FIRE & RUIN
Chapter 15
TOO SOON, TOO LATE
Lane woke up to a different light and sounds.
Bright sun, birds chirping.
He had no idea what time it was.
But that didn’t matter as soon as he felt Kait in his arms.
She was exactly where she’d been when he fell asleep.
Head tucked in close, one arm draped across him, her breathing slow and even against his chest.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t even shift.
Just watched her.
The way she fit in his space.
Like she’d always been there.
His jaw tightened slightly, something in his chest pulling with it.
He let out a slow breath through his nose, eyes still on her.
Didn’t rush it.
Didn’t break it.
His hand moved, almost without thinking, brushing lightly along her arm before settling back at her side.
That was new to him.
He knew it.
Didn’t question it.
Just stayed where he was.
Looking at her like he was still catching up to the night before.
A small shift under his arm.
She moved in her sleep, pressing in closer without waking.
Reflex.
Lane’s grip tightened just a fraction in response.
Not enough to wake her.
Just to keep her close.
His mouth pulled faintly at one side.
He just couldn’t fight the smile.
He let his head fall back against the couch, eyes still on her, steady, focused.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t get up.
Didn’t break it.
Wouldn’t dare.
kleberg county jail
The holding area smelled like bleach and old metal.
Loraine didn’t flinch.
She’d walked into worse.
The deputy at the desk gave her a look, then a nod.
“Hey, Loraine.”
“Morning, Benitez.”
“He’s been an asshole all night. Fair warning.”
Loraine just nodded.
No paperwork.
No questions.
They already knew who she was.
They buzzed her through.
He looked up and the second he saw her, something in his face shifted.
Not relief.
Not quite.
But close enough.
“Hey.”
She sat in front of him.
Took it all in.
The blue jumpsuit, his face still bruised from the last beating.
“Boy… You good?” she asked.
She held his gaze.
“Better if I wasn’t in here… Is Kait home? Is she okay?”
“Yeah. She was in the hospital but she’s perfectly fine.”
He nodded.
“Thank fuck… so what’s up Don’s ass?”
His jaw ticked.
“Why is he fucking with me?”
“Son, you know I can’t—”
“I can’t fucking be in here, Mother.”
Loraine’s eyes flicked once toward the deputy as his voice rose.
Then back to him.
“They booked you on Driving While Intoxicated,” she said, calm, precise. “Possession of a controlled substance. And Reckless Driving.”
Each one landed clean.
No emotion.
Just fact.
Kolton leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose.
“Reckless? Speeding, maybe. That’s all probation shit anyway. Just go to Bill and Belle’s or Roadrunner and get me the fuck out—”
Loraine shook her head.
Slowly.
That got his attention.
She didn’t raise her voice.
Didn’t need to.
“Your father had Mundo and Kode make some calls.”
She held his eyes.
“You’re not getting bailed out.”
The shift hit.
Hard.
His grip tightened on the bars.
“That’s fucking bullshit.”
His jaw clenched, anger rising fast now.
“He can’t do that.”
“You know he can. He already did.”
Kolton leaned in again, voice dropping.
“Then fix it.”
Her expression didn’t move.
“You think I didn’t try?”
That slowed him.
Half a second.
“Try harder. Tell him I have a son to take care of.”
Loraine watched him.
Really looked.
The sweat.
The twitch in his jaw.
The way his eyes didn’t stay still.
She didn’t call it out.
Not yet.
“I’m doing everything I can. I’ve got Grant coming to see you,” she said instead. “He’ll talk to you.”
Kolton shook his head immediately.
“Just tell him to get me out.”
“You need to listen to him. Do exactly as he says when he comes see you.”
“He needs to get me one of those free releases,” he snapped. “Or house arrest, or, or, something.”
Too fast.
Too sharp.
“I’ll sign whatever. I don’t give a shit. Just get me out of here.”
Loraine’s eyes narrowed just a fraction.
“You know there’s a process, Kolton.”
He pushed off the bars and started pacing.
“You can’t let Don do this to me,” he went on, voice tightening. “This is stupid. You need to fucking talk to him.”
Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
Loraine didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
“I’ll talk to him again,” she said finally. “I’ll try.”
Not a promise.
Not reassurance.
Just that.
Kolton exhaled, running a hand through his hair.
“Yeah. Do that.”
He blinked.
“Hey, you know where Lane’s at?”
Loraine didn’t react.
Kolton kept going.
“I tried calling him. Never picked up.”
