Underground 4

by Janelle Stalder

  “Yeah,” Seamus said on the other end.

  “Are you guys headed out this way?”

  Seamus hesitated. “About that...we've got a bit of a problem.”

  Trent froze. “What kind of problem?” he asked slowly.

  “Well, there's two actually.”

  Of course there is, he thought.

  “One, Lake hasn't returned from her aunt's.”

  “Why not?” Trent asked. “Is she hurt? Did the soldiers get her?”

  “I don't think so,” Seamus answered. “I would have heard if she had.”

  “Great,” he said with a sigh. Why couldn't these Archers just do what they said? “What else?”

  Seamus paused. “It's Garrett.”

  Trent stood straighter. “What about him?”

  “He's inside the Community Center.”

  Trent pulled the phone away from his ear, pinching the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't anyone do what they were supposed to? “Why the bloody hell is he in there?”

  “He went in to get Mr. Samson.”

  “And why the fuck did you let him?” Trent all but growled.

  “What was I supposed to do? He insisted!”

  “You should have been the voice of reason, damn it.”

  “I tried. He wouldn't listen.”

  Trent cursed. “So now what?”

  “I'm going to stay here to make sure he gets out. And I have to look for Lake.”

  “Why weren't one of you with her to begin with?”

  “We figured it would be faster if we split up.”

  “Brilliant,” he said, rubbing a hand over his face. He was tired. Not just because he'd gone to bed late the night before, feasting on Phoenix's body. He was tired, bone tired. Mentally, emotionally, you name it. He was sick of all the fighting and worrying. Why couldn't things be easier in his life?

  “Call me as soon as you have an update,” he said, knowing there wasn't much he could do at this point.

  “Will do,” Seamus said. “Sorry, Trent. I told him you'd be pissed.”

  Trent snorted. “That probably made him want to do it all the more, not dissuade him.”

  “Tell McKay I say sorry too.”

  “It's not your fault, don't worry. Talk soon.”

  “Yeah.”

  They hung up. Now he had to go explain this to the others. With a resolved sigh, he headed in.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “You want to fight me? Why?” Phoenix stood looking at the same girl who had landed her on her ass not too long ago.

  She was smiling at Phoenix like the Cheshire cat - and it was pissing Phoenix off.

  “Why not?” she replied smugly. “We're supposed to be training, aren't we?”

  This bitch actually thought she could take her, Phoenix thought with a twitch of her eye. Just because she’d landed a couple of cheap blows, did not mean that she was a better fighter! Her eyes kept sweeping over to Bastian and back, her cheeks flushing, and Phoenix knew she was trying to impress the man.

  That just made her even madder. Bastian was Pixie’s man now, and no woman was going to ogle him if Phoenix had anything to say about it! It was official. The bitch was going down.

  “Fine, let’s do this,” Phoenix replied with a sweet smile. Walking over to the ring, she started putting on the sparring equipment just as Pixie appeared beside her.

  “You’d better break her nose,” she said in her soft voice. “Or at least hit her really hard in the boob.”

  Phoenix chuckled. “Settle down there, tiger. I’ll show her who she’s messing with.”

  “She’s been eye-fucking Sebastian since he got in here. If you weren’t going to fight her, I was. He literally had to hold my arm to keep me from challenging her.”

  Phoenix looked her up and down as if she were a stranger. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Pix?”

  She shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. “Bastian is a bad influence on me.”

  “Remind me to thank him.”

  Hopping up, she ducked beneath the ropes and started to bounce on the balls of her feet to warm up her muscles. Pixie popped up in her corner, her eyes focused on the other side. If looks could kill…

  “I really don’t think this is necessary,” Bastian said, coming up beside them. He looked between the three of them as if they were children misbehaving, and he had no idea what to do about it.

  “The girl wants to fight, so let’s fight,” Phoenix said easily.

  “We’re all supposed to be on the same team now,” he pointed out.

