FIRE & RUIN
Chapter 10
THIS MEANS WAR
Night settled heavy over the Nest.
Kait rolled in slow, engine low under her, gravel crunching soft beneath the tires. The place was quieter than usual—most of the bikes gone, the lot open in a way it rarely was.
She killed the engine.
Silence.
For a second, she just sat there.
Hands still on the grips.
Helmet on.
Lane’s voice still sitting in her head saying everything’s changed.
Her jaw tightened.
She pulled the helmet off, set it on the tank, swung her leg over, and stood.
Then she saw it.
The Battleborn.
Parked up front.
Didn’t belong there this late unless there was church.
Kait’s eyes flicked to the front office.
Light on.
Door closed.
Then it opened as if on cue.
Don stepped out.
He paused when he saw her—just for a second. Not big. Not obvious.
But enough.
Didn’t expect her.
His eyes moved over the lot once, quick, like he was checking what wasn’t there as much as what was.
Then back to her.
“You’re done already?”
Kait shrugged, casual.
“The boys got it. I wasn’t feeling it tonight.”
Don studied her a second longer than he needed to.
Not pushing.
Not yet.
Then he gave a small nod.
“Yeah.”
A beat.
He shifted, hooking a thumb back toward the office.
“Hey, this is actually great timing. Can I talk to you for a sec before you take off?”
Kait didn’t hesitate.
“Sure.”
Don stepped aside, holding the door.
She walked past him into the front office.
The door closed behind them.
The office smelled like whiskey breath and cigarettes.
Dim light. Desk lamp on. Everything else shadowed.
Kait stepped in, looked around, didn’t sit.
Don moved behind the desk and sat down slowly keeping eye contact.
“You good?”
Kait gave a small nod.
“Yeah.”
Silence stretched.
She already knew where this was going.
Don exhaled through his nose, like he was choosing his words.
“Lane came to me.”
There it was.
Kait didn’t react.
Didn’t move.
Don’s eyes stayed on her.
“He said things have been… off. With you and Kolton.”
A pause.
“He mentioned the fights. The blow’s got him crazy again. All that shit.”
Another beat.
Don shifted slightly, jaw tightening just enough to notice.
“He also said that last night—”
He stopped himself.
Looked at her like he didn’t want to say it wrong.
“Kolton went into your room and… I don’t want to say he tried to take advantage of you, but…”
Kait cut him off.
“It’s handled.”
Flat. Clean.
Don didn’t respond right away.
Just watched her.
Kait held his gaze.
“There’s no problem there,” she said.
A beat.
“And I’m not here to make any, Don. I’m not trying to have any beef with another member.”
That landed.
Don’s expression didn’t change much—but something in it sharpened.
Kait kept going before he could step in.
“So, I got my own place, and I’ll be moving out soon.”
Silence.
Longer this time.
Don leaned back just a fraction, studying her like she’d just shifted the board.
“What. No,” he said.
Not loud.
Not harsh.
Kait didn’t move.
“We’re not doing that.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Don straightened, voice still even.
“You don’t need to be leaving the Nest. I’ll have a talk with him, and it will be handled.”
A beat.
“We don’t solve our problems by leaving them.”
Kait held his gaze.
Didn’t back down.
“It’s not a problem,” she said. “That’s the point. That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”
Another silence.
Don watched her a second longer, then nodded once—slow.
Like he heard her.
Didn’t agree.
“I’ll take care of Kolton,” he said.
Calm. Controlled.
Business.
“You don’t need to change anything on your end. And I’ll do you a solid, I’ll move your spot on the table. Put you next to Klaus. Switch with Kowboy.”
Kait didn’t answer right away.
The room sat heavy between them.
Two different decisions.
One conversation.
Not settled.
THE DIRTY ALLEY - LATER
Last call had come and gone.
The Dirty Alley was thinning out—music still hitting, but looser now, messier. Girls rotating off stage. Lights harsher than they’d been an hour ago.
Out back, the air was cooler.
Lane stepped out first, helmet already in his hand.
Blaze followed, rolling his shoulders, glancing back toward the door like he could still hear the place breathing behind it.
“Well, that was a given. She had us at ‘fangs’” Blaze said.
