by K. D Clark
Savage Spades
K.D Clark
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by K.D Clark
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First paperback edition February 2020
Visit my website: https://kdclark.blog/
Also by K. D. Clark
The New York Capos Series
Merciless Queen
Twisted Judgement
Fallen Judgement
Apprehension
Admission
Chapter One
Kit
“Fuck, are you sure it was Dustin?” he asked.
Gunner, the club president, nodded. “The girl remembers everything. Says that Dustin took her out to the woods and raped her.”
“That sick son of a bitch,” said Zeke, the Vice President, as he shook his head.
They sat around the large table in the meeting room down the hall from the bar. It’s where they came to discuss things that were going on in their town as well as club business.
“What about the cops? Shouldn’t they be throwing his ass in a cement cell?” Zeke asked.
“He posted bail. Sheriff Garrett said they couldn’t keep him,” Gunner replied.
Zeke’s hands formed into fists on top of the wooden table they all sat at.
“So what’s the plan?” Kit asked.
Women didn’t get hurt or raped in their town without someone paying for it. They were all at different levels of pissed off but Zeke especially since he had a little girl at home.
“I say we burn the place to the fucking ground,” Zeke said. “That’s what the sick bastard deserves.”
“We’ve been going to Old Timers for years. Isn’t there something else we can do instead of burning it to the ground?” Jett, the Road Captain, asked.
“He’s a fucking rapist. Even if we didn’t burn the place to the ground, you think we’d go back there?” Zeke snapped.
Gunner sat back in his chair and ran a hand over his bald head. They were all dressed in their leather cuts. It was a jacket with the sleeves cut off and the club name sewed on the back in big orange letters: Savage Spades. Anytime they had to come together, either for a meeting or a ride, they were required to wear the cut. Most of them wore it nearly every day. It was an honor to have the cut and everyone in this room had worked their ass off to get it.
“I’m just saying, we could just beat the shit out of him then leave the bar,” Jett argued.
Zeke was already shaking his head. “Nah, brother, nothing is going to hurt him more than watching that precious bar burn to the ground. We got to burn it.”
Zeke looked around the table. Kit nodded his support. He agreed with Zeke completely; the bar needed to go. He’d miss all the time they’d spent there over the years, but Dustin was a sick bastard and they had to put him out of business one way or another. The other men around the table nodded their agreement as well.
Gunner sat up in the chair and grabbed the gavel. “Then it’s settled. We’ll ride at midnight.”
“Midnight? It’s going to be packed,” Kit said.
Gunner turned and smiled at him. “I think we should make a bit of a show, huh?”
Gunner slammed the gavel on the table, signally Church was over. Kit stood up with the rest of the men and walked out of the meeting room to the bar area. Jett landed a smack on his shoulder as he walked down the hallway.
“You ready for this?” Jett asked.
“Fuck yeah, it’s been too quiet around here.”
Jett laughed. Anytime they went for a ride, he was the one that planned and made sure they didn’t run into any trouble. Unlike most of the guys in the club, Jett had a slender build. He wasn’t as tall as Kit but he came close at six foot. His beard was patchy at best but Jett didn’t seem to care. Compared to Kit the guy was a twig. He was also probably the smartest out of all of them. He’s the only brother that’d gone off to college and had a degree to show for it. The rest of them were either felons or veterans. Kit was neither; but when he found the club, he was on his way to being a felon.
“I heard you took two girls back to your room last night,” Jett said.
Kit smiled at him and shrugged. “Maybe.”Jett laughed again and took a seat on one of the barstools. He’d probably be there for an hour or so, planning out their ride tonight. Goldbeach, North Carolina had a small population of people, but there was a ton of land to cover. Even though Dustin’s bar wasn’t very far, Jett knew which way to take to avoid the cops.
He turned away from Jett and looked out at the seating area of the clubhouse. Four girls in cut-off jeans and tight shirts sat at a high table. He was always surprised by their commitment. They were always there, hoping that one of the guys would make them an Old Lady--a woman who is dating or married to one of the members. An Old Lady was held with the most respect and had the protection of the club. Little did these women know, there was no chance in hell they were becoming someone’s Old Lady. Most of the guys had no desire to settle down. Like Kit, they just wanted a night of fun. He continued around the bar to the second hallway that led back to some of the rooms. The clubhouse had more rooms than he could count.
There was a room for all of the men as well as anyone that might need a place to stay for the night. The first floor, on the same level as the bar, held five bedrooms--one of them belonged to Gunner. But Gunner rarely used it since he had an Old Lady at home that would probably shoot him in the balls if he didn’t come home to her every night.On the lower level was Kit’s room. He took the stairs, the sound of his feet echoing off each wooden step. The lower level looked a lot like a basement with a concrete floor and a paneled ceiling. But the rooms down here were just as nice as the ones upstairs. They each even had a bathroom attached. He walked through the first door. The two women from last night were still sleeping on his mattress, completely naked. One blonde; one brunette. He was so drunk last night he’d barely remembered taking them down to his room. He closed the door and kicked the side of the mattress. The blonde jumped awake and glared at him.
