“What do you want me to say?” Sin asked, taking a step towards him.
“Who the fuck are you?” Phoenix asked from beside her. Donny bristled.
“Her cousin, asswipe. Now be a good little boy and keep your trap shut.” Shit, this was going well now wasn’t it? Sin felt like she was going to lose it. Her family was here, and she hadn’t had a chance to talk to either her family or Phoenix. This was going to be a disaster.
“Hey, look it’s Sinny bear!” Trigger crowed, rushing towards her and picking her up. “I found you, so I get the reward.” He crowed, laughing as he spun her around in a circle.
“The fuck you did. I was already talking to her and you are an idiot.” Donny grumbled, still glaring at them.
“Nah, Axel’s going to be excited to see his girl. He’ll likely give me a bigger reward and you can get the one Papa Bear’s offering.” Trigger said, setting her on her feet. Sin swayed slightly dizzy from being spun around so fast, but Donny caught her arm steadying her. That was when his eyes landed on the property patch she was wearing.
“What the fuck? You’re wearing a property patch, are you insane? Axel is going to lose his shit and kill someone. What the fuck Sin?” Donny growled.
Feeling her cheeks pinken, she turned to look at Phoenix who stood a few feet away glaring at both her and Donny. She took a step towards him hoping to stop this train wreck before it got any worse.
“Who the fuck is Axel?” He demanded, looking down at her with dark green eyes.
“Her man. They’ve been together since she was seventeen.” Trigger said, making Sin wince. She’d turned to look at Donny, but she looked back towards Phoenix who was suddenly scowling and clenching his fists at his sides. His jaw looked like it was granite and she could almost feel the rage pour off him.
“Holy shit, it’s Sinny!” another voice said. She knew it was Hippo from the gruffness of it. “I’ll get Axel and Papa.”
“No, wait.” Sin said, turning away from Phoenix to stop Hippo, but Donny stopped her.
“Get your mother fucking hands off her.” Phoenix snarled, jerking her away from Donny. He thrust her behind him and she leaned her face into his back trying not to freak out.
“I don’t give a fuck who you think you are asshole. When Papa and Axel get over here to settle this, shit is going down.” Donny snarled back.
Oh hell, could this get any more embarrassing?
She idly wondered. Of course it could she realized as Rage and Diablo walked up. Well fuck now it was a party! Why, why, why hadn’t she asked Phoenix who was going to be at this party before they’d come tonight?
“What’s going on over here?” Rage asked, standing with her and Phoenix eyeing them both. Sin felt her cheeks heat up as her eyes closed and she tried to breathe through the panic that was starting to consume her, because this was not how she wanted this whole thing to go down.
“Don’t know, but these Black Souls MC dickheads think they’re taking Sin, and I can promise you that’s not fucking happening,” Phoenix growled. Moving around Phoenix to look up at him, her hands resting on his hard stomach gripping the edges of his cut trying to explain before Papa and Axel showed up.
“Nix, I need to tell you somethi—,” Sin began, but a gruff voice interrupted her.
“Sinny bear, I think you need to explain some things,” Axel said, from behind her.
Closing her eyes, she sighed and turned to face Jack. Her little grin was rueful as she laughed and moved towards him. She couldn’t help it, she’d missed him so much that she found herself jumping into his arms for a hug. She heard Phoenix growl behind her and she heard Diablo’s ‘fuck, chill out’ before she glanced over her shoulder to see Rage and Diablo holding Phoenix back.
“I did it again, didn’t I?” She asked shaking her head.
Jack threw his head back and laughed before he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. Sin winced again when she heard Phoenix growl and she knew that he started fighting against Rage and Diablo again.
“Get your fucking hands off her asshole!” Phoenix roared.
“I think you might have, sweetheart. I do think you might have.” Jack said, tugging at her property patch and sighing as he set her on her feet in front of him. He turned his frown to Phoenix who was fighting his brothers hard, as she stood there trying to figure out how to settle this
“Serenity Ann North, what the hell is going on over here?” Papa growled as he walked up shoving through the group that had formed. She turned and saw him standing there and felt tears form in her eyes as she took him in.
