Page 138 of In Spades

I let him near the kids. A fresh wave of tears hit when I realized that I was going to have to break their hearts. They loved Will as much as I did.

I careened into the gravel parking lot at Jokers. The place was packed, but I recognized all the cars. The rest of the poker club was hanging out tonight while Hannah Jane and I attended the staff party.

I grabbed the hem of my gown and stormed inside. The screen door nearly flew off the hinges as it bounced against the wall.

Bridget was working behind the bar, while Maddie, Luca, Steve, and Erica sat eating dinner. Chase and Layla were in the corner shooting pool, and Mel had just walked out of the bathroom.

Every eye in the place turned to me, and for good reason. I had to be a sight to behold, wearing a red evening gown in a place like Jokers. I pushed away the heartbreak and let the anger burn hot and violent.

It felt good.

“Who knew?” I shouted. My voice was shaking, but I didn’t care. My entire adult life had been spent keeping a lid on my temper when the chips were down. I never lost my cool.

Well, hold my beer. I was about to lose it.

Luca wiped his hands on his jeans, exchanging a worried glance with Maddie. “Kris?—”

“It’s a yes or no question,” I snapped.

Bridget’s eyes widened. “Holy shit,” she whispered. “I’ve never heard her speak like that to anyone. Like, ever.”

“Isaac and I have known Will for a long time,” Luca said gently, as if he were dealing with a wild animal. It wasn’t a bad idea considering I was about to rip his damn head off.

I glared at Maddie. “And since Hannah Jane knew, I’m guessing you did, too.”

“Will was going to tell you. He promised,” she reasoned.

That was all fine and dandy, but they didn’t deserve reasonable.

The bottom line was that he didn’t tell me, and he had every opportunity to.

They all did. Especially when I made it clear that I was worried about losing my job.

The raises. It dawned on me that Will had probably orchestrated the bump in my pay. As if this nightmare couldn’t get any more humiliating, he practically paid me to be with him.

He had never been just a guest…

I scoffed. “Well, that’s just super. I’m so glad all y’all had the details worked out with him. How goddamn nice for you.”

“What’s going on here?” Chase asked in his stern cop voice as he and Layla approached the bar. He glanced between me and the rest of the club.

Bridget caught his eye. Her pursed lips told him the whole story.

Chase raised his eyebrows. “Oh, shit…”

“You all knew,” I hissed. It was barely more than a whisper as I choked on my tears. “You all knew, and you let me humiliate myself.”

“Kris, why don’t you sit down,” Mel said quietly. “Take a minute and breathe before you say something you’ll regret.”

“Regret?” I cackled hysterically at the ceiling. “Because right now the only thing I regret is ever trusting y’all.” I wiped my fingers along my mascara-streaked cheeks and shook my head. “I’m done. I am so fucking done.”

My dress swished behind me as I spun and stormed out the door, I heard Steve’s boots stomping on the hardwood. Someone—it sounded like Chase—asked where he was going.

“I’m going after Kris so she doesn’t kill Will,” he said.

I jumped back in my car and floored it home. I wasn’t going to kill Will. That would involve seeing him again, which I had absolutely no intention of doing.

My phone lit up again as I crossed the bridge from Beaufort into Morehead City. Missed call alerts and unread text messages filled the screen, but I didn’t bother checking them. Will could fuck right off. He lost his right to a response when he lied.

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