Page 99 of Ace of Spades

Maybe I’m not just passing through.

Maybe I’m finally where I was always meant to be.

Chapter26

Levi

The numbers glare back at me from the desk like a loaded gun.

All I’d have to do is pull the trigger and we’d get two million dollars. Split clean down the middle.

Enough to wipe the slate clean. Enough to build a new life for Carter, Theo, Josie and I without the late nights, the payroll stress, the duct tape solutions holding this place together.

Enough to quit fighting every damn day of my life.

But when I close my eyes, all I see is this garage and the seared skid mark in the bay, the smell of motor oil and burning metal, the echoes of laughter and cussing and hard work to a soundtrack of K-pop.

The crew. The soul of this place. They haven’t been with me the whole time, but the ones that are here are the ones that are for reasons other than fame and notoriety.

Selling SKC would be like carving out my own goddamn heart.

I push the papers aside and scrub a hand down my face.

We’re getting better. Business is up. The crew’s firing on all cylinders again.

But it’s not fast enough. Not deep enough.The debt we dragged behind us for years still weighs heavy. Still threatens to drown us if we stop swimming for even half a second.

I need a hail mary.

A sharp knock at the office door drags me out of my spiral.

Before I can answer, it creaks open and Sienna’s red head peeks around the frame.

"Hey," she says, almost shyly. "Got a minute?"

For her? Always.

"Yeah," I grunt, pushing back from the desk. "What’s up?"

She bounces on the balls of her feet, nervous energy rolling off her.

"Um... it’s easier if I just show you. Can you come out to the bay?"

I raise a brow, but stand anyway.

"Bring everyone," Sienna adds quickly. "Crew meeting."

Crew meeting?

I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but at least someone around here is excited. “Crew meeting!” I call out as I walk out of my office.

Ghost pokes his head around the corner like I just spoke a different language. Kick yells for Joey, and within minutes, the whole gang is trailing behind me into the open bay.

And that’s when I see it.

At the center of the garage, Sienna’s set up a huge whiteboard covered in diagrams, bullet points, and bold letters that read:

OPERATION: KICK SERIOUS ASS

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