“Papa,” she managed to get out before she was running towards him. He was still a mountain of a man with a bushy grey beard and brownish grey hair with a pair of bushy brows. She felt like her whole world exploded with happiness when she saw him, and a huge grin split her face as she hurled herself into his arms, burying her face into his shoulder inhaling the smell of tobacco and leather that she’d always associated with him.
“I missed you too, button.” Her father said as he squeezed her tightly to his chest. He set her on her feet and she saw Vape, Chase, and Ripper next to him. They all grinned and grabbed her to them as a group, giving her hugs and nuggies.
“Now, you two explain to me why my daughter is wearing a property patch without my permission.” Papa grunted, pointing at Rage and Diablo.
Shit, she still needed to handle that.
“Your daughter?” Rage asked, his face now stone still.
Phoenix had stopped fighting and was now standing there glaring at her. Damn, guess he wasn’t too please with her. She’d tried to warn him, but he’d told her it didn’t matter and by god she was holding him to that. She took a step towards him, but Axel stopped her by grabbing her arm and giving his head a little shake. She frowned, but she stopped waiting.
“Yes, my daughter, who you knew I was looking for. I want to know how she ended up patched without a word being said to me.” Papa grunted, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at them.
“Sir, I didn’t know she was your daughter.” Rage said, glaring at Phoenix.
“What? I didn’t know! She didn’t tell me either.” He said, throwing his hands up in the air.
“You patched her and didn’t even find out who she was first? Are you an idiot?” Donny asked.
“I knew what was important, dickhead.” Phoenix replied.
“What was that?” Axel asked from beside her after dropping her arm to cross his own over his chest.
“That she’s mine.” Phoenix growled.
“She isn’t yours, mother fucker. She’s ours,” Axel snarled at him.
Phoenix started moving towards him, intending to kill him most likely. Sin stopped him with her hands on his chest holding him back. He looked down at her as she pushed against his chest.
“No killing.” Sin said. Phoenix grunted and glared at Axel. “Or fighting,” she added, knowing him well enough to know that she needed to cover all the bases.
“I’m still waiting on an answer here.” Papa Bear grunted.
“I told you I didn’t know she was your daughter, Bear. I knew you were looking for a woman in her twenties, but you told me it was very unlikely she was anywhere near here and that was like a year ago,” Rage said.
“I underestimated how smart she was. I didn’t think for a second that she’d stay anywhere near here, because we are only about forty minutes away from here, but she damned sure did. Someone trained her too damned well.” Papa said, his voice filled with a mix of pride and annoyance.
“Hey, it’s not my fault she absorbed everything so damned well. You told me to train her and I did.” Axel said, laughing.
“Maybe a little too well.” Papa grumbled, glaring briefly at Axel. “Rage, even if you didn’t know this, it still leaves us with a bit of an issue. You’ve patched a member of my club without my permission. That needs some repayment.” Papa said, his look now calculating.
“What the fuck, Bear? We are not selling, Sin
.” Axel growled.
“You’re not getting her back either fucker, she belongs to me now.” Phoenix snapped.
Sin felt like banging her head into a nearby tree because this was just a fucking mess, and she had no one to blame but herself. If she’d just fessed up sooner this wouldn’t have happened.
“She’s not a piece of land, fucker. You can’t claim her like her opinion doesn’t matter. She’s not yours. Besides, she’s been mine since she was seventeen.” Axel said, making it so much worse than it had been a second ago. She knew he was trying to protect her by claiming her. She’d never had sex with Axel, but Phoenix was convinced his claim meant something completely different. She could almost feel the anger inside Phoenix go nuclear. She literally had to wrap herself around him to keep him from going after Axel after that comment. She knew that Axel meant well, but he was making this worse because he didn’t understand.
“Nix, look at me. Look at me.” Sin commanded.
Phoenix finally did after three minutes of her trying to get his attention. His eyes were feral, and his anger breathed inside him. She needed to calm him down and then go explain things to Jack, so he understood that he wasn’t helping with this, she’s mine bullshit.
