ASHES & PAIN
Chapter 3
SHUT-UP
Kait came down the stairs slower than usual.
Not because she needed to.
Just… no rush.
She walked into the clubhouse.
Boxes were open across the tables. Plastic bins dragged out from storage. Tracy had pulled a string of lights halfway across the wall behind the bar, the rest still coiled on the floor. A fake tree leaned against the far corner, branches still wrapped tight in netting.
Cloud stood on a chair, hooking something up near the ceiling.
Another prospect was at the bar with a box cutter, tearing through tape.
“Morning, Toast.”
Kait gave a small nod and kept moving.
She poured herself a shot. Didn’t see any other patches so she went back out.
Then she saw her.
Loraine was coming out of the garage, cigarette burning slow between her fingers. Beige cardigan, loose, effortless. Like nothing ever touched her. Except Don by the shiner on her right eye she failed to cover with makeup.
“Hi, Kaitydoll.”
Kait didn’t slow.
Didn’t turn around.
She kept walking.
“Kait, hold on.”
Of course.
Kait stopped.
Closed her eyes for a second.
Then turned and crossed her arms.
“What.”
Flat. No effort to soften it.
Loraine smiled faintly, like she’d expected exactly that.
“Just checking in.”
Kait’s eyes flicked over her.
The bruise was fading, but it was there. Just under the eye. Yellowing at the edges, still dark at the center.
Kait tilted her head slightly.
“I heard you fell.”
Loraine took a slow drag off her cigarette.
Then she exhaled, calm, dismissive.
“Clumsy night.”
Like it meant nothing.
Like it always meant nothing.
Kait held her gaze a second longer than necessary.
Then looked away.
“Got shit to do.”
Loraine stepped up.
“Kolton’s doing very well,” she said, casual. “Better than expected, actually. Got his physical therapy reports. He’s doing great.”
Kait didn’t respond.
Didn’t even look back at her.
“Strong recovery,” Loraine continued. “He’s been… focused. Thanks to you.”
Kait nodded.
Still nothing.
“I noticed he spent the night again.”
“That’s none of your fucking business.”
She said and began walking again.
“You know what time he’s done with therapy?”
“I’m surprised you don’t know. Since nothing escapes you.”
Loraine smirked.
“Oh,” Loraine added, almost like an afterthought. “Melanie called.”
That got her.
Not a full reaction.
Just enough.
Kait’s eyes flicked back.
Loraine watched her carefully now.
“She loves it over there,” she went on. “Settling in nicely.”
A small inhale through Kait’s nose.
“She says Lane’s been great to her.”
There it was.
There it was. Precise. Surgical. Placed exactly where it needed to land.
Kait held her gaze.
Didn’t blink. Didn’t bite.
Then gave a small nod, like she understood exactly what that was.
“Good for her.”
“Right? She’s worked so hard, and now she finally has him all to herself.”
Loraine studied her, maybe waiting for more.
She didn’t get it. The whole reason she was checking in.
“Yeah… Okay, taking off. Oh, and be more careful, Loraine. You’re at that age now where a slip and fall can do a lot of damage.”
Kait turned and headed to the parking lot.
Loraine stayed back and frowned, as if she just remembered who Kait was.
SNAKE EYES BAIL BONDS
The bail bonds was quieter than the Nest.
Kait pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The place was fully decorated for Christmas.
Randy was behind the counter, glasses low on his nose, flipping through a file. Kode sat off to the side in front of the computer with his headphones on.
Kode nodded at her and put his headphones down
Kait glanced around.
“Hey. No one’s at the Nest.”
Randy didn’t even look up. “Yeah.”
A page turned.
“Loraine said she wanted decorations up today,” he added. “So now nobody’s there.”
Kode snorted softly without lifting his eyes from the screen.
Kait raised an eyebrow.
“Figures.”
She moved past the counter, grabbed a stack of files, and set them down near Kode.
She sat on top of the desk, one boot on the floor.
“Anything new?” she asked.
Kode shifted the laptop slightly so she could see. “I guess word’s spreading. Got no one skipping.”
