Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Nineteen

Livid was the only way to describe Skylar’s mood at that moment. Her rage intensified as she glanced down at Russell, who was trying to stay awake as he started struggling to breathe while holding a dish rag to his stomach.

He winced, keeping pressure on the wound as much as possible. “s**t, not the way I was hoping to spend an evening with you, babe.”

"Hold on, Russ," she whispered. Lifting her gun, she fired at the man who shot at them before he was able to turn his focus on her.

Keith looked up at her, the raw fear shimmering in his gaze made her want to roll her eyes. He was beside her the minute the air quieted. Everything was happening faster than he thought, and it shocked him to see the teens from the mob be so absolutely brutal. His face paled, draining of all traces of blood to the point he looked ready to pass out after watching the tall, sexy, sassy girl he went to school with kill the man who opened fire on them. No matter how many movies, games or discussions he participated in that involved killing, he was unprepared for the level of revulsion that came with actually ending someone’s life.

He had watched as the five-person team of friends calmly ran through strategies for a successful mission all while putting in minimal effort to garner maximum results. The little details weren’t brushed aside, either, as they took into consideration how each one would affect their performance. It was no wonder they walked around like they owned the freaking high school. He didn’t know what the younger two were capable of, and he didn’t think he wanted to know.

"That was Casper, um, I mean Peter Grey that shot at us. Why, though? Why did he open fire on us like that? Is… is he… dead?" Jimmy, another one of the teens that lived at the house asked. He’d ducked behind the fridge to avoid being seen with the gun fight started, poking his head out cautiously as he scanned the room.

Sky shrugged, and her nonchalant demeanour scared the two teen boys more than nearly meeting their maker at the hands of one of their own. She arched a brown brow, pointing at the man slumped over the trash can by the doorway to the kitchen. "Why don't you go ask him? One of my bullets left a nice little hole in his head, so you should be able to pick his brain."

"That's disgusting," he retorted.

She snorted. "That's the life you signed up for when you chose to don Scorpion colours. It's a kill or be killed world we live in when you’re dealing with gangs and s**t that have a hierarchy they follow. If you can't deal with it, get out because no one in the Underworld needs dead weight. Russell, how are you doing?"

“I’m good. It doesn’t feel lethal, but you’re father’s not going to let me live this one down, though. I kind of promised him I’d take a bullet for you if it came to that, but I wasn’t expecting it to come to pass like this,” he hissed through the pain, his breathing ragged.

She tried to smile, but couldn’t. “Something doesn’t feel right about this. It feels an awful lot like a proper set-up. I guess they didn’t realize that when our team pulls together as one, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

"Shadow, are you hurt?" A man rushed into the room, his weapon drawn as he surveyed the damage.

"No, but I need someone to take Russell Reyes to T-Gen. I assume Donna Amber will want her brother sent there. Have your team round up all the Scorpions you can find. This went exactly how we anticipated, and Kenni gets first dibs on those who think they can betray her," Skylar replied.

The man nodded, "She does, and will do. Our orders were to provide backup to your team and take out any opposers."

She holstered her gun in the waistband of her jeans, moving toward the stairs. "I need to talk to Kennedy."

As her hand closed around the rail of the stairwell that led to the next floor, someone pulled her back. Turning, she blinked expectantly at Markus and Memphis, their eyes glittering with excitement. Markus, though sporting a new cut on his chin, was in good spirits, meaning the heavy muscle of the crew had been in a fight. With violence being an outlier to their culturally rich lives, having bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes was a normal occurrence for them.

She raised a brow, “What’s up?”

“Your brother and Mark’s figured out we had an infiltrator, so we took him down. Name on his I.D. was Nolan Sharp. I snagged the dude’s wallet so Ken could take a look,” Memphis stated, handing over what he’d found.

She scowled, “What do you mean Luke and Jax helped?”

“Ross cleared them to assist in running security from the Don’s office after they got busted trying to hack the Everett Towers mainframe. This is the second time they’ve almost cracked the firewall security,” Markus replied.

