Savior: Silent Phoenix MC Series: Book Five

by Myers, Shannon

  “Alright, boys,” Wolverine turned back to the group. “We ridin’ or plannin’ the best spots to fish?”

  Jimmy looked back to the house before nodding. “Wolverine, Zane, Torch, and Little Ricky, you guys are with me—”

  “Wait a second,” I argued. “You’re leaving now? What are we supposed to do?”

  “You also seem to have forgotten someone,” Nate added.

  Jimmy pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just—fuck! Celia, if you can just keep everyone here. Nate, I know you want to go—”

  “You’re fucking right I do. She’s my wife.”

  “And that’s why I need you to stay here. You’re too close.”

  “Too close,” he roared in response. “Too close? Do you have any fucking idea what I’m going through right now, not knowing where she is or even how she is? I show up, and you say we’re going to war, but now we’re being asked to sit this one out? Where the fuck do you get off?” He stepped back, panting heavily, fists clenched at his sides.

  I’d never been more proud.

  Jimmy took a deep breath. “I know exactly what you’re going through, but you’re still too close. You’re liable to react emotionally, which will get you or your loved one killed. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to do my job and bring Kate home safe.”

  “Come on, Nate,” I held out an arm. “You’re wasting your breath.”

  Garrett pushed off the tailgate and wrapped an arm around his brother before turning back to Jimmy. “Anything happens to her, it’s on you now. Remember that.”

  We stomped up the wooden steps, utterly dejected, as vehicles began firing up all around us. I retraced my steps looking for my cell phone, checking first the living room and then the kitchen. Lauren was somberly eating a plate of tamales while Dakota chopped an onion. Using her forearm, she pushed her glasses up onto her head and wiped at her streaming eyes.

  “No, no,” Gloria chided. “Con ganas, mija. Take pride in your work.”

  “Did you see the target outside? I took pride in that.”

  Gloria must’ve been some type of sorceress to have roped Dakota into a cooking lesson. She was about as likely to learn how to cook as she was to be seen reading a Batman comic.

  “Baby girl, have you seen my cell phone?” I finally asked when it seemed that I wasn’t interrupting.

  She nodded and pointed upstairs. “It was dying so I plugged it into Lauren’s charger in the bedroom. That was over an hour ago, so it should be good now. Do you need me to help you get it?” Her head bobbed up and down in a slow nod as if she was attempting to hypnotize me.

  “No, I think Gloria needs you here—”

  “I need to be out there,” Dakota insisted. “What good am I doing? Cooking? That’s not getting my sister back—”

  “Mija,” Gloria scolded. “You are preparing food for the soldiers. They will need full bellies to have minds that are clear. So, we have the most important job of all.”

  Dakota picked up the knife again and went back to cutting. “Can you at least tell me what the plan is?”

  Her hopeful expression tugged at my heart. “Uh, Jimmy, Zane, and several others are heading down south—”

  “What?” she screeched. “They’re leaving us? After all the hard work we put in—”

  “Dakota.” Lauren rubbed her forehead. “Just chill. I’m working on it, okay?”

  I left the two of them to sort out all our problems and jogged upstairs. When I reached the top of the stairs, I stepped into the bathroom, closing my eyes in an attempt to remain calm. The Sons had taken Kate because we were getting close. I couldn’t believe anything else.

  We’d just leave it in Jimmy’s hands and wait.

  It felt like a cop-out.

  “You can stay here and continue to live like a mouse, Celia Quinn,” I told my reflection with a jerk of my chin, repeating words I hadn’t spoken in years. “Or you can stand up and fight for what’s yours.”

  The warrior met my gaze, and my lips tipped up into a smile as she urged me to fight.

  It was time to do things our way.

  My cell was lying on the comforter, fully charged, just as Dakota had predicted it would be. I was about to call Angel when I saw a missed call and voicemail from a blocked number.

