Chapter Seven
Kit
“Congratulations, I heard you kicked ass last night,” Jett said.
Kit winced as he lowered himself onto the barstool next to Jett. His whole body hurt. Like always, he still had plenty of bruises to show for his winnings.
“Yep, took home a grand.”
Jett slapped him on the back, and his face twisted in pain. “Oops. Sorry, man.”
The bar area of the clubhouse was full of people. Sunday was a big day for the club. Most of the town was closed today, and it was like an unofficial family day.
Zeke’s daughter, Iris, ran up to Kit and handed him an ice pack. “Dad said to give you this.”
Kit smiled and took the ice pack from her. “Thank you.”
“Why do you need an ice pack?” she asked as she bounced from side to side. She wore a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a loose, messy ponytail. It was apparent she was being raised by her father .
“I got in a fight,” he told her. Several fights, to be exact. He’d stayed at the ring until his body started to scream at him.
Iris’ eyes widened. “Whoa, did you win?”
He nodded. “Uncle Kit always wins.”
She giggled before running away. Kit laughed and pressed the ice pack to his rib. His opponent got him good in the ribs. That was the only hit he let the guy get before Kit had landed a punch to the man’s jaw. The feel of the ice pack was a relief to his inflamed muscles. His mind wandered to Megan. He needed to go by the apartment and check on her today. He believed she was sober, but anything could change in a matter of minutes, especially in a town where she knew who and where to get drugs.
Gunner’s Old Lady, Lily, stood behind the bar looking for something.
“Where the fuck is that bowl?” she huffed.
Jett got up from the barstool, and Zeke took his place.
“What are you cooking?” Kit asked Lily.
She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. The Old Ladies cooked every Sunday. It was like the Savage Spades’ version of church. There were only three Old Ladies at the moment. Gunner, Otis, and Ace were married. They were also the oldest brothers. Like himself, not many of the younger brothers were ready to settle down. Lily often complained about there not being enough women. The club groupies didn’t count .
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Lily said. Sunday dinner was always a surprise. “I heard Megan is in town.”
He hadn’t told many people about Megan being back. His eyes flickered to Zeke, who raised an eyebrow.
“She just got out of treatment,” Kit told her.
Lily’s face softened. “That’s amazing. Is she staying with you?”
“For now. She says she wants to get a job and get on her feet.”
“Well, don’t rush her. Let her take her time. It’s going to be an adjustment coming back here. Let her know I say hi, and she can stop by the house anytime she wants.”
Kit nodded, but he knew Gunner wouldn’t like that. Megan’s past mistakes had burned a lot of people, and the last thing Gunner would want was for her to be around his wife. Lily could be too friendly for her own good.
“I’ll let her know,” Kit lied.
Lily smiled and walked out from behind the bar towards the kitchen.
“So, Megan’s back?” Zeke asked.
“Yeah.”
“You think she’s sober this time?”
“I do, but I don’t know how long it’s going to last. She got into a good treatment center for free, and they told her she needed a support system. I’m not sure this was the best idea. Coming back to the town where her addiction started… ”
He wanted his sister back, but more than that, he wanted her to be sober. He just hoped she was making the right decision coming back here.
“You can’t control it, man. Megan’s going to do what she wants, but give her a chance to prove to herself--and you--that she can be sober.”
The front door slammed shut as Gunner walked into the bar. “Everyone in the meeting room,” he said, walking past them to the room in the back.
Zeke and Kit shared a look before following behind everyone else to the room. Church was usually planned in advance and never on Sundays. Sundays were for the family. They took a seat at the big round conference table, waiting for everyone else to fill in. A couple of people were missing, but Gunner didn’t seem to mind. Hugo closed the meeting room door once everyone was inside.
“I just got word that the new bar has some financial issues,” Gunner said.
It took a minute for Kit to understand what Gunner was talking about--Cam’s bar. Images of dark hair and plump lips filled his brain. He’d decided to spend the night alone last night because he was so sore, but his dick stirred to life as he thought about Cam. Wait, what had Gunner said? Financial issues.
Gunner looked over at Hugo, who cleared his throat. “Jen, the bartender, told me last night Cam owes a fuck-ton of money to Venom.”
“What the fuck? ”
“Venom, really?”
Venom was a snake that was slowly poisoning the town with drugs. He lived in the city, but his people didn’t have a problem dealing their drugs in Goldbeach. The small town was probably a good portion of his business.
“Since when did Venom start loaning out money?” Otis asked.
Hugo lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t know; apparently, the girl inherited the debt from her father.”
What idiot would leave a debt like that to his daughter? He thought about Cam; she had no chance against a man like Venom. He would destroy her if she didn’t find a way to get him the money.
“So, what are we going to do about it?” Ace asked.
“Do we have to do anything about it?” Kit asked.
Gunner glared at him.
