turned on our club.

Now, here we were in the Heller’s clubhouse. Vega played a game of pool with McKelle. Cruz and Ryatt’s old lady—she belonged to both of them—was good enough to go pro, but she preferred to hustle Vega and anyone else who wanted to watch her bend over the pool table for twenty bucks a game. Her ass was the only reason to take the bet because she didn’t lose.

“We’re waiting on you, old man,” Murph said after he folded.

Sully grumbled, fingered his stack of coins, and then tossed his cards into the center of the table. “I’m out.”

Kodiak laughed as he turned over a pair of threes, beating Sully’s eights because he’d folded. I turned over my hand of complete garbage cards. Kodiak grabbed his coins, and I grabbed the deck. Next deal was to me.

“Lilibug,” I called over my shoulder.

Lili rushed over with Seven’s twin boys at her heels. All three were double-fisting chocolate chip cookies. Her upper lip was stained red from the punch she’d been guzzling.

“Time to go.”

“But I brought you a cookie.” She handed me one of her cookies and batted her lashes at me.

“Bribery isn’t going to work. It’s still time to go.”

She furrowed her brows and snatched her cookie back. “How many minutes?”

“Five.” Not that she knew how to tell time. She understood hours. When I told her I’d pick her up at a certain time, she could recognize the numbers. But perception of time was still a mystery to her. Five minutes would easily be fifteen as she worked her way around the MC saying her goodbyes.

“Hold my cookies.” She set them on the table. “Romeoooo,” she sang as she headed toward the president’s table. I smiled as the club’s treasurer scooped her up and twirled her around.

“I’ve got time for one more hand.” I shuffled the cards.

As we played our hand, I could hear Lili’s squeals. I loved my kid. I might have been a shit husband because of the demands of the Crawlers, but fuck if I’d let my daughter suffer for my past mistakes.

Twenty minutes later, I’d won enough money to buy a bag of chips out of the vending machine at work. Lili sat in her booster seat in the back of the Subaru.

“How was school today?” I asked, casting a quick glance at her in the rearview mirror.

“Miss Jaymi said we have two ears and only one mouth because we’re supposed to listen more than talk, but Liam doesn’t use either ear because he talks all the time.” She strung out all to at least five syllables. “He’s going to get in trouble.” She vigorously nodded her head. “But I won’t. Miss Jaymi told my mom that I read like a third grader. Ornery got me gummy worms for being smart.”

I smiled. Lili had trouble pronouncing Henri. He was French, loved soccer, and was currently fucking my soon-to-be ex-wife in my former bed in my former house. Not that I cared who Nat was fucking as long as the guy was good to Lili, and he didn’t ask her to call him dad.

“Dad?”

I glanced into the rearview mirror again and met her stare. “Whatcha need?”

“Can I…can I…”

“What is it, Lilibug?”

She inhaled deeply. “Can you please come to Donuts with Dad? Please. We’re a pair, like socks. I don’t want to go with Ornery.”