  “Celia, it’s me. I need help—we’re outside of Mirror Lake. Me and Katy. Gonna try to make it to Wolverine’s old cabin, but we’re in bad shape, darlin’. If—if I don’t make it… need you to know that you were the best thing that ever happened to a poor fuck like me. I, uh, I love you, princess.”

  I dropped to my knees against the hardwood floor with a startled cry. Jamie was alive, and he had our baby. The Sons were leading Jimmy south when we needed to head west.

  “Nate!” I screamed. “Dakota!”

  Everyone in the house came charging up the stairs in a panic. I mashed the speaker button and replayed the message, my heart filled to bursting with frantic hope.

  “Mirror Lake! I know where that is!” Dakota exclaimed. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

  “Wait.” I stopped at the top of the stairs as my brain played Devil’s advocate. “If they’re at Mirror Lake, it means that the Sons are too.”

  Was this Saint’s big plan? To send half of our team south while lining up the other half like dominos just to watch us fall?

  “We’ve been chasing them for years, Celia,” Lauren reminded me. “If this is our only chance to get them, we have to take it, ready or not.”

  “We need to call him, Lauren,” I urged.

  No more walking into traps.

  “The minute we do, they’ll know. Celia, Grey got away. If we alert the others, then the Sons will be all over that cabin. Let the boys create the diversion for a change.”

  I clasped my fingers over the bridge of my nose while wracking my brain for another solution. There had to be another way to get my family without drawing the Son’s attention.

  “It is true?” Gloria made a sign of the cross over her chest from the foot of the stairs. “You are going to go to war now?”

  Lauren winced before nodding slowly. “Now, before you call my dads and get them all—”

  “We must pray to the saints for their protection. I bring my deck. Come, come.”

  “Abuelita, we don’t really have time for that. The lake is at least three hours away. We need to leave now.”

  Gloria jerked her chin up, staring daggers at her granddaughter. “I am nothing but an old woman now. If you are going to the war, I insist we pray. Now, come.”

  I released an exasperated breath as she ushered us into the kitchen. Several pots were still bubbling away on the stove and our chances of getting to Jamie and Kate in time were dwindling with every second we wasted here. “I think we will have time for the last supper, but…”

  Lauren pressed her fingers against her eyelids and leaned against me with a groan. “Please just hurry up. For the love of all that is good and holy, woman. We need to go!”

  “You have a deck… of saints?” I asked when she held up the cards, deciding it was the most Catholic thing I’d ever heard.

  “Sí, let’s sit.” Gloria shuffled the cards as if we were about to play a rousing game of name that saint. “Let’s see— St. Erasmus? No, he is more for the cramps. Do you have a patron saint, Celia? You and Lauren are the leaders, we must keep you safe.”

  I thought back to when Mike was taken to the hospital, knowing I hadn’t been praying to one specific saint as much as anyone who would listen. “I’m sorry, it’s been quite a few years. Can we just skip to the praying part?”

  “Who was it?” The older woman demanded, rifling through her cards.

  I sighed. “St. Teresa of Avila—”

  Her eyes narrowed. “The patron saint of headache sufferers? Mija, are you sure?”

  Teresa was a wicked sinner, Celia. It was only by the grace of the Lord that she was redeemed and made whole. When you pray, pray to her. And remember where your lust will lead you if yo
u stray.

  I cleared my throat and moved my hand down to smooth my skirt, disappointed to find that I was still wearing pants. “My mother had very strong opinions about what sort of saint would work best for me, Gloria.”

  She snorted. “You mean, she found you too likable. Teresa was charming, but always convinced she was full of the sin. No, she is not your saint. I come back to you. LoLo, for you and Dakota, we pray to St. Gerard.”

  Lauren took the card from her hand. “A man?”

  “Sí. And a virgin. When we must approach the gate of death, we ask St. Gerard to open the door of life for our little ones. I bring the medals to put into your pockets. He will keep you both safe. Will there be lightning?”

  We shrugged, and I stole another glance at the clock on the wall, watching the minutes tick by.