Kait flipped open a file, scanning without really reading.
Just keeping her hands busy.
The door opened behind her.
Harder than it needed to.
A woman walked in fast, already talking before the door shut.
“I need my money back.”
Randy didn’t react. Didn’t rush.
Just looked up slowly.
“What’s going on, ma’am?”
“My dad,” she said, stepping up to the counter. “He got deported. They took him. So y’all need to give me my money back.”
Kait didn’t look up.
Just listened.
Randy leaned back slightly, hands resting on the file in front of him.
“Alright,” he said, calm. “That has nothing to do with the bond.”
“He’s gone. So what am I paying for? What did I pay for if they took him anyway.”
“The bond,” Randy said, steady. “The bond got him out of jail on his criminal case.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” she shot back. “He’s not even here.”
Randy nodded once, like he’d heard it a hundred times.
“Immigration and criminal are two different systems,” he said. “What happened with Immigration doesn’t cancel the bond. Your responsibility is still there.”
“I don’t think so, no way.”
Kait flipped another page.
Still not reading.
Just listening.
“That’s not how this works, we got him out of jail,” Randy replied.
“Well that’s bullshit,” the woman said, voice rising. “I’m not paying for something that doesn’t even matter anymore.”
Kode’s typing slowed.
Kait’s hand stilled on the file.
Randy stayed calm. “It does matter. The bond got him out when he needed it. That’s what you agreed to—”
“I didn’t agree to this,” she cut in. “I didn’t agree for them to throw him out. You people didn’t tell me that.”
Kait closed the file. She crossed her arms and glanced at Kode.
Randy opened his mouth again, still patient. “We don’t get that information. Like I said, it’s two different systems.”
The woman leaned forward, palms flat on the counter. “Well, I’m telling you I’m not paying another dollar, and y’all should give me back what I already paid.”
Silence.
Short.
Tight.
Kait moved before anyone said anything else.
She crossed the space in two steps.
Grabbed the woman by the hair.
Fast.
Controlled.
No hesitation.
The woman gasped. Half scream, half shock.
Kait drove her forward.
Her face hit the desk with a hard, flat crack.
Not full force.
But enough.
Randy and Kode just watched.
Kait kept her grip, forcing the woman’s head slightly to the side so she could speak into her ear.
Voice low.
Clear.
“That bond,” she said, “got your dad out of jail on a criminal case.”
The woman’s hands came up instinctively, grabbing at Kait’s wrist.
Kait didn’t let go.
“Immigration took him after,” she continued. “That has nothing to do with this.”
The woman tried to speak. It came out shaky.
“I—”
Kait tightened her grip just enough to stop her.
“You signed a contract where everything is spelled out for you,” she said.
The woman’s breathing was uneven now.
Fast.
Kait leaned in just a fraction closer.
“So you keep paying. Because if you don’t, I’m gonna break your fucking jaw, and then I’ll go hunt your piece of shit dad myself and throw him back in jail.”
Silence.
Heavy.
“I really need you to understand this before I let you go.”
“I understand.”
Kait let go.
The woman pulled back immediately, stumbling, eyes wide, hands shaking as she touched her face.
No blood.
Just shock.
Randy watched her for a second.
Then slid a paper across the counter like nothing had happened.
“Here’s a payment schedule, ma’am.”
The woman stared at it.
Then at Kait.
Then back at Randy.
She grabbed the paper.
Didn’t say another word.
And left.
The door shut hard behind her.
The room settled again.
“Thought so. Stupid bitch,” said Kait.
Randy and Kode chuckled.
Kait picked up the file again.
Opened it.
Like nothing had happened.
The phone rang and Randy picked up.
“Snake Eyes Bail Bonds, ‘cause jail is hell.”
A pause.
“Sup, son. Yeah,” he looked at Kait. “Toast. Kowboy.”
She grabbed the phone and Blaze told her to head to the ranch.
HEDRICK RANCH
Hedrick Ranch sat quiet in that way only open land could.
No traffic. No neighbors. Just wind moving through dry grass and the distant creak of something loose on a fence line.