“I need to explain a few things to Axel, but I belong to you, okay. I’m yours and only yours.” She could see some of the rage clear from his eyes and he nodded. She sighed with relief hoping his calmness would last long enough for her to talk to Axel without either of them murdering each other. She unwrapped herself from Phoenix intending to talk to Axel, but before she could take more than a step, she was spun around into Phoenix’s arms again and he was kissing her. His hands gripped her ass and he devoured her lips like it had been months since they’d kissed instead of the few hours it had been. When he finally lifted his head with a satisfied look in his eyes, she was panting and breathless. Her hands trembled as she patted his chest before turning back to Axel whose mouth was hanging open in surprise. Likely wondering why she’d just allowed that display of male dominance without putting Phoenix in his place.
“You’re not going to hit him for that?” Axel asked when she was standing in front of him.
“Nope.” Sin replied, her body still tingling with desire as she looked up at her best friend.
“Well shit. I get it now.” Axel said, looking a little sad.
“Stop acting like it’s breaking your heart.”
“It is breaking my heart, Sinny Bear. Everyone thought we’d end up together.” Axel said, looking truly hurt. Sin felt her heart clench.
“We never would have worked, Jack. You know that as much as I do.”
“Yeah, but I figured in a few years when I was ready to settle down, we’d be okay together. You and me, two hellcats living it large.” He muttered, cupping her cheek. Sin heard a growl from behind her, but she ignored it.
“That would never have worked, and you know it. We’re way too much alike. We both need someone steady to keep our trains on track. Otherwise there’d be chaos.”
“I know.” He replied, his eyes suddenly twinkling. She frowned for a second before she realized that he’d been fucking with her.
“You bastard! You were fucking with me weren’t you?” Sin growled, her laughter flowing out of her.
Axel laughed too, “But I had you going didn’t I. You really thought you were breaking my poor wee heart. Payback, Sinny. You sure about that idiot?” He asked, nodding toward Phoenix.
“I’m sure. I love him.” Sin confessed quietly. Axel smiled, his eyes gentle as he nodded.
“As long as you’re happy. I couldn’t let you go for any other reason. You know that, right? I’ll always be here for you even if it all blew up in your face.” Axel said.
Sin felt her lungs constrict. She had known that, but hearing it was nice. She knew her family loved her, but she’d always needed their reassurance that she mattered to them because of what she’d been through when she was young.
“I know,” she whispered back smiling at him. He kissed her forehead again and nodded.
“Are you two done talking yet?” Phoenix demanded.
Laughing, she turned around and headed back to him. She grabbed him around the neck and started kissing his face with loud smacking kisses, he didn’t fight as his arms wrapped around her waist. His body was tense when she first jumped into his arms, but as he accepted her kisses, she felt that tension leave him.
“Okay, back to the conversation we were having before that little scene. As you can see one of my men thought he’d end up with my girl. So we need to discuss how we’re going to settle this little tangle.” Papa injected.
“Papa!” Sin said, trying to rein him in.
“No girl, they basically took you without asking and that needs some payment.” He grunted, his eyes twinkling with that light it always got when he was negotiating.
“My share of all takes for four years,” Phoenix offered gruffly, making Sin gasp. That was likely to be around half a million dollars.
“How do you think you’re going to take care of my girl if you’re giving me all your damned money you idiot?” Papa growled.
“Don’t need it to take care of her old man. I have enough that’s stashed away already. It isn’t like she’s high maintenance or money hungry.” Phoenix said, still holding her close to his side as he glared at her father.
“I don’t want money. She’s my damned daughter and I’m not selling her.” Papa grumbled.
“Could have fooled me. You’re the one asking what we are doing to repay you. What am I supposed to think?” Phoenix asked. Sin couldn’t help but laugh as she realized that he wasn’t trying to get money. Her father had always been a wily one. He wanted them to owe him a favor. He didn’t really care about her leaving his club as long as she was happy. He was just using the situation as a platform for that sneaky endeavor.
