Page 28 of Ruin (Hell’s Mayhem MC: Maine Chapter #2)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kolton

When I get home, Anastacia is in the kitchen, cooking, the smell of onions and garlic thick in the air. I stop halfway in the door and take in the mess she’s made. Sink full of dishes, a used cutting board on the counter, a French knife laid on top of it. My chest tightens but I breathe through it.

She looks up and smiles. “You’re here.”

She sounds almost happy.

“It is where I live,” I say, stepping in the rest of the way and closing and locking the door behind me.

“I’ve had so much energy today, and that hasn’t happened in a long time. I figured I would make you dinner since you’ve done so much for me. I know it isn’t much, but there isn’t really much I can do, so…” She shrugs, her attention going back to whatever she’s stirring in the large pot.

“You don’t have to do this.”

She nods firmly, puts the wooden spoon down on the center of the stove, and opens the oven to peak inside.

“I know that, but I wanted to. Besides, I was really craving chicken parmesan. I promise I’ll clean everything up, too.

I know you like to keep a clean house. Cleanest I’ve ever seen, actually. ”

Every part of me wants to clean this all up now, kick her out of the kitchen, and send her back to wherever she came from.

But I’m too tired, in too much pain, and in a foul mood.

Kaison found me some meds, but I wouldn’t take them before I got home.

I’m not so stupid to pop them then get on a bike.

I pull the bottle from my pocket and take out two, then grab some water and swallow them.

“Oh, what happened to your hand?” Anastacia asks, reaching for my wrist. I pull it back and she frowns.

“It’s fine,” I say. “Nothing to worry about.”

She nods, but still looks offended. She goes back to stirring the food and I head into the bathroom to shower, wondering if it’s even worth it since my kitchen is a mess. But those aren’t outside germs, so it should be fine.

I wish I knew why I was like this, when it comes to my house. I’m not like this anywhere else, it’s just that I need my house to be a certain way. It needs to be clean and uncontaminated.

When I’m done with my shower, I wrap a towel around my waist and open the door to head upstairs to get clean clothes.

“There’s someone here for you!” Anastacia calls, the smell of chicken parm filling the house. I’ll admit, it actually smells good. As long as the chicken isn’t raw, it should be fine.

“Tell them to fuck off!” I call back as I turn the corner, only to run into said someone .

The towel slips down one hip, but I manage to grab it and pull it back up.

“I was tempted to go in and see if you needed help,” Lucian says with a smirk.

“If this is your attempt at flirting, it sucks.”

I move past him and head up the stairs, hating and loving that he’s following me.

I go into my bedroom, and he stands in the doorway. I pretend I can’t see him as I drop my towel and turn to dig through my dresser for some clothes. His gaze is on my ass, I feel it burning my skin. I consider bending down just to get a rise out of him.

“I never did have to flirt with you,” he says simply.

I tug out a pair of sweatpants, but turn to face him without putting them on. His gaze unashamedly goes straight to my dick, which is thankfully not hard at the moment. Hopefully, it stays that way so I can keep some of my dignity.

“So you come into my house to insult me?”

He blinks slowly, then brings his gaze back to mine. “It wasn’t an insult. At least, not on your part.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

He steps into my room, walking with sure steps until he’s standing in front of me.

He’s wearing the same thing from earlier, and he smells just as good. My dick twitches and I curse it. Do not betray me.

“It means I fucked up.”

I roll my eyes. “Too little, too late, Lucian. ”

I tug on my pants, wincing when my finger snags on the waistband.

I go to move around him, but his grip on my bicep stops me. He’s easy enough to shove off—if I tried. But I don’t try.

“Give me another chance.”

I huff out a humorless laugh, looking at him over my shoulder.

“I told you. I’m done with married men.”

I wait for him to answer me, to explain—to give me anything that’ll give me hope.

“You don’t trust me.”

I can’t help but laugh again. “And that surprises you?” I yank my arm from his grip.

“I just thought things would be different after this morning.”

I step to him, getting right in his face. “Make no mistake about it, Lucian. That was a mistake.”

“Don’t lie to yourself, Kolton.”

“I’m not lying. It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened.”

“Why not?”

“Because we did this already, and it didn’t end well for me.”