She shook her head. Running a hand over her ponytail, she sighed. “Good for them, but you better treat my little brother right, German. He complains that you’re being an ass, and I’ll make you disappear. Don’t you ever hurt my brother, Mark.”

Throwing up his hands, the teen backed away from her. “Geesh, is it that time of the month or something? No worries, Sky. I won’t hurt him intentionally, but I won’t walk on eggshells, either. The comment about my heritage was a low-blow, though.”

“I could have called you a ball-less wonder with anger issues and hardly enough brain cells to…”

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s chill here, guys. I know we’re all pumped up about this s**t, but heads in the game. Sky, you good?” Memphis cut in, stopping her rant mid-way.

“Yeah, I’m good. Heading up to back up Nix and Ken.”

“Mark, reel it in, man. We can piss each other off later,” Memphis said as he shook his cornrows out.

As she walked into the room where Phoenix and Kennedy were, Sky was relieved to find them safe. Suddenly, her training ramped up from on alert to high-alert. Something in the room was out of place, like someone was deliberately attempting to hide what they were doing before the mob arrived in plain sight. Her eyes wandered the room, looking for anything that the other two with her might have missed while questioning the Regent. Finally, she smirked as she caught a subtle movement in the partially-opened closet, the dim lights reflecting off metal gave her all the intel she required.

Striding over, she snarled as she cursed under her breath while yanking the door open. Inside, a man gasped at the unexpected actions of the girl. Grabbing his shirt, she dragged him into the open with her gun pressed to his temple.

Kennedy let out a sigh of aggravation, roaring in anger. "What the hell is going on, Simon? I want an explanation as to why the f**k Xavier Black is still breathing."

"I get that, but he's one of us," the Regent said.

“He was one of the men I overheard at the restaurant tonight. Kenni, I have nothing to gain by lying to you,” Sky said.

Kennedy scoffed, “I’d believe you over them any day.”

Phoenix and Sky watched wordlessly as Kennedy pulled out her gun. "This time, you die for real, Xavier. I’m finally old enough to come after the bastards who executed my parents when I was a child. Payment is overdue, and the Diabla Roja is coming for you one-by-one."

"You were never supposed to live," he replied, spitting at her feet. Anger flashed in her blue orbs, but he didn’t seem to care as he continued. "You and that sister of yours were supposed to die that day, but you're like a couple of cockroaches."

"Correction,” Kennedy said. “I'm a f*****g Scorpion. I sting first, and ask questions later."

The locking pin slipped into place as she c****d the gun in her hand. Turning off the safety with a practised flick of her finger, she levelled the weapon at his head and smirked. The sound of her gun discharging echoed throughout the house.

Knowing that his best friend would never turn her rage on him, Phoenix gently retrieved the gun from her hand, resetting the safety before giving it to Skylar. "She won’t need that in a few minutes. Her bloodlust’s been triggered, so let’s get her taken care of first.”

Cupping the red-head’s face, he forced her to lock eyes with him as he spoke to her. “Ken, I need you to understand that what happens after tonight is now entirely in your hands, but you are forever Veiðimenn. Understand? I refuse to lose you."

"I got you, Boo, but I'm not in control right now. Sky, I need you to tie my hands," she begged, holding out her wrists.

Skylar winced at the desperate tone of her friend's voice. "Come back to us, okay?"

"I’ll do my best," Kennedy whispered as she allowed Skylar to zip-tie her wrists together.

Phoenix pulled out his phone to place a call, "Hey, Uncle Declan, I have an issue that’s about to become a massive death count. No, Kennedy was betrayed – again – and we both know how tonight will end once she blacks out. Thanks, I only hope they get here before she goes ham on the Club."

Turning to Skylar, he offered her a small smile. "Take Ken down to M and M so they can sit on her. Then go with Uncle Russell."

Once he was alone with the Regent, Phoenix smirked, "Now you’ve done it. She doesn't forget, she rarely forgives, and she never misses a shot unless it’s intentional. That said, she might spare your ass if you tell us everything you know about the incident regarding her parents."