FIRE & RUIN
CHAPTER 6
CHIPMUNKS
Morning light came in through the front windows of the Nest, dull and pale, the kind that made everything look a little tired.
Kait sat at the long table with a plate in front of her, one piece of toast half covered in strawberry jelly, the other still dry. A mug of coffee steamed near her elbow.
Across from her, Kode had a folder open, flipping through the pages back and forth comparing information, as he drank his coffee.
“Got a tip on that skip from Agua Dulce,” he said, not looking up. “Guy thought he could disappear down by the river. Turns out he’s been working under his cousin’s name.”
Kait chewed, swallowed, took a sip of coffee.
“Alvin?” she said reading the name along the folder.
“Yeah. Like the fucking chipmunk. Alvin Marquez. Possession with intent to deliver, then no-showed on his arraignment. Loraine’s been on it all week.”
He turned a page, tapped the paper with his finger.
“Last sighting was up around Younts Park, old State Highway 44 area.”
Kait nodded. “Alright.”
The Nest was quiet. Too quiet for a morning after a major win.
No music.
No laughing.
No bottles on the table.
Just the hum of the cooler behind the bar and the soft scratch of paper as Kode flipped another page.
The double doors opened, letting in a brief wash of cool October air in. Orange lights were strung along the railings out in the courtyard, still on from the night before, glowing dull against the morning light.
Lane stepped in from outside.
Clean. Awake. Fully put together.
Hair combed back, kutte on straight over an OD green T-shirt, boots laced, posture tight like nothing in his body hurt at all.
Only his hands gave him away.
Knuckles swollen, skin split across two fingers, the bruising already turning dark.
He paused a second when he saw Kait and Kode at the table, then walked over without a word and pulled the chair out, sitting like he always did — controlled, quiet, like the day had already started whether he liked it or not.
Melanie appeared out of the kitchen before he even sat down.
“Good morning, Kount,” she said, already setting a plate in front of him. “Hear you go.”
Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns.
She set a mug next to the plate and filled it from the coffee pot.
Lane looked at it, then at her.
“Thanks.”
She gave him a quick smile and went back toward the kitchen.
Kode didn’t even look up.
Lane looked at the folders.
“What you got?”
Kode slid one of the folders across the table.
“Got a skip worth grabbing today. Loraine wants to give his family ‘til the last possible minute to pay before we pick him up. She likes the mom. So, I’m gonna call her before we go.”
Lane leaned forward, forearms on the table, looking at the file.
“Where at?”
“Agua Dulce off old 44. The girlfriend ratted on him. They must have got into it.”
Lane shook his head.
“Just you two?”
“We were the only ones up,” said Kode.
“We got it,” said Kait.
“Doesn’t hurt to have one more set of eyes.”
Kait only shrugged and spread strawberry jelly on her second slice of toast.
“You know what,” said Kode closing the folder and getting up. “I’ll just call Loraine now.”
He went over to the phone.
Lane took a sip of coffee, then glanced at Kait.
“How’d your night go?”
Simple question.
Nothing in his voice.
Kait looked at him, surprised he asked.
“Fine,” she said.
He waited a second, like he expected her to add more to it.
She didn’t.
Lane gave a small nod.
“At least you didn’t take any damage.”
She nodded and took another sip of her coffee.
“Yeah.”
He wasn’t going to give up.
“You didn’t give him a chance.”
Kait agreed by raising her eyebrows.
“That move…that wasn’t something you do on the fly.”
She looked at him while still holding her cup up to her mouth.
“Where you learned it?”
He watched her silver eyes squint slightly and then she put her cup down.
She took in air like she was about to say something.
Melanie came back out of the kitchen with a small towel in one hand.
She stopped next to Lane, eyes on his hands.
“Oh my god,” she said softly. “Your knuckles.”
Lane glanced down like he hadn’t noticed.
“It’s fine.”
