Phoenix Ashes Master

by Anne, Melody

  Phoenix clung to Jayden as his hands pushed through her hair, tugging her closer, angling her head so he could caress her lips more easily. She relished every minute as he moved his hands across her hips, sending shivers down her spine as his fingers splayed across her back, pulling her flush with his solid chest. She could die a very happy girl in that moment.

  Jayden pulled back and Phoenix whimpered, not wanting to break the connection with him. He smiled down at her as a slight chuckle escaped. Phoenix sent him a glare.

  “I’m not laughing at you — I promise. You’re just so adorable when you’re frustrated,” Jayden said as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around.

  Phoenix instantly laughed, unable to stay upset with Jayden for any length of time, even when he left her hormones raging and her desires unfulfilled.

  “I guess I’ll forgive you, then.”

  “For what?” he asked as he set her down.

  “For leaving me frustrated,” she answered, then smiled when he groaned.

  “You, young lady, are a tease — an unbearable tease,” he said as he swooped in and gave her a quick kiss.

  “I could say the same about you,” she answered right back.

  “I have a plan — if neither of us wants to be a tease, we shouldn’t be alone in any closed room. I can’t seem to keep my hands off you,” he said as he bent down and started to run his lips along the small of her shoulder and up the smooth column of her neck. Phoenix’s eyes closed in delight as her head fell backward to allow him more access.

  “Mmm, that’s some heavy steam coming off you, Phoenix,” Sadie said from the doorway with a laugh, causing Phoenix’s head to snap up in humiliated surprise. It took a few seconds before she could focus on her best friend.

  When Jayden pulled away, she realized they’d been interrupted. She wasn’t thrilled.

  “Impeccable timing, as usual, Sadie,” Jayden said as he spun Phoenix around so her back was to him. He moved over and sat down, pulling Phoenix onto his lap. She quickly cuddled into him and sent Sadie a happy smile.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Brian isn’t back yet, and I was stressed so I thought I’d come and get some comfort from my best friend,” Sadie grumbled as she sat across from them. “I can see you’ve already gotten your happy reunion.”

  “He should be back any time. I spoke to him early this morning,” Jayden reassured Sadie. She perked up instantly.

  “Were they all okay?”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, Brian said it was a good mission. Their team found a store that hadn’t been picked through. They collected a lot of supplies, including warm clothes and plenty of water. He said they filled both vehicles, barely getting it all in.”

  “That’s great,” Sadie said, her eyes lighting.

  “They didn’t run into any trouble, either. Brian told me he’d be here before dinner.”

  “I kind of love you right now, Jayden,” Sadie said as she jumped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Phoenix laughed when he blushed.

  “Are you embarrassed, Jayden?” Phoenix asked with surprise.

  “No — absolutely not! I’m just . . . uh . . . I really need to shower,” he said as he stood, flipping Phoenix in his arms so she was cradled against his chest. He kissed her quickly, before gently tossing her on the bed, causing her body to bounce once into the air before landing safely against the mattress.

  “I did notice a foul odor,” Sadie said as the two girls wrinkled their noses in mock disgust and laughed as Jayden left.

  “You’re a terrible person, Sadie. I’m also mad at you because you chased away my boyfriend, who I haven’t seen in days . . . and just when things were starting to get good,” Phoenix said as she tossed a pillow in Sadie’s direction.

  “From the way the two of you were locked together, it looks as if I came in the nick of time. If your dad or brother had walked in, you wouldn’t have had a boyfriend anymore, because they would’ve ripped him apart and locked you in jail.”

  “The longer we’re together, the more I love him. I can’t seem to keep my hands off him, and when he’s away, it’s like a part of me dies. I worry about him, but I miss him more. I can’t imagine what life would be without him.”

  “When are you two going to get married?”

  “I don’t know, maybe when the war is over . . .” Phoenix trailed off in frustration.

  “I know how you feel. I don’t want to do it when people are dying all around me, either. I’ve watched a hundred weddings, it seems like, but I want my wedding day to be special, not forced. Brian and I have talked about it. It would be kind of nice to stop sneaking around all over the place to be alone with him, but I just don’t know . . . I think that’s all your fault. You and I have vowed for so long to not wed until we knew we were sure. It sure feels like it would be right . . .”

  “We’ll know, Sadie, we just will. I have no doubt. We have to wait for the romantic proposals, anyway, don’t we?”

  “We both know it’s going to happen — it’s only a matter of when,” Sadie said.

  Phoenix realized she wasn’t worried about Jayden asking her. She knew he loved her — knew he’d literally die for her. She was more concerned about getting married too young, growing up too fast. She wasn’t ready to be a grownup. She’d certainly aged more than the average teenager in her lifetime in hiding, but she still had childhood dreams.

  She wanted all of the things her mother had told her about, the romantic dates, the endless days of falling in love without war raging all around them. She wanted what she’d read about in her favorite books. She knew it was unrealistic, but she hoped deep down it could all be hers.