  “Okay, I will set St. Barbara aside for now. Now, let’s see.” She shuffled through, flipping cards over and discarding others with an accuracy I hadn’t expected. “Celia, I think we should consider St. Gianna for you. She is the patron saint of mothers and unborn children. Read this.”

  “It says that she was willing to give her own life to save the life of her child.” I looked up in surprise, and Gloria smiled encouragingly, before gesturing to continue. “‘If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child. I insist on it. Save the baby.’”

  The card shook in my trembling fingers. A woman who knew nothing about me had somehow just assigned the perfect saint to intercede on my behalf.

  And, here it is,” she exclaimed. “St. Michael. We need him. He is technically an angel, but the defender in battle—”

  “Archangel,” I corrected automatically. “He’s above the angels—”

  It’s, uh, it’s Michael. Like the archangel. Do you remember what he does? He’s a protector and a warrior.

  I sucked in a ragged breath, a sudden coldness descending over my body as the pieces fell into place.

  You look so beautiful…

  Mama, I think you’re the key to all of it.

  Bear was right.

  I’d let the Sons push and pull me from one suspicion to the next, convinced they were nothing more than savages with no clear motive in mind.

  But there was a goal.

  Death is comin’ for you…

  Hadn’t Hawk warned me? I’d seen it as an omen, but maybe it had been a clue. For years, we’d been strategically positioned like pawns on a chessboard. With Kate’s abduction, the final exchange was made, pushing us into the endgame.

  Only, instead of going into the final showdown blind, I now knew exactly what it was that Saint wanted.

  Me.

  “Celia.” Lauren touched my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  I pointed to the card in Gloria’s hand. “Saint—I think Saint is Comedian.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Celia

  “You’re sure this is going to work?” Dakota whispered from the trees. The only light around came from the moon, but even with that, it was a struggle to see her.

  “It’ll work,” Lou responded from another spot in the forest.

  “They might’ve started this war, but we’re gonna be the ones to end it,” Lucy said from somewhere off to my left, clicking her magazine into place.

  Once we knew who we were dealing with, a plan was formed. Dakota had gone to work, camouflaging hers, Lou’s, and Lucy’s faces with makeup before scrounging up some of Mike’s hunting gear from the barn.

  The three of them were now damn near impossible to find.

  “Nate and Garrett are in position,” Carnage said softly from behind me, and I nodded.

  The two brothers were in charge of securing the perimeter and checking the smaller buildings on the large property. We’d discovered Angel’s old truck hidden under a pile of branches during our initial search, but nothing else.

  The thick trees that kept us hidden also prevented us from seeing anything that was going on inside the cabin. We might not have seen them, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we were being watched.

  Jimmy would have blown a gasket if he knew I was about to parley with the enemy. Hell, all of them would’ve if they knew I planned on exchanging myself for Jamie and Kate.

  Molly checked her weapons before sliding them into the holster on her waist. “Did you see what Lauren loaned me?” she hissed, pointing to it. “Holds both of my Glocks back here. I feel like Lara Croft, ready to raid some tombs.”

  I shook my head. “Is Lauren in position?”

  “Should be close,” Molly said, pointing across the lake. “She said to keep an eye on the ridge just over there.”

  I glanced toward the spot, waiting to see the signal from her flashlight. As much as I’d wanted her by my side when we confronted Comedian, I wasn’t willing to put her on the front lines.

  We only had one shot to end this.

  It had to be me.

  The full moon cast an almost eerie glow on the water, and I watched, lost in thoughts of my husband. I’d always seen him as the sun and myself as Icarus, but that hadn’t been true in quite some time.

  If Jamie was the sun, then I was the moon, each of us continually chasing the other. For years it seemed that no matter what we did, we were destined to miss one another. But on the rare occasions we met, the world was blinded by the power of our love.

  I’d lost faith in most things, but if there was an afterlife, I’d wait for him there. Maybe then we’d truly be at peace.

