Page 86 of Steele

My gut was tight as I pulled off my riding gloves and dropped them into my saddlebag. The back door swung open. Bullet stepped out with a cigarette clamped between his lips. He cupped his hand, and the flare of his lighter brightened his face. His gaze narrowed on me, and he drew in a long, deep inhale.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Nah. This shit is fucked up,” I said. “I’m pissed.”

“I feel the same, brother.” We walked into the rear of the shop. “Everyone’s in the pit,” Bullet said, and we started down the metal stairs.

Crew Custom Cycle used to be a lube, oil, and filter service center. Now, Romeo, Blade, and the rest of the crew all rebuilt bikes and did repairs.

Some of the guys sat on folding chairs. Dozer and Rogue leaned against the wall. Jazzy poured a cup of coffee. “Want a cup?” she asked me.

I nodded and sat in the chair next to Bullet.

“I haven’t told them anything,” he said to me, and then glanced at everyone in the room. “We’ve got a problem, and it involves a patch.”

“If it involves a patch, it involves the MC.” Torch’s words were spoken low and controlled. “This club has a habit of ignoring the bylaws.”

“The club doesn’t break the rules.” Jazzy handed me the cup of coffee. “These assholes do,” she indicated Rogue, Dozer, and Bullet. “You, too,” she said to Blade.

Rogue smirked.

Blade rubbed a scar on his hand. “Who?”

“Kodiak,” I said, and with that confession, Kodiak was going to know I betrayed him.

“Explains why you didn’t want to meet in the boardroom,” Blade said to Bullet. Like me, Kodiak rented one of the rooms. An unscheduled board meeting wouldn’t go unnoticed.

“Unlike Hellers, he’s looking for trouble,” Bullet started to say.

“I’m pretty sure he’s found it,” I finished for him.

Romeo’s knee bounced. “Shit can’t go down in the MC, not when Levi has Rosie in the club.”

I stared hard at Romeo. “My kid spends time in the MC, too. Seven has his kids with him every weekend to give his ex a break.”

Bullet exhaled two streams of smoke from his nostrils. “We don’t turn our back on a brother.”

“I’m SaA, now,” Jazzy interrupted. “Club security is my responsibility. Keeping your ass safe is my responsibility,” she said to Blade.

“And yours is mine, Jazzy.” Rogue plucked a cigarette from his pack. About now I wanted to smoke a cigarette, too, but I fought the craving.

“You can watch my ass but save your cape for someone else,” Jazzy said. “I don’t need a hero.”

Torch leaned his head back. “Fuck. Here we go again.”

Dozer plucked at the frayed strings at the knee of his jeans. “I’m down to fight.” The enforcer patch on his cut said he’d be first in the fight to protect a brother. “But if I’m getting bloody, I need to know why.”

Not sure how he was going to feel about protecting Kodiak after he’d heard everything I had to say. Kodiak was my best friend, and I was beyond pissed that he’d brought his shit to the MC. Other than Bullet, Hellers weren’t going to put their cut or their club on the line.

Bullet leaned forward, rested his forearms on his knees, and spoke to me. “I trust the people in this room with my life. When I make mistakes, I own them. I know it’s tearing you up inside.” He glanced at Rogue then back at me. “Trust me. I know what I’m asking of you.”

Jazzy stood protectively close to Rogue.

“Kodiak’s in trouble. I don’t know how deep or who with.” My shoulders slumped. “He says he’s keeping his business out of the club. But he’s not.”

“What’s his business?”

I glanced at Rogue and answered his question. “I don’t think he’s dealing in the club, but he’s moving a lot of product. Cash flow is heavy. He’s transporting for someone. Pretty sure he’s in too deep to get out on his own.”