ASHES & PAIN
Chapter 14
SPLINTER
This chapter has A BONUS SCENE available: Sweet Death
Morning sunlight spilled through the kitchen window, warming the worn linoleum beneath Kait’s boots.
She leaned against the counter, the clubhouse landline tucked between her shoulder and ear, absently tracing the rim of her coffee mug with one finger.
“…I know it’s below market,” she said.
A pause.
“I know.”
Heidi sighed on the other end of the line.
“How about if I just knock off ten thousand to start?”
Kait let out a quiet breath.
“I’m kinda pressed for time, but yeah, I need the most I can get.”
“Are you sure, Kait?”
Kait nodded Half the roof had been rebuilt, fresh lumber standing out against weathered wood.
“Yeah.”
The recording from the calling card came on.
ONE MINUTE REMAINING.
Kait made a face. “This stupid card.”
“How much lower then?”
“Okay, just drop it another twenty. We need money fast.”
Heidi was quiet for a moment.
“All right.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll change the sign. Oh hey, I keep forgetting to tell you. You know who wants to buy it?”
“Who?”
Distortion as Heidi said a name.
“Can’t hear shit.”
The line clicked dead.
Kait slowly returned the receiver to its cradle.
For a second, she simply stood there.
Selling the Copenhagen clubhouse for lower felt wrong but it had to be done.
She swallowed the thought before it could settle.
She picked up her coffee and nudged the kitchen door open with her shoulder.
The double doors exploded open.
“Kait!”
Her head snapped toward the entrance.
Amber stumbled inside.
She was crying so hard mascara streaked down her cheeks, her breathing coming in ragged, uneven gasps.
Kait set her mug on the nearest table.
“Amber, what the fuck…”
Amber tried to speak.
Nothing came out except another sob.
Kait crossed the room and caught her by both shoulders.
“Hey.”
Amber couldn’t look at her.
“Look at me.”
She forced herself to.
“Dulce… she’s…”
Kait frowned.
“What, Amber? Dulce what?”
Amber squeezed her eyes shut.
“I… I went to… to pick her up…”
The words broke apart beneath another wave of crying.
Kait tightened her grip just enough to steady her.
“Slow down.”
Amber nodded frantically, struggling to catch her breath.
“I went to her apartment…”
Another sob.
“…and…”
She couldn’t finish.
Kait glanced toward the hallway as footsteps began approaching, drawn by the commotion.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice quieter now.
Amber swallowed.
“She’s dead.”
Kait blinked.
“…What?”
Amber shook her head over and over.
“I found her dead… on her, on her couch.”
The words barely escaped.
Her voice cracked so hard the last syllable disappeared into another sob.
Kait stared at her.
“That’s not possible.”
Amber nodded frantically.
“Yes. I went to get her this morning. She was gonna go with me to…” She stopped herself, shaking her head. “She wouldn’t answer the door.”
Kait felt her stomach knot.
“So I knocked again… and…”
Amber swallowed hard, her face crumpling.
“…it wasn’t locked… so I went in.”
For a moment, the clubhouse disappeared.
No clatter from the kitchen.
No conversations in the dining room.
Only Amber trying not to fall apart.
Kait searched her face, waiting for the misunderstanding.
Waiting for Amber to tell her she’d gotten it wrong.
Instead—
“…She was on the couch.”
Amber’s lip trembled.
“Her… her head was…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “…it was turned wrong. She was so pale.”
Silence.
“Her eyes were open…” She wiped at her face with the heel of her hand. “Someone killed her.”
Kait still didn’t interrupt.
“I checked on her… then I called the cops. They asked me a bunch of questions and told me to leave.”
She looked up at Kait.
“I came straight here.”
Kait let go of her shoulders.
“Hold on.”
She turned and was already moving before Amber could answer.
Kait crossed the courtyard in long strides and kicked open the prospects’ room door.
Josh shot upright.
She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and hauled him to his feet.
“I told you to watch Dulce’s apartment, didn’t I?”
“I did!”
“No, you fucking didn’t.”
“I swear I did!”
“Toast!”
Mack’s voice came from the doorway behind her.
