Chapter 14

Ijolted awake when someone pounded on the door. Riker was up in a crouch, growling, until he realized where he was. He slumped to his knees and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms.

Christ, he was cute.

Sitting, I dragged him down with me and flicked the covers back over his body in case someone was stupid enough to walk in without my saying so.

“What?” I clipped loudly.

“Got a situation, Prez,” Coms said through the door.

“Be down soon.”

“Better hurry. Writer’s makin’ a scene about findin’ cameras in his room.”

“Got it,” I called, and then muttered, “Fuck.” I swiped a hand over my face and used the other to tap Riker’s perky ass. “Up, sunshine.”

He kissed my pec and jumped out of bed, full of beans already.

“Thought you’d be sore, boy,” I said.

We’d fucked another two times since we couldn’t get enough of each other and then talked about a bit of everything before we showered in the early hours and crashed.

I pulled my sluggish body out of the bed, watching Riker getting dressed like he’d been awake for hours. I was sure we only got a few minutes of sleep.

“Oh, I am sore, but I love knowing how much you wanted my hole.”

“Always.”

He beamed. “Good.” He skipped over to me as I finished doing up my jeans and picked up a tee. On his tiptoes, he puckered, and I chuckled but bent to meet his lips. “I need food before I get hangry.”

“Can’t have you hangry, sunshine. Never know who you’ll stab.”

His eyes widened. “You get me.” He rushed over to the door while I slipped on my cut over my tee.

“Shoes?” I asked, putting my socks and boots on.

He cocked his head to the side. “Do I have to?”

Grinning, I shook my head. He’d already told me he liked being naked, and if he couldn’t do that, he wanted bare feet in any place he could. Except on jobs.

He blew me a kiss, opened the door, and raced out.

“Riker,” I called.

“Food,” he called. “You wore me out last night and you promised there are always meals available. I want to see what they’ve got.” He raced off without me.

Snorting, I closed my door and made my way down to the common room. When I entered, I quickly noted there were no women around and not all brothers lingered, though the room was still busy.

Writer jumped up from a chair at one of the tables when he saw me.

“Sit the fuck down,” Spade roared.

“But—”

“Shut it,” I ordered.

“I’ve been here longer than you, boy?—”

“Don’t call me boy,” I snarled, striding up to where he still stood. “Your VP told you to sit the fuck down. Do it.”

“I’m too old for this shit. I’m outta?—”

“Try to leave and you won’t get far.” I stepped closer. “Sit. The fuck. Down.”

Writer plonked down with a scowl, but I caught his gulp and the sweat beading over his brow. I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t run already when he found the cameras, but more fool to him for not trying. Even though we would’ve collected him soon after he left.

The kitchen door at the far end of the room opened and Riker strolled out holding a tray full of food and drinks. He stared down at it hungrily.

I turned from Writer, so he didn’t see my smitten smile. Riker ignored everything going on and all the people gawking at him to sit further down the table to eat.

Monkey snorted. “Never seen a man run to a kitchen faster than him.” He clasped me on the shoulder. “Must’a been a good night.”

Scowling, I told him, “It ain’t any of your business.”

Monkey grinned.

I ignored him and faced Writer again. “Tell me your side.”

Writer’s brows pinched. “What do you mean? I found cameras hidden in my room and want to know what fucker thought to play a trick on me.” He peered off. “Was it you, Coms? This because I got your pussy?” He laughed and looked around for others to join in. When no one did, he went on, “She don’t want a youngin’ like you. She wanted someone who knows what?—”

“Enough,” I bit out.

“Man, you’re not this stupid,” Spade said with a shake of his head.

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Writer asked.

“You know why the cameras were in your room.”

He tensed. “I don’t.”

Sighing, I ran a hand over my head. “You think we wouldn’t check into things when Pauly called Spade about the missin’ payment? Trusted you, brother. But can I really call you a brother now?”

“I haven’t done anythin’.”

“Says a person who’s guilty,” Monkey voiced. “Looked into the books, Writer. Saw some miscalculations.”

The brothers around us started cursing and saying shit as they gathered closer. They silenced as soon as I raised a hand.

“I haven’t done?—”

“Lie to me again and I won’t be fuckin’ happy. Why you takin’ from club businesses? What you need the extra money for?”

It’d better be a good answer.

His jaw clenched as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

“I was in this club with your pops. With your dad. You gonna do this shit to me in front of everyone? Where’s the respect?”