  The ridge lit up in a small burst of light before going dark again. As weapons were rechecked, I paused, listening for anything that didn’t belong.

  The forest was filled with the songs of crickets and gentle chirps from a few late-night birds looking for a snack, but nothing unusual. I turned to Carnage and Molly. “Let’s go.”

  We stayed low as we moved through the brush surrounding the cabin. It seemed as if every light in the house was on, something Jamie never would’ve done if he and Kate were hiding out.

  “You think Angel left the lights on?” Molly whispered against my ear.

  I shook my head. The old biker might’ve been a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

  “Comedian knows we’re coming. Stick to the plan. Once I distract him, get Jamie and Kate out.” I thought of the truck. “Probably Angel too.”

  “I got it, Celia,” Carnage assured me. “I can carry them both if I need to.” I didn’t doubt it. I’d long considered him half-biker, half-mutant.

  We moved around the cabin until we came to the front door. My stomach churned in a jittery mess of fight or flight, my body screaming for me to run away from the danger and not toward it.

  “Remember, don’t come back for me,” I warned, before climbing the worn wooden steps. I prayed that Comedian didn’t have a sudden urge to fire through the door and ask questions later.

  We had one shot to end this.

  Hades might’ve been the god of death, but the queen of the underworld still controlled the spring, and she had no qualms about using the roots to bind her enemies.

  Giving myself one last jerky nod, I turned the handle and reclaimed my throne.

  My throat clogged with the coppery stench of blood. As much as I wanted to turn back, I forced my feet to follow the trail to where Angel lay on his back. I knelt and placed my hands over his wounds. Tremors wracked my fingers as I tried to staunch blood that had already begun to congeal.

  He was gone.

  I knew it, yet I couldn’t let go. He was my friend, and he’d needed me. His blood soaked through my jeans, just like mine had done to his the morning he saved me.

  “I’m sorry,” I choked softly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you like you saved me.”

  An ugly sound forced its way out of my throat, filling the air around me and alerting my enemies to my presence. I’d burned once before, on the floor of my bathroom.

  This time, I didn’t fight it. I let the flames lick along my skin, burning away the last bits
of softness inside. I left behind what remained of the naïve girl who still believed there could be good in the world. I scorched myself until nothing but ashes remained.

  And then I kissed Angel’s head and pushed myself back to my feet.

  “Celia?”

  I jerked my head up at the sound of his voice, letting the rage rise to the surface. For the first time, I saw the monster behind the man. The madness that I’d long mistaken for complacency shone brightly in his eyes.

  Comedian’s eyes moved down, and he paled. “Fuckin’ Christ—is he?”

  “Wouldn’t you know?” I bit out, forgetting the role I was supposed to be playing. “You did this!”

  He shook his head and held his hands up. “I got a call from the detective I hired to look into Mike’s case—said he had information.”

  I balled my hands into fists before taking a deep breath. If I wanted this to work, I had to stay calm. I needed to play along.

  My head bobbed up and down in a jerky nod. “So, you just drove out to the middle of nowhere?”

  “I know what it looks like, but if—” He ran a hand over his face, suddenly looking as if he was on the verge of tears. “I thought if there was even the smallest chance it’d help me find the men who killed my boy, I had to take it. Swear to you, though. Didn’t have shit to do with this.”

  “You were set up,” I stated, keeping the accusation out of my voice.

  Comedian nodded, his eyes narrowing. “Looks that fuckin’ way, don’t it? Who told you to come?”

  “I—” I swallowed.

  “Was it you? Were you behind it?” His face fell. “Tell me you didn’t have nothin’ to do with this, Celia.”

  My chest rose and fell rapidly. “Where’s Jamie, Michael? Where’s my daughter?”

  I skittered away when he took a step toward me, painfully aware of how he seemed to tower over me. He hadn’t reached for his gun because he didn’t see me as a threat, but I knew the imminent danger I was in.

  “Someone took one of the girls?” His scowl deepened the lines on his face. “That how they got you here?”