“It’ll be different this time.”

I frown. There it is. There’s the hope.

“What does that even mean?”

“I’ve been waiting to explain because I didn’t want you to think it was an excuse or a lie. I was hoping for us to build something first.”

“Tell me what?” I bark .

He blinks a few times, holding my gaze before saying, “Beth and I are separated for good. We have no intention of getting back together.”

Lucian already told me they were separated, but something about him saying it now? It feels like more. It feels… final.

“You already told me this,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Yes, but I want you to know that it’s for good. That it isn’t a temporary thing.”

This is the one thing I’ve always wanted. The one thing I need to hear. Hope blooms in my chest. This is dangerous. So fucking dangerous.

“How long?” I ask.

“A long time. Years. It’s another reason I came back. There’s nothing in Boston for me now. We aren’t d—”

“It changes nothing,” I growl, cutting him off and turning to walk out of the room.

I should be happy about this, but now all I am is pissed that it took him so long to come back here. If they’ve been apart for years, why did it take him so long to come back to me?

“Kolton!” he calls, his footsteps heavy as he comes after me. “Kolton, stop,” he demands.

And I do. I stop, my feet planting themselves to the floor.

He comes around to face me. “Don’t do this to yourself. You want this as badly as I do.” His hand rests on my hip, scorching my skin.

“Fuck you,” I hiss .

“I want to be with you, Kolton. And I’m sorry about what happened before—”

“Your sorry doesn’t mean shit.”

“I know that,” he snaps. For the first time, he looks pissed.

“It’s why I’m here, trying to apologize and make things better.

I know I fucked up, and I hate it. But we can move forward.

We can get past all of it. Don’t you miss this?

” he asks, his hand sliding from my waist down to my dick.

He moves so close his nose brushes mine.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I still love you.

I have always loved you, and I will never stop loving you.

Give me another chance. You won’t regret it. ”

My eyes fall closed, and I almost give in and say yes when he squeezes my dick. But Anastacia calls out that dinner is done, and it breaks the spell, allowing me to step out of his grip and head downstairs.

“I asked your friend to stay for dinner. I hope that’s okay,” is what she says when I reach her. I nearly stumble to the ground because no, it isn’t fucking okay. But she looks so happy right now, and when she’s happy, the baby is happy too, so I can’t tell her no.

“I’ll go if you want me to,” he says softly behind me.

I run a hand through my damp hair. “It’s fine.”

Anastacia brings the last dish to the table that she’s set with three place settings, wine glasses and the food along the middle.

“Let’s eat before it gets cold,” she says.

The food looks as good as it smells. I’ve been spoiled with amazing food recently. First the steak from Lucian, now this. I love food, it’s just something that’s difficult for me to enjoy at times.

“You did say it was okay to have one glass of wine, right?” she asks, looking at Lucian.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

“It’ll be the first since being pregnant.”

“It’ll be just fine,” Lucian assures her, giving her a smile.

I hate the way his kindness warms me. I hate that I don’t hate everything he does.

Most of all, I hate that when I first saw him here, I wanted to kill him, but now…

I’m right back where I was all those years ago—wanting to kiss him and hold him and get on my knees and beg for his cock.

I want more of what happened this morning, even though my body is still sore. I just want more of him.

Anastacia and Lucian make small talk about their lives and the baby as we eat. I listen but don’t chime in. Anastacia finishes her plate, and drinks only half of her wine. She said it’s making her tired and she doesn’t want any more.

“Leave your plate there. I’ll take care of it,” Lucian tells her.

“Thank you,” she says, giving him a tired smile before yawning. “I’m going to bed. If that’s okay.”

“Of course, it’s—” I begin, but am cut off by a knock on my door, which causes all three of us to look at it. That’s when I realize I don’t have my phone, meaning I didn’t get the alert for the cameras.

I get up, already in protective mode. I’d like to say it’s only for her, but I know it’s for him too .

If the Iron Runners show up here, they won’t be looking to only take her back. They’ll kill us all. It’s unlikely they’d knock on the door, but that could be part of their plan.

“Take her upstairs,” I demand, and neither of them hesitates to do as I say.