“Respect? You wanna talk about respect? We trusted you and you shit all over that by takin’ money from the club. Takin’ money from your family. It doesn’t matter you knew my pops and that crackhead of a father. I’m the one who brought this club outta its hellhole after dad ran it into the ground. You came to me, Writer, and told me I’d done a good job. That Pops would be happy. That we can live a clean, good life with the brotherhood again. When did things go wrong for you, Writer? When did you turn your back on the brotherhood and betray us?”

He glanced to the exit. I braced. If he was foolish enough to try and run, I’d take him down.

A sigh left him, and his shoulders drooped. The fight in him vanished.

He shook his head and ran a hand over his withered face.

“Cards,” he said.

“Gamblin’?” Coms asked.

He nodded.

“You stole from your family for an addiction of bettin’?” Monkey demanded.

“You don’t understand. I won big and I can do it again. I just need more time.”

Fucking hell.

Disappointment coated my insides.

“You’re cut from the club. We’ll sell your house to pay us back and leave you with a good amount to start over somewhere that ain’t this town.”

He jumped up. “What? No, you can’t fuckin’ do this.”

“It was your choice to cheat your brothers outta money. It was your choice to keep doin’ it to aid an addiction that we could’ve helped you out of.”

“Harper won’t be with me if—” He clamped his lips closed.

I closed the distance between us. “Harper? Did she get in your ear and tell you it was a good idea to take from us?”

“No.”

“Do not fuckin’ lie to me,” I roared in his face.

A chair scraped, and I flicked my gaze over to see that Riker stood, knife in hand.

Drawing in a breath, I took a step back and shook my head his way while I asked Writer, “Tell me about you and Harper.” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

“I’m just helpin’ her out at the moment. She’s been stayin’ with me after she got fired from her job.”

This was bullshit. Yeah, it was his addiction in the first place that caused him to fuck us over. But it was probably her that encouraged him to keep going or to get more than he’d needed.

We’d find out. I shot a look to Coms. He nodded and ducked out of the room.

“Then it looks like she’ll have’ta find a new place too.”

“Don’t do this, Razor. I’ve been in the club for decades. You can’t just throw me out like a piece of trash because of an addiction.”

“That’s what cuts me the most, Writer. That you’ve been with the club for decades, so you know that we would’ve helped you through your addiction. Instead, you chose to go behind our backs and deceive us.” I ground my teeth together. “Take off your cut and leave. Pack your shit at the house and get outta town. Coms will be in touch when we sell your joint. And don’t ever fuckin’ forget you’ll be watched, so it’s time to make smart choices.”

He flinched and deflated.

He didn’t have a leg to stand on. He’d fucked up when he’d screwed us over and taken money from the club. We sat pretty well above the green line in our lives. None of the brothers struggled. He wouldn’t have been either. Until his addiction grew and was probably fed on from some pussy who kept his dick wet.

No bitch was worth losing the club over.

No addiction was worth losing the club over.

My situation was different. I wasn’t losing the club. I was stepping away for the man I loved with my whole goddamn soul.

“Fuck, brother,” Writer said.

“Not your brother any longer. Remove the cut. Tanker, Grenade, and Jaws will escort you to the house to pack and then outta the area. You know what will happen if we see you around. If we get wind of you scramblin’ for any type of revenge against the club.”

He nodded, slipping his cut from his shoulders, and dropping it to the table.

“Nothin’ I can say that’d help the situation.” He was right. There wasn’t.

“Hope you get help, so you don’t fuck anyone else over,” I told him. My gut rolled with unease over the whole damn matter. We would have helped him. All he had to do was reach out to anyone in the brotherhood.

Writer’s jaw clenched. He tipped his chin up at me and walked from the room with the brothers I’d appointed as his watch, following him.

Arms wound around my waist, and I looked down to a softly smiling Riker. “I got you a coffee and some food. Might be a bit cold now, though.” His nose scrunched. “I can get you fresh stuff.”

Dipping down, I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m good, sunshine. I’ll take what you already got.”

“You sound sad,” he whispered.

“Just disappointed, sunshine. He was a good brother before he chose his addiction over his family.”

He glided a finger over my brows, which I knew were tight from stress. “Do you want me to hurt anyone?”

Christ, he really is my cute, little psychopath shifter.

Pride and love flooded my veins. This man would do anything for me.

Cupping the back of his head, I threaded my fingers into his soft locks and dragged him up to meet my mouth.

Some of the brothers shouted their mild teasing or went crazy with catcalls and whistles.

I ignored them all. All I wanted to do was to devour him in more ways, but I still had shit to deal with.