“It doesn’t look like it,” she said. “Hold on, I’ll get some ice or something.”
“I don’t need—” he heard his own tone and froze for half a second, eyes flicking toward Kait without meaning to.
Wrong move.
If he told Melanie to fuck off, he’d look like an asshole.
If he let her fuss over him, it looked like he liked it.
He picked up his fork instead.
“I’m good,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
Melanie hesitated, not sure if she should go or stay.
“You sure?”
Before he could answer, the double doors at the front of the Nest swung open hard.
Everyone looked up.
Buster came in first, holding the door with his shoulder.
Randy followed behind him, and between them, Kriket stepped inside slow, his face pale, his right arm wrapped from shoulder to wrist in thick white padding and a sling strapped tight across his chest.
The room went quiet.
Kait straightened in her chair.
“Jesus…”
Kriket gave a crooked half-smile.
“Morning,” he said.
His right arm was wrapped thick from shoulder to wrist, splint strapped tight under the padding.
Kait stared at it.
“Damn, Kriket…”
He shrugged with his good shoulder.
“Couldn’t get a cast yet,” he said. “Swelling’s too bad. They said come back in a week.”
Kode let out a low whistle.
“A week?”
“Yeah,” Kriket said. “Week of this stupid wrap, then they’ll set it again. Doctor said I’m lucky it didn’t come through the skin.”
Buster dropped into a chair hard, rubbing his face with both hands.
“Hospitals fucking suck,” he muttered. “Place smelled like bleach and… death.”
Randy leaned against the wall near the bar, arms crossed, eyes half-closed.
“I ain’t going back there for nobody,” he said. “Next time we just duct tape him and call it a day.”
Kriket snorted.
“I don’t think so.”
Kode joined the conversation and could only shake his head at the sight of Kriket’s arm.
“Alright,” he said, standing. “Loraine said to take him to County. He won’t cooperate. Jesus, man. Gross.”
“I know,” Kriket shook his head. “You guys have fun. I’m done for the day.” He looked at the couch, then back at the table. “Soon as this stops throbbing, I’m passing out,” he said and sat down.
Buster pushed himself up with a groan.
“Same.”
Randy straightened off the wall.
“I ain’t even taking my boots off. I hit the bed like this.”
Lane stood from the table, wiping his hands on a napkin, eyes going to Kriket’s arm again for a second before he looked toward the kitchen.
“Melanie.”
She leaned out from the doorway.
“Yeah?”
“Get him set up,” Lane said, nodding toward Kriket. “Make sure he’s got what he needs. Ice, pills, anything.”
Melanie looked at Kriket’s arm and winced.
“Oh my God… yeah, of course.”
Kriket played victim.
Lane picked up his cup and took a last drink.
He glanced once at Kait, then at Kode.
“Let’s just take the black van. Randy. Keys” he said and Randy threw them at him.
“We were taking the Chevy,” said Kait.
“Now we’re taking the van,” said Lane.
“Here we go,” said Kait rolling her eyes and grabbed her bulletproof vest hanging from the chair.
They went out into the courtyard, and Lane took the stairs two at a time to his room.
In a matter of seconds, he was back with his bullet proof vest.
“Alright, let’s go get Alvin,” said Kode opening the van’s front passenger door.
“You’re Simon, Kode,” said Kait and she got in the back. She was not going to argue about driving or riding shotgun.
“Of course, he was the smart one.” He said putting his seatbelt on. “That makes Kount Theodore.”
Kait snorted.
“Who’s Theodore?” said Lane starting the van.
“I…”
Kait sighed and leaned toward Kode.
“More like Dave,” said Kait only for Kode to hear.
“Alvin!” yelled Kode out the window and Kait laughed hard and sat back.
Lane turned the engine on.
“I ain’t no fucking chipmunk.”
The van rolled north out of town, tires humming against the pavement, Kode flipping through the file again while Kait leaned back against the seat.
