“Feds stepped in on the shit that happened with your wife and Aaliyah.”Fuck. Just what I needed—fucking feds. They were like roaches—couldn’t get rid of them for good. “And your wife is running her mouth.” Fury slid through my veins.Fucking Wendy. He shrugged at me. “I’ve got to do my job when the feds are breathing down my neck, Johnston.”
Couldn’t damn fault him for that one, even if it set my blood boiling. Cops always put me in a bad mood. I hated dealing with any of them—even the crooked ones like Rhodes. “Go ahead and do your search,” I told him. “We’re clean here. You know that.”
He nodded. “I know. Feds want to snoop anyway. Just keep your cool and let them search.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited with Rhodes as the feds crawled my lot. Blayke walked up to me, his jaw clenched. “Fucking bullshit.”
I nodded in agreement. “They won’t find shit,” I reminded him. He nodded in agreement. But just because we kept our hands clean here didn’t mean we liked having them around anyway. “They’ll snoop, realize we don’t have shit here, and they’ll move the fuck on. They do this shit all the time, but we’re careful.”
“How’s Aaliyah?” he asked me. I tracked Rhodes as he walked up to a balding man in a suit. The balding man seemed angry—agitated. His men were coming back out of my clubhouse empty-handed. I almost smirked, but I kept my face in check. Smirking would make me look too cocky and would just start unnecessary shit.
“She’s dealing,” I told him. He grimaced. “In pain. Dr. Wilson is slowly weaning her off the morphine so he doesn’t shock her system with all the pain. Alternating between doses of morphine and oxy.”
“She’s a tough one, Prez. She’ll make a good old lady.” I arched a brow at him. He just grinned at me. “None of us are blind, Prez. We all knew you wanted her. Just a matter of time before you made your move.”
The balding federal agent made his way over to me, an ugly scowl twisting his aging features. I sighed.Here we damn went. “I don’t know how you sons of bitches always get so goddamn lucky,” he snarled.
I grinned at him. “Not lucky. We’re just clean, and you hate to think men like us could clean up our acts.” All of us had records, but none of us had been locked up inyears. We’d gotten smart. But the problem was, men like him expected men like us to always end up behind bars, never staying out long. And it bugged the shit out of them when we learned how to defeat the system.
He clenched his fist. For a moment, it looked like he contemplated hitting me. I dared him to. I’d be the last son of a bitch he ever put his hands on—that was for sure.
“Your wife sure thinks you’re dirty.”
I barked out a laugh. “Did she also tell you that she and I have been separated for years? I can’t even remember the last time we slept in the same bed together.” I arched a brow at him. “She’s a crazy woman, agent. I’d steer clear.”
With that, I strode away, heading inside the clubhouse to see what needed to be replaced this time. The agents never searched neatly. They destroyed everything they could—mattresses, stools, couches, glasses.
If they thought I’d be pissed, the joke was on them. Our furniture needed to be replaced soon, anyway. This just gave me an excuse to finally get it done.
CHAPTER NINE
Aaliyah
Iunlocked my phone for the umpteenth time, checking to see if I had a message from Johnston. I felt like one of those women that couldn’t survive without her man, but I didn’t like not having him by my side. Cops showing up at the clubhouse wasnevera good thing. Usually, it only ended in trouble, especially if Johnston wasn’t in control of it somehow.
And he definitely wasn’t in control of this. This had been sprung on him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed out of here like his feet were on fire.
I sighed and unlocked my phone again, glaring at my empty notifications.
I hated this. He’d been gone a good minute, and I was worried about both him and the club.
What if the cops found something? What if Johnston or one of the other guys got arrested?
My chest tightened at the mere thought of Johnston being arrested. Why did I feel like the world was so against us? And if it was, well, I wasn’t taking a fucking hint. I didn’t give up when I wanted something, and I wanted Johnston.
As long as he would have me, I’d be sticking around.
I just hated that I wasn’t privy to what normally happened in the club. I understood why Johnston kept patched members out of the loop. It protected us and them. If we didn’t know anything, we couldn’t be held accountable. And by not knowing anything, we also couldn’t jeopardize them.
But I also wasn’t stupid. I knew Satan’s Worshippers were one-percenters, and I knew the people they dealt with were just as bad, if not worse. I knew and understood every single member, especially Johnston, would forever be scrutinized by law enforcement officials.
I sighed and locked my phone again before placing it facedown on my lap so I wouldn’t be forced to stare at my blank, black screen. Johnston was probably just busy. He’d reach out when he could. And if he couldn’t… well, I hoped one of the club members would remember me laid up in a hospital bed and would let me know what was going on.
But I didn’t even want to entertain the thought of him not being able to tell me himself. Because if he couldn’t, then that meant he was more than likely locked up.
I refused to think of the other possible outcome.
A light knock sounded on the door, and before I could say anything, it swung open, and Dirk stepped in, quickly pushing the door shut behind him. I tried to move but flinched in pain, sucking in a sharp breath of air. My heart rate picked up on the monitor, and I prayed a nurse would pick up on my distress and come to check on me.