Page 32 of Savage Spades

She looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is. I have my sister and the Savage Spades, so I always have a family.”

“You have a sister?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Will I meet her?”

“She’s not a big fan of the Savage Spades for reasons I will never understand. She’s staying at my apartment until she can get back on her feet. She’s a recovering addict.”

He held his breath, waiting for her to respond. His life wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. It was a fucked-up journey. The only people who knew his story were his brothers.

“So when did you join all this?” she asked, waving her hand around.

“When my dad first started drinking.” He laughed. “Gunner made me work my ass off to get my patch.”

He thought about all the bullshit he had to put up with. One day, Gunner had him ride all over North Carolina just to get Lily a burger she’d been craving. At the time, she’d been four months pregnant. They’d lost the baby a couple of weeks after that.

“Is the bartender…um…”

“Oscar?”

“Yeah, Oscar. Is he coming on this trip?”

Kit smiled. “Yeah, we’ll make him do all the dirty work.”

She shook her head and scooted down in the seat.

‘Tired?” he asked.

“Very.”

“Sleep, I’ll wake you when we get there.”

*****

The sun cast a pink glow over the wooded area as the line of trucks and bikes pulled into open spots around the property. Kit parked facing the main area; that way, when Cam woke up, she could see the bonfire ahead and follow it. He had no intention of waking her up. Even with only spending a short amount of time around her, he knew her schedule was packed. She probably had very little time to sleep. The other day, he’d picked her up at nine a.m. after just dropping her off at one that same morning. He admired her work ethic, but he also saw all the things she didn’t discuss. How she cracked her neck throughout the day as if her bones were hurting. After she closed down the bar, she always took one shot of whiskey, like a reward to herself for getting through another day. He wished he was the kind of guy who could save her from the stress cycle, but he didn’t have money or anything to offer her.

Zeke knocked on his window. Kit looked over at Cam to make sure the sound didn’t wake her. She didn’t even flinch. He got out of the truck and softly closed the door.

“She asleep?” Zeke asked. He carried the black carrying case for his tent in one hand and a pink, unicorn backpack in the other.

“Yeah, let her sleep.” Kit rounded the truck and grabbed his tent. He was surprised Cam hadn’t asked about their sleeping arrangement. There was only one tent, and he hadn’t planned on bringing another one.

He looked over at Zeke. “Where are you setting up?”

“I’m not sure yet. Probably close to the fire. Iris likes to be around all the older girls.” Zeke smiled as he talked about his daughter.

Kit could only imagine the stress that Zeke was under raising that girl by himself. He was probably terrified, but he had a whole family that looked after Iris. If Zeke was working at the shop for extra cash, Lily was more than happy to grab Iris from school.

“Let’s set up yours first, and I can figure out where we’re going to set up,” Kit said before following Zeke to an open area near the bonfire pit. Oscar was already busy chopping the wood.

“So things getting serious with you and Cam?” Zeke asked, setting down his bag and unzipping it.

“Not really. I told her I’d fix her truck for free if she came.” Kit grabbed one of the poles and started putting it together.

“Ouch.”

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