Lane slowed when he saw the car on the shoulder ahead.
Hazard lights blinking.
Rear tire flat.
He didn’t say anything, just eased off the gas and pulled the van over.
Kode looked up.
“What is it?”
Lane nodded toward the car.
“Lady’s got a flat. Got her kid with her.”
Lane put the van in park.
“We got time.”
The woman by the trunk froze when she saw the van pull in behind her.
Her eyes went straight to the bulletproof vests as the doors opened.
Then to Lane.
He stepped down from the driver’s side, shoulders filling the space like he took up more room than he should have. 6’4, broad shoulders, arms tight under the sleeves of his shirt, boots hitting the pavement slow and steady. Sunglasses…
She grabbed her son by the arm and pulled him behind her without even thinking about it.
Lane stopped a few steps away, not getting close enough to crowd her.
Hands loose at his sides.
Voice calm.
“Morning, ma’am.”
She hesitated, still tense.
“…Morning.”
“You alright out here?”
“We got a flat,” she said, trying to sound steady. “I was… trying to change it.”
Lane nodded once, glancing at the tire, then at the open trunk.
“You got a spare?”
“Yes, sir.”
He tipped his head slightly toward the car.
“I can help you out, if that’s alright.”
She looked at him again, really looking this time.
She’s never seen a man like that.
Not a jawline like that.
Not those arms and shoulders.
At least not in real life.
The way he stood like nothing on that road could move him if it tried.
Her grip on the boy’s shoulder loosened.
“But I have no money.”
“Not charging you.”
“…You’d do it for free?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Just like that.
She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“That would be… really nice. Thank you.”
Lane gave one short nod and walked past her toward the trunk like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Kode was already grabbing the jack.
Kait came around the other side of the van and crouched next to the kid.
“You taking care of your mom?”
The boy nodded, still staring at Lane.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good boy, now go watch him so you know what to do next time,” she said and gave him props.
Lane leaned into the trunk, lifted the spare out with one hand, and set it on the ground without effort.
The woman watched him a second longer than she meant to after he was done, then looked away, a faint color coming into her face. She sighed.
Lane got up and put the tire in her trunk and gave her some last instructions for when she reached the tire shop.
“Thank you so much, guys. Y’all just made my day.”
“No problem. Y’all take care now,” said Lane.
“Have a Krait day,” said Kode.
Kait winked at the boy, and they were back on the road.
The van pulled back onto the road, tires crunching over the gravel before Lane eased it onto the pavement again. The sedan with the spare tire shrank in the side mirror until it disappeared behind a bend in the road.
Nobody talked for a minute.
Kode flipped the folder open again, resting it against the dashboard while Lane drove.
“Alright,” he said, finding the page. “Back to business. Alvin was staying with his girl over by Younts Park. Old Highway 44, close to the tracks.”
Kait leaned forward from the back seat, resting her arm on the top of the bench.
“So he’s actually there?”
“The girlfriend said he was this morning,” Kode said. “And that she was gonna stall him as much as possible.”
Lane shifted gears as the road narrowed, the pavement turning rough where patches of old asphalt met dirt shoulders.
“Drug charges,” Kait said. “He’s probably packing then.”
“Wouldn’t doubt it,” Kode said.
“But so are we,” Lane answered.
They crossed the train tracks a few minutes later, the van bumping hard over the rails. On the other side, the town thinned out fast, turning into scattered houses, fenced yards, and empty lots with weeds growing taller than the posts.
Kode checked the paper again, then looked up and pointed.
“Right here. Next road.”
Lane slowed and turned onto a narrow street with cracked pavement and dirt shoulders. Small houses sat unevenly along the block, some with half-taken-apart cars sitting in the yards like somebody meant to fix them one day, got high, and never did, chain-link fences sagging between rusted posts.
Toys were scattered everywhere — plastic dollhouses, faded kiddie pools, little bicycles lying on their sides in the dirt, all of it sun-bleached until the colors barely showed anymore.
