Page 49 of Ruin (Hell’s Mayhem MC: Maine Chapter #2)

Chapter Forty-Eight

Kolton

I slam Coyote’s face against the wall, the crunch telling me I’ve broken his nose. He groans, hands coming up to cover it.

“I came here to kill you,” I growl. “You’re lucky that’s all you’ve got.”

Kaison goes toward him again, but I step between them. He already gave him a black eye, and if he hits him again, he may kill him. Kaison has a lot of power behind his punches, and Coyote isn’t the biggest guy. Coyote cries out in pain, leaning against the wall as blood drips down his face.

“If you don’t tell us what the fuck is going on, I will kill you!” Kaison bellows, shoving a finger in his face. “Actually, fuck that. I won’t kill you. I’ll smash every bone in your body, pluck your teeth out one by one, stab your fucking eyeballs with—“

“Okay, Shark!” I shout. “Fuck, we get it.” I give him a good hard shove. My phone starts to ring—for the fourth time. But I have to ignore it. Club business. I turn back to Coyote. “You better start talking, or I swear to fuck you will regret it.”

Coyote tears his shirt off and walks over to his desk to sit, using it to wipe the blood from around his mouth. His nose isn’t actively bleeding, but there is blood everywhere.

“They’re blackmailing me. Have been since Chisel died.”

“More,” I shout, slamming my fist onto the table.

“They told me if I didn’t want them to come in here and take the border, we had to pay them.

” I raise a brow. “It’s the fucking truth.

I didn’t borrow money or get us into any shit.

This isn’t my fucking fault, it’s Chisel’s.

I never wanted anything to do with this piece of shit club, but he fucked himself so deep, that even after death he’s still fucking us! ”

“Why didn’t you just say something?” Kaison shouts. “That’s what we’re here for.”

“None of you assholes trust me! What was I supposed to say, huh? And what the fuck would you have done?”

“Gone after those pricks!” Kaison shouts, jerking his arm toward the door.

“No, that’s impossible. They’re too big.”

“Fuck you, they’re too big.”

“They’re not the Iron Runners. They aren’t another small town club from down the fucking road. They’re the goddamn cartel!”

Well, that’s not what I was expecting.

“The cartel?” I ask calmly .

“Yes!” Coyote shouts. “Chisel fucked us . What don’t you understand about that?”

He takes a few slow, even breaths, either trying to calm himself or because of the pain.

“How?”

“They were using the border for years without us knowing. Chisel found out and started stealing from them and selling it elsewhere. They were moving so much they didn’t realize.”

“How did they find out?” I ask.

“There was a rat!”

My eyes narrow. “On which side?”

“Don’t know,” he says with a shake of his head. “But they’ve had their grubby paws in our town for a long time. The laundering at the diner? It’s them too.”

“You sure about that?” Kaison asks.

We thought it was the Iron Runners…

“Very,” Coyote says, getting up and going to the mirror on the wall. It’s in the shape of a motorcycle. He holds his breath, grabs his nose, and resets it. “Fuck!” He bends over, breathing through the pain and then says, “They got to Norman right away.”

“So what the fuck are we supposed to do with you now?” I ask.

Coyote turns to look at us, wiping his eyes of tears and smearing more blood. He throws his arms up, letting them drop. “May as well just kill me. If you don’t, they will. ”

“No,” Kaison says. “Then, what? They come after us? The whole fucking town? I don’t think so. You may not give a fuck about any of this, but we do! So you’re going to help us figure this shit out.”

“There is nothing to figure out. They’re bigger and stronger. They are going to win. It’s a miracle they haven’t taken us over yet. We’ve got prime land here. We’re sitting on the border to another fucking country. Do you know what that means in this world?”

“Don’t talk to us like we’re idiots,” I say. “Of course we know what it means.” I turn to my brother. “And I think we have only one solution.”

“Well, it better be a quick one because if we aren’t in New York tonight, and those two goons don’t return, they’re going to send a fucking army.”

“Then I guess we better build ours fast.”

