Blood of a Phoenix (The Nix Series Book 2)

by Shannon Mayer

  Killian nodded. “Should be, long as it doesn’t get blown out of the sky right before it lands.”

  “You’re just full of gems, aren’t you?” I snorted and shook my head to hide the smile that crept over my lips. Full of sadness, of grief and fear, but I would go on, and I would fight for my son to my last breath.

  “Time to slay the dragon,” I said.

  Dinah gave a tiny cheer. “Boom, let’s rip them a new one.”

  “Eleanor?” I put a hand to her.

  “Your sister wanted you to be safe, Phoenix. The only way to keep you and Bear safe is to do exactly as Dinah says. We’ll show them that the Phoenix burns through her enemies with the strength of those who’ve loved her. We need to kill them all.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The helicopter was fast, faster than anything I would have thought possible previously. As it lifted off and shot forward, Noah gave a grunt. “This is not a typical helicopter.”

  “How is it this fast?” I asked Killian as we flew away from New York, sucked back into our seats by the G-forces of our flight.

  “Ramped up by the pilot’s abilities, it’s as fast as any private jet.” He motioned to the pilot up front who had four arms. Handy for a helicopter pilot, but I doubted that was the ability Killian meant. I left him alone after that and he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

  I did not want to trust the Irish gangster, did not want to believe he was on my side. Not after Simon. Not after Noah. I glanced at the ex-FBI agent. He stared back at me.

  “The papers, you have them still?” he asked. I nodded.

  “I do. They’re in a safe place.” I had them folded up inside a plastic bag, then taped to my back. I reached up and touched the necklace Bear had given me. The necklace with a single wing on it, an angel wing as Bear thought. It looked like one of the wings of my back tattoo, yet that was impossible. Zee had been hiding my tattoo as well, and there was no way Bear ever would have seen it. And yet, there it was.

  “What’s that?” Noah motioned at the necklace.

  “From Bear,” I said and turned away. I suddenly didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t believe he would tell me any more truths than Simon would have.

  And then there was Mancini. He’d put the hit out on Zee. He’d tried to have Killian offed at the same time. I should have known after the coffee incident in Oregon, but I’d looked past it, believing Simon was not the asshole he’d shown me to be.

  “You never fully trusted Simon,” Eleanor said softly. “Right from the beginning you’ve been trying to find a way to leave him behind, out of the action.”

  “If I’d done what my instincts had said, Zee would be alive right now.” I kept my voice low, but I knew they heard me.

  “You don’t know that,” Dinah said. “His mind was going right at the end. Before the myst kicked in. His death was coming, sooner rather than later.”

  “So, Simon did me a favor?” The bite in my words was filled with pain. Losing Zee . . . I had thought it would be in the distant future before I’d lose him to something as simple as old age, or maybe the shaking sickness, but even that could have been years before death stole him away.

  “No. I think that for a little while, Simon was a help. You used him as the tool he was,” Eleanor said.

  Tool that he was . . . just like I’d been a tool all those years for my father. Was I that much different than Romano? I shook my head and stared out the front window. Was that all I was good at, using the people around me as tools to accomplish what I set out to do? I knew almost nothing about Simon, hadn’t asked him about his family or past, because I hadn’t cared. He’d been in my way, and when he’d insisted on coming with me, I’d treated him exactly as Dinah said. As a tool, as a sidekick, to gather my things when I was busy dealing with the bad guys.

  A sudden urge flowed over me and I unbuckled, went and slid into the co-pilot’s chair. The pilot glanced at me, and handed me a headset. I slid it on and his voice came through nice and clear.

  “Bobby’s the name.”

  “Irish, like Killian?” I locked the seatbelt around my waist.

  He didn’t look at me again as his four hands flew over the controls. “Yeah, but not born there like he was.”

  I nodded. “Is he honest?”

  Bobby did shoot me a look then. “You’re asking one of his men if the guy who pays my salary and keeps me on his roster is honest?”

  “I’m good at picking out the liars,” I said. “But Killian is hard to read.”