Kode leaned forward, squinting through the windshield.
“Third one on the left.”
Lane eased off the gas as they rolled past a small, worn-down house with a crooked porch and a pickup sitting in the driveway.
Kode slapped the folder with the back of his hand.
“That’s it. That’s the truck.”
The pickup’s engine started.
All three of them saw it at the same time.
The driver’s door slammed, the truck backed out fast, tires kicking dust as it swung into the street.
Lane didn’t hesitate.
“Shit.”
He dropped the van into gear and hit the gas.
The pickup shot down the block, turning hard at the corner without slowing.
Kode grabbed the dash.
“That’s him.”
Kait braced herself against the seat as the van bounced over the broken pavement.
“You’re gonna spook him.”
Lane didn’t look at her.
“He’s already spooked.”
“You roll up like this, he’s gonna fucking run.”
“He was already running, Lokken,” Lane said.
Kode held the folder against his chest as the van hit the turn hard.
“He saw the van.”
Lane took the corner fast, the tires hitting dirt at the edge of the road, the whole van rocking as the pavement disappeared under them.
Ahead of them, the pickup blew past the tracks and cut onto a narrow service road that ran along the rail line, dust flying behind it.
Kait grabbed the back of the seat.
“You should’ve let him sit. We could’ve boxed him in.”
Lane kept his eyes forward.
“Well, too late.”
The van rattled hard as the road turned to gravel.
Ruts, loose rock, weeds growing through the middle.
Up ahead, the old feed mill came into view past a stretch of broken fencing and concrete barriers.
The red pickup swerved through a gap in the fence and bounced across the lot toward the building.
Kode leaned forward.
“He’s heading inside.”
“No shit,” Kait muttered.
Lane slowed when the van hit the edge of the ditch running along the fence line.
The front tire dropped hard, the whole van jolting.
“Shit,” Kode said.
Lane stopped, looking at the narrow opening the truck had just gone through.
Too tight for the van.
The pickup skidded sideways near the side of the mill and stopped.
The driver’s door flew open and Alvin jumped out and ran inside.
Lane was already opening his door.
“Out.”
He hit the ground running before the van even finished rocking to a stop.
Kait jumped out the side, Kode right behind her.
Alvin sprinted toward the broken loading bay, disappearing into the dark opening of the mill.
Lane drew as he moved.
“Watch the sides,” he said. “He’s armed.”
Lane slowed just enough at the opening of the loading bay to let his eyes adjust, gun up, shoulders tight as he stepped into the shadow of the mill.
Inside, the air felt hotter, thick with dust and the sour smell of old grain and oil. Light cut through holes in the roof in long white beams, floating with dirt every time somebody moved.
Metal creaked somewhere above them.
Loose sheet tin rattled in the wind.
Lane held his hand up without turning.
“Stop.”
Kait and Kode froze behind him.
He listened.
Footsteps running on the left side.
Lane looked up
“Office.”
Alvin burst through a doorway at the far end, knocking over a plastic crate as he ran across the open floor toward a set of metal stairs.
“Alvin!” Kode shouted.
Kait chuckled again. It was going to get her every time.
Alvin didn’t stop.
He hit the first step two at a time, boots banging loud on the metal.
Lane moved.
“Go!”
They ran across the floor, boots echoing in the empty building.
Kait veered right.
“I got the side!”
Lane snapped his head toward her.
“No—”
Too late.
She disappeared behind a row of old conveyor frames.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, then kept going.
Alvin reached the top of the stairs and turned onto the catwalk, looking back once, panic all over his face.
His hand went to his waistband.
Lane saw it.
“Gun!”
Alvin pulled it out and fired.
The shot cracked through the mill like a bomb, the sound slamming off the metal walls.
Dust fell from the beams overhead.
Kode ducked behind a rusted hopper.
“Jesus!”
Lane didn’t stop moving.