His eyes searched hers now.
“Where is he?”
Loraine held his gaze.
Calm.
Measured.
“I don’t know.”
Kolton leaned back slowly, something unsettled creeping in under the irritation.
Didn’t like that.
Didn’t like it at all.
He looked down for a second.
Then back up.
Jaw tighter now.
“Find him. You gotta make him talk to Don. He’s the only one he’ll listen to.”
“I’ll try. He’s been very busy. Your dad has him all over the place.”
“Does Kait know?”
Loraine shook her head.
“I don’t know. Haven’t seen her either.”
“That’s about it, Loraine.”
Deputy Benitez stood at the door.
Loraine didn’t answer.
She looked at her son’s bruised face one more time.
“I’ll come by again. I’ll bring you a suit for court on Monday.”
She turned.
Didn’t look back.
Kolton scoffed.
Watching the door she walked out of.
Something in his chest tightened.
Not from the charges.
Not from the coldness or the echo of the empty visitation room.
Something else.
Something he couldn’t place yet.
And didn’t like it one bit.
LAKEHOUSE
A small shift under his arm.
Kait moved.
Not much.
Just enough.
Lane was awake before it fully registered.
Eyes open.
Still.
Breathing unchanged.
Everything else already locked in.
Her movement finished against him—closer, not away.
That registered second.
Not threat.
Not danger.
Her.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t pull back.
Didn’t loosen his grip.
Just adjusted—barely—so she stayed where she was.
Kait’s eyes opened a second later.
No jolt.
No panic.
Just awareness settling in.
Slow.
Heavy.
She didn’t move right away.
Felt him first.
His arm around her.
Her cheek against his chest.
His smell.
The steady rise and fall under her.
She stilled.
Then tilted her head just enough to look up at him.
He was already looking at her.
She smiled at him, making him smile at her.
Lane didn’t say anything.
Just held her there with that same steady focus.
Kait watched him for a second.
Reading.
Not surprised.
Not unsure.
Just… confirming.
Her hand moved slightly against his chest.
He tracked it.
Eyes flicking down, then back to her face.
Still nothing said.
Didn’t need it.
A breath passed between them.
Shared.
Close.
Kait tried to stop a small smile but failed miserably
“Hi.”
Lane’s grip tightened just enough to answer.
“Hey.”
She looked at his lips and sighed.
He moved her face gently and kissed her.
Her hand slid up into his hair, pulling him back down as his mouth found hers again—deeper, hungrier than before.
Lane shifted, bracing over her without breaking contact, one hand firm at her side, the other sliding along her jaw, her neck—
Heat building fast, familiar now.
They’d already crossed that line last night.
Now they wanted it again and were more than ready for each other.
This time it felt even better. Skin still sensitive to each other’s touch. Every caress still burning.
Every kiss a reminder of the night before.
Suddenly the edge of Lane’s kutte slipped off the arm of the couch as Kait clawed at it.
Leather dragging.
Then—
Thud.
Neither of them stopped.
Lane didn’t even look. There was nothing else that could get his attention but her.
Kait pulled him back in, tighter this time, breath catching as his mouth moved against hers again.
And when her grip got tighter around him, and her moans got a little louder, he knew he didn’t have to fight anything back anymore.
They kissed as they felt the last of it, then, something lit up on the floor.
Faint.
Sharp in his peripheral.
He didn’t look again until the feeling began to fade.
His eyes flicked down for half a second.
Phone.
Screen glowing.
Missed calls stacked.
It buzzed once against the floor as it shifted.
He ignored it.
Went right back to her.
Kait still holding him tight, not letting the break happen yet.
The phone lit up again.
This time it rang.
Loud.
Sharp.
Cutting through everything.
Once.
Twice.
Lane exhaled against her mouth, breaking just enough to breathe.
“Fuck…”
It kept ringing.
Didn’t stop.
Kait pressed her forehead briefly to his, eyes still on his.
“It could be Don.”
“Goddamn it,” he muttered.
It rang again.
Relentless.
Real.
Lane pushed up, dragging a hand over his face, already shifting out of it.
Back to control.
Back to the world outside of the couch and Kait.
He reached down, grabbing the phone off the floor.
Checked it.
Don.
Of course.
Then answered as he stood.
“Yeah.”
Don’s voice came through, sharp, awake.
“Where are you?”
Lane didn’t hesitate.
“Out early. Checking roads.”