Kait rode up fast and cut the engine hard, red dirt under her boots as she swung off the bike.
“You assholes couldn’t wake me up?” she called out, already walking toward them.
Blaze was leaning against the tailgate of an old truck, hat low, arms crossed. Kriket stood nearby, hands in his pockets. Diablo sat on a crate, flipping a knife open and closed without looking at it.
Don stood a little apart from them.
Watching.
Blaze smirked. “We left before all that Christmas shit came out.”
Don looked at her.
“Where’s Prince?”
“Checking in with probation,” Kait said. “Had to go right after therapy.”
Don gave a small nod.
Didn’t ask anything else.
Didn’t need to.
The sound of engines carried in from the road a second later.
Not bikes.
Trucks.
Everyone shifted just enough to acknowledge it.
No one moved.
Two black SUVs rolled up slow, tires cutting through dirt and dust, stopping short of the group.
Doors opened in sequence.
Men stepped out.
Clean.
Controlled.
Not flashy, but not trying to hide anything either.
Santiago Mondragón came out last.
He wasn’t wearing a suit this time.
Black Stetson, a crisp white shirt and blazer, jeans.
His eyes already on Don as his boots hit the ground.
“Donovan,” he said, like a greeting that didn’t need a response.
“Buying some livestock, actually,” he said looking around at the property.
No wasted movement.
Just acknowledgment.
The back of the SUVs opened.
Cases came out.
Long ones.
Heavy.
Handled carefully but not delicately.
Kait’s eyes tracked them without turning her head.
Blaze straightened slightly off the truck.
Diablo stopped flipping the knife.
Santiago gestured toward the cases. “My father sent extra.”
Simple.
Don’s gaze flicked to the cases, then back to him.
“For our friends in Arizona and New Mexico,” Santiago added.
There it was.
Not a suggestion.
A direction.
Don held his look for a second longer than necessary.
Then nodded once.
“Appreciate it.”
No enthusiasm.
No hesitation.
Just acceptance.
Santiago studied him, like he was measuring something that didn’t need to be said out loud.
Then gave a small nod of his own.
The men finished unloading, setting the cases down in a clean line before stepping back.
No one opened them.
Didn’t need to.
Everyone there knew what was inside.
“Well, I wish I could stay and chat but two dozen full blood Wagyu bulls are a lot of paperwork. See y’all later.”
Santiago got in the SUV and tipped his hat.
Doors shut.
Engines turned.
Dust kicked up again as the SUVs pulled away.
Silence settled back over the ranch.
Heavier this time.
Blaze let out a low breath through his nose. “That’s a lot of hardware.”
Kriket didn’t respond.
Diablo just looked at the cases, then at Don.
Kait nodded.
Don stepped forward slightly, eyes still on the road where the SUVs had disappeared.
Then he turned back to them.
“Good. I’ll sort them out before the next run. I’ll be at the Burn Barrel later,” he said. “Ram and Mack are coming too.”
Casual.
Like it wasn’t tied to anything that had just happened.
“Who’s going.”
No pressure.
No order.
Just the question.
Blaze shook his head immediately. “I’m good. That’s shit’s too wild for a country boy.”
He pushed off the truck, adjusting his hat. “Y’all can keep that place.”
Diablo smirked faintly. “Place is a dump but they play the best music.”
Kait spoke before anyone else could.
“I’ll go.”
No hesitation.
Don’s eyes landed on her.
Just for a second.
Reading.
Weighing.
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” said Kait with a shrug.
He gave a small nod.
“Alright.”
Diablo shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll ride out.”
Blaze chuckled under his breath. “Have fun with that.”
Kait didn’t react.
Didn’t smile.
Didn’t explain.
Her eyes dropped briefly to the cases lined up in the dirt.
Then back up.
Choice made.
And she was already moving with it.
They didn’t head straight there.
Not immediately.
Don made a stop first. Short. Quiet. One of those places that didn’t have a sign and didn’t need one. They didn’t stay long. Just long enough to score some coke for the night.
No one asked questions.
Kait didn’t either.