  “We are,” the other girl said, flashing him a smile as she took off her shirt to reveal a tiny sports bra.

  Phoenix stopped bouncing and looked over her shoulder at Pixie. She mouthed, “the boob”, pointing at her own with narrowed eyes. Phoenix nodded, biting back her smile. The girl was adorable when she was angry. It was a rare thing to see. Normally Pix was so quiet and calm, you hardly even noticed she was there. She always assumed the girl got her aggression out by exploding things.

  “No one is to really hurt the other,” he ordered.

  “No promises,” Phoenix said, winking at him.

  “Red, I’m serious,” he said, aiming his daddy voice at her. She just rolled her eyes.

  “What’s going on?”

  Trent appeared beside him, looking less than happy.

  “Ah, you’re just in time hot-shot,” she said happily. “I’m about to show this biaatch just how good I really am. No more cheap shots, sweetheart.”

  The other girl scoffed, clearly not realizing that the shit was about to go down.

  “Get out of there, Phoenix. We have more important things to do than this.”

  Ugh, another daddy voice. What was wrong with these men?

  “I won’t have you getting hurt just so you can prove a point,” he went on.

  Phoenix stopped moving to look at him with her mouth dropped open. Yee of little faith! How dare he! “I don’t know what pisses me off more, that you’re acting like I’m suddenly your property to boss around, or that you think I’m going to get hurt again by this skank-bag.”

  The other girl gasped. “Excuse me! I’m not –”

  Phoenix didn’t bother looking at her. Holding up a finger she said, “shhh, SB. The adults are talking.”

  Trent’s jaw ticked like it always did when he was pissed. Like she cared. “We all need to be in our best shape right now. This is stupid. You’re not even wearing your headgear.”

  “I’ll be fine. But thanks for the concern,” she said, dismissing him as she turned to face her opponent.

  “Damn it, Phoenix. I said get out of there. Now.”

  She could sense Pixie stiffen behind her. The other girl didn’t look too sure about this match-up anymore either. Just great. Now he’d gone and ruined all her fun, just like always. Mr. Square and boring had decided to show up this morning. Just when she thought he was learning to relax. Especially after their romp in the closet.

  Phoenix walked over to stand above him, looking down with as much calmness as she could muster right then. “Are you seriously trying to boss me around right now? Because I’m pretty sure I made myself very clear about you being an asshole.”

  He huffed. His hand reached out to wrap around her ankle possessively. That little touch made staying mad harder. Damn it. Even the slightest of contact from him seemed to be screwing with her brain.

  “I’m not being an asshole. Something important has come up, and I need everyone together to talk. I also don’t want you fighting like this anymore. It’s not necessary.”

  “Exactly what I said,” Bastian murmured.

  “Shut it, Jesus,” Phoenix said, never looking away from Trent. “You can tell me whatever it is after my fight. I’m sure it can wait.”

  “Damn it, Phoenix. I don’t want you fighting.”

  “Too bad! It’s what I do. Get used to it.”

  “Not anymore!”

  A tense silence fell over them. She sense
d Pixie move closer, but didn’t say anything.

  Phoenix crouched down so they were eye level through the ropes. “Listen to me very carefully, hot shot. I do what I want, when I want. And no one gets to take that away from me. If I want to fight every bloody person in this room, I will. So you can go take your Neanderthal ass somewhere else and club some other woman over the head. I’m done.”

  Not waiting for his reply, she turned, dropping the gloves in the middle of the ring as she hopped over the other side, landing on the floor with a jar. Walking out of the room without a look back, she went in search of her sister. Or food. Or both. Because right now, she needed to eat her emotions like every other sane woman out there. Just when she’d thought they were good, he went and showed her how impossible it was that things would ever work out between them.

  Trent watched Phoenix leave, even more confused than he’d been before. What the hell did he do wrong? Was it so bad that he wanted to keep her safe and uninjured? He couldn’t keep track of her damn moods. It seemed like no matter what he said, it was wrong.

