Blood of a Phoenix (The Nix Series Book 2)

by Shannon Mayer

  She spat a gob of saliva and blood to the side, then snapped her fingers. A package appeared and slowly unwrapped, revealing two sets of IDs. I let her go and took the package. My picture on one set, and Simon’s on the other.

  A shiver slid through my spine. “You’re too weak to have produced these this quickly.”

  She grinned at me, blood coating her lips. “Am I? Or did I fool the mighty Phoenix?”

  Lacey dodged to the right, a blade coming up along with a spray of red myst swirled down her arm, the blade and then straight at me. Without a thought, I spun, snapped my foot out and kicked her in the hand. The knife clattered to the floor and the red myst faded. Lacey laughed softly as if I’d cracked a joke and not her fingers.

  “Damn, Nix, you’re getting faster,” Dinah said.

  Lacey wiggled her fingers at me. “Ah, that’s because she is almost ready to find her blood. Phoenix, I never thought to meet you. I may seem weak, but I know a thing or two.” She reached out as if to put a hand on my arm.

  I shook her off, not bothered by her cryptic words. Weak abnormals were more often than not full of shit and prophecies that meant nothing and never came to fruition. Even with her little smoke and mirror show, I did not for one minute think she was anything other than weak.

  I held the IDs in my other hand. “How much?”

  “This one is on the house, Phoenix. My IDs are special, I think you’re going to need them. Maybe not today, but soon.” She took a step back, and I frowned. Abnormals did not give out their gifts freely. I took half of my cash and let it float to the floor.

  “You’ve been paid. There are no favors to be had with me,” I said. This was why I hated working with new people. You couldn’t trust them.

  I turned and walked out of the storage room.

  Jaw ticking, I strode through the store, snatched up a chocolate bar, stripped it open, and tossed a dollar on the counter. The cashier didn’t even blink.

  I was out the door and headed toward the bus stop Daniel had mentioned before he caught up with me. “Wait, I thought I was helping you.”

  “You are. Go home.” I left him standing there on the corner staring after me like a forlorn puppy. But it was better this way for him and me. He wouldn’t die, and I wouldn’t end up feeling bad when he got killed because he was with me.

  I stuffed the IDs under my coat and counted out how much cash I had left. Would it be enough?

  Bribing a junkie or two to tell me what was going on in the underground sounded like an easy thing. I took another bite of the chocolate bar and started down the street once more.

  Bribing junkies without letting on who I was?

  That would be far trickier.

  I smiled and took another bite of the chocolate.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tricky was an understatement when it came to the intersection of 3rd Ave. and Pike Street in Seattle. I mean, a more veritable villainy of scum I’d never seen in my life, and that was saying something. My lips twitched. Bear would have loved that I’d remembered a line from one of his favorite movies. I frowned. The quote was not quite right, but it was close. He still would have loved it.

  The bus stop was empty, but all around it on the edges were those less fortunate, as my mother had once called them. She’d been one of those less fortunate at one point, working as a stripper to pay the bills for a meager apartment. At least, until Romano had laid eyes on her and decided he liked her well enough to knock her up.

  I shook my head to clear it of thoughts of my family, and tugged my coat tighter around myself. I stuffed my hands into the pockets. If not for the drizzling rain, the night wouldn’t have felt so cold.

  I found a spot near one of the buildings, under a bit of an overhang, and leaned against the wall.

  “Hey, that’s my spot, chicky poo.” One of the junkies wobbled my way, waving at me with both hands. Or maybe they were just shaking, it was hard to know. He was so skinny, I could see the tendons standing out against the bones of his forearms, and his face was gaunt as though he hadn’t eaten a real meal in weeks, maybe months. He was pretty much a walking skeleton.

  I didn’t move. “My spot now.”

  The junkie kept coming, eyes wide. One dilated, the other not, which meant either he was high as a kite and ready to tank, or an abnormal. I slid my left hand across my chest under my coat, and wrapped my fingers around Dinah’s stock.

  “You can have the spot back if you answer a question for me.” I still hadn’t moved, and the other junkies from the edges were watching now.