  He shrugged. “Always been honest with me. Pays his debts to those he owes. Loyal sometimes to a fault.” He gave me a side eye then.

  “You mean loyal because he’s going with me after my son.”

  “Nashville, if Genzo is there, will be a blood bath. Killian is one of the few men who is working to better the lives of the abnormals around him. He don’t use them like the other three do, as if they’re better than the rest of us.”

  I watched him quietly as he worked, his multiple hands flying over the controls, little bits of electricity jogging from his fingers to the paneling. That must be how he was supercharging the helicopter.

  Did all Irish abnormals have the connection to electricity and lightning?

  Bobby broke the silence first. “You really the Phoenix from all those years ago?”

  I flicked my eyes over him, seeing the tension in his shoulders, the way he held himself tightly as if ready to deal with me and the helicopter at the same time.

  “Maybe.”

  “That’s a shit answer.”

  “But honest.” Another time I would have smiled, and could feel it there under my lips. But not today. Not after losing Zee, after losing the father of my heart.

  “Maybe won’t keep Killian alive. And that’s the plan in the end. Keep Killian alive.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. “No, the plan is to get my son out of Romano’s hands, and to deal with Genzo and his Ikimono shit.”

  “Deal with?”

  I nodded. “You need me to spell it out?”

  His hands flicked a couple of things and then we were moving even faster, the pressure of the speed pushing me deeper into my seat.

  “Yeah, I think I do.” Bobby glanced at me, and tipped the joystick forward, sending us into a massive dive, right as he reached over and unbuckled my seatbelt.

  I floated into the air, knowing that grabbing my guns would do me no good. I reached for the edges of the cab and hung on. “You don’t want to play this game with me, Bobby. It won’t end well for you.”

  “I think I do. The Phoenix is about the only one I’d believe could walk into Genzo’s place and survive. I don’t want my boss to die. Which means you need to prove who you are.”

  He jerked the joystick back up and to the right, rolling us completely, obviously not worried about our other passengers, namely his boss in the back. I slammed down into the seat and then into the far wall, the landing softened only by the fact that I still clung to a couple of holy shit handles on the sides of the cab.

  From the back came a duo of shouts from the two men as they were tossed around.

  I kicked out with my right foot, catching Bobby on his top right arm, right at the elbow. The crunch was rather satisfying, especially in conjunction with his howl of pain. “Listen, you fucker. I could pull you apart piece by piece here, but I have other things I need to focus on, and quite frankly, I need you to fly the goddamn helicopter.”

  He reached over with his bottom right arm and grabbed me just above the knee, his fingers digging into the flesh. I dropped my hand from one grip to pry him off. He dropped us from the sky again and from the back came another shout.

  “What the fuck be going on up there?” Killian hollered over the headsets.

  “You will keep him alive,” Bobby said. “Swear it, or I’ll fry you right here.” The tingle of electricity trickled from his fingers into the muscles of my thigh, making them twitch.

  Still half floating, I n
odded. He didn’t know that I would say anything to get to Bear. For Bear, I would lie through my teeth, sell what remained of my soul, kill anyone I had to get that boy of mine back in my arms. I struggled not to snarl at him, to pull Dinah and Eleanor and put two perfect holes in his head. Another time.

  “Done,” I said and yanked the headset off, tossing it at Bobby.

  He straightened the helicopter and I fell with a thump into my seat as Killian stumbled into the cockpit. “Let me repeat. What the fuck is going on?”

  “Just making nice, boss.” Bobby’s hands were all moving except that top right arm which hung at a bad angle at his side. The elbow was at least dislocated but more likely a full break by the crunch when I’d hit it. I flicked my eyes away from him and to the city we rapidly approached. Lit up, not unlike Las Vegas, I could see the pulse of humanity even this far away. Humanity, of which I was no longer a part? I shook my head, stood, and pushed past Killian, making my way back to my seat. His eyes were on me, weighing what had happened. “Bobby,” he said softly, “don’t pull that shit with her.”

  Bobby snorted. “Boss, she ain’t that tough.”