  “I don’t understand women,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Don’t look at me,” Bastian said from beside him. “I’ve never made sense of them. You could always try locking her in a room and fucking her until she gave in.”

  A loud smack sounded as Bastian’s head whipped forward.

  “Ow!” he said, holding the back of his head.

  “You’re an idiot,” Pixie said, walking away from them.

  He looked at Trent. “See? I just don’t get them.”

  The group sat around the table set up in the gym as Trent recapped his phone call with Seamus.

  “I’m going to kill him when he gets here,” Pete said furiously.

  “If he gets back here,” Roman said.

  “What do we do?” Phoenix asked. She wouldn’t even look in his direction, which was pissing him off even more. He needed to get her alone to talk, but he knew that when he went to find her later her door would be locked – again. Didn’t she realize he needed to sleep with her in his arms now? Didn’t she feel anything of what he did?

  “We can’t just go into the city and fight the General,” Charlotte said. “especially if Ludwig has his men everywhere.”

  “No, not without more back-up,” Roman agreed.

  “Garrett's not an idiot,” Trent said, even though he was probably the most concerned for his youngest brother, other than Pete.

  “Apparently he is,” Pete muttered.

  “Obviously this was something important to him and we have to respect that. I don't understand his relationship with Mr. Samson, but clearly the man means a lot to him. In any case, he won't do anything stupid in there to draw attention to himself.”

  “Chances are, if he got in, he can get out,” Phoenix said, still not looking or speaking directly to him.

  Trent clenched his fists at his side. The woman infuriated him.

  “We hope,” Sam murmured.

  “It's all we can do at this point. Until we hear back from Bastian's contact, we can't move from here,” Trent said.

  “What about Lake?” asked Vi. “She could be hurt...or worse.”

  “Seamus will find her,” Pete assured her. “He doesn't leave anyone behind.”

  “So we wait,” Phoenix said, clearly unhappy.

  Trent nodded. “We wait. We grow stronger. And hopefully, we take out Ludwig and Douglas in one fatal strike.”

  The others had filed out of the room, heading to the kitchen to eat whatever Missy had thrown together. She was bent on making comfort food for Charlotte, which made Trent love her even more. His niece or nephew needed only the best, even now. He'd do anything and everything to ensure that.

  Tyler got a funny look in his eyes every time he looked at Charlotte too. Trent didn't think it was just his protective nature now that she was expecting. Something told him, from the looks he'd caught the Scotsman giving Missy, that he longed to see her belly swell with his child as well.

  Everyone was slowly moving on to bigger and better things. And while Trent was happy for all of them, he couldn't help but be envious. He wanted that. He wanted Phoenix. But it felt like no matter what he did, he just ended up screwing things up with her.

  Telling Pete he'd meet them in a few minutes, Trent raced out the door to catch up with Phoenix before she could disappear again.

  “Wait up, princess,” he called out. Her shoulders stiffened, telling him she'd heard him, but she didn't slow or even look back to acknowledge him. “Phoenix.”

  “Don't,” she said, speeding up.

  “Don't what?”

  “Don't use that voice with me.”

  “What voice?” he asked, confused.

  She stopped, her fists perched on her hips, and those blue eyes flashing at him. It took all he had not to press her up against the wall right there and kiss the hell out of her.

  “That warning voice, “ she said, “You're not my father.”

  Trent blanched. “I don't want to be your father,” he said.

  “Then stop trying to tell me what to do all the time! Why do you have to be such an overbearing asshole?”

  His head snapped back as if she'd struck him. “Overbearing asshole?”

  “That’s right! You don't own me, Trent. You don't get to make my decisions for me.”

  Now his own anger was rising. “First of all, I do own you. I've kissed and sucked and worshiped every inch of your body. When I wake up and you're there, the only thought in my mind is, mine.” Her cheeks flushed as she tried to hide the way her hands shook. He stepped closer, forcing her to take a step back.

