Ember

by Rachel Van Dyken

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Witnessing the horror of someone you love dying? No words for that.

  Bee

  I KNEW SOMETHING WAS wrong when I saw Nick and Pike walk up to the building. Weren’t they supposed to be dead? Or at least in hiding or something? Panicked, I slumped down in my seat and dialed Mo’s number.

  “What up?” She laughed on the other end. “This better be good.”

  “Um, do you think the guys may be in trouble?”

  She was quiet. “What makes you say that?”

  “I’m at this building on campus, and well, they’re all inside, and I just saw Nick and Pike walk in, and I don’t think that’s part of the plan.”

  Mo cursed then yelled for Trace. “Hold tight, you’re at The Space, right?”

  “The Space?” I repeated. “I… I don’t know what that is.”

  “Do you have a gun?”

  Holy crap. “No.”

  “Check the glove box.”

  I did as I was told and sure enough there was a gun in the glove box. With shaking hands, I pulled it out and nearly dropped it onto the ground. “Yeah, I got it.”

  “Great, take the safety off.”

  “What!” I yelled then stared at the gun in my hand. It wasn’t the violence throwing me off it was the fact that I may have to do something like fire a weapon and if I missed, if something went wrong, it would be Phoenix’s life, maybe my brothers hanging in the balance.

  Mo sighed. “Look, we’re on the way, point and shoot if any of those bastards gets close to you, got it?”

  “Yeah, yeah, okay, I got it.”

  “Be safe.” The conversation ended. I stared at the gun like it was going to actually hurt me. I’d never been trained in how to use any sort of weapon. I might talk a big game, but I honestly wouldn’t even crush a bug.

  “Crap,” I muttered, looking out at the building then back at the gun. I hated not being able to do anything; I felt so vulnerable.

  I was so concentrated on my gun that I didn’t see anyone approach the car.

  Something tapped my window.

  I jumped, nearly shooting the steering wheel off and looked out.

  It was Andi.

  And she’d just seen me with a gun. Great, how was I going to explain that one.

  She looked panicked.

  I opened the door to diffuse the situation. “I… um, I’m going to a shooting range after school and—”

  “Shh.” Andi pulled me closer to her and pushed the gun into my hands. “No talking from here on out, alright?”

  “What?” I pulled away from her. “What are you doing?” She was walking directly toward the building.

  “We all have favors we’re owed,” Andi muttered. “Stay behind me.”

  “We can’t go in there!” I hissed.

  “We don’t go in there and they die. Your choice.” She pulled a gun from inside her leather jacket.

  “Where did you get that?”

  “Stop asking questions you really don’t want to know the answers to.” Her voice had changed slightly. Had she always had an accent? It sounded Russian, not at all like it had before.

  Slowly, she kicked open the door and then held the gun to my temple.

  And that’s what I got for getting out of the car.

  “Andi.” Director Smith clapped. “And just in time!”

  “Yeah, well…” Andi shrugged, her accent getting thicker by the minute. Russian, she sounded Russian. “I had someone to pick up.” She shoved me forward.

  All the guys were there, including Mil.

  Each of them looked calm.

  Except Tex and Phoenix.

  Tex looked like he was about ready to rip someone’s head off, and Phoenix looked so cold, emotionless, haunted that I was afraid he was already dead.

  “You should have never raped my sister,” Pike spat, holding his gun out toward Phoenix. “Tell them. Tell everyone.”

  Phoenix shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do!” The gun shook as Pike held it in front of him. “You raped her! You killed her! Your father stole her, and you broke her,” he raged. “And then when that wasn’t enough, you took my cousin.”

  Phoenix hung his head. “That was a lifetime ago.”

  “Yeah, well, they’re still dead,” Pike hissed.

  “So what?” Phoenix shrugged. “This is your retribution? Did you ever need a harbor to ship drugs? Did you ever need anything?”

  “Yeah.” Pike laughed. “Your death. But why stop there? Why not take all the bosses out?”