She didn’t even look back.
“I was there,” Josh insisted. “I was!”
“You fucking left.”
“VP sent me home!”
The room went still.
Mack frowned.
“What?” Kait said.
Josh nodded immediately.
“He said you knew.”
Kait’s grip loosened.
Josh stumbled back a step, rubbing at the front of his shirt, confused more than anything.
She didn’t say another word.
She turned and walked out.
“What the fuck, Toast?” Mack called after her.
No response.
Ram looked between the two prospects. “The fuck happened?”
Nobody answered.
Kait was already halfway down the hallway.
“Toast!” Mack caught up to her as she crossed the courtyard. “What’s going on?”
She kept walking.
“Will you slow the fuck down?” Mack said, reaching the parking lot.
She ignored him.
“What happened?” Ram pressed.
Kait swung a leg over the bike.
“Toast.”
Mack threw his hands up over the roar.
“Where are you going?”
Kait pulled her gloves on without looking at either of them.
The engine climbed in pitch.
Then she dumped the clutch.
The rear tire chirped against the pavement as the Krieger shot through the gate.
Within seconds, she was gone.
Mack watched the empty road.
“Dulce’s dead?” Ram asked as they saw Sunshine walk up.
She only nodded slowly, still crying.
“Damn,” said Mack and held Amber as she fell apart.
Kait tore through Dryden, the Kriger’s engine echoing off storefronts as she ignored every stop sign between the Nest and Don’s house.
She rolled into the driveway so fast the rear tire kicked gravel across the yard.
No bikes up front.
The house sat quiet.
She killed the engine, took the porch steps two at a time, and tried the knob.
Locked.
She pounded on the door anyway.
“Kolton!”
Nothing.
She looked through the front window.
Empty.
“Damn it.”
She turned, threw herself back onto the Kriger, and fired it up again.
If he wasn’t here, maybe he was at Snake Eyes.
The familiar neon sign buzzed overhead as Kait slid into a parking spot in front of the bail bonds office.
She barely bothered with the kickstand before striding inside.
The waiting room was empty.
Loriann sat behind the front desk with a mug of coffee and a stack of paperwork, reading glasses low on her nose.
She looked up with a smile that disappeared almost immediately.
“Kait?”
Kait didn’t bother returning the greeting.
“Where’s Kolton?”
Loriann frowned.
“At the clinic.”
Kait’s stomach tightened.
“…What?”
“Kyle’s fever never broke.” Loriann set her glasses aside. “They admitted him las night for observation. It’s nothing serious, they—”
Kait stood perfectly still.
“What room?”
Loriann studied her face.
“…One-twelve.”
Something in Kait’s expression made her uneasy.
“What’s going on?”
Kait was already turning toward the door.
The bell over the door jingled as she disappeared outside.
Loriann watched through the window as the Kriger roared back to life.
She frowned.
“…Lord, what now?”
The clinic came into view less than five minutes later.
Kait swung into the parking lot harder than she should have, the rear tire chirping as she cut across two empty spaces near the entrance.
She killed the engine before it had fully settled and was through the front door seconds later.
The woman at the reception desk looked up.
“Can I help—”
“For Kyle Westfall.”
The receptionist blinked at the urgency in her voice.
“Where is room one-twelve.”
“Down the hall, to the right.”
Kait was already halfway down the hallway before the sentence was finished.
She went into room 112.
Kyle slept in his dinosaur pajamas, cheeks flushed from the fever. An IV dripped steadily beside him.
Kolton looked up from the chair.
The second he saw Kait’s face, he stood.
“Hey.”
She didn’t answer.
His eyes narrowed.
“What happened?”
Her pupils were blown wide.
She looked at Kyle.
“He okay?”
She looked like she’d ridden through hell.
“Oh, don’t worry, baby,” he said quickly, glancing toward Kyle. “His fever just wouldn’t break. They’re keeping him a few more hours. He’s gonna be—”
“Did you do it?”
Kolton blinked.
“…What?”
“Did you fucking do it?”
He stared at her.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You went to her apartment last night.”
“I…”
“You sent Josh home.”