Kait sat up, pulling her shirt on, giving him a look.
He shot one right back.
“Kolton got picked up.”
That landed.
Lane paused just a fraction—then kept moving.
“What for?”
“DWI. Possession. Reckless driving.”
Lane grabbed his jeans, stepping into them.
“Fuck. He home yet?”
“No one’s getting to him.”
Flat.
Final.
“I made sure of it.”
Lane glanced at Kait.
She’d heard that.
Her expression shifted.
“Alright,” Lane said.
Don kept going.
“You seen Kait?”
Lane didn’t even blink.
“No. I haven’t seen her.”
Kait curved her lips.
He glanced back.
Smirked.
“I’m heading to the Nest. Get there.”
“On my way.”
Lane hung up.
Silence dropped in after it.
Heavy.
Real.
Kait finished pulling her boots on, watching him.
“What happened?”
Lane grabbed his shirt, dragging it on.
“Kolton’s in county. Reckless, DWI, and he was holding of course. Don wants to keep him there.”
That was the answer.
Nothing more.
She nodded once.
Took it.
“Shit.”
Lane ran a hand through his hair, already halfway back in his head.
“Don wants me back at the Nest.”
He looked at her now.
Kait stood.
“Yeah. I figured.”
No drama.
No pull.
Just reality.
“I’ll stall,” she added. “Give it a few minutes. Meet you there.”
Once they finished getting dressed, Lane stepped in close again.
Didn’t ask.
Didn’t think.
Just took her face in his hand and kissed her.
Quick.
Then again.
Not enough.
Again.
Still not enough.
Kait let out a quiet breath against his mouth, grabbing his shirt and pulling him back one more time.
“Go now, or I won’t let you go at all,” she murmured.
He didn’t move.
They could only smile at each other.
Then finally—
He pulled back with a growl.
Reluctant.
“Be safe on you way up there,” he said.
“I will.”
“Bring your steak knife.”
Kait chuckled.
He flashed a crooked smile.
Eyes on her a second longer than he should’ve.
Then he turned.
Grabbed his keys.
Gone.
The door shut.
Silence rushed back in.
Kait stood there for a second.
Still.
Then let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
Turned.
Walked back to the couch.
And dropped onto it.
Hard.
Staring up at the ceiling.
A slow smile pulled at her mouth.
Disbelieving.
A little wild.
“Holy fuck,” she muttered to herself.
She pressed her hands over her face for a second.
Then laughed under her breath.
LORAINE’S KITCHEN
The house was quiet when she came back from county jail.
Loraine sat at the kitchen table, her cup of tea already gone cold at her elbow. Kyle was on a playdate. Don at the Nest. It was just her and the hum of the fridge.
Her rings clicked softly as she shuffled.
Slow.
Deliberate.
She hadn’t meant to pull the cards.
But that feeling was back.
Worse now.
Heavier.
She exhaled through her nose.
“Alright,” she muttered. “What you got.”
She drew.
The lightning split the sky straight down the middle, stone crumbling under it.
Loraine stared at it for a second.
Then leaned back slightly.
“Well, ain’t that a kick in the teeth.”
Her finger traced the crack running through the tower.
“Everything falls apart, huh?”
No fear in her voice.
Just recognition.
She drew again.
Chains. Smoke. Something binding people who didn’t even realize they were caught.
Loraine’s lips pressed together.
“Yeah… there it is.”
She tapped the card once.
“Thought we were playin’ clean, didn’t we?”
She let out a quiet scoff.
“Not anymore.”
Another card slipped loose.
She didn’t stop it.
Judgment.
Figures rising.
Called back.
No escaping it.
Loraine went still.
Her thumb hovered over the edge of the card.
“Past don’t stay buried,” she murmured.
“Up to you.”
She didn’t look up.
Didn’t need to.
She already knew who that one was for.
She drew again.
Again.
Of course.
A slow breath left her.
Her eyes flicked slightly toward the doorway.
Toward the rest of the house.
Toward everything that wasn’t being said out loud.
“Yeah, I know. All a matter of time. Always has been.”
She drew another.
Not soft.
Not sweet.
Two figures bound by choice.
By consequence.
Loraine let out a quiet huff.
“Well, look at that.”
She leaned forward slightly, studying it.
No judgment.
Just… inevitability.
Her rings clinked as she gathered the deck slightly, then stopped.
One more.
She knew there was one more.
She pulled it.
A man walking away with something that wasn’t his.
Looking over his shoulder.