Lane didn’t look at him and got his gloves on.
“Fucking freak. Glad that shit’s over.”
“So, she just bounced or what?”
“Who.”
Blaze gave him a look.
“Toast.”
A beat.
Lane didn’t react.
Just swung a leg over his bike.
“I guess.”
Blaze watched him a second longer, then walked up to his own.
“She’s probably all pissed off. Why’d you pull her off like that?”
Lane didn’t answer right away.
Helmet went on.
Strap tightened.
“She was about to make a mistake,” he said.
Blaze paused.
“Yeah?”
Lane adjusted his gloves, jaw tight.
“She’s a full patch,” he went on. “Can’t be doing that shit wearing colors. Last thing we need is even more rumors about the snake girl. As if we didn’t have enough. Now they’re gonna say we patch in Dirty Alley strippers.”
Blaze just stared at him.
Didn’t say anything.
Lane kept going anyway.
“We got Krait Day around the corner, we’re gonna have all our chapters in town and we’re gonna have to explain that shit to them too now. You know how fast that shit travels.”
He cut himself off, shook his head once.
“Not happening.”
Silence.
Blaze leaned against his bike, studying him.
“Yeah?”
Lane didn’t look at him.
“That’s why you pulled her off? Cause the Krait MC Bible says ‘Thou shalt not shake your ass on stage’? That what you’re sayin’?”
A beat.
Lane didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
Blaze’s expression shifted—just a little.
Something clicking into place.
He pushed off his bike, swung his leg over.
“Alright.”
Engine turned over.
Lane’s followed a second later.
Neither of them said anything else.
They pulled out of the Alley lot, engines cutting through the quiet street.
And whatever Blaze had just figured out—
He kept to himself.
THE NEST
The shouting cut through the Nest like a blade.
Kait’s eyes snapped open.
Not engines.
Not late-night noise.
This was different.
Voices. Sharp. Overlapping. Movement—heavy, fast, wrong.
Something crashing.
A grunt.
Another voice, louder.
She was already sitting up.
Door open.
Cold air hit her as she stepped out into the hallway, then onto the railing.
She looked down—
And froze.
Don had Kolton on the ground.
Fist driving down.
Again.
Again.
No hesitation. No holding back.
Kolton barely had his hands up.
Didn’t even look like he was fighting it.
Lane and Klaus were on Don now, trying to pull him off.
“King!”
“Alright!”
Don shook one of them off, went in again.
Another hit.
Buster and Mack came in from the side, grabbing hold, adding weight, forcing space between them.
Kolton rolled, coughing, trying to get air.
More doors opened.
Bootsteps on concrete and gravel.
People stepping out, looking down.
Kait’s eyes shifted.
To the side.
Tracy and Alejandra
Hands over their mouths.
Soon Melanie joined them looking over their shoulders.
Kait looked back down.
Don was still fighting to get at him.
Not yelling.
Not saying a word.
Just trying to get loose.
That was worse.
Kait turned back inside.
Boots on. No hesitation.
She moved fast down the stairs, the noise getting louder with every step.
By the time she hit the courtyard, the air was thick.
Voices low now, tight.
Kolton was on his side, blood at his mouth, trying to sit up.
Lane stood a few feet away, chest rising steady, eyes locked on him.
Don had been pulled back.
Still.
Watching.
Kait’s gaze moved towards the lot. It was empty.
No truck.
Her stomach dropped.
She moved without thinking, cutting through the bodies, stopping behind Diablo.
Grabbed his arm.
“Diablo, what happened.”
Diablo didn’t look at her right away.
Eyes still on the scene.
“Shit, Toast. We got hit.”
Kait’s grip tightened.
“What?”
“Reyes got us right after Falfurrias,” Diablo said. “Fuckin’ Severino.”
Diablo finally looked at her, jaw set.
“They boxed us in out on the road.”
Kait didn’t move.
“The shot up the truck,” he went on. “Driver didn’t make it.”
“Fuck.”
Diablo exhaled once through his nose.
“Then Severino’s sick ass—”
Kait’s jaw tightened.
Diablo looked down for a moment.
“He chopped the driver’s head off and drew a line of blood right down the middle of the road.”
