Phoenix Rising Rock Band: The Series

by Kathryn C. Kelly

“Don’t do her anything. She’s just in shock.”

  “Tell that bitch don’t ever touch me again.” He skirts around me and slaps me to the ground again. “I don’t care what you say, Bae,” he snarls from above me. “No bitch is disrespecting me.”

  Their words are floating to me from far away. I don’t care what happens to me. Let Sean kill me. For the rest of my life, I’ll have to live imagining the abuse my handsome brother’s body suffered.

  Turning to my side, I draw up my knees and rock back and forth.

  No one understands how much I loved my brother. He was my only family and my best friend.

  Sean clutches my hair and drags me to my feet again, shaking me.

  “If you let loose your grief, you’ll never rein it in.”

  Trembles assail me. All that blood in the diner. I dry heave again.

  He shakes me a second time, harder. “Do you know what I do to weak bitches?”

  Through tears, I stare at him. To me, in this moment, he’s a stranger. I’m an alien in a foreign land, where nothing makes sense. My ears ring and my head buzzes.

  Sean licks my tears, grabs my face, and squeezes. “I get rid of the weak ones. Bae likes you. I’ve always respected you. Don’t make me regret that and take care of you.”

  Hands touch my waist and I’m spun one hundred eighty degrees. Gloria gives me a soft smile and brushes away my tears.

  “You need protection,” she says briskly. “Without Montana, you’re vulnerable.”

  I hiccup another sob.

  “It’s time for you to grow up, honey. Sean and I will take care of you.”

  Overwhelming grief steal my words.

  Her face twists into an ugly expression and she brings her mouth to my ear. “Do you want to die?” she breathes. “Sean will oblige you. If you want to stay alive, pull yourself together.”

  She straightens and looks at me with expectation.

  My brain tries to focus on her demeanor. Something about her seemed so menacing.

  She’s right, though. It’s imperative that I strengthen my resolve. My will to live.

  Sean spins me, so that I face him again.

  “I’ll give you three days to decide if you want to be one of my girls. You want to be under my protection, then I have requirements.”

  Swiping at my tears, I clear my throat. “Will one of those requirements have me transporting merchandise?” My voice is as shaky as my body.

  His hands tighten around my neck again. “It’ll require you doing anything I tell you to do.”

  There’s no way I can put myself in such a predicament.

  “On your own, you’re not safe,” he continues, watching me closely.

  I should jump at the chance to be under Sean’s protection, but I never wanted to be a prostitute in the first place.

  “You know, Sean,” Gloria starts, “she can always live here with us, since Neesa…” Her voice trails off.

  Neesa. Another one of the dead girls.

  Word is she ran away and sold Sean out to a rival from the other side of town. Then, her body was fished out of the South Platte, very near where the most recent girl was found.

  Of course, no one knows how Neesa ended up in the river. A john might have shot her and dumped her body. Or, as speculation went, Sean exacted his revenge. Trust came hard on the streets. In an instant, friends turned foe, and stabbed you in the back. Literally.

  Having to answer to a pimp was bad enough. Running drugs for him, too, was like a death sentence.

  “I’m not running drugs,” I say hoarsely.

  I have to pull myself together and tuck Montana’s memory away for the time being to survive. Safety is imperative to claw my way out of the gutter. Then, I can reset my life’s course before bringing Chambers to justice for killing Montana. With the life the asshole leads, he’ll probably be dead by then, but believing I can send Chambers to prison gives me a goal.

  Sean drops his hand, then looks at his two silent goons. He points to me. “She’s off-limits until I say otherwise. Get the word out.”

  Otherwise will come in three days. I swipe at my cheeks. My tears have stopped. Now, my heart needs to heal. I doubt that time will ever come, so I have to pretend its fine and accept Sean’s offer of protection, since I’m out of options.

  “Take the time you need,” he tells me.

  Gloria tugs at his sleeve. “Bae, as I was saying before I mentioned Neesa, Raine can live with us. Be your new toy.” She winks at me. “Buuutttt,” she drawls, sing-song, “instead of twenty percent, you can give her fifty percent.”

