Page 47 of Savage Spades

“What Jen? Spit it out!”

Jen let out a sigh. “They made a deal with Venom that they’d convince you to sell the bar and give the profits to Venom. He said if they didn’t agree, he’d bring his sex trafficking business into Goldbeach.”

Cam’s blood started to boil. She’d been calm all night, but her composure was slipping. “They can’t decide what I do with my bar. I’m not selling.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the window. Who did they think they were? First, they barged into her bar and claimed they’re protecting her, and now, they believe they can make decisions for her? Did Kit agree to this?

“Come on, Cam,” Jen said.

“Come on what? It’s my bar. If I decide to sell or not is my decision. Not some club that decided they like to drink there.”

“The bar isn’t making any money, and it never has. If people want to drink, they either do it at home or go into the city.”

She looked at Jen in shock. Jen had never given her opinion on Cam’s business.

“I’m sorry, but Venom is a scary guy, and keeping the bar is playing with fire,” Jen told her.

She hated that Jen was right. Even knowing that selling the bar would leave her without a job, Jen was encouraging her to do it. Her dad wouldn’t have wanted her in this situation, but getting rid of the bar was easier said than done.

Cam swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’ll think about it.”

Jen dropped her off at home and then went back to the bar to close. Her shoulders finally dropped from being around her ears all day when she walked into the empty house. Who knew a first date would turn out so crazy.

*****

She’d called Kit five times, each one going to voicemail. She had class in a few minutes, but she was more worried about where Kit was. He was probably pissed after the whole Megan situation, but she needed to know where he was. Had he really agreed that making her sell the bar was the solution? If he wanted her to sell the bar this whole time, why hadn’t he talked to her?

She dressed for class with no idea how to get there. She hated to wake up Jen since she’d closed last night, but at this point, she was out of options. She knocked on Jen’s door.

“Huh?” Jen croaked out from the other side.

“Can I borrow your car? I have class, and Kit’s not answering.”

“Keys are on the table,” she said.

“Thank you. I owe you one.”

She grabbed Jen’s keys and walked outside only to stop in her tracks when she saw Big Blue parked in front of the house. She left Jen’s keys on the entry table before closing the door and walked up to her truck.

So he had time to fix her vehicle and drop it off but not enough time to answer the phone? What time was he here last night? He might be going through a lot right now, but that didn’t mean he could shut her out. Even Jen knew more about what was going on than she did. Cam got in the truck, finding the keys in the ignition. Good thing the truck didn’t get stolen. Did Kit even think about that when he dropped it off?

*****

She sat through a boring, hour-long lecture. It was a waste of time considering all she could think about was Kit and the future of her bar. This was precisely why she didn’t want that damn club involved in her life. She needed to be focused on school. If she would have just paid Venom his monthly payment, this could have been avoided. Instead, she let herself believe for a second that a motorcycle club would take care of it. That’s what she gets for relying on someone else. How many times did she have to learn that she’s the only person she can depend on?

The professor dismissed class, and she walked out of the lecture hall with the rest of her classmates. There were two homework assignments that she had to get through and a paper to write if she didn’t want to fall behind, but she barely had time to breathe, let alone do homework. She checked her phone to see that Kit still hadn’t called her back. There were only a few places that he’d be. She started the truck and drove to the clubhouse.

His truck sat in the first spot in front of the bar entrance. She took the place next to him and threw Big Blue in park. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the fire that was in her belly. Had he really voted that he would convince her to sell her bar? He must have, or why else would he be avoiding her? When she walked inside, Zeke was sitting at the bar.

“Oh, hey, Cam.” He looked around as if searching for someone. “Has Kit talked to you?” he asked.

She sighed. “No, but Jen has.” She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

Zeke shook his head. “I’m sorry, Cam.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s not up to y’all what I do with the bar anyways”

His eyes widened. “You’re not going to sell it?”

“I don’t know, but if I do or don’t, that will be my decision.”

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