She leaned against her bike while they handled it, arms crossed, watching the way Don moved. The way everyone adjusted around him without being told.
“Don’t tell Kolton on me,” said Don and laughed.
When they got back on the road, the sun was already dropping.
Engines steady.
No talking.
Just miles getting eaten up under them.
By the time the Burn Barrel came into view, it was already alive.
Lights on.
Cars and bikes packed in.
Phobia blasting out into the dirt lot before they even killed the engines.
“Best music. Told ya,” said Diablo pointing at the air and already headbanging.
Kait swung off her bike, already feeling it in her chest.
That pull.
They walked in together.
The noise hit first.
Loud, thick, bodies packed in tight. Smoke hanging low. Music heavy enough to sit in your ribs.
Same place.
Different now.
Don didn’t waste time.
A girl was already at his side before they even reached the table. He said something low to her, hand at her back, and she followed without question.
Straight toward the hallway.
Kait watched him go.
Not surprised.
Diablo dropped into a chair, stretching his legs out. “cut it up,” he said, nodding toward the table.
Ram took out the baggy.
Kait grabbed a beer from the bucket as soon as Mack set it on the table.
“Save some for Don,” Mack said as he watched Ram cut up the coke.
“Toast, you down?” asked Ram after he did the first line.
“Fuck yeah,” she said and took the rolled-up dollar bill.
It had been a while since she’d done coke, so she forgot the way it felt going up her nose and down her throat.
She chased it with another long drink.
The room shifted slightly as more people noticed them.
Girls began to hover.
A few minutes later Don came back to the table, and they took turns doing lines.
Kait was mainly hanging out with Diablo while the other made out with girls and drank.
Suddenly, Harvey —Chrome Union president— came over to their table.
Big, easy smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“We got visitors… Westfall,” he said, spreading his arms slightly like he was welcoming them into his house.
“Harvey, what’s happening,” said Don and they shook hands.
“Shame about the Alley,” Harvey added, glancing between them. “Real shame.”
He looked around the table and gave the other Krait a nod.
“You boys help yourselves tonight. My girls are… open.”
Like he was offering a drink.
Like it meant nothing.
“Not sure what I can offer the lady,” he said looking at Kait.
“I’m all set, thanks.”
Kait’s eyes moved past him.
And landed on them.
Murphy.
Durst.
Both still marked up.
Bruises fading, but not gone. Split lip on one, discoloration across the cheek on the other.
They didn’t look away.
Didn’t pretend.
Just stared right back.
A slight lift at the corner of her mouth.
Not a smile.
Not quite.
But close enough.
She didn’t hide it fast enough.
Durst saw it.
Murphy too.
Something passed between them.
Not loud.
Not obvious.
But there.
Harvey was still talking to Don, something about drinks, about business, about making themselves comfortable.
Kait wasn’t listening anymore.
Her focus stayed locked where it was.
Murphy shifted his weight slightly.
Durst’s eyes dragged over her slower than they should’ve.
Chrome Union started thinning out after a while, peeling off in groups, leaving the place looser, less structured.
Krait stayed.
Held their ground.
Kait drank more than she needed to.
More than she usually did.
Didn’t care.
Didn’t slow down.
Everything felt a little softer around the edges.
Not enough to dull it.
Line after line until she was numb.
Just enough to make it easier.
She pushed off the table eventually, not saying anything, heading toward the hallway.
Cannibal Corpse got louder back there.
Somehow.
She barely made it halfway down before they stepped out.
Murphy first.
Durst right behind him.
Blocking the rest of the way.
Kait stopped.
Didn’t step back.
Didn’t speak.
Scoffed.
Murphy moved in fast.
Grabbed her.
Hard.
Hand fisting into her jacket, slamming her back into the wall.
The air left her in a short breath.
Durst closed in immediately, crowding her space, one hand already on her, sliding between her thighs.
“There you are,” he said low, breath too close.
Murphy brought the knife up.
Not pressed yet.
Just there.
Enough.
“We’ve been thinking about this all week,” he added.
Kait didn’t fight.
Didn’t panic.
Her pulse kicked up, but not from fear.
From something else.
