Page 157 of Caution to the Wind

“One million.” I lifted the bag between us, but before I could hand it over, movement in my periphery stalled me.

The thud of motorcycle boots walking toward me and the jangle of a wallet chain. I turned my head to see a weathered biker stalk toward us from behind a truck and lost my breath as surprise shot through me.

Because I knew this biker and he wasn’t one of The Fallen.

Or, at least, he hadn’t been in eight years.

“My security,” my contact introduced with a wave of his hand. “He follows me to the casino so there are no problems.”

I blinked dumbly at Johnny “Cedar” Hopper as my heart lodged in my throat and threatened to suffocate me. Would he give me up? Did he even know my relationship to the triad? Before or after Kasper had labelled me a traitor?

And what thefuckwas he doing here now playing security for Seven Song triad?

Last I’d known, the mother chapter of The Fallen had purged the Calgary chapter of everyone involved in Axe-Man’s betrayal and put the club under new leadership. The old members had been stripped of their Fallen tatts and sent packing.

Cedar, for his part, did not seem surprised to me. He didn’t seem fazed by anything about the situation.

“I was hoping,” I said after a moment, deciding to focus on the mark again, “to accompany you to the casino. It’s my first time funneling this much money, and if I’m to bring this much regularly, I’d like to make sure it’s in good hands.”

He hesitated, sharing a look with Cedar.

“The Vanguard himself assured me it would be possible,” I pressed, name-dropping Jiang, who was currently being held at The Fallen compound.

Wang Wei narrowed his gaze at me then watched as I bounced the bag in my grip, illustrating the weight of the cash inside.

“Fine,” he decided finally. “You may come with me.”

I tried not to grin too hard and also to ignore the way Cedar studied me.

“Lead the way.”

Lake Edge Casinowas basically brand new. The government had given the local Indigenous people permission to build and operate a casino five years ago, and two years of fast-track construction and permits later, Lake Edge was born. It was built all in native timber—huge beams and entire treated logs made it look like an enormous, elevated cabin.

I’d never been inside, but I could see immediately it was popular.

Wang Wei had divided the cash into two, taking five hundred thousand in cash into the casino with plans to launder the rest through other avenues.

We were greeted at the door by the pit boss, a man of Asian descent who spoke to us in flawless Cantonese. He led us to a high roller poker table in the back of the huge main floor, leaving us for a moment only to return with glasses of champagne.

Clearly, he was on the take.

Cedar stood behind my chair when I sat beside Wang Wei at the table. It made unease crawl down my spine like a collection of tiny spiders.

“You are my lucky lady,” Wang declared to the table and then proceeded to lose about fifty thousand dollars of my money.

“Don’t tense,” Cedar whispered into my arm after a particularly alarming loss. “This is how it works. He loses so he doesn’t arouse much suspicion at the table or with the dealers and managers who aren’t on Seven Song’s take.”

“How do you know this?” I murmured back, pretending to fix my earring so I could tuck my chin to my shoulder away from Wang.

A little, bitter chuckle. “A man’s gotta make his way in the world somehow, Mei Zhen. Not everyone lands on their feet like Axe.”

“So you work for the triad now?”

He paused, then said, “Contract work.”

That was curious and definitely demanded answers, but he was keeping my secret so I decided not to press. Obviously, he knew Axe-Man was a member of the Entrance chapter, too, and he hadn’t made any moves against him. Maybe he wasn’t driven by revenge like me.

“Wasn’t Axe-Man who did this,” Cedar muttered, angling his body to pull up his shirt sleeve and show me the warped, melted skin over his delt where, presumably, his Fallen MC tattoo had been burnt off. “I made my bed, I’m lyin’ in it.”