“Time to go, sweetheart,” he said.
“Why do you always do that, Kit? You can’t just let me sleep a bit longer?” she asked.
Warning bells went off in his head. If she’d noticed a pattern, that meant he’d slept with her too many times. He made a mental note to avoid the blonde tonight.
“Can’t have you stealin’ any of my shit,” he said as he crossed the room and started picking up their clothes from the floor. He threw the clothes on the bed and the blonde grabbed them and started to dress. She paused to wake up her friend, and he waited for them to leave. The brunette reached her hand out and rubbed it over the tattoos that covered his left arm on her way out.
“You sure you don’t need any help this morning?” she asked in a sultry tone.
His dick twitched at her offer but he had work to take care of. “Maybe another time sweetheart.”
She dropped her hand, and he smacked her ass as she walked past him. Locking the door behind them, he then stripped off his clothes to get into the shower to wash off the smell of booze and sex. He’d usually sleep in longer but with Church this morning, he didn’t wanna fall back asleep.
After taking a quick shower, he
walked to the back of the clubhouse where his garage was. When he’d wanted to open a repair shop, Gunner had offered to have it built on the land next to the clubhouse. It’d worked out perfectly for Kit since he was only steps away from his job, and he was able to hire his brothers. When he entered, he was surprised to see Hugo there, working on a Mercedes. Kit slapped his hand.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” Hugo asked.
Hugo was the only brother that was bigger than Kit. He stood a few inches taller and could almost double Kit’s bench press. Hugo’s beard was full and he didn’t have tattoos on his arm like Kit did.
Kit shrugged. “Figure I’d get to work.”
Hugo used the wrench to point over to a bike in the corner.
“Gunner needs an oil change if you wanna get started on that.”
Kit nodded and made his way over to the bike.
*****
“We need to make sure everyone is out of the bar before we light it up. Got it?” Gunner yelled, over the sound of all their engines. Kit bounced his knee against the bike, ready to start the ride.
They all nodded their heads in understanding. Jett took off first, next was Gunner, Zeke, and then the rest of them. It was a warm night so he didn’t wear anything under his cut beside a thin, gray t-shirt. The wind rippled through his shirt as the bike bumped over the dirt roads until they made it out of the clubhouse to the smooth pavement. They rode faster than the speed limit, passing other cars and probably scaring the shit out of the drivers. There was no greater high than riding, especially on a warm night like tonight. Riding is what brought them all together. It was the entire point of the Savage Spades.
When he was a teenager, filled with anger and nowhere to let it out, he’d take his bike on the road just like this. Nothing else calmed him down like riding. The family that came with being a member of the club was just a side effect. Riding in a group this large required a great deal of trust. It was why they referred to each other as brothers. They were more than just a group of men who spent time together…they were a brotherhood.
The ride ended too soon. They stopped in front of Old Timers. The big, neon ‘open’ sign hung over the wooden porch. A few people stood outside with beer bottles in their hands but judging by the number of cars in the gravel parking lot, there were a lot more inside. It was the usual bar they frequented so no one would even raise an eyebrow to all the bikes showing upfront. If anything, Dustin was probably restocking the keg right now to get ready for them. Kit shut the engine off and climbed off his bike, setting the helmet on the back.
“Hugo, I need you to get all the innocents out first. Ace, make sure Dustin doesn’t try to run,” Gunner said.
Hugo went into the bar first, and Ace walked around the back. It wasn’t long before people started rushing out the front door. When a man the size of Hugo tells you to do something, people usually listen. Women in cut-off shorts and cowboy boots dashed to their cars already knowing that something bad was going to happen. Most people would consider it a risk to hang out at Old Timers anyways since everyone in town knew that’s where the Savage Spades liked to spend their time.
Once almost all the cars in the parking lot were gone, Gunner walked inside. Zeke followed behind him, and Kit followed afterward. Ace was sitting across the bar from Dustin with a hard look in his eyes. Dustin’s eyes were wide and a bead of sweat ran from his forehead down to his chin. Hugo stood at the back exit with his arms crossed over his chest, like some kind of bouncer.
“Everyone get out?” Gunner asked Hugo.
“All clear, just this piece of shit.”
The front door slammed and they all turned their heads to see Jett dragging in a canister of gasoline. Dustin tried to take advantage of the distraction and run from behind the bar, but Ace was out of the barstool in a flash. He shoved Dustin so he fell on the sticky floor.
“Listen, I don’t know what you think I did, but don’t do this,” Dustin begged as he pushed himself across the floor, trying to get away from them. He had nowhere to go.
“We don’t give mercy to a rapist,” Zeke spat, his eyes holding a kind of rage that Kit had never seen before.
