Page 48 of Bite Marks

“Fuckis right.” Ren sighed. “What do we have to do?”

“Just need to submit a copy of our lease or the deed to the club, and they’ll auto-renew. Otherwise, we default.”

“And when is this due?”

“Ninety days. But Garrett…”

“We have time, Dana. Let’s just tackle one crisis at a time, okay?”

I set my phone on the desk, opening the lower drawer to thumb through the documents inside.

“Even if I can’t find the will, the deed should be around here somewhere, right? I didn’t see anything in the safe or safety deposit box.”

“Probably,” Ren said noncommittally. “I’ll schedule that inventory then, maybe in a couple of weeks? After Valentine’s Day?”

I nodded, my brow furrowing as I got to the end of the files, closing one drawer to open the next. “Sounds like a plan.”

Ren worked in silence except for the click of the keys as I riffled through more paperwork, dread beginning to coil in my stomach. My vision tunnelled as the anxiety got worse. Drawer after drawer with no deed to be found.

At some point, Ren got up to help me look, and Juniper joined in on the effort after she appeared in the doorway and asked what we were doing.

“Any luck?” Ren called with a sigh, her hair standing up on end where she’d repeatedly run her hands through it.

“Nada,” Juniper sighed herself from where she thumbed through the tall filing cabinet for the third time.

I glanced up at the clock with a loud curse. “I know she must’ve put it around here somewhere.”

“Honestly, D… I don’t remember seeing it,” Ren said, her eyes following mine. “I’ll go get us some dinner before the club opens. Pizza okay?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah,” Juniper muttered. “Listen, are we sure she didn’t have another safety deposit box or something?”

I rubbed my hands over my face. “I’m positive. Her records are pretty… Well, I wouldn’t say clear, but…”

She flipped her long, copper ponytail off her shoulder, pulling out another file folder. “It has to be here then. I doubt Cherie would’ve just hid the deed to ourhomesomewhere we’d never find it.”

“Exactly,” Ren agreed. “Worry less about that and more about how I’m supposed to run a bar when no one has any idea what we have in stock.”

“Shut up, Ren. She’s doing her fucking best.”

“Yeah, yeah… I’ll be back,” she huffed, her patience threadbare as she offered a wave.

“You are doing a good job, for the record.” Juniper said hotly, closing the drawer with enough force that it popped back at her. “You know how she gets; she hates when things don’t go her way.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said weakly.

Part of me knew she was right; Ren needed order, a trait that’d caused nearly nonstop fighting between her and Cherie.

Now that our coven was only the four of us, though, I needed to rely on her more than ever. That meant working with Ren’s penchant for military order instead of against it.

As the second eldest when Cherie passed, I’d sort of become thede factofamily head. Even though I hadn’t sired any of the vampires in our little family, I was still responsible. What I hadn’t considered in our tearful bedside goodbye was the insurmountable amount of stress responsibility for three others would bring.

I’d reclaimed my spot at the computer ages ago, but no matter how many bank statements, bookkeeping records, or files I opened on Cherie’s computer, I still couldn’t find the document I was looking for. Not to mention, our taxes were due soon, and I had absolutely no idea how to file them. I made sure the bills were getting paid each month, and that was about it—I was our head of security, for fuck’s sake, not a goddamn accountant.

That space between my shoulder blades was aching again, the muscles tight as I lifted my arms above my head and arched my back, futilely trying to alleviate the pressure.

It was my own fault. I’d been hunched over at my desk like a shrimp for days instead of upright against the back of the ergonomic chair.

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