“I’m just saying, why doesn’t she sell the bar? Cut her losses. Is Venom someone we want to get involved with?”
He hated to be the one to say it, but when they burned down Old Timers, none of them expected to go to war with the town drug lord afterward. With Megan in town, he didn’t want the club to be involved in any sort of conflict with Venom. Kit could smell trouble.
“We don’t know how much she owes. Selling the bar might not be a solution,” Hugo said.
“Like everything, we’ll put it to a vote. Either we stay at the bar and claim it as our own or we turn our back.” The way Gunner phased it; Kit already knew which way he was leaning. “All for making Cam’s bar our own.”
Everyone raised their hands except for Kit. Gunner stared at him until he reluctantly raised his hand.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll need a couple of people to watch the bar when we’re not there. Kit and Zeke, you’re on babysitting duty.”
Kit clenched her jaw to keep his mouth shut. Gunner was doing this on purpose because Kit hadn’t immediately agreed to the decision. He had enough on his plate with Megan back that he didn’t need to worry about a problem that wasn’t his. Plus, he had his own business to run.
“Kit, your shift starts immediately.” Gunner hit the gavel on the table, dismissing the meeting.
Everyone filed out, and Kit went down to his room to grab his keys and wallet. When he turned around, Hugo was standing in the open doorway.
“Hey, I’m sorry about that. When I brought it up, I didn’t know Gunner was going to make you sit at the bar all day.”
“It’s alright. I know you were just trying to help.”
Hugo nodded. “Jen’s a cool girl, and she was really concerned last night about her friend and the bar.”
“Is she going to be your Old Lady?” Kit teased.
Hugo lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe, you never know.”
Hugo walked down the hall to his room, and Kit went outside to get on his bike.
*****
When he pulled up to the bar, it was three o’clock. Closed signs hung on the doors of small businesses. He opened the wooden door of the bar. The smell of beer and cigarettes hit him in the face. The jukebox played quietly in the background. The glass screen was missing but it still worked.
Two people sat at the bar. One of them was an older man with completely white hair. The man looked like he was nearly falling asleep. On the other side of the bar was a lady in her forties. She had a cigarette in her hand and was watching the football game on the old TV behind the bar.
His dick twitched as his eyes landed on Cam. She leaned over the bar as she wrote something down on a notepad. Her position gave him a perfect view of her tits. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, but he preferred it down like the other night when he saw her. She looked up as he approached the bar. Her lips straightened into a flat line.
He smiled. Maybe this babysitting thing could be fun. He grabbed a stool and rested his elbows on the wooden bar.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, flipping the notebook over and grabbing a white towel from underneath the bar.
“Can’t a guy just come in for a drink?” he asked.
She wiped down the already clean wooden surface. “Okay, what can I get for you?”
“You have Coke?” he asked.
She tilted her head. Her ponytail swished to one side, and for a second, he imagined what it would feel like to grab it. Fuck, he should have taken one of those girls down to his room last night so he wouldn’t be fantasizing about someone he didn’t even know. He was like a twelve-year-old boy seeing tits for the first time.
“Seriously, why are you here, and where is the rest of your gang?” she asked.
“The Savage Spades heard about your little problem.”
Her face instantly drained off all colors. “I...don’t--”
“Your friend spilled the beans, and lucky for you, Gunner decided your bar was worth protecting. Either Zeke or I will be here at all times.” He winked at her.
To his surprise, she jutted her hip out and rested her hand on it. “I didn’t ask for anyone’s help or pity. I’ve been taking care of everything on my own, and this is not your gang’s bar. It’s mine. So thanks for the offer, but you can go back to your group and let them know I don’t need anyone’s help.”
He took a moment to let his eyes roam over her body. He should have expected this amount of feistiness from her. It was the same attitude he got when he tried to apologize that first night when he’d stupidly knocked into her.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. You’re dealing with a mean motherfucker. Venom is not someone you wanna mess with.”
“It’s a little too late for that. Listen, we have an agreement. I’m slowly paying back the loan once a month, so there’s nothing to be worried about.”
“Can you afford the payments?” he asked.
She swallowed and lifted her chin. “Yes.”
He scoffed. “Even if you weren’t lying to me, you’re a terrible liar. By the way, in our town, we don’t let people like Venom come in and offer loans to business owners. So you won’t be giving that piece of shit another dime of your money.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you out of your mind? You just told me how dangerous he is, and then you tell me I’m not supposed to pay him the money I owe him.”
“You don’t owe him shit. Your dad did. That’s not on you.”
She snapped her mouth shut at his words. They stared at each other for a second, having a silent staring contest.
He got up from the stool. “I’ll be over there if you need me. Can I get extra ice in that Coke?”
He walked away to the booth in the corner of the room, feeling her eyes burning a hole in his back the entire time.