Kait felt it settle heavy in her chest.
“Clear fucking message,” Diablo added. “If we cross that line…”
The courtyard felt smaller.
Quieter.
Kait didn’t ask anything else.
She didn’t need to.
Her eyes flicked once more to the empty lot—
Then back to the men.
Across the courtyard, through the noise and movement, she found Lane.
He was already looking at her.
Neither of them moved.
“Alright,” Don said and they let him go.
His voice cut through everything.
He stepped forward, eyes moving once across the courtyard, taking inventory.
“I need a line to Mondragón.”
Don didn’t wait.
“Mack—you’re in charge. I want you here ready for anything.”
Mack nodded once.
Don’s gaze shifted back to the group.
“Nobody leaves the Nest.”
He looked at everyone again.
“Nobody.”
That settled in.
No one argued.
No one moved.
Behind him, Kolton groaned as the girls got to him, lifting him up, pulling him toward one of the rooms. Buster went with them, unsteady, still pale.
Don didn’t look back.
“Kode—head to Snake Eyes. I want chatter. Radios. Everything you hear over on that area.”
Kode gave a quick nod, already halfway to the parking lot.
Don’s eyes landed on Lane.
Then Klaus.
“You’re with me.”
He didn’t wait for a response.
Turned.
Walked toward the office.
And they followed.
The office door shut cutting the noise outside.
Don went straight to the desk, opened the drawer, pulled out the StarTAC.
Flipped it open.
Dialed.
He stayed standing.
One ring.
Two.
Three—
A click.
“¿Bueno?”
Voice low. Awake now.
“Néstor.”
A beat.
“…Donovan.”
Don didn’t sit.
“We got hit tonight.”
Silence.
“What happened.”
Don didn’t dress it up.
“Got ambushed by Reyes del Camino MC. The ones who work for Talamantes. They ambushed the truck. Killed your driver.”
Another pause.
“They’ll hit every run. They made it clear.”
Silence stretched.
“The Brothers expect this to keep going, we can’t stop this now, Donovan. We were so close.” Néstor said.
Don didn’t blink.
“Then do your part.”
A beat.
“What do you mean?”
“I need resources and I need intel. You find out what Talamantes is planning from over there. Is he sending men? Is he moving resources? I need to know before it hits my backyard.”
Silence.
Don’s voice stayed level.
“This is your business. If you want it back on track, help me take these guys down. Get your people moving, and find me something I can use, especially firepower.”
“I’ll get on that. But right now, let me get in touch with Tijuana, let them know what happened… and see about another truck.”
“Alright.”
Another beat.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
The line clicked.
Don closed the phone.
Set it down.
Then he looked at Lane.
Then Klaus.
“Get ready.”
The clubhouse was dim.
Only a couple lights on.
Everything else sat in shadow.
No music.
No one drinking.
Just bodies spread out across stools and chairs, waiting.
Kait sat at the end of the bar.
She hadn’t moved much since coming in.
Across from her, Blaze leaned back in his chair, arms loose, eyes moving between the others.
Kriket sat off to the side, cast propped up on the table, jaw tight.
Mack stood near the bar, not sitting, hands braced on the counter.
Diablo was a few feet away, back against the wall.
Buster sat hunched over, forearms on his knees, staring at the floor.
Silence held for a while.
Then Blaze looked at Mack.
“So what the hell happened out there.”
Mack didn’t answer right away.
Just exhaled once, slow.
“They boxed us in,” he said. “Clean. Front and back. They brought in their cholo friends with that stupid lowrider.”
Kait didn’t look at him.
Just listened.
“Truck never had a chance,” Mack went on. “Soon as we stopped, they were already stepping in.”
Buster swallowed hard.
Kriket shifted in his seat.
“And Kolton?”
That got a look from Mack.
Short.
Not friendly.
“Man, he was all over the place,” Mack said. “Don’t get me started on that motherfucker.”
Blaze scoffed under his breath.
“No shit.”
Kait’s eyes flicked up.
Mack kept going.
“High out of his goddamned mind.”
Buster shook his head, still staring down.
“He was wired the fuck up,” he said. “Almost fought us at the truck stop for pointing it out. He was acting like a fucking asshole.”