Kolton looked genuinely confused.
“…Yeah.”
“Why, to snap her fucking neck?”
His eyebrows pulled together.
“Snap her… what?”
“She’s fucking dead.”
“How is that… you think I—”
“You tell me.”
Kolton immediately looked toward Kyle.
“Keep your voice down.”
He reached back and quietly pushed the hospital room door shut.
The latch clicked.
“You fucking killed her?”
His face emptied.
“You were there.”
“Jesus, Kait. Of course I fucking didn’t.”
“You sent Josh home.”
“I did. I went to apologize to her and tell her to come back to the Nest.”
“You fucking liar.”
“I didn’t touch her!”
The words exploded out of him.
Kyle stirred.
“Daddy…”
Both of them froze.
The little boy blinked sleepily from the hospital bed.
“Daddy…”
Kolton turned immediately.
“Hey, buddy.”
Kyle rubbed one eye.
“What’s wrong?”
Kolton looked back toward Kait.
“I didn’t do this.”
She didn’t answer.
“I swear to God, baby.”
Nothing.
She turned and walked out.
“Kait, hold on.”
He took one step after her then looked back at Kyle and stopped.
Kyle was sitting up now, scared and confused.
Kolton looked from the hallway…
…to his son.
“…Shit.”
By the time Kait reached the apartment complex, the patrol cars were gone.
Only the yellow tape remained.
It stretched across the walkway, fluttering lazily as if what happened inside didn’t matter.
She killed the Kriger at the curb and climbed off.
The place looked…
Normal.
Kids rode bicycles at the far end of the complex.
A woman carried groceries up another staircase.
Someone had a radio playing Mala Hierba behind an open window.
Life had already moved on.
Kait ducked beneath the tape.
Nobody stopped her.
Nobody was there to.
She climbed the familiar staircase one step at a time.
The pink feather wreath that had hung on Dulce’s door lay on the ground.
Once it got knocked down it had been trampled over and over by cops, paramedics… the coroner.
The wire frame had been twisted flat.
Pink feathers were scattered across the walkway.
One ribbon still clung to the frame, fluttering against the dirt.
Kait stared at it. That was enough.
Kait slowly walked down the stairs.
She crouched beside a pink feather that had fallen from upstairs.
It was covered in dust.
She brushed it off with her thumb.
Then she looked back toward the apartment.
The yellow tape swayed gently across the entrance.
The door she’d promised would stay safe.
Her jaw tightened. A tear rolled down her face.
“Goddamn it, Dulce.”
Dryden police department
The sheriff’s office was quieter than usual.
A deputy behind the front counter looked up as the front door swung open.
Kait marched straight to the desk, aviators still on.
“I need to know what happened to Dulce Solis. Who’s on the case?”
The deputy hesitated.
Another deputy stepped up
“I’m sorry, ma’am, that’s an active—”
“Ain’t fucking talking to you.”
The room fell quiet.
A chair scraped across the bullpen.
Richter looked up from a case file.
He recognized the voice before he saw the face.
He rounded the corner.
“I got it,” he said and came around the counter.
“What happened to Dulce?”
Richter studied her for a second.
“Can’t say much, we still haven’t even notified her family.”
“She has no family.”
His expression hardened.
“Still, it’s an open investigation.”
“A homicide investigation.”
Richter folded his arms.
“So you know something? You got something you want to tell me?”
“Amber told me how she found her. It’s obvious.”
Richter looked at her for a second.
“Look, she was a friend, I just want to know what happened to her,” Kait said a little more calm now.
He looked around once.
“How did she die, Mike?”
“Kait, I can’t—”
“How. Just tell me that.”
He held her stare for a long moment.
Then quietly,
“Her neck was snapped.”
Kait closed her eyes for half a second.
When she opened them again, they were colder.
“You got a suspect?”
“No but given her line of work. It was probably a client.”
“Oh, that’s what y’all think? That’s why you guys wrapped up the crime scene so fast? One more dead hooker no one gives a shit about?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Kait’s voice dropped.
“Don’t need to.”
“You know something, don’t you?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be standing here asking shit.”