Loraine’s expression didn’t change.
But something behind her eyes did.
“Mm.”
She tapped the card once.
“What… are you—”
Not impressed.
Not surprised.
Just… disappointed.
She leaned back in her chair, lighting a cigarette.
Smoke curled slow over the table.
The cards sat there.
Heavy.
Breathing.
Another drag.
“I guess we’ll see.”
Her eyes landed on The Lovers again.
Stayed there.
“Too soon to start or too late to stop it…”
Loraine reached forward slowly.
Gathered the cards.
Not as careful this time.
Not afraid.
Just… done with it.
“No. You have it all already,” she said under her breath, “You don’t get to have this too.”
She stacked the deck.
Pressed it flat against the table.
Silence settled back in.
But the feeling didn’t go away.
It never did.
Not anymore.
the nest
Gravel crunched under Kait’s tires as she rolled into the Nest.
Morning light.
Too bright.
Too normal.
She killed the engine and sat there for half a second.
Then swung off the bike and headed straight for the front office.
Voices inside.
Low.
Focused.
She pushed the door open.
Klaus.
Lane.
Mack.
Blaze.
All mid-conversation.
They looked up.
Lane clocked her first.
Of course he did.
Didn’t react.
Couldn’t.
Blaze leaned back slightly, a grin starting.
“Well, look who decided—”
Don stepped out from the back before he could finish.
That shut it down.
His eyes went straight to Kait.
“Where’ve you been?”
No warmth.
No edge.
Just direct.
Kait didn’t hesitate.
“Lake house.”
Silence.
Klaus shifted slightly.
Mack glanced at Lane.
Blaze just watched.
Don held her gaze a second longer.
Then—
“That’s right. Kait wants to move out, y’all,” he said, like he was just continuing a different conversation.
That hit the room.
Klaus frowned.
Blaze straightened.
“The hell she does,” Blaze muttered.
Mack shook his head once.
“Not a great time.”
Klaus looked at her.
“You don’t have to anymore.”
Don lifted a hand.
That was enough.
“Can’t force her to stay,” he said evenly.
Beat.
Then, almost under it—
“Or can I?”
No one laughed.
Don moved on like he hadn’t said it.
“Kolton got picked up last night.”
Kait’s eyes flicked—just enough.
“What for?”
“DWI. Possession. Reckless driving.”
She nodded once.
Took it in.
Kept it contained.
“Shit… Well, did he make the morning releases or he getting out later?”
Don shook his head.
“Nah. Ain’t getting bailed out at all. Let him sober up a little Get his head straight. Learn some respect too.”
That was it.
Kait didn’t push.
Didn’t show more than that.
Don turned to Lane.
“Tomorrow’s run, I’m just gonna have you deal with it, son. Take Diablo, Koa, Trace, Buster and the prospects.”
“And Toast?” Kait said.
They looked at her.
Don pressed his lips.
“Come on, King. I’m out of a job. I’m going to be so bored.”
Don looked at Lane.
“Your call.”
“You just got out of the hospital,” Lane said not giving anything away.
“I promise to keep up.”
“Fine.”
“Thanks.”
Don was already moving.
“Alright. Get ready. One hour.”
Everyone shifted.
Back to motion.
“Where we going?” Blaze asked.
Don looked at Lane.
Then back at the room.
“Got a meeting.”
That was all he gave.
Then—
“Van. Not bikes.”
That got a reaction.
Mack frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you’re not strapping rifles and explosives to Harleys,” Don said flat.
That shut it down.
Blaze let out a low whistle.
Klaus’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes sharpened.
Kait didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
Just listened.
Don looked at her.
“Nestor Mondragón’s kid is flying in with the goodies at noon.”
Don was already moving again.
That was the end of it.
Meeting over.
Everyone broke.
Motion picked up fast.
Kait headed for the door.
Blaze followed.
Klaus lingered a second longer, then turned.
Lane stayed where he was.
“You spent the night at the lake house, Toast?” Blaze asked.
“Yeah,” she said smiling and walking out.
“How was it?”
“Amazing,” she said and glanced back at Lane.
Lane tried to hide a smirk.
KLEBERG COUNTY AIRPORT
The van idled off to the side.
Dust hanging low.
A small plane came in low.
Too low.
Too fast.
Then wheels hit asphalt.
Hard.
It rolled out clean.
Stopped.
Silence.
Then the door opened.
Santiago stepped down from the plane.