  “No questions, no answers, no spot stealing!” He threw the words at me along with a mouthful of spit that splattered my pants.

  He got right up in my face, literally pushing at me with his chest like some sort of bantam rooster before I pulled Dinah and tucked her muzzle under his chin. “I think I’ll keep the spot.”

  “Oh, she’s got a big gun,” he whispered. “Who is she really then? A cop?”

  I smiled down at him. “Sure, I can be a cop. You want to tell me where I can find some Ikimono?”

  His eyes fluttered away from me to the left. Which meant for humans whatever next came out of his mouth would be a lie.

  “Never heard of it,” he said.

  I leaned in close despite the stench of body odor and unwashed clothing rolling off his body. Not abnormal, just a very stinky human who hadn’t washed in what had to be at least as long as since he’d eaten. “I shoot people I don’t like. And I don’t like liars. Where can I find some Ikimono? Last chance.”

  His eyes flicked up to me and a shudder slid through him. “Go to the Jungle. That’s where you’ll find your goods.” He spat at my feet as he stepped back. “And give me my spot now.”

  I didn’t move from the wall. “Use your manners.”

  Dinah and Eleanor laughed softly under my coat, the sound whispering around us. The junkie’s eyes went wide, both irises dilating. “You’re possessed.”

  “Perhaps.” I didn’t move.

  His shoulders slumped and a few of the other junkies drew closer. “Ah, look, Topsy got his scrawny ass kicked out of his spot.” A tall, thin junkie gave Topsy—the one I’d been dealing with—a shove. Topsy went to the ground hard onto his hands and knees. A groan slid from him. Damn junkies and their mean streaks.

  I pulled Dinah from her holster with a sigh. “No bullying Topsy.”

  They started laughing, manically, and with great vigor. I arched an eyebrow and pointed Dinah to the left of the junkie closest to me. “Just a flesh wound,” I said as I pulled the trigger.

  A squeeze of the trigger and Dinah went off with a boom. The junkie I’d aimed at clutched his side and went to the ground next to Topsy. “She shot me!”

  “Next one who touches him, I’ll kill.” I tucked Dinah into her holster and turned away from the scene. The Jungle would have to be my next stop, but I would take Simon with me. Not that I needed the backup, but I was no fool. If the Jungle was half as bad as everyone was making it out to be, a second set of eyes would be welcome.

  “Thank you, chicky poo!” Topsy yelled from behind me. I lifted a hand over my head and waved, but didn’t look back. “Don’t get lost in the maze!”

  I paused and looked back at him, but he’d already turned away.

  “That was nice of you,” Dinah said. “I think knowing Bear’s alive is making you softer.”

  I snorted. “Don’t count on it.”

  “She didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Eleanor said. “I think it makes you stronger. Compassion is a gift.”

  Dinah snorted. “That’s shit and you both know it.”

  I didn’t argue one way or the other. I made my way to the hotel room and checked the clock. Four in the morning, and I was not tired at all. That didn’t seem right, not after the day we’d had. Being drugged, seeing Bear, being blown out of a plane, fight with an abnormal, wound that wouldn’t heal, another abnormal fight . . . I forced myself to strip, shower and climb into bed. Intellectually,
I knew I needed to rest, even if my body was not in agreement.

  Dinah and Eleanor were on the side table next to Linx. He, at least, was quiet unless spoken to. I pulled the covers over my chest and closed my eyes. I would sleep. I needed to.

  “Is she asleep?” Dinah asked softly. I kept my eyes shut. What the hell was this now?

  Dinah and Eleanor began to talk. They were so quiet, I barely picked up the words.

  “You think she’s going to get killed, like Bianca?” Dinah asked.

  “No, I don’t.” Eleanor sounded uncertain. “I don’t know. Bea asked us to take care of her, and we’re doing our best but we’re guns, Dinah. There is only so much we can do.”

  “I know, I know. I wish we had more information. I . . . I worry that maybe we’ve told her too much and not enough at the same time,” Dinah said.