Something sharper.
Durst’s hand moved again, slower this time.
Deliberate.
“We’re gonna take our time with you,” he murmured.
Kait’s head tipped slightly to the side.
Eyes half-lidded.
Watching them.
Measuring.
For a second…
She considered it.
Almost leaned into it.
Just to see where it would go.
Then—
A click behind them.
Soft.
But loud enough.
“Get the fuck off my girl.”
Durst froze.
Murphy’s grip tightened once before loosening just slightly.
Kait’s eyes flicked past them.
Kolton stood a few feet back.
Gun up.
Pressed right to the back of Durst’s neck.
No shake.
No hesitation.
Durst raised his hands slowly.
Murphy followed.
Knife lowering.
“Oh, shit, Prince,” Durst said, voice measured now. “Didn’t know she was yours.”
Kolton didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
“Now you do.”
A beat.
Heavy.
Then Murphy stepped back first.
Durst followed.
Hands still up for a second longer before dropping.
They backed off just enough to clear space.
But they didn’t leave.
Didn’t look away.
Their eyes stayed on Kait.
Not angry.
Not scared.
Something else.
Something that said this wasn’t finished.
Not even close.
Kait pushed off the wall slowly.
Straightened.
Didn’t say a word.
Didn’t thank him.
Didn’t acknowledge him at all.
Her gaze stayed locked on them.
Durst’s mouth twitched slightly.
Murphy tilted his head just a fraction.
Next time.
It was all there.
No words needed.
Kolton didn’t lower the gun right away.
He waited until Durst and Murphy were fully back.
Until there was space again.
Then he stepped in closer, eyes still on them for a second longer before finally looking at her.
“You good, baby?” he asked.
Kait looked at him.
The way he stood.
The way his jaw was set.
The way he didn’t hesitate.
Something in her shifted.
He never looked hotter.
“So… I’m yours now?”
“I didn’t mean it like—”
“Shut up.”
She grabbed him by the front of his kutte.
Pulled him with her.
No explanation.
Just movement.
Kolton barely had time to put away the pistol before she pushed the bathroom door open and dragged him inside.
The door slammed shut behind them.
The noise from outside dulled instantly.
Close.
Tight.
Filthy.
Kait didn’t give him a second to ask anything.
Her hands were already on him, pulling him down, her mouth on his.
Hard.
Hungry.
No buildup.
No hesitation.
Kolton caught up fast.
Hands on her waist, then lower, then everywhere, pulling her in like he was afraid she’d change her mind.
The kiss turned rough quick.
Teeth.
Breath.
Pressure.
Kait pushed him back into the door, the wood thudding behind him, and for a second she just held him there, gripping him like she needed to feel something real.
Kolton’s hands tightened on her, grounding it, matching her, not questioning it.
She winced.
“Shit, I’m so sorry.”
She only shook her head and they kept going.
Just taking it.
Giving it back.
The space was too small for anything slow.
Everything pressed.
Close.
Urgent.
Kait’s head tipped back for a second, breath catching, and Kolton was right there, mouth at her neck, her jaw, pulling a reaction out of her she didn’t bother hiding.
That edge from the hallway hadn’t gone anywhere.
It was still there.
Still buzzing under her skin.
And this—
This fed it.
Gave it shape.
Gave it somewhere to go.
Kolton bent her over the sink, steady, sure, like he knew exactly how she wanted it.
Like the other night at the clubhouse.
No hesitation.
No pulling back.
Just taking control.
The bathroom felt smaller by the second.
Hotter.
Louder in a different way.
Every movement sharper.
Every breath heavier.
Kait didn’t think about anything, but at the same time she just wanted it to be over.
Kolton held her down when it was over, hands still on her hips to regain his senses.
Kait stayed.
Catching her breath.
Her wound was pretty pissed off again. It burned like hell.
Then she broke contact and Kolton held on to the wall.
No smile.
No softness.
But something in her had settled.
That’ll do for the night.
She fixed her clothes without a hurry.
Then reached for the door.
Like nothing had happened.
“My hero,” she said, and walked out.