No flash. No entourage. Just a crisp button-up with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, dark slacks, and the quiet confidence of someone who didn’t need either.
Don met him halfway across the tarmac.
They shook hands.
Short. Firm. Business.
No smiles. No wasted pleasantries.
Behind them, the cargo door opened, and the first of the crates began coming down.
Heavy wooden boxes reinforced at the corners with metal, each one taking two men to move.
Lane and Blaze stepped in without being told, hauling them away from the plane and toward the waiting trucks. Nobody talked much. Engines idled nearby, mixing with the fading whine of the jet.
Just work.
Kait moved closer when one of the crates was opened.
Inside, rows of handguns and rifles sat packed tight, clean and freshly oiled.
She crouched beside it and reached in, lifting one of the rifles free.
Checked the weight.
The balance.
Turned it over in her hands.
Then she saw the markings.
That stopped her.
Only for a second.
Her thumb passed over them before she looked toward Santiago.
“These are Russian. Where’d you get ’em?”
LATER
The chapel door shut.
Just them.
Lane didn’t sit.
Didn’t waste time.
Map already laid out across the table.
Falfurrias.
The road.
The stretch that mattered.
He planted a hand on it.
“They’re not respecting territory anymore.”
Flat.
No debate.
“They’ll hit us in Falfurrias.”
That landed.
Diablo leaned in.
“Really? Inside our line?”
“Yeah. I guarantee it.”
Lane circled the stretch just outside town.
“Right here.”
Ram exhaled through his nose.
“That’s pretty ballsy.”
“Desperate,” Lane corrected. “Severino would want to make another big move before we do. He’s gonna go for broke.”
He marked another point.
“So once we cross into Falfurrias, assume contact.”
No one questioned it.
Kait stepped in beside him.
Already tracking.
Lane glanced at her then continued.
“Truck leads.”
Tap.
“Van behind. Keep distance.”
Another tap.
“No stacking.”
Koa nodded.
“Gives us room.”
“Gives us options,” Lane said.
He shifted the marker.
“Diablo, you’re with me up front.”
A nod.
“Ram, rear.”
“Yeah.”
“Koa, Buster—middle. Watch both sides. No tunnel vision.”
Both nodded.
Locked.
Kait leaned in.
Tapped the choke point.
“If they hit here—we’re boxed.”
Lane looked.
Then back at her.
“Only if we stay.”
Beat.
He circled another line.
A dirt cut. Easy to miss.
“Break west.”
Diablo caught it.
“The quarry.”
“Yeah.”
Lane tapped it once.
“If it goes south, we don’t fight on the road. Border Patrol’ll light it up.”
Another tap.
“We pull here.”
Ram nodded.
“Open ground.”
“Better angles,” Kait added.
Lane nodded once.
“And better exits.”
Then he looked at her.
“You float,” he continued. “You see it first, you call it. You move where we need you.”
Kait held his gaze.
“Got it.”
No hesitation.
No push.
That landed.
Lane straightened.
Looked at all of them now.
“This isn’t a run.”
Beat.
“It’s a setup. We know it.”
Silence tightened.
Good.
“Let them hit.”
Another beat.
“Then we finish it.”
No one spoke.
Didn’t need to.
They were already there.
Lane capped the marker.
“Rules stay the same.”
Short.
Sharp.
“No chasing. No splitting. No stunts.”
Eyes met his.
One by one.
Diablo.
Ram.
Koa.
Buster.
Trace.
Then Kait.
Held a second longer.
“That’s it. We ride out at midnight,” he finished.
He pushed off the table.
No questions.
No extras.
Boots moved.
The room cleared.
Voices fading as they went downstairs.
Then it was just the two of them.
Lane didn’t move right away.
Neither did she.
The map still between them.
Falfurrias.
The line.
The break west.
The quarry.
All of it still sitting there.
But neither of them was looking at it anymore.
Kait exhaled slowly.
“So we’re heading straight into a trap…”
“No doubt.”
She glanced at him.
He was already looking at her.
Of course he was.
He stepped in.
Closed the space.
No buildup.
No warning.
His hand came up to her jaw—firm—
and he kissed her.
Hard.
Like he’d been holding it back too long.
Kait met him just as fast.
Her hand hooked into his kutte, pulling him in, not giving him room to pull away—
“I can’t stop thinking about last night.”
He crashed her body hard against his.
“I keep craving you,” he added.
Not pretty.
Not soft.
Just truth.