“Don’t do it, man.”
Another shot rang out, the bullet hitting the railing near Lane’s shoulder and sparking off the metal.
Lane fired once, low, not aiming to hit, just to break his rhythm.
Alvin flinched and ran again, boots pounding along the catwalk toward the far end of the building.
From the side, Kait’s voice cut in.
“He’s going for the back!”
Lane turned, seeing her coming out from the other side of the machinery, gun up, moving fast.
“I told you not to split!” he snapped.
“No time!”
Alvin jumped down the last few steps at the end of the catwalk and ran toward the back doors, shoving one open hard enough to slam it against the wall.
Sunlight exploded into the room.
He ran outside.
Lane hit the ground level a second later and went after him.
Outside, the lot behind the mill was nothing but dirt, weeds, and broken concrete.
Alvin ran ten more steps, then turned, gun shaking in his hand.
“Don’t come closer!”
Lane didn’t slow.
“Drop it!”
Alvin fired.
The shot cracked loud in the open lot, the bullet kicking dirt a few feet from Lane’s boots.
Lane fired once in return, low, the round slamming into the ground right in front of Alvin and throwing dust into his face.
Alvin flinched hard, lost his footing on the loose gravel, and went down on his back.
The gun slipped out of his hand and skidded into the weeds.
Lane closed the distance in three long strides, kicked the weapon farther away, then dropped his weight on Alvin’s back and drove him face-first into the dirt.
“You gonna shoot at us, motherfucker?” Lane said, voice low and tight as he forced Alvin’s arm up behind him. “After we helped you get outta jail?”
Alvin twisted under him, cursing, trying to pull free.
“Get off me—!”
Lane wrenched his arm higher.
“Fuck you,” he said, and gave the joint a sharp, controlled jerk.
The shoulder popped out with a dull, sick sound.
Alvin screamed.
A raw, high scream that echoed off the metal wall of the mill.
He tried to roll, but Lane kept him pinned with one knee between his shoulder blades.
Kode ran up, breathing hard, cuffs already in his hand.
“Dumbass,” he muttered, dropping to one knee.
Alvin thrashed, half crying now.
“My arm! You broke my fucking arm!”
Kait walked up last, gun still in her hand, chest rising fast from the run. Dust clung to her jeans and boots, hair stuck to her face with sweat.
Lane didn’t look at her.
“Cuff him up,” he said. “Let’s get outta this shithole. I’ll ride in the back with him.”
Kode grabbed Alvin’s wrist, forcing it down just enough to get the cuff on.
“Hold still,” he snapped.
“I can’t! My arm!”
The second cuff clicked shut.
Alvin groaned and pressed his cheek into the dirt, breathing fast, shaking.
“You broke my arm, man…”
Lane stood, wiped his hand on his jeans, then walked over and picked up the gun from the weeds.
He checked the chamber, calm, like nothing had happened.
“No,” he said. “Just gotta pop it back in.”
He turned toward Kait, eyes flat behind the sunglasses.
“You good?”
She nodded once and put her gun away in her leg holster.
“Yeah.”
He tossed the gun to her.
“Bag it. We’re keeping it.”
“Alright,” she said and tucked it under her waistband.
The van rattled down the road, dust trailing behind it as Kode drove with both hands tight on the wheel.
Alvin was in the back with Lane.
Still screaming.
“My arm! My fucking arm! You broke it! Put it back, man!”
He tried to move and cried out again, the sound sharp enough to make Kode wince.
“Jesus Christ,” Kode muttered. “Shut up.”
Up front, Kait sat in the passenger seat, turned halfway around, glaring toward the back.
“Dude.”
No answer.
Another scream.
“Put it back! Fuck, man. You guys are assholes!”
“No, you’re the asshole. You just had to go to court,” Lane said calmly.
“I’ll go to court. Just fix my fucking arm!”
Kait snapped.
“Make him shut up.”
Silence from the back.