  There was the sound of metal on the side table, as if one of them had shifted a little. “I don’t know,” Eleanor said. “Look what happened with her husband and him keeping secrets from her. He ruined her life. Look at her father. Look at Mancini. Men are not to be trusted, Dinah. Shit, look at us, look at where trusting men got us.”

  Dinah sighed. “I know. But part of me wants her to be happy again.”

  “Why? You wouldn’t be used nearly as much. We sat in that barn with barely a visit from her in ten years.”

  Dinah was silent and one of them shifted on the table again.

  I swallowed hard. The way they spoke made me think maybe there was more to my guns than I’d ever wanted to believe. Sentient, yes. But what if they were souls trapped there by a man? The thought kept me up longer than I wanted to admit.

  I laid there, wide awake with my eyes closed for the remainder of the night, and though it wasn’t long, it was long enough that when the sun came up, I was finally tired. Which was a bad fucking time to be tired.

  The sunlight that spilled in through the curtains did nothing to help my mood. I was miserable and grumpy, and wanted nothing more than a half pot of coffee poured straight into my veins.

  A knock on the door connecting Simon’s room to mine forced me to admit my attempt at sleep was done.

  “Come in.” I sat up and ran a hand through my hair.

  Simon stepped in with a pair of take-out coffee cups. “I can’t say it’s as good as the stuff from Daniel’s last night, but I think it will help, seeing as you were out until the wee hours of the morning.”

  My hand froze in mid-reach. I looked up at him, shrugged, then took my coffee. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “I could have helped tire you out.” He winked and I glared at him.

  “Not today, Simon. Not fucking today.”

  “She has her cranky pants on. I mean, once she puts pants on,” Dinah said from the side table.

  Simon laughed. “Oh, I’m stealing that one. Cranky pants, it is!”

  I frowned over my cup and started drinking it down, ignoring the burn on my tongue, not bothering to savor the quality of the beans.

  “You learn anything while tiring yourself out?” Simon pulled up the straight-backed chair from the tiny desk in my room.

  “I learned that the Jungle is the place to get information. The junkies have heard of Ikimono, which is good and bad.”

  Simon’s eyes were serious as he watched my face. “Good that we can track it, bad that it’s on the market already.”

  “Bingo.” I sighed and ran a hand over my head again. “If I can find a dealer, then we don’t need Talia.”

  “Why don’t you want to find the code breaker now?” Simon froze in mid-sip. “You have the coded papers. You said Mancini told you they could help you find Genzo and his crew. Why the change of heart?”

  That was the thing about lying wide awake for hours. You got to thinking.

  “The deal is simple. We don’t know if Talia will help us, even if I invoke Barron’s name. We don’t know what those fucking papers say, despite Mancini’s assurance they should help me find what I’m looking for. The way to the creator of a drug is through its dealers. It is a straight shot. And speed is what I want right now.”

  “Cutting the time it takes to get you back to Bear.” Simon nodded. “Okay, I get it. We’re going to the Jungle then?”

  I pushed the covers off, stood, and started pulling clothes on with one hand. I wasn’t letting go of my coffee, not even to get dressed.

  I could feel Simon’s eyes on me, but he was easy to ignore. His attraction to me was part of the mask he wore. It was no more real than me going by my sister’s name all those years. An illusion to keep people guessing at what was really going on.

  “Simon.” I looked up at him while I zipped my fly with one hand. “Think we can be honest with each other for once?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “What are you thinking?”

  I stared hard at him. “We are going into this as partners, more so than the last time when we hit the Diva production. I trust you a little more—despite you drugging me, which is a fucking miracle—and you trust me a little more. But I’m tired of the innuendos.”

  His lips twitched. “Why? You don’t like that I like looking at your ass in tight jeans?”

  “I don’t like lies, even when they are meant to be a compliment. They irritate the fuck out of me.” I pulled on my shirt by shoving my hand through the arm hole, coffee cup and all, then took another sip. “So, on the honest front, no more false shit with me.”

  “I find it amusing that you think my attraction to you is false.” Simon grinned. “I can see why your Justin didn’t turn you over to your father when he found you. You are far too interesting to give up on.”

