Page 21 of From the Start
I smile at the threat. Dad used to do crazy shit all the time before Mom died. One time, he had the school convinced I was having an operation to have my sixth and seventh toes removed from both my feet. Mom didn’t let him answer the phone after that.
“Go away!”
He pounds his cane on the floor. “Answer your phone. The aliens are circling above us.”
I giggle as I reach for my phone.
“Hello.”
“Harper. Good morning. It’s Jerry.”
I sit up in bed. It can’t be a good thing if my accountant is phoning me on a Monday morning.
“What’s wrong? What bill did I forget to pay this time? Please tell me they aren’t threatening to shut my water off.”
He chuckles. “Your water is safe.”
“Then, what’s the problem?”
“I wanted to check a transaction with you from last night.”
“Okay?”
“There’s one transaction from last night in the amount of several thousand dollars. I want to make sure it’s not a mistake.”
“Several thousand dollars?” I brush the hair out of my face. “No one’s bar tab was over a thousand dollars last night.”
And I would know. If a bar tab reaches five hundred dollars, my system alerts me and I make the table cash out. I can’t afford for patrons to not pay their big tabs.
“The name on the credit card is Kai Raider.”
“Say the name again?” I must have misheard. No way did Kai pay a bar tab of several thousand dollars last night. He was supposed to drink for free since his team won theBootlegger Escape Room Festival.
“The name on the card is Kai Raider.”
What the hell was he thinking? “I’ll deal with it, Jerry,” I say before hanging up.
I scroll through my contacts but I don’t have Kai’s number. I drum my fingers on my thigh. Who can I ask for his numberwho won’t tattle to the entire town? Tough question since everyone on the island loves to gossip.
Good thing I have leverage.
“Hey, Harper,” Blossom greets me.
“I need Kai’s phone number and if you tell anyone I asked you for his number, I’m going to tell the entire island about the time you cheated at darts in my bar.”
“I never cheated at darts,” she claims.
“You bent the opponent’s darts out of shape. I had to buy new darts.” I didn’t actually buy new darts. I had the old ones re-shaped since darts are not cheap.
“Ugh. You remind me of my husband using all your facts.” She spits out the word facts, which would normally be hilarious since she uses facts to get her way as much as Jaxon does.
But I don’t have time to dig into her hypocrisy. I have a Raider brother of my own to deal with. Kai isn’t mine, but you get what I mean.
“Kai’s number,” I prompt.
“I would have given you Kai’s number without the emotional blackmail.”
“And then you would have told Jaxon and all of his brothers. The news would have spread across the island faster than Plank, the dirty-mouthed parrot, can fly.”