The drive to New Hampshire is much quicker than the drive to New York would have been. We aren’t going there at all tonight. They can come for us all they want. I’m confident we’ll get all the help we need where we’re going.

“How much longer?” Coyote asks from the back seat .

I glance at my phone. “Thirty-four minutes.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” he complains.

Kaison turns in his seat to look at him. “Whatever you’ve been doing to bullshit us into thinking you knew what you were doing, do that again.”

He curses under his breath, and Kaison turns back around, giving me an annoyed look.

I wouldn’t say Coyote is scared, exactly, but all the confidence he’s had is gone.

These guys he got mixed up with have instilled serious fear in him.

Or maybe he’s just given up. He thinks there is no way out of this, but the Hell’s Mayhem aren’t just in Maine.

We’re all over. Each state has their own faction.

We work and run separately, but we share the same values.

Our grandfathers knew that and used it to their advantage.

Our fathers were too proud for the help.

Me? I ain’t too proud to keep my life and protect the people of my town, especially from a fucking cartel.

Honestly, it’s a surprise we haven’t dealt with shit like this before.

Being on the border puts us in a dangerous spot.

Maybe his idea of growing wasn’t such a bad idea at all, if it means we will have more protection.

“This why you were trying to get more people?” I ask.

“Yep,” he grunts.

That’s why he was keeping it quiet—he didn’t want it getting out.

“Should’ve just asked for help, man. It’s my fucking job,” Kaison says .

Coyote grunts but says nothing, and we drive the rest of the way in silence.

My phone rings again and I stare at Lucian’s name scrolling across my screen.

I press the button on the side to send it to voicemail.

I feel Kaison’s gaze on me but ignore that too.

I know what he wants to say but won’t because of Coyote.

I’ll call Lucian later. The club comes first. At least, in this situation it does.

It won’t always. I won’t allow Lucian to get involved with the club. Our relationship comes before that .

My phone dings. Another voicemail. He’s left four already. He’s probably worried, but he can’t be my priority right now. I hope he understands.

When we pull up in front of the clubhouse, I shut off the truck and grab my phone to type out a text, but the front door bursts open and a bunch of guys flood out, probably wondering who the fuck we are and why we’re pulling up. We’d do the same thing.

My brother and I open our doors at the same time to get out. I shove my phone into my back pocket.

“You boys lost or something?” the big guy in the front says.

He’s a big dude. Maybe about ten years older than us, with a long blond beard and bald head. A dozen guys stand behind him, the light from inside shadowing them. It’s dark out here, and I doubt they can make out what’s on our cuts from here.

“Nope,” Kaison says. “We’re the Maine chapter.”

“Maine chapter?” the guy asks. “What the fuck are you doing here? ”

“We were hoping to have a conversation. We’re having trouble and could use some advice.”

“You the Prez?” he asks.

“VP,” Kaison answers, then moves to the side. “He’s the Prez, but uh… he’s not feeling so hot right now.”

Coyote holds his hand up in greeting, both his eyes purple, his lip busted, and his nose swollen as hell. There’s still crusty blood on his face too.

“We don’t usually have uninvited guests,” the guy says.

“Understandable, but we’d really appreciate your time,” Kaison says as respectfully as possible.

One of the guys elbows the guy in front. “They’re family, man.”

“We’re family,” Kaison says with a grin, holding his arms out.

This charming mother fucker…

“What the fuck is going on out here?” someone calls out in a cheery voice as they push through all the guys. He’s as big as the rest, but with a more inviting face.

“Maine chapter,” the first guy says.

“Well, fuck. Welcome to Snow Creek!”

This guy walks closer, throwing an arm around Kaison, then one around me, and urges us toward the group.

All I can smell is alcohol, which could be a good thing or a bad thing.

The group of guys part and we walk between them to head inside where the AC is blasting and there are half-full drinks along the bar, two girls behind it—twins.

Both blond with fake tits wearing white sports bras and red booty shorts.

Even if I liked girls, they’d be too young for me.

“Don’t even think about it, boys. Those are my girls, and they’re off limits,” the guy with his arms around us says.

“I got a girl,” Kaison says.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say I don’t like girls, but I don’t know these people.