  “But let me make this perfectly clear, Princess,” he sneered, not caring as he watched her flinch. “In no way am I trying to take away any freedom you have, because I respect you. I love the strong, independent, smart mouthed woman that you are. I revel in it. Every time you talk back to someone, even me, my chest fills with pride, because I know you won't take shit from anyone. Because that's you, and I'm not trying to change that.”

  She bit her lip, her eyes growing wider as he lowered his face to hers so they were eye to eye.

  “But if you don't want to be owned by me, then fine. You want your fun? You had it. I hope you enjoyed it. Because I'm not changing who I am either. If you can't handle that I only want to keep you safe, and you don't want me looking out for you, fine. I'll stop. I won't make any decisions for you anymore. Thank you for making it clear how little you think of me. Obviously I'm not what you need.”

  He turned around before she could say a word. That was it, he was done. She acted like he was some kind of barbarian when all he wanted to do was keep her safe. And while he had been wondering what he'd done wrong, now he wondered if maybe it wasn't so much that he was wrong, but that he just wasn't right - for her.

  Heart heavy, and anger bubbling, he headed down toward the ammo room, deciding some target practice might help relieve some of this tension. He couldn't sit with the others right now and pretend all was okay. Because it wasn't. The one person he'd actually wanted didn't want him. She wanted fun. Well Trent McKay wasn't fun. That was just the reality of it. If she didn't like it, she could find someone else.

  Deciding he'd get food later, he sped up, ready to blow off steam. Except he never made it. The click registered a moment too late before everything went to hell.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  She felt like a fish, her mouth opening and closing, unable to form words as she watched him march down the hall away from her. What the hell had just happened? Phoenix could have sworn she was the one who was mad at him, not the other way around.

  And why did she feel like a real piece of shit all of a sudden? He had said she was trying to change him, but that wasn't it. Was it? Did she accuse him of wanting to change her when really it was her who wanted to change him? No, that was ridiculous. She liked Trent and his possessiveness...just not when it pissed her off.

  She didn't like anyone telling her what to
do, especially not men. Was she overreacting because of that? Did he mean it when he'd said he'd just been trying to protect her? Damn it, she didn't know what to think anymore.

  This back and forth between them was even worse than when they'd acted as though they didn't like each other. How was it that caring about one another made them fight even more? Was she just being too sensitive? Ugh. And why did he seem so pissed about her having fun with him? It was the same thing as when she'd said it in the closet and he'd grown all cold.

  She didn't know what to think anymore. Still standing in the same spot, her eyes stayed stuck on the spot where he'd disappeared, unseeing. Had she screwed this up? Or had he?

  Missy could help clear things up for her. She was always better than Phoenix at making sense of confusing situations. Taking a step in the direction of the kitchen, the ground suddenly shook as though an earthquake vibrated beneath the earth. Phoenix looked over her shoulder just as debris came flying down the hall. Alarms rang loudly.

  What was happening? Her hands braced the wall as more tremors shook the ground. The air tasted and smelled of dirt and explosives. She blinked back the grit in her eyes, now that clouds of it floated through the air. Looking back up, she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. There was debris everywhere from the tunnel Trent had gone down.

  “Trent?” What was meant to be a shout came out as only a squeak. Something was squeezing her insides as panic started to slowly slither up her spine, making her hands and knees shake. More alarms were going off in all directions, assaulting her ears.

  “Phoenix!”

  Looking back toward the hall she’d been about to go down, she saw Missy come running toward her, her eyes wide with panic. Phoenix looked back down the other way where Trent had gone, the air now too clouded with dirt and dust to see anything.

  “Phoenix!” Missy shook her hard, forcing her to look back, her mind racing with confusion. “Phoenix we have to get out of here.”

  “W-what's happening?”

  “Someone blew up the tunnels. We need to get out in case there are more bombs.”

  Someone blew up...? Air. Suddenly Phoenix couldn't get enough air. Her legs gave out beneath her as panic wracked her body.