NEXT MORNING
The knock on the door was light.
He didn’t wait long.
“Kait?” he said in a low voice, and pushed the door open.
The room was dim.
Curtains still drawn.
Kait was out. Curled up. Half of her body on the bed.
She’d dropped wherever she landed.
On her side, just in her panties, nothing else.
Kolton stood there a second longer than he meant to.
Something about it didn’t sit right.
Not the way she looked.
The way she didn’t care.
He stepped in and shut the door quietly behind him.
Walked over.
Sat on the edge of the bed.
She didn’t stir.
His eyes dropped to the bandage first.
Still there.
Still clean enough, but the skin around it looked red.
He reached out, brushed his fingers lightly along her back.
Slow.
Careful.
Kait shifted.
A small breath.
Then she rolled over, slow, like she was surfacing from somewhere deep.
Her eyes opened halfway.
Found him.
No startle.
No tension.
“Hey.”
Rough voice. Sleep-heavy.
Kolton leaned in without thinking and kissed her.
Soft at first.
Then a little firmer when she didn’t pull away.
When he pulled back, he stayed close.
Studying her. His hand found its way to her breasts.
“You okay?” he asked.
This time it wasn’t casual.
It wasn’t a throwaway.
There was something behind it.
Actual concern.
Kait looked at him for a second.
Long enough to register it.
Then her hand came up, sliding behind his neck, pulling him back down.
Deflection.
Clean.
Immediate.
Kolton caught himself halfway.
Pulled back just enough to look at her again.
“Baby,” he said. “Last night you seemed—”
She didn’t let him finish.
Shifted under him, rolling fully onto her back, pulling him with her.
Close.
Too close to keep talking.
Her other hand pressed against his chest, guiding him down, not forcing, just… insisting.
Kolton hesitated.
Just for a second.
Long enough to know what she was doing.
Long enough to recognize it.
But she was already there.
Already pulling him in.
Already taking the space where the answer should’ve been.
He was no match for her.
He gave in instantly.
Huntsville
Lane was in the garage when the phone rang.
Wrench in hand. Engine half-open. Haunting Me was in mid-chorus when he turned the radio down.
He didn’t rush to it.
Didn’t expect anything worth answering.
Then he saw the number.
He wiped his hand on his jeans and picked up.
“Yeah.”
Don didn’t waste time.
“I’ve got something here for ya.”
Lane leaned back slightly against the workbench.
“What kind of something.”
“A truck,” Don said. “Clean. Already set.”
A pause.
“I’m throwing in some hardware too.”
Lane’s mouth curved slightly.
“Did you get a special delivery.”
“Yep, very special. Come down,” Don replied. “I’ll walk you through it.”
Lane’s eyes flicked toward the open garage door.
Toward the road.
Toward Dryden.
“When. Today?”
“Sure, why the hell not.”
Click.
Call ended.
Lane stood there for a second.
Then he reached into his kutte.
Left side.
Inside pocket.
Pulled the photo out.
Kait.
Worn at the edges now.
He stared at it longer than he meant to.
Thumb brushing across it once.
Like he could smooth something out that wasn’t there anymore.
Then he exhaled.
Sharp.
“Fuck…”
But there was something else under it.
Something tighter.
He was nervous.
Because going to Dryden meant probably seeing Kait.
And he wasn’t ready for that.
interstate 10 - west
Kait sat up front, elbow against the door, eyes on the road but not really watching it.
In the back, Kriket had his boots up on the opposite seat, leaning back like he’d done this drive a hundred times.
Cloud sat across from him, already halfway through a cigarette he’d just lit, window cracked just enough to keep the smoke moving out.
Ryan, the other prospect sat next to him.
Straight-backed.
Too straight.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The pen moved fast between his fingers.
Thumb hitting the top over and over again.
Click.
Kriket glanced at him once.
The pen moved fast between his fingers.
Thumb hitting the top over and over again.
Click.
Kriket glanced at him once.
“Ramirez, put on the rock station, man. Or some country. We’ve been listening to this shit since we left.”
“We’re going to New Mexico. So we need to get in the mood. When we go to Tennessee, you can bring all your CDs.”