I pull a knife from the butcher block before going toward my door, cursing myself for letting Lucian distract me. If he weren’t here, I’d have had my phone.

When I get to the door, I tap the screen and let out a breath when I see Grizz standing there. I pull open the door, still brandishing the knife. He smiles, but it falls the moment he sees it.

“Whoa, I just came to apologize,” he says, putting his hands up.

“Get in the house,” I growl, stepping aside. He comes in, and I point the knife at him. “Take off your shoes.”

He nods quickly, then toes off his boots as I put the knife back.

“Damn, it smells good in here,” he says as he follows me into the living room. I go to the stairs and call up to them that it’s good to come down.

Grizz’s eyes widen when he sees Anastacia come down the stairs. He doesn’t pull his gaze from her for a second. I think there are little hearts there.

“Who is this?” he asks.

Which is when I remember she’s not supposed to be here. Coyote said it wasn’t our problem and I should have left her. It’s possible Grizz missed that conversation and truly has no idea who she is.

“That knife you just saw?” I say, causing Grizz to frown. “It’ll be up your ass if you say a word about it.”

His frown deepens as he looks back at the girl, his gaze going to her belly.

“Fuck,” he says under his breath. “I won’t say anything, man. Swear it.”

His gaze then goes to Lucian, and he frowns deeper. Of course he knows nothing about Lucian and I, so he has no reason to think this is weird. In fact, I think he’s met him a few times when we were younger at different events that Lucian was at, though I’m not sure he remembers.

His curiosity about Lucian lasts seconds before he goes back to Anastacia, and something crosses his face. A look I can’t quite place.

“Grizz,” he says, holding out his hand.

“Anastacia,” she says, taking his. They don’t shake, just stand there staring at each other and holding hands.

“For fuck’s sake,” I say. “What the hell do you want, Grizz?”

“Are you hungry?” Anastacia asks.

“No,” I answer, just as he says, “Starving.”

She giggles and leads him to the dining room. The only good thing about this is they aren’t looking like they’re going to jump each other’s bones in the middle of my living room. They better not think about doing that anywhere in my house, or I will have heads flying. Specifically, Grizz’s .

“This is not going to be a repeating event!” I call after them.

“Oh, let them be,” Lucian says with a laugh.

I turn to glare at him. “Don’t tell me what to do, Lucian.”

“You used to like when I did that.”

“Yeah, when I used to like you.”

“Ouch,” he says, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Why are you here?”

“I wanted to check on Anastacia and see how you were doing.”

“I know you have a phone.”

“And I know you wouldn’t have answered.”

He’s not wrong.

“How is she doing?” I ask, knowing we’ll go round and round if I don’t put a stop to it.

Lucian always got off on my smart mouth. I’m sure it’s no different now.

“She’s great. Baby is in position to come out.”

“What’s the plan for that?”

“Home births are common, but I’m not an obstetrician.”

“Then I suppose you better do some research over the next couple of weeks,” I comment.

He shakes his head. “It’s dangerous, Kolton. We aren’t close to a hospital. If something goes wrong, it’ll be really bad.”

“She said no hospitals.”

“Actually, she said no to our hospital.”

I narrow my eyes. “What are you saying?”

“I think we should take her to my place in Boston. ”

“No fucking way. I’m not staying in the house you fucked your wife in.”

“It’s a different place, Kolton, and this has nothing to do with you or us. It’s for her.” He gestures to the dining room, and I look that way, seeing Grizz and her talking and laughing. He looks like a fucking goofy idiot.

“When?” I ask, turning my attention back to him.

“Sooner the better. She could go into labor any day.”

I have no idea how I’m going to get away from here for that long. I’m not sure that I can—not while we’re waiting for the Iron pricks to retaliate from our last attack.

“I need to think about it.”

Boston is a seven-hour drive. If she goes into labor, we won’t make it that far. Though, we could make it to a different hospital. The next one is about an hour away, so that could work. But do we want to risk it?

“I may have another idea,” I say, considering our options.

Anastacia lets out a loud laugh, her head tipping back. Grizz is grinning at her, chewing his food.

“What is it?” Lucian asks.

“You up for a ride?”

His eyes narrow, but he nods.

Ten minutes later, I’m changed, and we’re getting into my truck and taking a drive.