  “Greedy son of a bitch, aren’t you?” Tex snorted.

  “Shut up!” Nick pushed his gun against Tex’s chest. “By this time tomorrow morning you’ll be but a bad memory for our families.”

  With a sigh Tex glared at Nick. “And what? What did Phoenix do to you? Or are you just a power hungry little bitch?”

  “I loved her.” Nick’s voice shook. “I was going to marry her.”

  “Who?” Phoenix asked.

  “Pike’s sister, Lana.” He sniffed. “We were going to marry, until she was stolen by the De Langes and then sold into prostitution… the same ring run by the Campisis.”

  “Awesome.” Tex nodded. “So you’re all pissed.”

  Nixon let out a chuckle. “And you, Director Smith? What’s your story?”

  “Oh, that’s easy.” He pointed his gun at Nixon’s forehead. “I take down all five bosses… I become a legend.”

  “Pretty elaborate planning.” Phoenix nodded. “Brilliant, really. You’ve clearly thought of everything.”

  Director Smith let out a curse. “Don’t patronize me. You can try to fight us, but the odds are against you.”

  “Are they?” Phoenix tilted his head.

  Why the heck did he look so calm?

  “I’m calling in my favor,” he said aloud.

  “Knew you would, you bastard,” Andi hissed, shoving me to the side and then firing direct shots into Pike’s and Nick’s heads. Both men crumpled to the floor.

  By the time the Smith guy knew what was going on, Phoenix was already on top of him.

  With a grunt and a twist, he snapped his neck. The man fell to the ground.

  The room blanketed into silence.

  And then the door burst open, revealing Trace and Mo, guns raised.

  “Too late.” Tex chuckled. “But hot, nonetheless.”

  “I miss the best fights.” Mo pouted.

  Trace threw her gun onto the ground and charged toward Nixon. “You bastard! You can’t just go and get yourself shot!

  “I’m not shot.”

  “Oh.” She looked almost disappointed. “But I thought—”

  A gunshot rang out.

  And severe pain hit me square in the chest. I looked down as blood stained my white shirt. What? Confused, I touched the blood and winced.

  “Even in my death,” Pike groaned. “I take what is most precious to you.”

  The gun fell out of his hand just as I stumbled backward, my legs unable to keep me up.

  “Bee!” Phoenix roared, running toward me.

  Tex was hot on his heels. The room was starting to spin, but all I could think about was the fact that I could be dying and that I would never get to marry Phoenix.

  And have our child.

  “The baby, Phoenix!” My voice was hoarse. “The baby!”

  “Baby?” Tex yelled in confusion.

  “You’ll be fine, Bee. I promise.” Phoenix kissed my mouth, pressing his hands against my chest. “Just try to calm down, alright? Just breathe.”

  I tried but it was hard, getting harder.

  “Untie him.” This from Nixon.

  Soon Sergio was standing over me, though his form was super blurry. He smacked Phoenix’s hands away and inspected the wound. “It looks clean.”

  “Thank God.” Tex rocked back on his heels and sat on the cement.

  “But the trauma to the body…” Sergio swo
re. “Bee, how far along are you?”

  I shook my head, my vision blurring even more.

  “Bee!” Sergio shook me.

  “Phoenix!” I sobbed, and everything went black.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  It was never about my life — but hers.

  Phoenix

  SHE WASN’T DYING.

  But it felt like it.

  And it was my fault, all my fault. I couldn’t come to grips with the fact that I’d put her and our baby in danger again, unintentionally.

  “Baby?” Tex repeated over and over again, his eyes going from frantic to enraged then back to frantic.

  The bullet had gone clean through, missing any vital organs. Luckily, Sergio was a pro at that sort of thing. Otherwise, we would have had to call in another favor or, God forbid, go to the hospital with a gunshot wound.

  I was worried about the baby.

  Sergio said the only way to tell was if she started to bleed.

  I almost lost it right there in The Space. I’d seen a lot of horror in my life. Hell, I was the reason for it, but nothing terrified me more, brought me to my knees more, than the idea of Bee losing our innocent child — and me having to tell her when she woke up.