The van hit a bump and Alvin howled again, the sound sharp and constant in the back.
“It fucking hurts!”
Kode tightened his grip on the wheel.
“Shut the fuck up.”
Alvin didn’t stop.
He sucked in a breath and screamed again, louder this time.
Kait turned halfway around in the seat.
“Just fucking fix it. He won’t stop.”
No answer.
Another scream filled the van, high and panicked.
“I can’t— I can’t move it! Please!”
Kode muttered under his breath.
“I swear to God…”
Kait rubbed her forehead, already losing patience.
“Kount. Pop it back in so he shuts up.”
From the back, calm as ever—
“He’s fine.”
“That’s not the point,” Kait said. “I don’t wanna listen to this all the way to county.”
Alvin let out another broken yell, kicking the back of the seat.
“Yeah, man. Pop it!”
Kode snapped.
“Sit still!”
Kait turned all the way around now, glaring toward the back.
“I’ll fucking do it myself.”
Then Lane spoke, voice flat.
“He shot at us. He deserves to be in pain.”
Alvin groaned, half crying, half gasping.
“I didn’t know— I didn’t know who you were—!”
Lane grabbed his arm again and Alvin screamed even louder, the sound filling the whole van.
“You knew enough,” Lane said.
“Well, I’m not riding the rest of the way like this.”
She got her seatbelt off and turned.
Then a sharp movement in the back.
A dull pop.
Alvin choked on the scream and then sucked in air hard, the sound turning into shaky breathing instead of yelling.
Lane let go.
“There. Happy?” he said.
To Kait.
Alvin whimpered, holding his shoulder, finally quiet.
The van kept rolling toward the county jail, the only sound now the engine and Alvin’s ragged breathing in the back.
The county jail parking lot was half empty, heat rising off the pavement even with the sun starting to drop.
Lane shoved the van door closed after they pulled in, then dragged Alvin out by the arm before the guy even had both feet under him.
“Easy, man!” Alvin winced, holding his shoulder.
“You fucking pussy,” Lane said, pushing him toward the entrance.
Kait waited in the van.
Inside, it was quick.
Paperwork.
Signatures.
One deputy looked at Alvin, then at Lane.
“You boys have fun?”
“What’s up AJ?” Lane nodded.
“Just this asshole skipping bail.”
Kode slid the form back across the counter.
“He’s yours.”
The cuffs came off, new ones went on, and Alvin disappeared through the door still muttering under his breath.
Lane turned without another word and headed back outside.
Out in the lot, he held his hand out.
“Keys.”
Kode tossed them to him without arguing.
Lane caught them.
“I’m driving.”
Kait looked at the exchange and opened the passenger door.
“Nope.”
Lane looked at her.
“What.”
“I’m not riding shotgun next to you right now.”
She pulled the side door open instead and climbed into the back.
Kode stood there a second, blinking like he didn’t want to be involved in whatever this was.
“Whatever,” he muttered, then walked around and got in the front.
Lane slid behind the wheel and started the van.
Nobody talked for the first minute.
Just the sound of the engine and the tires humming against the road.
Then Kait leaned forward from the back.
“You went in way too hot.”
Lane didn’t look at her.
“He ran.”
“You made him run. It was unnecessary.”
Kode closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
“Oh my God…”
Lane kept driving.
“You had a better way?”
“Yes.”
Lane nodded once.
“Go ahead. Enlighten me.”
Kode’s eyelids fluttered like he was about to pass out.
“Please don’t enlighten him. It’s done…”
Kait ignored him.
“You sit on the house. Watch the truck. Wait until he comes out. Block the street, not the driveway. No chase, no gun, no mill, no shoulder getting ripped out.”
Lane snorted under his breath.
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“You sure about that?”
Kode pressed his fingers into his temples.
Lane kept his eyes on the road.
“He sees the van sitting there, he runs out the back.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Yes, he does.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You don’t know he doesn’t.”
