Page 50 of Ruin (Hell’s Mayhem MC: Maine Chapter #2)

Chapter Forty-Nine

Kolton

Crete walks into the laundromat—why is it always a laundromat?—like he owns the place. The guy behind the counter nearly falls off his stool when he jumps to his feet, eyes going wide and taking a few steps back.

“What’s wrong, Nuno? Did you think you’d get away with this shit?” Crete says.

“It wasn’t my idea,” he says, shaking his head.

“It never is, is it?” Crete says, leaning on the counter.

“It really wasn’t this time. It’s Filipe. He’s so hung up on it, that he’s acting crazy. I told him it was a bad idea, but he didn’t listen. He sent those guys up there, not me. I swear, man, it wasn’t me.”

“Uh huh,” Crete says with a nod as his eyes graze over the counter.

They settle on something I don’t see, and he moves so quickly I hardly catch it.

Nuno’s hand is flat on the table, and there’s a pencil sticking out of it while he howls in pain.

Crete’s hand is around his throat, and his face is already turning red.

Shark whistles. “I think I like this version better.”

I huff out a laugh. So do I .

The few customers that were in here carefully make their way out, looking as if they’re used to this shit, but don’t want to be involved. They know to look the other way.

“This is how it’s going to go, you little piece of shit.

You’re going to live with the choices you made, you got that?

You fucked up your chance to hit it big thanks to that puny little dick of yours.

It’s no one else’s problem but yours, and you can tell Filipe what I said.

If you, him, or any of your boys even think of crossing over into my state or theirs—or any other to fuck with the Hell’s Mayhem, I’ll cut your balls off and shove them so far up your ass you’ll choke on them. ”

Nuno nods shakily, tears staining his cheeks. Crete lets go of his throat and pats his cheek, smiling.

“See, I knew we could be friends.” He looks at me, Shark, and Coyote. “And these guys? They’re your friends now too. Same as me, you got it?”

“Yeah, I totally got it,” he says, then looks at us. “I’m sorry. You won’t have any problems with us in the future.”

“That’s my boy,” Crete says with a proud smile. “Now, have a lovely day.”

He turns on his heel and heads for the door, so we follow. Twenty minutes later, we’re grabbing some food at a diner, and then we’re heading back .

“Why the fuck didn’t someone tell me it would be so goddamn easy?” Coyote complains.

“Had you told us what the fuck was going on, maybe someone would have,” Kaison says.

“I’m sorry, okay? I fucked up. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Yeah, well…” Shark says as I turn onto the main road.

“You really think they won’t be a problem anymore?” I ask.

“I think that guy nearly pissed his pants. You see the fear in his eyes?” Kaison laughs.

“Funny how ballsy they were with us, but not with him,” Coyote says.

“It’s all about confidence,” Kaison says as he types away on his phone, a stupid smile on his face. He must be texting Cora.

“How are things with her?” I ask carefully.

Kaison looks at me from the corner of his eye.

“Are you making small talk?”

“You know what? Never mind.”

“Shut the fuck up, Kolt. I’m just fucking with you.”

“Which is why I never want to talk to you.”

Kaison rolls his eyes, putting his phone into the cup holder.

“Things are fucking amazing. I’m going to propose.”

“What?” I bark. “Already?”

“When you know, you know.”

“It’s been like two months.”

“It’s been four.”

“That’s hardly a difference. ”

“I want to marry this girl, Kolton. Don’t you ever think about it? With you-know-who?”

“Oh, that’s what we’re calling him now?” I say.

“Well, I didn’t know about… you know, this asshole.” He gestures to Coyote.

“I can literally see you, ya prick,” Coyote barks back.

I come to stop at a stop sign and turn to face Coyote.

“I’m gay. I’m dating that doctor you wanted in the club. Is that a fucking problem?”

His eyes widen the smallest bit. “Not at all, man. My cousin is gay.”

Oh, so he does have a family? Interesting.

“Good.” I turn around and step on the gas. “Now you can call him Lucian,” I say to my brother, who is laughing. “And yes, I have thought about it, but it feels… weird.”

“What about it?”

“All of it.”

“It’s not for everyone.”

“I was married once,” Coyote says.

“The fuck you were,” Kaison shouts.

“I was. For two years.”

“Oh yeah, where is she?”

“Living in Texas with her husband and kids. She divorced my ass.”

“Smartest decision she’d ever made, I bet,” I say, and they both laugh .

It was meant to be a dig, not funny. We don’t talk much after that, not for a couple hours, when Coyote decides to speak again.

“This shit ain’t for me,” he says. “You should be Prez, Shark.”

“Fuck no,” he says, which shocks me.

“No?” I ask.

“Nah,” he answers. “Coyote, you need to learn a lot of shit, but it’s your spot. You can make our grandfathers proud by doing good in this club if you do it right.”

“With my father teaching me, I don’t think I know what that means,” he says.

I always thought Chisel was a decent guy. Now, I’m not so sure.

Kaison huffs out a laugh. “No one knows that better than us. Our father was a royal piece of shit. Worse than I ever thought possible. But it doesn’t have to be about them.

It needs to be about us and the future. You need to be more of a team player.

Start giving a fuck about the town and the rest of the guys, not just yourself. ”

“Now that my life isn’t on the line, that may be easier.”

“So you think,” I mutter, causing Shark to slap my arm.

“About that,” Coyote says. “You shitheads were really going to kill me, weren’t you?”

“Fuck yeah, we were. And I was so fucking ready for it,” Kaison says.

He chuckles. “Well, if you ever plan on doing it again, just do me a favor and make it quick. ”

We get back to town late into the afternoon. When I pull into the lot, I see a ton of bikes that don’t belong to anyone we know, and of course we all think one thing.

“Iron pricks,” my brother growls, getting out of the truck before it comes to a stop. I park right where I am, and the three of us hurry inside.

I expect to see my brothers slaughtered with their heads on sticks, but that isn’t even close to what we walk in on.

Howler, the Iron Runner’s VP, gets up from the couch. I already have my gun trained on him.

Okay, so maybe we should be a little more pro-gun. We’ve been using them a lot lately.

“There’s no need for that,” Grizz says as he steps up beside him.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Coyote barks, stepping forward and taking charge.

Good for him.

“You should hear what he has to say,” Grizz adds.

“Fuck them!” Shark shouts, looking from Howler to Grizz and then the other guys standing around the back. “And fuck you for saying it, you Benedict Arnold.”

The air in the room is tense and thick. I can’t begin to imagine what’s going on here or what happened while we were gone. Howler steps closer to us and speaks words I never thought I would hear.

“Sloth is dead, and we want to make a treaty.”