Richter believed her.
“Why do your friends keep getting hurt, Kait?”
“You tell me. That’s your fucking job.”
“And y’all making it very difficult.”
“Yeah. Well thanks for the info.”
Richter believed her.
“Why do your friends keep getting hurt, Kait?”
“You tell me. That’s your fucking job.”
“Yeah, and y’all are making it very difficult.”
“Yeah. Well thanks for the info.”
hedrick ranch
The clink of a hammer echoed across the ranch.
Blaze stepped back and looked up at the repaired section of the barn roof, one hand shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun.
Almost there.
He tossed the hammer into the bed of the truck and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist.
The distant rumble of a motorcycle drifted across the pasture.
He didn’t have to look twice.
The Kriger.
Kait rolled to a stop near the barn and shut the bike off.
Carrying Your Love with Me coming from inside the barn.
Blaze walked over.
Neither of them smiled.
“You hear about Dulce?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, Sunshine told me. It’s fuckin’ crazy.”
Kait looked toward the half-finished roof.
“Where everybody go?”
“Ran outta lumber already, so there ain’t much to do.”
He jerked a thumb toward the road.
“Old man’s had to go to Snake Eyes anyway.”
Silence settled between them.
“Well, that sucks, I was hoping you’d put me to work. Got my boots on and everything.”
“I see that…”
Blaze studied her face.
Her eyes were bloodshot, her jaw tight enough to crack a tooth.
“But you don’t need no work. You need a drink.”
She didn’t answer.
He disappeared inside.
A minute later he came back carrying a bottle of Jack Daniel’s by the neck.
He walked past her.
“Come on.”
She followed without saying a word.
The old farm truck still sat beneath the oak tree where it had been for years, its faded blue paint nearly swallowed by rust.
Blaze climbed into the bed first.
Kait pulled herself up beside him.
Neither of them spoke.
He twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long pull.
Then handed it to her.
She drank.
The whiskey burned all the way down.
Neither of them flinched.
The bottle rested between them.
A breeze rolled across the pasture, carrying the smell of dry grass.
For a while, all they heard was the creek running lazily in the distance.
Blaze broke the silence first.
“Sunshine wanted me to come over.”
Kait looked at him.
“Didn’t feel right leaving the Kowman hanging.”
He picked at a splinter in the truck bed and flicked it.
“She’s pretty upset.”
Kait took another drink before handing him the bottle back.
“Yeah, I don’t blame her.”
Blaze chuckled once.
“Neither do I.”
He stared out across the pasture.
“I don’t wanna talk about Dulce. What’s up with you? How are things besides the roof?”
Another drink.
“Well… Kelly turned one years old two days ago.”
Kait looked over.
“I missed it cause of the stupid roof.”
The words came out flat.
“Shit, I’m so sorry.”
He rubbed his thumb along the label.
“Julia was pissed.”
He laughed quietly to himself.
“Oh, she finally asked for the divorce. So that’s some breaking news.”
Kait didn’t know what to say.
“Fuck, Blaze.”
“Nah. I seen this coming for months.”
“Still…”
“At least the rodeo is back in town in April.”
“Isn’t that the one you almost broke your neck?”
“I’m all healed up now.”
Kait laughed then a silence followed.
It wasn’t awkward.
Just… necessary.
huntsville
Lane hung up the phone.
Diablo looked over from the other side of the garage.
“What happened?”
“That was Prince. I guess Dulce was murdered last night.”
Diablo stopped what he was doing.
“…Fuck. How? She was just at the Nest…”
Lane slipped the cordless phone back into its cradle.
“She must’ve gone home ‘cause Sunshine found her at her apartment. Someone snapped her neck.”
Silence settled over the room.
Melanie and Alejandra walked in carrying grocery bags.
“You boys look cheerful,” Melanie said.
Neither answered.
“What happened?”
“Dulce got killed.”
Melanie barely reacted.
“Oh my god,” Alejandra set the groceries on the counter.
“…Well,” Melanie shrugged. “I guess that’s how girls like that end up eventually.”
Alejandra looked at her. “The hell’s wrong with you?”