Kode groaned.
Kait leaned forward between the seats.
“You don’t rush every situation just because you like kicking doors.”
Lane finally glanced at her.
“And you don’t slow them down just because you can’t.”
Kait glared.
“Ah, there you are, welcome back…”
The van turned into the Nest driveway, gravel crunching under the tires as Lane rolled into the courtyard.
Don stood near the bikes with Blaze, Mack, Ram, and Diablo, talking low, the orange Halloween lights already glowing along the railings even though the sun wasn’t down yet. Plastic skeletons hung from the double doors, smacking the glass
Lane parked the van harder than he needed to and shut the engine off.
Nobody spoke for a second.
Kode opened his door first.
“I’m done,” he muttered.
He climbed out, walked straight past Don and the others without even looking at them.
“I need a drink.”
He kept going toward the bar, rubbing his temples.
Lane stepped out of the driver’s side at the same time Kait slid the side door open.
She let out a short laugh that had nothing funny in it.
“I knew that wasn’t gonna last long.”
Lane didn’t look at her. He leaned back into the van long enough to grab the paperwork off the seat, then shut the door.
“What.”
“You. Pretending.”
“Pretending what, Lokken?”
“Being nice.”
He paused.
“Your plan wasn’t gonna work and you know it. He was gonna run.”
They kept moving without paying attention to where they were going, voices low but sharp, both of them too locked into the argument to notice anything else around them.
Out in the courtyard, Don stood with Blaze, Mack, Ram, and Diablo near the bikes, talking about the run that night.
Blaze glanced toward the parking lot.
Lane and Kait passed the opening to the courtyard without looking over, still arguing as they headed along the side toward the garage.
“You push everything,” Kait said. “Every time. Doesn’t matter what it is, you just hit it harder.”
Lane stopped and turned to face her.
“Oh, I do that?”
She didn’t back down.
“You know you do.”
He shook his head once.
“You’re the one always forcing your way into everything. Doing whatever you want. Once again, you didn’t follow the plan. You didn’t listen. Again.”
“Everything turned out fine,” she shot back.
“Oh, now it did.”
They started walking again, neither of them willing to drop it, boots crunching over the gravel as they passed the empty pool and kept going toward the detached garage at the far end of the lot.
Behind them, Blaze looked at Don.
“You want me to—”
Don shook his head once, not even moving.
“No.”
He watched them disappear past the pool toward the garage.
“Let them figure it out.”
He said not having the energy to deal with them.
Lane yanked the garage door up and walked inside, tossing the keys onto the workbench without breaking stride.
Kait followed him in.
“You need to drop that shit already.”
He turned around.
“What shit.”
“That I can’t keep up.”
“That’s not even what I said.”
“That’s exactly what you said.”
He shook his head. Irritated again.
“You hear what you wanna hear. So that’s on you.”
Lane grabbed a rag off the bench, wiping his hands even though there wasn’t anything on them.
“You split. You can’t fucking do that,” he continued.
“Divide and conquer,” Kait said calmer now.
“I had a plan.”
“We still walked him in.”
“That’s not the point!”
His voice bounced off the metal walls of the garage, louder than he meant it to be.
She stopped.
Silence sat between them.
Then Kait’s eyes dropped.
She frowned.
“…Hold on.”
Lane didn’t move.
“What.”
She stepped closer, squinting at his shoulder.
“You’re bleeding.”
He glanced down like he hadn’t even noticed.
The shirt was torn near the seam, a dark streak soaked into the fabric where the bullet had grazed him back at the mill.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
“It’s not nothing,” she snapped. “Turn around.”
“I’m fine.”
She grabbed his arm before he could step away.
“Stop moving.”
He went still.
No fight.
No argument.
Just standing there while she pulled the shirt back enough to see the wound.
“You got hit,” she said.
“Grazed.”
“How come you didn’t say anything?”
“No reason to. It’s nothing.”