Diablo let out a short breath through his nose.
“Yep.”
“Good thing Don got to him first,” he said. “’Cause after hearing this, Kount would have—”
He didn’t finish.
Didn’t need to.
Diablo pushed off the wall slightly, arms crossing.
“He earned that shit,” he said.
Flat.
Kait finally spoke.
“You said he took the driver’s head with him?”
Mack and Buster nodded slowly.
“Carried it like a football,” Diablo said.
“Sick fuck,” Ram said.
“When did you get here?” Asked Blaze.
Ram shuttered.
“Sick fuck. That’s the shit my tíos used to do.”
Then the double doors swung open.
Everyone looked up.
Lane stepped in. Face set. No hesitation.
“We’re setting a meet with Alacrán,” he said.
Straight to it.
“Mack, Diablo, you’re coming with.”
Mack pushed off the bar without a word.
Diablo was already moving.
Lane’s eyes swept the room once.
“We’re having church when we get back.”
A beat.
“Stay up.”
No one argued.
No one asked anything.
Lane stepped back out.
The doors shut behind him.
And the room went quiet again.
The room broke apart without anyone saying anything.
Mack and Diablo were already gone.
Kriket pushed himself up slower, adjusting his cast, heading outside.
Buster stayed seated a second longer, then followed, quiet.
Melanie and Tracy slipped inside and went to the kitchen, already moving with purpose.
Lights flicked on.
Coffee pot filled.
Burners clicked.
The low rhythm of morning starting early.
Kait stayed where she was.
Still at the end of the bar.
Blaze lingered.
Watched her a second.
Then walked over, dragging a chair around, dropping into it across from her.
“Sup, purdy lady?”
Kait nodded once.
“Sup, Kowboy?”
Blaze leaned forward, forearms on his knees.
“You good? Still don’t know what happened at the Alley.”
Kait didn’t look at him.
“Nothing,” she said with a small shrug.
Blaze let that sit.
Then shook his head lightly.
“Nah.”
A beat.
“Lane was all kinds of upset you were up there.”
Kait exhaled through her nose.
“One of the girls took off. I just stepped in and tried to make the club some money in the process but… I guess, I can’t.”
Blaze watched her.
“Yeah, he wouldn’t have it. Ain’t it strange?”
Kait didn’t react.
“They were all thinking he was a jealous boyfriend or something,” Blaze said chuckling.
A small pause.
Kait finally looked at him.
“Please.”
Blaze held her gaze.
“Serious. They were saying that.”
She shook her head.
“Alright.”
He didn’t push.
Didn’t need to.
“Wanna know who won?”
“I know who won,” Kait said. “Daphne with those fangs.”
“Damn straight! But who knows, if Kount would’ve let you do your thing, ain’t no fangs that could’ve beat whatever you were doing up there. God almighty.”
Kait looked away shaking her head and covering her face.
Kowboy laughed and soon she started laughing too.
Brews N’ Crews sat closed to the world.
Lights low. Doors locked.
No civilians. No noise.
Just the hum of the place holding its breath.
Chugs stood behind the bar.
Hands still.
Eyes down.
The door opened.
Don walked in first.
Lane behind him.
Klaus.
Kuttes on. Weapons on. No rush.
They crossed the floor and took the center table.
Didn’t sit right away.
Then the other door opened.
Alacrán.
Severino.
Roque.
Same pace.
Same weight.
They took the opposite side.
Everyone sat.
Chugs moved once—set glasses down.
Went back behind the counter.
Silence settled.
Don looked at Alacrán.
“I thought we settled Falfurrias.”
A beat.
Alacrán gave a small nod.
“You got the town.”
Silence.
“Not everything that runs through it.”
Don leaned forward just enough.
“This coming from Talamantes?”
A beat.
Alacrán gave a small shrug.
“You got your orders. We got ours.”
Another beat.
“And our people don’t want Mondragón trucks coming through no more.”
Flat.
Final.
Don’s expression didn’t change.
A faint shift at the corner of his mouth.
“Hmm.”
He held Alacrán’s gaze.
“You sure you want to do this.”
No question in it.
Just weight.
Silence stretched.
Alacrán closed his eyes briefly.