  Killian laughed softly. “You always were a shithead when it came to understanding who could kill you and who couldn’t, but worse, which ones would actually pull the trigger.”

  I sat and leaned back in my seat. I let my eyes rise to his.

  He smiled. “How close was Bobby to getting a bullet?”

  “As you said, he’s lucky we need him to fly us in,” I said softly.

  Killian shrugged. “I can fly this.”

  Behind him, Bobby stiffened. “Boss?”

  The Irish mob boss looked at his pilot. “What you don’t understand, Bobby, is that I protect my own. Her boy is one of my own now. He sacrificed something important to him to keep me alive.” He dropped a hand onto Bobby’s shoulder and squeezed. “The next time you push her, I won’t stop her from killing you.”

  “You didn’t stop her,” Bobby growled.

  Killian laughed again. “You think she didn’t consider the repercussions of killing one of my men, the one that was flying the helicopter to save her son? You are fucking stupid some days, my friend.”

  He let him go and made his way back to his seat near me, slid down, and rested his head back. “Not much of a nap.”

  “Nope.”

  I liked that he didn’t ask how I was, or if Bobby had hurt me.

  Noah watched the play between us with avid interest but he kept quiet. Smart man.

  “Where will he drop us off?” I asked Killian.

  “Outskirts of Nashville. I have a transport waiting on us,” Killian said. “Any ideas on how we’re going to pull this heist off?”

  I stared at him. “What? You don’t have a plan?”

  “Nope.” He grinned and winked at me. Cheeky Irish bastard.

  Fine, I was used to doing things on my own. Not quite the same as leading but it would have to do. “We need someone who can help us find Genzo and his people. Shouldn’t be that hard. I can put something together from there.”

  “I have only one contact on the ground, and she’s picking us up. If anyone knows where Genzo is, it will be Marissa.”

  Bobby broke out into laughter from the cockpit. “I can’t wait to see Marissa lay eyes on this one. That’s going to be some fun. She always was a jealous tart.”

  I looked at Killian. “Old girlfriend?”

  “Something like that.” He didn’t grin. “It was not . . . a pretty breakup.”

  From her holster, Eleanor sighed. “Phoenix, get the information and then just shoot her. You don’t need a jealous woman screwing up getting Bear back.”

  I laid a hand on her. “I’ll take it into consideration.”

  Killian shook his head. “Try not to kill her. She’s not all that bad.”

  Noah snorted. “If she’s going to be pissed just looking at Phoenix and assuming you two are a couple, she’s that bad.”

  I hated to agree with Noah, but his thoughts were in line with mine. “Until she sees me as a threat? Then can I kill her?” I offered the words as a question, hoping he’d deny it because Eleanor was right. The only thing worse than a mob boss was his jealous ex.

  “Oh, she’ll see you as a threat.” He shrugged. “But she’s who we’ve got for now and the fastest way we’ll be getting information.”

  The helicopter began its descent, nicely this time, dropping from the sky with a smoothness that had been missing before. I closed my eyes, breathing through the sudden lurch in my belly as the gravity changed.

  Moments later, the rails of the helicopter touched down and the side door swung open. Bobby twisted around. “Everybody out.”

  I undid my seatbelt, grabbed the bag of gear at my side and stepped toward the open door. The sun shone in, brilliant enough that I was squinting. I turned and went toward the cockpit. “You need these? Thanks.” I reached past Bobby and took a pair of aviator sunglasses and slipped them on.

  “Sure.” He grunted. I patted him hard enough on the cheek that he could have called it a slap if he wanted.

  I turned as Killian stepped out of the helicopter, ducking as he ran out past the still-whirling blades, Noah right behind him in his matte black spider silk suit.

  “You waiting for us, Bobby?” I asked.

  “Nope.”

  I followed Killian out of the helicopter, doing my own duck and run. There was a bright red muscle car waiting for us. It looked like it had been freshly washed and everything. Leaning against it was a woman with hair that matched the car, and heels and dress that matched the hair. For a moment, I thought it was Easter Willis, the cleaner we’d meet in Seattle. But no, this girl’s hair was not shaved on one side and had more of an orange tint than the blood-red of Easter’s.