Kriket clicked his tongue.
Kait giggled.
Cloud exhaled smoke, watching it drift.
“So how’d this even start?” he asked, like they’d already been talking about it for a while. “The club.”
Kait didn’t answer right away.
She shifted slightly in her seat, still looking ahead.
“Overseas,” she said after a second. “Covert work in Cambodia.”
Cloud raised a brow. “All of them?”
“Sorta,” Kait replied. “Don, Phil, and Randy were deployed together, from here. Klaus and Rokkstar met them there.”
Cloud let out a low whistle.
“Shit.”
Click.
Click.
Ryan didn’t miss a beat.
Kait continued, tone even.
“They kept in touch after. Then Klaus and Rokkstar came out to Texas.”
Kriket nodded once, like that tracked.
“And that’s it?” Cloud asked. “They just… started it?”
Ram’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Don got bit.”
That got a look.
“Bit?” Cloud said. “By what.”
Kait finally glanced back.
“A fucking snake. Black and white banded common krait. Just like the one on our backs.”
Ram looked back.
“Well, not theirs, cause they’re nothing right now.”
“That’s fucked up,” Kait said.
Click.
Cloud’s eyes were open wide. smirked faintly. “Like, for real he got bit?”
“Yeah, for real. The fuck you mean,” snapped Ram.
Kriket laughed. He remembered those days.
“Toast got bit twice,” said Kriket.
“Holy shit,” said Ryan.
Kait remembered the second time she got bitten.
The chapel.
Lane.
“Toast,” said Cloud behind her.
She snapped out of it finding his face right over her shoulder.
“Let me see the bitemarks.”
She pulled her sleeves down and showed him the four silver dots.
“Fucking sick,” said Cloud.
“They formed after that,” Kait said coming back to the conversation. “All five of them. The Bungarus Bunch.”
She didn’t need to list them.
Didn’t need to explain more.
It sat there.
Heavy in a different way.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Ram finally glanced in the rearview.
Just his eyes.
“Hey.”
Ryan didn’t stop.
Click.
Ram tilted his head slightly.
“Yo, Click.”
That did it.
Ryan froze for a second.
Looked up.
“…yeah?”
Kriket let out a short laugh under his breath.
Cloud grinned, shaking his head.
“Man…”
Ram’s mouth pulled just slightly at the corner.
“Pay attention. You get quizzed by Don and you don’t know this shit… you’re fucked.”
Ryan nodded quickly.
“Yes, sir.”
Click.
He caught himself mid-press.
Stopped.
Held the pen still in his hand.
The van kept moving.
dryden
Lane rode in with Trace and Koa later that day.
Didn’t slow down until he had to.
Didn’t look around like he missed it.
Didn’t act like anything was different beside the Christmas decorations.
But his eyes tracked everything.
Automatically.
Instinct.
The Nest.
The lot.
The movement.
Looking for her even after not seeing her bike in the lot.
Kolton was the one who caught him first.
“Holy shit, man, what’s up,” he said, walking up with a grin.
Lane killed the engine.
“Hey. You’re up.”
Kolton chuckled.
“Yeah, feeling much better.”
They clasped hands.
Pulled in quick.
Brother to brother.
“About time you show up,” Kolton said.
“Had shit to handle. Let me see it.”
Kolton took his baseball cap off showing off the scar.
“Can’t even tell. Lose the hat, you look like a toddler.”
Kolton laughed lightly. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Come on, man. Let’s have a beer. Don should be here in a few.”
They headed to the bar and made small talk.
“So what’s going on,” Lane said looking around at the Christmas decorations hoping not to bump into Loraine.
Kolton leaned against the counter.
“Same shit,” he said. “Runs, movement… things are picking up. I’m doing the Roma run today with Blaze, Kode and Mack.”
“Yeah? Where’s everyone else at?”
“Don sent Ram, Kait, and Kriket to New Mex.”
That hit him like a semi truck.
“Really?”
“Yeah, they’re taking some supplies over, they’ll be gone for a couple of days.”