“What? She was a snakehole.”
Lane raised an eyebrow at the irony but didn’t say anything. He was staring through the open garage door.
Thinking.
Not about Dulce.
But Kait.
He knew how much she cared about the Alley girls and knew how her mind worked.
And by now she’d already blamed herself and tried to fix something.
Diablo glanced over.
“Toast must be upset.”
As if he was reading Lane’s mind.
“Oh my god, right. Well, I’m sure Prince is right by her side,” Melanie said.
“Alright. Get dinner going, I hate eating late,” Lane said and both girls headed to the kitchen.
A long pause.
“…Toast must be pissed for sure,” Diablo said.
“Yeah…” Lane said wishing he was there to comfort her.
hedrick ranch
The bottle was almost empty.
The sun had slipped behind the tree line and the ranch looked different now.
There was a light on in the barn and the farmhouse, and George Strait was still playing.
Neither of them had noticed when it got dark.
“Ain’t no way you could’ve known that,” Blaze said.
“I was right there. I knew she didn’t want me to leave.”
She took the bottle from his hand and drank.
“I knew something felt off. She was scared.”
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I should’ve made her come back with me to the Nest.”
Blaze leaned back against the cab.
“Kait.”
She didn’t look at him.
“She was stubborn as a mule. She woulda gone back home as soon as you went to bed.”
“Probably.”
Blaze rolled the bottle between his palms.
She’ll Leave you with a Smile came on.
“I still feel I could’ve done more.”
“Shit happens, Toast. If somebody wakes up tomorrow and decides to put a bullet in my head…”
She frowned.
“…that ain’t on you.”
“Well, if someone does that, I’m not gonna sit down and drink.”
“Y’all better not.”
That pulled the smallest smile out of her.
“Ah, there we go. Damn, look at that smile. Why you so beautiful for?”
“Shut up,” she said and pushed him playfully.
“No, hey…” he said raising her chin with his finger. “Look at me with them pretty silver eyes and listen.”
She sighed.
“You did enough to keep her safe. Wasn’t your fault. The devil just has a way to get through the cracks sometimes.”
He held and Kait shook her head.
“I still feel like shit.”
“Sorry I ain’t got vodka.”
“I think I need something even stronger.”
“Tell me what you need, see if I got it.”
Kait looked up at him and didn’t say anything at first.
“You got it.”
Blaze exhaled and studied her face. Hey eyes, her lips.
Kait’s lips found his.
Soft.
Tentative.
Just enough to ask.
Blaze answered by kissing her back.
“Can you keep a secret, Kowboy?”
“Can you? Cause ain’t no way I’m turning you down.”
Kait smiled and straddled him.
He blew out a long, hard breath as he realized the type of trouble he was in.
“Lord almighty…”
His hand found her waist, pushing down tight.
Kait’s fingers slipped into his shirt and caressed his chest. She slid her hand down to undo the buttons, and he helped her with the rest.
He reached for his hat but Kait stopped him.
“Keep it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He tilted his head and kissed her.
Unhurried.
Hungry.
The bottle rolled across the truck bed with a dull clink as he got on top of her.
Kait broke the kiss only long enough to help Blaze get her own boots and pants off.
Then they kissed again.
Harder this time.
He struggled a little with his belt buckle, but Kait helped him.
Soon after that, she felt him inside her. Her back arched, her head snapped back.
That was definitely what she needed.
Neither of them spoke. Grunts and moans were all they could come up with.
There wasn’t a single word needed that could’ve said more than what was happening.
The truck bed groaned softly as they found their rhythm. Blaze cradled her head with both hands after she hit it against the worn steel. They chuckled but didn’t stop.
He gave her everything he had until he couldn’t hold on anymore, and she took it all.
They stayed close and kept getting lost in each other kissing and touching until ringing started somewhere beneath Kait’s jacket.
Neither of them moved at first.
Then it rang again.
Then Blaze’s phone joined it.
Kait let out a long breath against his shoulder.
Blaze laughed quietly.
“Ain’t that about right.”
Kait reached for her jacket where it’d landed against the side of the truck bed and fished out the phone.