  We moved her into my room. I was the one to hook up the IV and make sure she was comfortable, and Tex refused to leave her side.

  She looked peaceful.

  “You knew,” Tex muttered an hour into sitting by her bedside with me in silence. “You knew all of this?”

  “Knew what?” I didn’t have the energy to argue. I leaned back in my chair, not taking my eyes from Bee’s sleeping face.

  “About Smith? Andi? Nick? Did you know it all?”

  “Parts.” I sighed. “But plans only work so well. In the long run I didn’t know if we could trust Sergio. Wasn’t sure if he’d hand us over with bells on or try to fight for blood.”

  “He did the right thing.”

  I let out a snort. “He was forced to do the right thing.”

  Tex was quiet then asked, “And Andi?”

  “Worked for the Petrov family for years, a bastard blood-daughter to Petrov himself… one of Luca’s implants. I didn’t know it until I finally opened the folder he’d addressed to me. I sent her a text of our location just in case. Director Smith really had adopted her when she was younger as a favor to the Petrov family. I think, in his own, way he loves her or… did.”

  I scratched my head. Andi was the least of our worries. She’d been born in violence, trained to do the right thing, and had been approached by Luca years ago. Well, threatened was more like it. Then again, she’d never forgiven her father for giving her up to Director Smith for his freedom.

  “Question…” Tex rubbed the back of his head. “Do we… um, all have folders?”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said in a hoarse voice. “But it’s not like I read them before bed or anything. I only opened Sergio’s because I had a suspicion he’d been reactivated.”

  “Great, so mine stays closed until…?”

  “Until you piss me off,” I growled. What did he expect, really?

  “Right, because in this situation you’re the one that gets to be pissed off. Tell me, how long have you been screwing my little sister?”

  Nixon and Chase chose that inopportune time to walk into the room.

  “Great,” I hissed softly.

  “Story time.” Chase pulled up a chair while Nixon stood. “So, Phoenix, when did this love affair start?”

  Bee moaned in her sleep. I wanted her to wake up, but I knew she needed to heal, the baby needed her to heal. If there still was a baby.

  “Lasagna,” I said in a hoarse whisper. “It started with lasagna.”

  “You started having sex with her because she fed you?” Chase asked with a laugh. “Good thing I never cooked you my ma’s favorite dish…”

  “She wouldn’t stop.” I reached for her hand. “The more I pushed, the more she pushed back. I thought I was going to lose my damn mind, and then everything just fell into focus… she…” My voice cracked. “…she’s the only one who took the time to look past it all.”

  The guys were silent, probably because I was close to sobbing all over the girl I loved.

  “When Bee looks at me, she doesn’t see a monster. Not anymore. She was never afraid, never used my past against me as a way to get back at me, she… she made me want to live.”

  “So you slept with her?” Tex’s voice rose. “Look, I’m glad she’s your friend and all but—”

  “I love her!” I dropped her hand and pushed to my feet. “I love her!”

  Tex’s eyes widened until it looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

  “I want to marry her.” I licked my lips. “I want her forever. I love her, Tex. I’m not screwing her. I’m not using her. She — she owns me.”

  Nixon and Chase both touched my back, and then the door shut behind me.

  Leaving me and Tex alone.

  The room bent and stretched with tension. I waited for him to call me out; I waited for him to pull out a gun — or any sort of weapon.

  “You love my little sister?” he repeated, looking from me to Bee and back.

  “A while ago…” I ran my hands through my hair. “The Cappo got on his knees in front of the least likely of men… the most undeserving, and asked for one thing. You remember what it was?”

  Tex shut his eyes. “Mo. I asked you for Mo. I asked you to dissolve the contract between me and the Nicolasi family, so I could have her.”

  “Yeah,” I croaked. “I know there’s no contract, but I still want your permission… I want to marry her. I want to raise our son or daughter, I want to live and breathe every day for her, for family. I want that second chance more than I want anything, Tex. But I don’t want it unless I can have it with Bee. I love her, Tex. I love her.”