“Yeah, me too,” I grumble.

“Britt, get these boys some drinks,” the guy says as he gestures to some seats along the bar. The three of us sit, we get our drinks, and then we talk.

Apparently the big guy who first greeted us is Mouse, he’s the enforcer.

This guy, who is way too happy for my likings, is Crete, which is short for Concrete, I guess, and he’s the Prez here.

They’re happy we came by and are all too willing to help with what we need—we’re family.

They’ve got hundreds of guys here, plenty of them with experience manning borders.

The best part of all? They’ve already dealt with the Hollow Cross Cartel, and they moved on.

Apparently, they aren’t as tough or as big as they make themselves out to be.

They’ve been moving across the border, trying to scare someone into submission.

We were a good target because we’re small, which only makes me hate them more.

I hadn’t thought to wonder why they aren’t dealing through their own borders, but Crete explains it’s because they’re at the bottom of the food chain. Bigger and badder guys handle that, and so they don’t have a choice but to look for others to fuck with. They’re bullies, and it’s pathetic.

I thought we’d come up with a plan to man our borders better, but I guess we are taking a trip to New York after all.

“The thing about Maine is that a good portion of the border is so deep in the woods it’s not worth it to use, so we haven’t had to worry about manning it,” Shark explains. “But we should focus on growing the club and spreading out through the state. We shouldn’t have to move across lines for help.”

“We don’t mind helping,” Crete says. “But it is a good idea to have your own guys in your back pocket for when you need them. Maine is a big state; lots of opportunity.”

It’s already late tonight, so we won’t take the trip to NY until tomorrow. Crete told us we can stay at the clubhouse for the night. There are plenty of rooms upstairs with bunks, and we get a room to ourselves.

It’s late and I’m tired, and I’d love nothing more than to go to sleep, but I need to call Lucian, so I head out front and lean against my truck as I stare at the missed calls and press his name. It starts to ring, and I bring the phone to my ear.

“Kolton?” Lucian says into the phone, sounding worried.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Christ, are you okay? I was about to jump on a plane.”

“I’m fine,” I say. “Just club shit.”

“Oh, right.” I don’t miss how his tone changed. He sounds almost disappointed. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I say, running a hand through my hair .

“Are you okay? How are you doing?”

Now he’s concerned. So many emotions in such a short amount of time. Is that normal? Is that how I should be with him? I feel all the emotions inside, but I don’t think I show them, not like he does. Does he want that from me?

“I’m fine. Just want you back here.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Then why did you leave?

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” I ask.

“Couldn’t sleep without hearing from you. I was worried, baby.”

A smile crosses my lips over him calling me baby. It’s ridiculous to think of. A man like me being called baby ? But I love it.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“Don’t be. You were just doing what you needed to do.”

I stare up at the sky that’s dotted with stars. It’s beautiful out here just as it is at home.

I love how confident he is. One day, I’ll be like that too.

“I miss you,” I tell him, not ashamed of how I feel. What’s the point? Fighting it is too hard, and I just don’t want to. I like the way I feel when I let myself feel for him.

“Fuck, it’s nice to hear that,” he breathes out.

“You know I miss you.”

“Yeah, but you said it first.”

I shake my head, letting out a little laugh.

“You like that?” I ask.

“Very much. ”

“I’ll do it more often.”

“Hopefully, we won’t have to be apart much for you to miss me.”

“I still have the club.”

“Yeah, but you can sneak off to see me, right?”

Sometimes, he’s really cute.

“I really miss you, Lucian.”

He sighs. “I really miss you too, Kolton. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too,” I say softly, my throat tightening.

The call ends and I stay outside for a moment. My phone dings with a text. A photo from Lucian. It’s a picture of him lying in the hotel bed, shirt off, winking at the camera. Fuck, he’s so hot.

I text him quickly before heading inside.

Me : You trying to make me hard or what?

Lucian : Did it work?

Me : It always works.

Lucian : You better not jerk off. That cum is mine.

Me : Yes, sir.

Lucian : Good night, sweet boy.

Me : Night.