  “Too much red,” I muttered.

  “I wanna see,” Dinah whined. “Is she ugly?”

  “Matchy matchy,” I said.

  Dinah and Eleanor laughed. My own lips twitched. This was our contact? And Killian was afraid of how she would see me? I had to agree with Bobby. She looked more like a tart in her short dress and heels than a threat of any kind.

  “Hello, luv,” she called out with a heavy Irish accent that cemented it for me. If she was Irish and abnormal like Killian and Bobby, did that mean she was able to control electricity, too? I bet on yes.

  “Watch her.” I breathed the words to Noah who’d dropped back to my side.

  I set a hand to hover over Eleanor.

  “Marissa,” Killian called out to her as Bobby took the Chinook into the sky, the sound fading and allowing for proper conversation. “Thank you for picking us up.”

  She twisted so she could see past him to me and Noah. I didn’t smile, didn’t so much as nod in her direction. I was not here to make friends, and the less I gave her of my emotions, the less challenged she would feel.

  “Who is this cocksucker?” she snarled and started toward me.

  I dropped the bag and pulled both guns out so fast, she hadn’t even finished saying cocksucker. “You don’t need to know.”

  Her eyes widened and then narrowed rapidly. “Killian is mine.”

  “I don’t want him,” I said. A tiny bit of me tried to argue but I stuffed that away. This was not the time, maybe it would never be the time. “We have a deal, that’s it.”

  “A deal,” she murmured, “in my town?”

  “Where is Genzo?” Killian asked softly, almost gently as he touched her arm, turning her toward him. There were literal sparks as he stroked her skin and it took me a moment to realize what he was doing. Using his own electricity to give her a shiver, to keep her eyes on him.

  “Wish he’d do that to me,” Dinah whispered.

  “What did you say?” Marissa whipped around. “I heard you say something.”

  “Now, you did it,” Eleanor grunted.

  I didn’t lower either gun. “My guns have a nasty way of interrupting. You go on with whatever it is you were doing and ig
nore me.”

  Killian watched me from behind Marissa, and he damn well winked at me. “Head in the game, Killian,” I said.

  He gave me a quick nod. “Genzo, I need to find him quickly, Marissa. Where is he?”

  She sighed and turned back to him. “I don’t know.”

  “Bullshit.” He grabbed her by the arms and the sparks lit up along her skin. She struggled, but he was far stronger than even I realized as he slowly lifted her up so her feet no longer touched the ground.

  I lowered Dinah and Eleanor, shocked by his sudden turn. So much for good cop, bad cop I thought we would play. Noah stiffened beside me and I put an arm out when he would have stepped forward.

  “No white knights, Noah. It’ll get you fried,” I said.

  “I don’t know!” Marissa cried out. “Killian, I don’t know!”

  The electricity danced blue along her and I frowned. “That is going to drain you, isn’t it, Killian?”

  Killian looked over at me. “Yes.”

  “Then why don’t you let me play?”

  Noah stiffened.

  Her head whipped around so she could glare at me. “Killian, who is that bitch and why are you taking orders from her?”

  I went to one knee and dug around in the bag until I found the rope I’d packed. I made a couple of quick knots and then held it up. There were four loops in it now, all attached to a center piece that could tighten them all at once. “That will do.”

  “On her belly?” Killian asked, as though we had this scripted.

  “Yeah, for now.” I started toward them, making sure she could see me dragging the rope in the dirt.

  A scream ripped out of her. “I don’t know where Genzo is. I swear it!”

  “Wrong answer.” I dropped a loop around one of her flailing hands and gave the center rope a yank, tightening it, then the other hand was next. I pulled them together and then moved to her feet. Killian shifted his weight and moved with me so he didn’t get tangled in the ropes. “Marissa, Killian is going to take a walk with Noah here.”

  “No, no, don’t leave me with her!” Marissa tugged at the ropes, her skin lighting up as she tried to scorch her way through it. But threaded through the ropes were thin layers of steel cable. Clever trick on Killian’s part.