  “I thought Phoenix De Lange didn’t know what love was.”

  “I didn’t,” I answered honestly. “Until she started cooking for me, teasing me, taunting me, pushing me — I didn’t know what love was until Bee walked into my life, and I’ll be damned if I have to let her go.”

  “Don’t,” Bee whispered from her bed. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Bee!” I rushed to her side and kissed her face. “Baby, are you okay? Do you need anything? Are you in pain?”

  “Tex, please.” She reached for her brother. “Please… I love…”

  “Him?” Tex pointed at me. “You do realize he snores? Likes to kill people for a living? Pierced his own ear when he was eleven?”

  I suppressed a laugh.

  “I love him,” Bee said through a tear-streaked smile. “Please, Tex.”

  “Well, hell.” Tex raised his hands above his head and cursed. “I say no, and I’m pretty sure Mo would hate me forever… not to mention my little sister, who I’m just getting to know.”

  Tex leaned over and kissed Bee on the forehead then motioned for me to follow him over to the other side of the room.

  I didn’t have time to prepare for his punch. With a grunt, I fell to the floor, my cheek pounding like hell.

  “What?” Tex stood over me, an innocent expression across his face. “You didn’t actually think you’d escape without getting injured, right?”

  Cursing, I rubbed my cheek and stood with Tex’s help.

  The minute I was stable on my feet…

  He punched me again.

  “And that—” He rubbed his knuckles. “—was for getting her pregnant.”

  I stayed down, even when he offered me his hand.

  “Tex!” Bee shouted from her bed. “Don’t hurt him!”

  “Bastard’s just fine.” Tex smirked. “Believe me, he’d let me hit him all day if it meant he could be with you.”

  “True.” I winced. “Though I’d rather you not.”

  “Can’t promise I won’t feel the urge to punch you again, friend.”

  “That’s fair.” I stood and rubbed my face, cracking my jaw to the side, hop
ing to alleviate some of the pressure and swelling.

  The door opened again.

  Chase and Nixon shuffled through, both looking absolutely deflated.

  “What?” Tex shrugged.

  “We missed the fight.” Chase sighed. “I wanted to watch him get a few punches in.”

  Nixon slapped Chase on the shoulder. “We tried.”

  “Thanks, guys.” I muttered, still rubbing my jaw.

  “Well…” Tex shoved me out of the way and pushed the guys out the door. “We should let them talk, but if I hear any sort of… pleasurable noises coming from this room, I’m going to shoot you in the face, Phoenix. That’s a promise.”

  “Noted.” I waved them off and made my way back to the bed.

  Bee was trying to sit up as best she could, which wasn’t all that great, considering it probably hurt her to put pressure on her elbows.

  “You okay?” She reached for my face.

  I grabbed her hands and kissed them. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “Phoenix…” Her lower lip trembled. “Is the baby okay?”

  “Yeah.” I was so relieved to be able to say that. “But even if something happens, Bee, I’m here, alright?” I gripped her hands tightly. “I’m never leaving your side.”

  She started to cry silently.

  I pulled her into my embrace and joined her on the bed, letting her cry against my chest. “You should have told me.”

  “Told you?”

  “About your secret keeping.” She sniffled.

  “Bee…” I sighed and kissed her head. “I didn’t even know until I went in this morning… everything was… planned to an extent, but I wasn’t sure I could keep you safe. Wasn’t sure Andi would follow through with her end of the deal. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if Smith would come after the bosses. That’s life though… you can try to plan for every possible scenario, but sometimes life surprises you.”

  “Am I a surprise?” she asked, blinking her eyes up at me.

  Damn, she was beautiful.

  “The best.” I tucked her hair behind her ear. “The best surprise I could ever hope for… and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve you.”

  “I don’t care, you know…” She ducked her head against my chest. “…about the girls, Pike’s sister, and cousin. You didn’t know.”