She shook her head, already reaching for the first aid kit on the back wall.
“Sit down.”
He hesitated… then sat on the edge of the workbench without another word.
Lane didn’t say a word as he shrugged the vest off his shoulders, then Kait took it from him and set it to the side.
“Let me see,” Kait said.
He rolled up his left sleeve slowly, revealing the torn fabric near the seam and the shallow graze across his skin, smeared with dried blood.
Kait stepped in close, eyes on the wound, not wasting any time. She grabbed a clean gauze, wet it with the rubbing alcohol from the first aid kit, and started wiping the blood away.
Lane didn’t flinch, just sat still, watching her work.
Her silver eyes were incredible up close.
She finished cleaning it, tossing the rag aside, satisfied that the bleeding had already stopped.
“See? Just a scratch,” he said, softer now.
“You still don’t want it to get infected.”
Lane rolled his sleeve back down as if nothing had happened.
Kait just gave a small nod, as if they were done fighting—for now.
DON & LORAINE’S HOUSE - LATER
Lane pulled up and knocked once on the front door.
Loraine opened it a second later, already smiling when she saw him.
“Well, look who decided to show up.”
Lane nodded.
“Evening.”
“You here for Kolton?”
“Yeah.”
She stepped aside to let him in.
“He’s in the back. Been sleeping most of the day.”
Lane walked inside, the house quiet except for the TV in the living room.
Kyle sat on the floor in front of it, toys scattered all around him, legs crossed, completely focused on whatever was playing.
Lane slowed when he saw him.
“Hey, Beavis”
Kyle looked up.
“Hey, Butthead.”
“Lane, he can’t be watching that,” Lorain said from the kitchen.
Lane chuckled. “Okay,” he said putting his hands up.
He stepped farther into the room, looking down at the mess of toys on the carpet.
One of them caught his eye.
A little chipmunk plush, wearing a shirt with a big red A on the front.
Lane bent down and picked it up, turning it from side to side.
“Hey, dude, what’s this?”
Kyle lit up immediately.
“That’s Alvin.”
Lane looked at him.
“…Alvin.”
“He’s a chimp monk,” Kyle said, like that should’ve been obvious. “He sings.”
Lane glanced at the TV, then back at the toy.
“A chimp monk that sings, huh.”
Kyle nodded fast.
“I got the movie.”
Lane raised an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah?”
Kyle jumped up and ran to the shelf next to the TV, digging through a stack of VHS tapes until he found one and held it up.
“You wanna watch it?”
Lane stood there a second, the toy still in his hand, then set it back down on the carpet.
He looked at the tape, then at Kyle.
…then shrugged.
“Sure.”
Kyle grinned and ran to the VCR.
Lane dropped onto the couch, elbows on his knees, watching Kyle mess with the tape until the TV flickered to life.
From the hallway, Loraine glanced in, saw them sitting there together, and smiled to herself without saying anything.
She couldn’t help wishing Kolton would slow down long enough to do something like that with his son from time to time.
Lane leaned back against the couch as the movie started, eyes on the screen.
Kyle climbed up beside him without asking and settled in close, pressing against his side like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Neither of them said a word.
The intro started, music playing, bright colors on the screen, and Lane frowned slightly, having no idea what the hell he was watching.
He stayed anyway.
By the time the movie was over, Kyle was asleep against his arm, breathing slow and heavy.
Lane sat there a moment without moving, looking at the TV as the credits rolled, then down at the kid leaning against him.
After a second, he finally got the Dave joke from earlier and let out a quiet breath through his nose.
His mind drifted back over the day without him meaning it to.
The chase.
The mill.
The argument.
The garage.
He reached up and touched his shoulder where the graze was, fingers pressing lightly against the spot through the fabric.
Still sore.
Still there.
He leaned his head back against the couch, careful not to wake Kyle, eyes on the dark screen as the tape ran out and the room went quiet.