Opened them.
A small lift of his shoulders.
“You know how it is”
No way around it.
Don nodded once.
“Then this means war.”
He slapped both hands on the table as he stood.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Roque flinched.
Alacrán leaned back slightly.
Didn’t stop him.
Lane pushed back from the table holding Severino’s gaze as he stood.
Klaus followed.
They turned.
Bootsteps steady across the floor.
No rush.
No hesitation.
Behind them—
“Wait twenty minutes,” Chugs said.
“Then you can go.”
The door closed behind them.
And the bar went quiet again.
CHAPEL - LATER
Don flexed his fingers once, then spoke.
“All right, this is where we’re at. Just sat with Alacrán. They got orders from Talamantes. They’re not letting Mondragón’s business through there. They’re gonna block anything that comes though Falfurrias.”
A beat.
“Shit’s hostile now. So we’re at war. We will be getting intel and weapons from Mondragón sooner rather than later. He has also instructed his men”
That landed.
No one questioned it.
Don’s eyes moved across the table and found Diablo.
“Call Huntsville. I want bodies here.”
Diablo gave a short nod.
“Families stay protected. Nobody moves alone.”
A beat.
“Prospects handle the women and kids.”
Randy shifted.
“Snake Eyes stays running,” Don said, already looking at him. “You keep that locked down. Protect Loraine and the staff. Kode, you’re with him.”
Randy and Kode nodded.
“Got it.”
Don’s gaze moved.
“Toast, you got the Alley.”
A beat.
“I’ll cover the Alley with Toast,” said Ram.
Lane’s head turned slightly.
“No.”
It came out low.
Immediate.
Kait looked at Lane.
“You can’t handle the Alley, man.”
Ram shook his head.
“I swear I won’t fuck around.”
“It’s fine,” Don said.
That ended that.
A beat.
Lane exhaled once through his nose.
Didn’t argue it.
Don moved on.
“We gotta get on the horn. Let the charters know. The other MCs too.”
“How far? Lafayette?” Klaus asked.
Don shook his head once.
“Nah. Lycan don’t give a shit.”
That pulled a few looks.
Kait noticed.
Don looked around the table.
One by one.
“Do what you gotta do.”
A beat.
“Especially if you gotta drop a Rey or two.”
Silence.
“But we’re getting that business back.”
Another beat.
“And we’re getting those runs back.”
The group moved out of the chapel, boots heavy on the walkway.
The courtyard below sat quiet. Tension thick.
They started down the stairs—
Kolton was coming out of one of the rooms. Slow. Beat to hell.
The front door opened.
Loraine rushed in from the parking lot.
She saw him instantly.
Stopped.
“Kolton—”
Her voice broke.
“What happened? Look at you—”
“Stop. This is the last thing I need,” Kolton said, waving her off, lazy.
She didn’t.
She moved closer, grabbing at him, turning his face toward the light.
Then she looked up.
At Don.
“What the hell did you do to him, Donovan?”
Her voice cracked, rising.
“Look at him! He’s been getting beat up for months!”
Don’s jaw tightened.
His knuckles flexed.
He didn’t move.
She stepped in closer.
Right in his space.
Don’s patience snapped. He grabbed Loraine by the arm—not gentle—and turned her toward Randy.
Don pointed at Loraine.
“Get her out.”
Randy stepped in quick, pulling Loraine away.
“Let’s go, darlin’.”
He led her out, her protests fading as they disappeared down the hallway.
Kolton let out a lazy laugh.
“Classic.”
He turned and went inside, slamming the door behind him.
“I need a fucking drink,” Don muttered, heading for the bar.
Most of the guys followed.
Kait stayed where she was, staring out at the parking lot.
Then—
“Hey.”
Right behind her.
No warning.
She had nowhere to go.
She turned.
“Hey.”
“You alright?”
“Yeah,” she said, eyes low.
Lane watched her a second.
“There’s nothing we can do right now,” he said. “You should get some rest.”
“What about you?”
“Not yet.”
A beat.
He stepped closer.
“Hey, I shouldn’t have—”
“Guys!” Buster yelled from inside. “They’re showing it on the news!”
That broke it.
They both turned.
And went inside.