  “No,” I state flatly. “If receiving that high of a percentage means I have to traffic, I’ll stick to the twenty, thank you.”

  Sean lifts a brow at me. “Watch your mouth,” he warns. “You’re lucky Gloria likes you.”

  I have nothing nice to say, so I shut up.

  “No running drugs,” Gloria announces. “But I’m no longer in the anal business, so you’ll have to service Sean that way. Can you handle it?”

  “How big is his cock?” I ask without flinching. This is a business deal. I can do a little negotiating. “If it’s too big, I won’t do it, either. I’ll be on my merry way because I don’t want my asshole demolished.”

  Sean and Gloria snicker.

  She nods to Sean. “Come and take a peek. Give it a little kiss.”

  “No.” I need as much time as I can get to process everything. If I end up on my knees, giving head to Sean, before I know it, his boys will be shoving their cocks down my throat and I’ll be moving in tonight.

  Folding her arms, Gloria rocks on her heels and tsks at me.

  “Tell me why you want her to get fifty percent instead of the usual, Bae?”

  They call each other Bae. Instead of rolling my eyes, I sniffle.

  “Maybe, to give her a chance.” She combs her fingers through her honey-blonde hair. “I see potential in her.”

  “I’ll give you half your earnings if you dance in my club, when I tell you to, and if you consent to be my toy. If you please me well enough, you won’t have to run drugs. If you don’t, you either traffic or you’re out. Depending on what you know will depend on how you leave. With your brain in your head or against a tree.” Sean smirks at me. “And your body tossed in the river.”

  Shit. The suspicions are true. Sean killed Neesa.

  “Sean’s good to me and his toys,” Gloria explains. “Just don’t fuck over him. Steal his revenue, for instance. If you’ve agreed to a certain cut, don’t say you’re earning less to keep more. Understand?”

  “She thinks I shot Neesa, Bae,” he tells Gloria. They both laugh.

  “No, Raine,” Gloria assures me and offers me a huge smile. “That was me.”

  Her casual words send shock waves through me, but I keep my expression stoic. “Right,” I say with a nod. Because, Jesus, what the fuck else can I say? “I have to leave now.”

  Gloria steps to me and gives me a hug. “Are you coming back?”

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  She chucks my chin. “Good girl.”

  As I walk to the door, I feel the heat of Sean’s gaze with each step I take.

  “Three days, Stormy Weather,” he calls as I open the door. “If you’re not back by then, my offer of protection expires.”

  Unless another opportunity opens, and I find some other refuge, theirs is the best offer I’ll get. The streets are mean and no place to fuck around.

  Protection is my best option. I can only hope I don’t lose my life, or my soul, in the process.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I park one street over, from the “diner” where I met Raine. I can’t stop myself from returning to it, to search for clues to where Montana’s body might be that I might’ve missed. When I get there, I find the door locked. Just as well. I’m a bodyguard, not a motherfucking detective.

  Between dealing with my mother and pretending I’m not worried about Raine, the day has worn me out. However, I can’t continue th
e major fucking lie that I don’t care what happens to her. I am concerned about her.

  I have the means to keep her off the street. A win for me, because she’ll be in my bed.

  Sighing, I force myself to walk in the direction of my contact. It’s imperative to keep this meeting. Besides, I wouldn’t know where to start looking for Raine.

  Where do homeless hookers hang out?

  I regret losing my temper with her and sending her back to the streets. She’s just the most annoying little witch I’ve ever met, even more so than Georgiana. And that little bitch got completely under my skin. On my bad fucking side. An annoyance I wanted to get the fuck out of my life. More importantly, away from Sloane.

  Yet, Sloane’s happy. It’s my mother who’s so miserable.

  Away from her madness, however, I think a little clearer. Raine’s arguments ring in my head.

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I glance down the street. The setting sun castes a pinkish-orange glow in the sky, shadowing the abandoned buildings, boarded up windows, and run-down neighborhood.