“One favor that the club owes you and you can call in at a later date.” Rage said, likely realizing what he was angling for.
“Two,” Papa countered.
“One, and half the take on the Brooks deal.” Rage countered.
“Done.” Papa said grinning. Sin couldn’t help but laugh. Her father came forward offering his hand to Rage, who took it and the two men shook on the deal.
“Welcome to the Devils Arms.” Diablo said, shaking his head as he slung his arm over her shoulders. Sin shoved him off and turned back to her father when he spoke again.
“Button, I would like to talk with you for a bit if you and your young man would follow me.”
“Shit, you should have run when you had the chance, because now you’re in for a long lecture.” Jack whispered as he passed them.
“Shut up, asshole.” Phoenix said, and Sin stuck her tongue out at Jack.
“Hey boys, apparently, I’m a free man now. Let’s go get some hot piece of ass to help me get over my sorrows.” Jack said, grabbing her brothers and heading over to the area of the party where the sweetbutts were hanging out. Sin rolled her eyes at his antics. He was such an idiot.
Epilogue
Her hands were rooting around in the sudsy water for the last fork when hard male arms slipped around her waist startling her. It only took a second for her to realize it must be Phoenix because otherwise the proximity alarms would have been going off. He’d bought the cabin from the club a little over a month ago. It wasn’t until they’d moved into the cabin permanently that they’d realized there was a slight flaw in the security system. After three weeks of having to reset the system every time one of them returned home, they’d had Hemp rig up remotes they both used before crossing the perimeter of the property. Which meant that it was her old man who’d just walked up behind her and pulled her into his arms.
“I thought you were going to hang out with the guys tonight?” Sin said, leaning back into his chest as he kissed the side of her neck.
“I got bored and decided to come home instead.” Phoenix said, still kissing her neck.
Sin laughed and turn
ed in his arms, looking up at him as she curled her arms around his neck.
“I see, you got horny and thought you’d come home to bug me instead.” She accused.
“I did not. I thought about that movie you said you were watching tonight and I wanted to see it too.” Phoenix said, kissing her lips before rubbing noses with her.
“But you hate the Avengers movies.”
“True, but I don’t hate how hot it makes you when we have sex after you watch them.” Phoenix whispered against her lips.
“That’s not true you big perv.” Sin cried.
“Trust me, it is most definitely true.” Phoenix snickered. She shoved him off her and twisted back to the sink intending to finish the dishes.
“I’m done talking to you. Go back to the clubhouse and spend the night getting drunk with the boys.” Sin grumbled. She wasn’t surprised to find herself scooped up and carried towards the living room, despite her shrieks for him to put her down and let her finish the last of the dishes.
“Nope, we have a movie to watch. The dishes can wait.”
Sin gave in allowing him to carry her into the living room where she sat curled on his chest and watched the Avengers kick ass. When it was over, she even let him drag her into their bedroom and fuck her senseless like he’d promised. It was as she lay in his arms with his fingers running over her bare skin that she thought about how happy he made her.
It was still a mystery to her that this stubborn asshole was able to keep her blissfully happy. Over the past six months he’d made her laugh more than she ever had in her life. Even with the trial looming over her head she felt fantastic. Phoenix was still taking extra runs and protection details to pay the club back for the money they’d given to her father, but he was never gone more than necessary.
Being the smart woman she was, she’d complained about it to Papa, making him feel guilty. Sin knew that her father and brothers had helped him with some of the extra runs without accepting pay for their part in it. Phoenix should have the amount the club had paid to Papa and the boys back within six months thanks to his efforts. Rage and the rest of the club refused to let Phoenix pay them back for taking half their normal cut on one of their biggest deals. Sin felt a little warm and fuzzy about all the guys thinking she was worth the extra fifty thousand they would have made that night and split. Phoenix not liking the fact that his choice to keep her was costing the club money had started working on paying them back less than a week after that job was finished. Since they wouldn’t take it from him he was doing more jobs to pay it back that way.
In the Devils Arms (Devils Arms MC Book 1) Page 18