  “Okay, I’m getting all melodramatic right now thinking about the pre-war world. We have to go and see if we can find some junk food. Maybe there’s a stash in the new supplies. Let’s sneak into it before the elders put everything away,” Phoenix said as she stood.

  “You’re always thinking. That’s why you’re my best friend, you know,” Sadie said as she took Phoenix’s arm and they left the room together.

  Chapter Eleven

  *** Drake ***

  Drake drove the jeep through the empty streets of Denver. They were on the hunt and he wanted to be anywhere but in that jeep with his disgusting captain and the other blood-thirsty soldiers, not that the men deserved that title.

  He’d always had the utmost respect for the men and women who served. He had been honored to serve. Then in the blink of the eye, so many soldiers had become the bad guys. The ones with honor had been eliminated by the same people who’d vowed to keep all citizens protected. He’d never imagined a day where that could happen. It truly broke his heart.

  His plan to leave was in motion, and it wouldn’t be much longer until he was away from them. His only regret would be not putting a bullet through his crooked leader’s head. Killing had never been a pleasure for Drake, but there were some people who would make the world a safer place if they were eliminated. His captain was definitely one of those men.

  “Well, lookie here, boys. I think we’ve struck gold,” the captain said with a devilish laugh. Drake looked ahead with a sense of dread. Two women were about a block away, trying to break into a house.

  Run! He mentally screamed at the two women. They looked up with frightened, exhausted eyes. They were clearly malnourished, looking as if a slight wind could blow them over. They weren’t even trying to escape, as if they had completely given up the fight to survive. That had become the norm more and more as the years had passed.

  Drake had served in third world countries before the civil war had begun, and there was no doubt the United States was now a third-world country. How had that happened? How had they taken such advantage of living in the land of the free? It was so incomprehensible to so many that they’d sat back and allowed it to happen until it was too late to stop it.

  Drake had to fight everything inside him not to turn the vehi
cle around and drive in the opposite direction. He knew he’d be dead before he gained half a block. There was nothing to do but pull up to the women, who gazed vacantly at them.

  “I knew tonight was going to be lucky. That’s why I decided to join you boys. A little birdie whispered in my ear that I should keep an eye on my team. I think my secret friend knew I’d get some nice tail if I tagged along,” Captain Rogers said as he opened the car door.

  “Great, now the captain is talking to ghosts,” one of the men behind him said with a chuckle. None of them had any regard or respect for the life of the innocent. In their eyes, these women meant nothing more than pleasure to them. It was beyond disgusting.

  “I don’t care what or who he talks to as long as he shares,” the other guy added as they stepped from the vehicle.

  “Can you help us? We just want some food,” one of the women pleaded as Rogers approached with his two goons behind him. Drake brought up the rear of the party. He checked his rifle, which was fully loaded with a fresh clip. He might say to hell with it and put bullets in all three of their heads. It would cut down his run time, but it might be the best way to go.

  He stood ready, imagining bullets cracking into each skull. If he raised his weapon, there was no going back. He didn’t think he’d be able to listen to the screams of another woman being taken, though. What these men in a position of power chose to do was so wrong.

  Luckily, the men never noticed he didn’t take his turn with the innocent women they found. They were too ready to plunge in again for a second time if no one else was calling for a turn. There were only a few of his kind who still had honor.

  “I’m going to help you, all right, honey. We’re going to help each other,” Rogers sneered, causing the frightened woman to take a retreating step. She knew she was in trouble.

  That’s it, Drake thought. It was time. His hand twitched on his gun as he heard the rumble of a motor. Damn!

  He turned in time to see two of their other recon teams pull up. Eight men jumped out, one coming over and patting him on the back.

  “I thought I smelled fresh meat,” the man said before a long stream of tobacco-flavored spit flew from his mouth, landing only inches from Drake’s boots.

  Eleven targets. That decreased his odds. His heart jumped into his throat as he heard one of the guys radio the other two units that were out. They said they’d be there in less than three minutes. Drake was a spot-on marksman, but even he couldn’t wipe out almost twenty men at close range without one of them drawing a weapon.

  His body was humming with rage as he watched his captain grab the now whimpering woman and pull her close to him.

  “If you fight me, I’ll make you wish you were never born. On the other hand, if you make sure I have a good time, I’ll give you a nice hot meal and a new home,” the captain said as he bent down and bit into the soft flesh of her shoulder, making her cry out.

  She went limp in his arms as tears rolled down her cheeks. The other girl didn’t put up any resistance when she was grabbed, and then both women were pulled into the house. Several men followed, waiting their turn, some already reaching for the buttons on their shirts.

  Drake shuddered as he turned and walked down the street. He couldn’t stay there. No way.

  “Where you going, Stephenson?” a soldier asked, eying him with suspicion as his hand twitched over his weapon. Drake could take him out before he ever knew what hit him. Then, he’d not only have twenty men on him, but they’d shoot the two women, as well. Everyone lost.

  “I have to take a piss. Last time I checked, you weren’t my keeper, Bailey,” he snapped as he continued walking.