  He took two steps until he was right in my space, his face close to mine. I wanted to shove him away, but wasn’t sure it wouldn’t end in bloodshed. “Here’s the deal, Nix,” he said softly. “I am quite drawn to you. My reputation as a killer is being tarnished as we speak because not only didn’t I kill you, but I didn’t even take you in to Romano. Hell, I’ve become your goddamn sidekick to stay close to you.” He lifted a hand, as if he would touch me but he didn’t, just let it hover close to my face. “I promise not to make any more innuendos until this is over and you get your son back. At that point, we can discuss. Fair?”

  Instincts warred within me. Part wanted to shove him away and pull Eleanor on him. The other part wanted to run away. Both wanted away, but one would look weak, the other wouldn’t.

  I placed the tip of my finger against his chest and pushed him back. “Ease off, Romeo.”

  He smartly did not touch any part of me. “We going to the Jungle or not?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get an Uber.”

  He barked a laugh. “I didn’t think you would even know what that is, being from Wyoming.”

  Dinah snorted, and Eleanor was the one who asked. “What is an Uber?”

  “Rental car,” I said. “Like a taxi.”

  “Why not just get a taxi then?” Dinah said.

  I put on my shoulder holster and slid the girls into their spots. “Because Uber is cheaper and faster than a taxi.”

  Simon held the door open for me and we were out. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and I shook my head. “I see I wasn’t the only one up late.”

  “Early, I was up early. Went and got coffee and phones.” He handed me a phone.

  “I have Mancini’s phone,” I pointed out.

  “And you are welcome to use it,” he said, “but I don’t know how much he is tracking you, do you?”

  He had a point, and it was the exact reason I hadn’t made the money exchange on the phone the night before. The whole reason I’d used Daniel’s computer, so I didn’t have to wonder if Mancini was peeking into my bank accounts and figuring out where his and Romano’s money had gone. I took the phone from Simon and tucked it into my back pocket.

  The Uber driver pulled up in a sporty red hatchback that screamed college kid trying to pay the bills. I slid into the back and Simon took the front seat next to the very young, ve
ry eager guy who looked to be about fifteen if the acne on his face was any indication.

  I grimaced. “Simon, you got any of that coffee left?”

  With a sigh, he turned and handed me the cup. “Good boy,” I said and took a sip.

  The kid driver rambled on about Seattle while I sucked down the second cup of coffee, hoping it would be enough to keep me on my toes. I’d worked on less sleep before, it just wasn’t a good idea. You made mistakes when you were tired, missed shots, and generally got into trouble you could have avoided.

  I leaned forward and tapped the kid on the shoulder. “How far to the Jungle from here?”

  “GPS says twenty minutes, but traffic could be bad.” His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, light blue and innocent as a summer’s day. I sighed.

  “You got any headphones and music?”

  He blinked a few times. “Yeah, why?”

  “I want to have a private conversation with my associate.” I tipped my head at Simon.

  The kid fumbled around in his middle console and came out with a huge pair of noise cancelling headphones. He slipped them on, and in seconds, started bobbing to the beat of music even I heard.

  Simon turned and waited for me to speak first.

  “Tell me everything you know about the Yakuza. I’ve been out long enough that I’m sure I’m missing key players. When I was still in, Genzo was an up and comer despite the fact he was in his sixties. I’m assuming it is the same Genzo,” I said.

  He rubbed a hand over his lips. “I’ve never worked for the Yaks. Never. Mancini pays well, and he loaned me out to Romano only to find you because his money was involved. I had no need to work for anyone else.”

  “I thought you were a freelancer.” I frowned.

  He snorted. “No such thing, not really, you know that. If I’d taken jobs from anyone without Mancini’s approval, I could be sure not only would he not have used me again, but I would be looking over my shoulder for what was the very short bit of the rest of my life.”

  His words contradicted what Mancini had said earlier. Mancini claimed the ability to share those people who worked for him. But Simon was saying it wasn’t the case at all. Which one of them was lying? I didn’t get the feeling it was Simon.