  Stuffing my keys in the pocket of my shorts, I turn west and walk a block, then head north, coming to a three-story building that looks like a dump. Once I open the glass door, I find crates and boxes in the hallway. Spider web and dust mites hanging from the rafters. The smell of piss is so fucking strong, my eyes sting.

  When I reach the elevator and call upstairs, I frown at the old-fashioned, traction car that’s sent down. The motherfucker has to be some type of building violation. It’s at least one hundred years old.

  Its age shows because it takes forever to reach the third floor. Stepping into the foyer, I walk to a steel door and press the buzzer. A moment later, Vince steps aside to allow me entry into another fucking hallway, filled with bullshit that drug money and illegal activity can buy. The hallway has wooden floors and zebra print wallcovering.

  I follow Vince to yet another door and finally walk into the horrendously decorated penthouse, with more gilded furniture than a Rococo museum.

  Walking down three steps to reach the sunken living room, I nod to Sean’s other bodyguard who keeps silent watch on the scene I’ve walked in on.

  Sean’s head rests on the back of the sofa between spread arms. A woman is on her knees, sucking his dick. From what I can tell, she has glossy honey blonde hair and one helluva figure.

  Vince breezes by and smirks at me as he situates himself behind her and lifts her ass. He slides her dress above her waist and fingers her pussy. Still looking at me, he pulls his hand back and stuffs them into his mouth. Afterwards, he opens his fly, pulls out his dick and thrusts into her.

  She lifts her head long enough to moan, then goes back to sucking Sean’s cock. It is at this point, he lifts his head and looks at me. As a matter of fact, all three motherfuckers stare at me, while the woman stays busy with dick in her mouth and pussy.

  I take the nearest seat and fold my arms. “I appreciate that you all find me so interesting, but your bitch might develop a complex. She’s servicing you, not me, so focus on her.”

  “Don’t tell me you don’t want just a little of this.” Vince’s words match his humps.

  “Nope. Sure don’t.”

  Sean places his hand on the back of the woman’s head and she stops blowing him but doesn’t lift her head.

  “Enough, Vince,” he orders.

  Immediately, Vince pulls his hard cock out of the woman’s pussy. As he stands and zips his pants, he stumbles.

  “Sit in my lap, Bae,” Sean says, assessing me.

  “I’m not impressed,” I say, bored.

  “I can see that.”

  It takes Bae another moment to get to her feet and follow Sean’s instructions. She’s a pretty woman with smooth alabaster skin and gorgeous blue eyes. Sitting on his lap, she plants a kiss on his mouth, then looks at me.

  “You called for a meeting with me about our little deal, but you’re a man of means, so I have an offer to make to you,” Sean states.

  “Not fucking interested.”

  He grins at me. “It takes fucking balls to ask your sister-in-law’s brother for the name of a hit man to have her husband killed.” He gives me an under-eyed look and Bae giggles. “Your brother.”

  I shrug. “I do what I have to, to get what I need.”

  So fucking what if Cash McCall, Georgiana’s biker brother, connected me to Sean? He’s a Death Dweller distributor and, sometimes hit man. The club has an enforcer, but the man keeps busy in his part of the country. I’ve explained everything to Sean, and he took the job, though Cash is responsible for the initial contact. He didn’t ask questions and I didn’t offer answers. My stipulations were discretion and capabilities.

  Once the job’s done, I can go to Europe and lose myself, so I’ll never have to face the wrath of the motorcycle club. They consider Sloane one of their own. Once again, I’m left out in the cold. Even the few times I’ve visited on my own to have a drink with Cash, I don’t receive the same admiration that Sloane garners. I don’t care what those biker idiots say. They’re as enamored of Sloane’s fame as anyone else.

  “I wonder what Ghost would say if he knew you used him?”

  “Blackmail me, and I leave, and take my money. I’ll tell Ghost” —Cash’s road name— “myself what I did before I fall for your bullshit.”

  Sean stiffens. “You’re on my turf. Watch your tone with me.”

  “I’m not a lackey you can piss on,” I snap. “Just as I found you, I can get someone else.”

  “Suppose I recorded our initial meeting?”