She stared at it for a second before answering.
“What.”
“Where the hell are you?”
Kolton.
She glanced at Blaze.
“Out.”
“Well, we got church in twenty.”
She closed her eyes.
“…Got it.”
He paused.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yep.”
She ended the call.
Blaze was already pulling his own phone away from his ear.
“Church. We gotta go.”
She nodded.
Kait was already dressed. She swung her legs over the side of the truck and dropped to the ground.
Her boots hit the dirt with a soft crunch.
Neither of them rushed.
They gathered the scattered pieces of themselves in silence.
Blaze found his shirt hanging off the tailgate. Pulled it on still catching his breath.
Kait brushed bits of lumber from the back of her jeans. “Shit.”
“You alright?”
“Yeah, fucking splinter.”
“Here, lemme see.” He said grabbing her hand. “That’s an easy one.”
Blaze squeezed her finger and pulled the splinter out. He gave her hand a quick kiss.
“You’re sweet, Kowboy.”
He let out a hard breath.
“Right back at ya.”
Kait looked at him.
“…Hell of a day.”
He nodded.
“Well… did it help?”
She thought about it.
“More than you know.”
“That was dangerous.”
“Definitely.”
He looked toward the barn, then back at her.
“Guess we better go before we get into more trouble.”
Kait gave the slightest nod.
“Yeah.”
She climbed onto the Kriger and settled her gloves into place.
Blaze kicked his bike to life beside her.
They pulled out of the ranch side by side.
By the time they reached the highway, it was as if the night had never happened.
The chapel was quieter than usual.
Nobody lingered.
Nobody joked.
The news had already reached everyone.
Don waited until the last chair scraped across the floor before standing.
His eyes moved around the room.
“Dulce was found dead this morning.”
Silence.
“Sheriff’s Department’s still ain’t got shit.”
Kait raised her hand slightly.
“I want to look into this.”
Every head turned.
Don looked at her.
“Why?”
“She was a friend of the club.”
She folded her arms.
Don considered it for a moment.
Then shook his head.
“Well… We got our own shit to worry about right now.”
Kait nodded slowly. Not liking what he said.
Don took a slow breath.
“Besides we got a bigger problem.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“The Nest.”
He looked around the room.
“We’re about to lose it.”
Ram sat forward.
“…What?”
Blaze frowned.
“The hell you mean lose it?”
“The bank’s done waiting.”
Don’s voice stayed calm.
“We’ve exhausted every option.”
Nobody spoke.
Kait felt her stomach sink.
“And that was mainly the reason for our trip to Mexico. I wanted to get a loan from Mondragón but he had business proposal instead.”
His sleeve slid up.
White gauze wrapped around his forearm.
Fresh.
Kait looked at it and frowned.
Don looked down instinctively.
He tugged his sleeve back into place.
“We need money. Lots of it and fast.”
“Shit. Ain’t gotta tell me that. That barn is gonna cost over twenty grand by the time it’s all said and done,” Randy chimed in.
Kait thought of the old hotel and knew she was going to need a lot of money to make it happen.
And that morning she told Heidi to lower the asking price for the Denmark clubhouse.
She shook her head.
“Mondragon suggested we started distributing for him.”
“Distributing… what?” Kode asked fearing the worst.
“Just a little weed.”
Some faces went blank.
“That’s fucking wild,” Kolton said.
“How is that gonna work? I ain’t dealing weed like no teenager,” Mack said.
“We’re not hitting the streets. We’re higher on the food chain. Mondragón wants to focus on the prisons anyway, so with Daylate and Buckshort in the system, we can make that happen for him. Besides, can’t forget we’re taking care of their families now, which is also a huge expense for the club. Can’t forget about Huntsville. Kount is doing his best to grow the charter but that also takes money.”
Everyone was quiet thinking.
“You got two days to think about it. Then we vote.”
His eyes settled on each patch one by one.
“Think about what this club and this Nest means to you.”
He looked around.
“We need serious money. And that’s the only way we’re gonna get it right now.”
What really happened to Dulce?
Find out in Sweet Death