Dustin’s eyes widened. “Rapist?”
Zeke grabbed the gun from his waistband and slapped Dustin across the face with it. Once, then twice. Gunner grabbed Zeke’s arm before he could hit him a third time.
“Tie him up,” Gunner told Hugo.
“Come on, Gunner! I didn’t do it! I would never do that,” Dustin pleaded, his face covered with blood and tears.
“Shut up!” Gunner barked.
Dustin fought and screamed as Hugo grabbed the rope and tied Dustin’s feet and hands together like a pig ready to be roasted.
“Burn in hell,” Zeke said before aiming the gun at Dustin’s head and pulling the trigger.
The noise echoed off the walls and it took a minute for Kit to be able to hear again. He turned his head away not, wanting to see the lifeless body.
“Jett, light it up,” Gunner said before walking out of the bar.
They all followed behind Gunner while Jett spilled the gasoline everywhere.Kit got on his bike and watched as the bar slowly started to go up in flames. Jett ran out of the bar just in time to get on his bike and watch the show with everyone else.
“I guess we’re going to need to find a new place to drink,” Jett said.
Chapter Two
Cam
The heavy, wooden door creaked as she opened it. The room was pitch black, and it took a few stutters for the overhead lights to illuminate the space once she’d flipped the switch. With the room fully lit, she let the door close behind her before walking toward the bar. The smell of smoke and whiskey lingered in the air. To most people, it might be off-putting, but for Cam, it was a comforting scent. A reminder of her father.
Her flip-flops padded against the wood floor as she maneuvered her way around the tables. The seat of the chairs lay across the tabletop, just the way she’d left them the night before. She pulled a glass from one of the shelves behind the bar and poured some water. She’d done this routine so many times it was ingrained in her brain. She could open and close the bar with her eyes closed at this point. Lifting the glass to her lips, she gulped down the cool water.
She looked up at the clock hanging above the liquor shelf. Two p.m. One hour until Ernie, one of her regulars, would be walking through the door asking for a shot of whiskey and a beer to wash it down. Ernie could drink a scary combination of alcohol and still walk out of here completely fine.
She set the glass of water down and went back out to the floor to start pulling the chairs from the tables. A year ago, her father would have been sitting in the back office, starting on morning paperwork while she opened the bar. But she couldn’t let her mind go there today. Any minute now, Jen and Amire would be walking in to start their shift, and if she had a bad attitude, it would affect the entire atmosphere.
Today’s going to be a busy day. Maybe if she kept telling herself that, then the man in the sky would listen and send some customers her way. God knew she needed them. You’d think in such a small town, with a limited number of bars, she’d be packed every night. Instead, she was lucky to get a few new customers a week. At this point, Ernie was keeping the lights on.
As she set the last chair down, the front door opened, and Amire walked in.
“Fuck, it’s hot outside,” he said, repeating her steps and going behind the bar to get a glass of water.
“Said it’s supposed to be in the hundreds all week,” she said, putting on a smile and pulling herself up to sit on the bar.
Amire raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you want, Cam?”
He always knew when she was up to no good. He gulped down the water, his Adam’s apple bobbing underneath his dark skin.
“Make me some chicken fingers before we open?” she asked, batting her eyelashes. Her stomach had been rumbling since the moment she’d woken up, but the only thing in her fridge was old leftovers from Hel
en’s Diner.
He rolled his eyes before setting the glass down and used the rubber band around his wrist to pull his long dreads into a loose, low ponytail. “What time did you go to sleep?”
She shrugged. “I closed last night, and then I went out with Jen. Well, we stayed in, then we went back to our place.”
Amire shook his head. “I can’t keep up with you two.”
She laughed. “I know. That’s why you went home right after your shift. You could have had a couple drinks with us.”
Amire never hung out with them after work no matter how many times they invited him. He grabbed a white towel from one of the shelves underneath the counter and threw it over his shoulder.
“No, thank you. I like to be awake with the rest of the world. At least for a little while. You know, if you had a man at home, you’d have a reason to want to crawl in bed after your shift.”
She let out a short laugh. “He would be the most neglected man in the world. I have too much going on right now to worry about someone else.”
It had been too long since she had even thought about dating someone. She barely noticed the guys in town or anyone in her classes. They all looked the same to her, not interesting enough to break through her tunnel vision.
Amire scoffed. She waved a hand at him, and he turned to go towards the kitchen.
The kitchen prep was simple since they only sold typical bar food. At one point or another, she’d worked every position. When she’d moved across the country from Seattle, Washington to Goldbeach, North Carolina, she knew she’d end up working at her dad’s bar. What she hadn’t realized was that she would be running it years later.
She walked to the back office. A small space, maybe the size of a large closet at best. The only thing in the office was her desk and a coat rack for Jen and Amire to use. Four, large stacks of papers covered the small desk. She needed to get a filing cabinet to organize all the paperwork but that was going to have to wait.