  “Well, I’m cutting ahead of you then, asswipe,” the man shouted as he headed toward the house.

  Maggot, Drake thought as he stepped around an abandoned house just as the other two vehicles arrived and he heard the occupants hollering with sexual anticipation. His lunch came pouring out of him, splattering against the ground.

  He wasn’t far enough way, not nearly far enough to avoid hearing the cries of the women as one or more of the soldiers got too rough. He looked to the sky and shook with rage. What kind of world were they living in? And what kind of man was he that he didn’t die trying to save them? He honestly didn’t know anymore what was right or wrong. All he knew was he didn’t want to live in this type of world. He didn’t want to be the man who walked away when the innocent was being violated.

  He puked again as more thoughts raced through his mind. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on like that. He’d fought the enemy from within for the past four years and didn’t feel as if he’d made a dent. Was it time to give up?

  His shoulders sagged at the thought. He’d never been a quitter — but it all seemed so hopeless. He hung his head as he gripped the brick wall with his hand. He had a decision to make, and right now, he didn’t know what it was going to be.

  Chapter Twelve

  *** Elise ***

  No one made a sound as the scraping continued on the outside of the window. Elise used the dim flashlight to motion for the kids to quietly get up and move from the room. She knew she’d have to turn it off soon, because the second the intruders pried the wood from the window, the first thing they’d see was the light.

  Once they knew someone was inside, it would all be over. Their only chance was if they weren’t discovered. When the enemy got their hands on someone, they were relentless. Elise fought her tears, as tears in these moments were useless. They’d either survive this night or not, but either way she wouldn’t fall to her knees, she wouldn’t beg for mercy, and she most certainly wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of shedding a single tear, no matter what they did to her.

  She’d trained the kids on what to do in every place they’d inhabited since leaving the woods. They silently preceded her from the back of the house, heading straight to the laundry room. She’d cut a hole in the bottom cupboard, creating a hiding place under the house. She didn’t want to think about the creatures that might be hiding down there.

  Whatever was in the dark soil beneath couldn’t be as bad as what was trying to break into the home. She’d deal with a rodent any day of the week over fighting a twisted soldier, or some vigilante who thought a lawless country was his own personal hunting grounds.

  She got the last child into the hole as she heard the board break free from the window. She had only a second to decide whether to stay in the open and be captured or hide with the kids. She dove into the hole, quietly closing the door and pulling the wood into place as she huddled with the two girls on her lap and wrapped her arms around the boys. The space was just big enough for Elise to sit slightly hunched over.

  Hearing footsteps above her, she was afraid to breathe. The soft light of the moon reflected off of the outside vents, but it wasn’t enough to see more than the shape of the children’s heads.

  She pulled them all more tightly against her, terrified they’d be found. What if they’d left something telling in the house and the men didn’t stop searching until they figured out they were beneath the place?

  She should’ve stayed up top so they wouldn’t feel the need to keep looking. They would’ve been happy to capture her alone, not feeling a need to search for any possible kids. She ignored the thought because she couldn’t possibly leave them on their own. She’d taught them over and over again what to do if anything ever happened to her, but teaching them, and them actually doing it, were two different things.

  She couldn’t picture her babies in this cold cruel world without someone to protect them. She couldn’t leave them to fend for themselves. The footsteps neared the laundry room, and Elise’s throat completely closed. She felt her head grow light as she forgot how to breathe.

  She tried telling herself to inhale deeply and stay alert. She’d never be able to trace their movements if she passed out. What if her falling unconscious frightened the kids and they cried out for help? Then it would all be ov
er. Just as she started seeing stars, her lungs ballooned, welcoming a reviving breath of air.

  “I know I saw someone come this way,” a man’s voice said.

  “Yeah, but maybe the person skirted the house. Are you sure it was a woman?” another voice joined in.

  “Yeah, I can spot a woman’s hips anywhere. We’ll find her,” the first voice leered. “Check all the cabinets. We’ll split up.”

  Elise pulled the kids even closer and quietly shushed in their ears when she felt them begin to tremble. Now was the worst possible time for them to fall apart.

  She heard the laundry room cabinets opening, one by one. She prayed she’d done a good enough job of concealing their secret door.

  Elise jumped at the sound of wood being smashed off the hinges directly above them. The kids did so well — not even a whimper, though she felt wetness on her neck where her daughter’s silent tears trickled down her shivering skin.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” the man taunted before his footsteps started retreating. He hadn’t found their hiding place.

  “She’s not here. Let’s search the next house. She has to be here somewhere,” the second man shouted from the kitchen.

  “I think you’re high, man. Either that or imagining things. There’s no one here. We’re wasting time, and if we get back late again, the boss is going to beat us up and down the street.”

  “Fine. The house is clear, but she couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll come back next shift. I haven’t had a woman in a while. The damn captain is hogging them all to himself. If I can find one to stash, I’ll be in heaven,” one of the men said with a malicious laugh.

  “Two would be better,” his friend replied.