“No shit,” he said taking a drink of his beer.
“Yeah.”
“Well, you look healthier.”
“Yeah, I stopped all that shit. Can’t anyway… I get random piss tests with probation.”
“Right… How’s Kyle doing?”
“Good, man. Had a blast during Thanksgiving break, he thought he stopped going to school.”
Lane chuckled.
“Wait ‘til winter break comes.”
“He’ll go out of his mind. Especially now that Loraine set up his room in the other house.”
Lane’s gaze shifted back to him.
“You moved back?”
“Yeah, since last week. Tried to get Kait to move in, but…”
Kolton kept going.
Casual.
Too casual.
“But what,” Lane said before taking another drink.
“Shit’s been kinda weird with her.”
“Like how?”
“She’s been different. Running hot and cold.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s… complicated… But we’ve been figuring it out.”
Kolton smirked again, shaking his head slightly.
“Sex is insane, though. She just gets wild. It doesn’t matter where… The other night, we were at the Burn Barrel—”
“I don’t need details.”
Kolton smirked.
“My bad. Just saying.”
Lane’s jaw tightened.
Just a fraction.
Barely visible.
But it royally pissed him off.
He looked away.
“At least she let me spend the night every once in—”
Lane had enough.
“Where you say Don was?”
“Hey!” said Don walking in as if on cue.
huntsville - later
It was almost two a.m. when Lane got back.
Later than it should’ve been.
The place was dark. Quiet. No movement.
He didn’t go inside.
He went straight to the garage.
Shut the door behind him.
He moved on autopilot.
Fridge.
Door open.
Cold air spilling out.
He opened the freezer and stuck his head in for a couple of seconds before slamming it shut hard enough to make the entire fridge shake.
He grabbed the first bottle he saw and chugged.
The burn hit fast.
Didn’t slow him down.
Another pull.
Then another.
He set the bottle down harder than he needed to, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and reached over to the small boombox and pressed play.
The Downward Spiral still on random.
Diablo forgot to take it out, or did he?
I Do Not Want This came on.
Loud enough.
He dropped into the chair by the workbench.
Elbows on his knees.
Bottle hanging loose in his hand.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t think.
Not really.
Just sat there and let it press in.
Time slipped.
Didn’t matter how much.
The knock came soft.
Barely there.
He didn’t answer.
The door opened anyway.
Melanie stepped in, closing it gently behind her.
She took a second, like she was reading the room before saying anything.
“You need anything?” she asked quietly. “You eat?”
No response.
She stepped a little closer.
“How was the trip?”
Nothing.
Lane didn’t look at her.
Didn’t acknowledge her.
Just lifted the bottle again.
Drank.
it was starting to hit him now.
Melanie hesitated.
Then moved closer anyway.
“Kount…”
Softer now.
Concern creeping in.
The next song started and Lane closed his eye.
He knew that song.
He remember the electronic drops coming down before the machinery sound hit.
Reptile came on.
Lane closed his eyes and laughed to himself.
The song Kait danced at the Alley.
He remembered the way she moved.
Then he pulled her off the stage.
The first time he kissed her.
“Everything okay? Did something—”
He moved.
Fast.
He moved.
Fast.
Caught Melanie’s wrist.
Pulled.
She lost her balance, stumbling forward, hands landing against him to steady herself.
Right against his thighs.
The shift was abrupt enough to knock the rest of her words out.
She looked up at him.
Surprised.
Searching.
Lane didn’t say anything.
Didn’t explain.
His grip tightened just enough to keep her there.
Controlled.
Deliberate.
There was nothing gentle about it.
Nothing careful.
Melanie didn’t resist.
Didn’t fight him. How could she…
“Did something happen?”
He let go of her and unzipped his pants.
She looked up at him.
“You really want me to…”
Lane rolled his eyes.
“Just shut up.”
She adjusted where she was, like she understood what he wanted without needing to hear it.
Lane leaned back slightly in the chair, took a long drink and looked up at the ceiling.
Just using the moment.
Using her.
The song kept playing.
Kait was with Kolton again.
But his feelings were the same.
His anger was the same.