  Cash would beat the fuck out of me with the help of his biker brothers. As he would if I confessed on my own. Sean doesn’t need the satisfaction of seeing my smidgeon of hesitation over the soundness of my plan. With that thought, I still refuse to cow-tow to any motherfucker. “And? If you recorded it, do what you must.”

  We stare at each other a moment, until he relents.

  “I’m Gloria, by the way,” Bae says.

  I nod, but stay silent, uninterested in pleasantries.

  “What did you need from me, to call an emergency meeting?” Sean asks.

  Standing, I get my billfold from my back pocket and pull out a slip of paper, then reseat myself. “We need to meet at another location, in two days.” I hold up the paper. “At this address. But I don’t want those two fuckers standing across the room with you. You, me, and the person I want you to meet will have a catered lunch and I’ll have a cashier’s check for a mil point five.”

  Soon enough, he’ll learn it’s my mother. I wish I could delay the meeting longer, but I can’t trust Mom.

  “My Bae got to come.” Sean covers Gloria’s big tits with his hands and fondles them.

  She seems harmless enough. Besides, she might be company for my mother after I introduce her to Sean. “Fine.”

  “I’ll also bring my hired gun.” Sean lifts a brow at me. “Unless it’s a Dweller hit, which is rare, I coordinate the job, then outsource them to people on my payroll.”

  “Is it one of these assholes?” I nod to Vince and the motherfucker whose name I don’t care to know.

  “No, but my guy should be here any minute now. I’ll introduce you to him if he arrives before you leave.”

  “I doubt I will be here.” My business is over. I don’t want to stay any longer than I must.

  As I start to stand, Sean raises his hand. “Not so fast. I want to discuss another deal with you.”

  “I’m not interested in any other fucking deal. If you’re that desperate for my company, tell me more about the man doing the hit.”

  “You’re sexist,” Gloria says with a pout. “I’m one of his hired guns.”

  “That’s not my business. I want what I contacted Sean about, over and done with.”

  “Sounds to me like you’re getting cold feet,” Sean speculates, then rubs Gloria’s back. “What do you think, Bae?”

  “Maybe, he is. Not that I blame him. I don’t think I’ve ever had
the pleasure of a case where a brother wants to have his own brother killed. I’ve heard about them, though.” She claps her hands. “This will be interesting.”

  “On to my offer,” Sean says, relentless.

  “Waste your breath if you want. My answer is already fuck no.”

  Sean gives me a cool look. My temper flares, but instead of the hot rage I exhibited with Raine, I’m ice cold right now.

  He ignores my displeasure. “I’m getting a new toy. A mouthy little piece who’s having problems. I’ve wanted to fuck her for a long, long time. Gloria and I are finally getting her under our thumb. I’m already lining up regular clients for her. High rollers. She wants to take three days before she becomes one of my girls. Stupid slut. I have a feeling she might see the error of her ways very soon.”

  Vince’s snicker echoes from the other side of the room.

  They’re fucking assholes. “With a little help from those two, I suppose.”

  “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do,” Sean says without remorse. “I’m sure you understand.”

  In response, I glare at him. “I don’t beat up women, asshole.” I might verbally terrorize them. Of course, I also took things farther with Georgiana.

  “A few good slaps keeps a bitch in line,” Sean says.

  Fuck. Raine could easily be one of the girls Sean comes across and decides to beat up. I mightn’t ever find her, but I can help this nameless, faceless woman.

  “If you want me to consider the deal, don’t put your hands on her. I won’t appreciate damaged goods.” I don’t know what else to do. “Who is she?” I ask, still thinking of Raine.

  Sean’s place isn’t far from the diner and she’s definitely fallen on hard times. Fuck…if this is Raine he’s talking about, I’ll fucking kill him. Not because I’m jealous or territorial. It’s because Raine deserves better.

  “Her name,” I demand in a hard voice.

  “Is it important?” he asks. “She’ll be whoever you want her to be. If you’re interested, so don’t take too long to decide.”

  “Let me think on it,” I reiterate. If it isn’t Raine, I need to think about the best offer for her, where I won’t have to bring her back. She’ll need a place to live.