Kait’s fingers tightened in his waist.
“Don’t tell me that right now.”
He gave her jaw a small bite and kissed her again.
“Lake house before we roll?”
Kait nodded.
“Yeah.”
“At around nine.”
“Okay,” she nodded.
He kissed her.
Rougher this time.
Shorter.
Like he knew he shouldn’t—
and didn’t care.
“Did you really think last night was amazing?”
“I could still feel you in me for hours.”
“I may not be able to wait that long,” he said.
She laughed. “Me neither.”
Her hand slid up his neck, pulling him back in for one more—
Footsteps below.
Then—
Yelling.
Loud.
Sharp.
They broke just enough to hear it.
“…That is not the way to, Donovan—”
Loraine.
No question.
Lane rolled his eyes slightly.
Kait’s breath still close against his.
Don answered.
Lower.
Controlled.
Couldn’t make out the words—
Didn’t need to.
That wasn’t normal.
Kait didn’t move right away.
Neither did he.
Another shout from below.
Closer.
Ugly.
Kait stepped back first.
Ran a hand through her hair.
Reset.
Fast.
Lane’s hand dropped from her jaw.
Reluctant.
“Should we—” she started.
“Yeah.”
Neither of them sounded like they wanted to.
They pulled apart.
Just enough.
Then turned—
and headed for the door like nothing had happened.
Like they weren’t already thinking about getting back there.
Again.
The door opened.
Heat hit them first.
Voices.
Sharp.
Already in motion.
Lane slowed halfway down the stairs.
Kait stopped behind him.
Close enough to see.
Close enough to hear everything.
“He shouldn’t be in there.”
Loraine stood in the middle of the courtyard.
Arms tight at her sides.
Voice steady—
but just under it, something fraying.
“He’s sick, Don. You know he is.”
Don didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
“You don’t leave him in a place like that. He has asthma. He can’t breathe in those cells—”
“He’s fine, Loraine.”
Flat.
No volume.
“He needs to be out to take care of his kid.”
“Are you stupid?” Don said.
That landed harder than a shout.
Loraine’s jaw tightened.
“When does he take care of his kid?” Don cut in. “Give me a fucking break.”
No pause.
No hesitation.
Silence snapped tight.
Loraine stepped forward.
“Kyle keeps asking about him,” she said. “I’m running out of lies to tell that little boy.”
Don didn’t blink.
“No.”
Just that.
Loraine’s composure slipped—just a fraction.
“This is too much.”
“No. This is what he needs.”
“He needs professional help.”
“He needs to learn. Like a man. For once.”
“He needs his father,” she snapped. “Not a cell.”
Don’s head tilted slightly.
Barely.
“Don’t give me that shit.”
Even from the stairs, it hit.
Loraine froze for a second.
Then—
“You’ve never been there for him,” she said, quieter now. Sharper. “That’s why he’s like this.”
Don didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
“Watch it.”
Low.
Cold.
“You know why he’s like this?” Don went on. “Because I didn’t kick his ass when he was little. Because he didn’t play football. Didn’t serve his country. Didn’t see combat. That’s why.”
Loraine didn’t stop.
Couldn’t.
“So you leave him in jail for not being the spitting image of you?”
“No,” Don said. “He’s in jail because he’s a fuckup. And an addict.”
That hung there.
Loraine stepped in closer.
“You’ve done far worse,” she said. “And look at you.”
Silence.
Real silence this time.
Even the air shifted.
Kait didn’t move.
Lane didn’t either.
Below them, Koa, Diablo, Ram, Trace, and Buster lingered near the base of the stairs, exchanging looks, low murmurs passing between them.
No one stepping in.
No one stupid enough to.
Don looked at Loraine.
Really looked at her now.
Then he stepped past her.
Didn’t touch her.
Didn’t look back.
Walked straight to the front office.
The door shut behind him.
Loraine stayed where she was.
Shoulders tight.
Breathing controlled.
Not breaking.
Not here.
Not where anyone could see it.
Her hand came up.
Slow.
Pressed once against her chest.
Then dropped.
She turned slightly—
and for a second, her eyes lifted.
Toward the stairs.
Toward them.
She knew.
Of course she knew.
“Loraine… let me take you home,” Klaus said quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder.
She didn’t look at him right away.
“I’m alright,” she said. Then, after a beat—“But I might need your help tomorrow.”
That was all.
She stepped away.
And walked out.
Leaving the weight of it sitting right where it was.
