Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Twenty-Seven

Hours after the confrontation with the man she didn’t know, Andromeda stood waiting for the guards with Phoenix as the woman behind the counter radioed for someone to take his car around. Nervous about riding on the back of the motorcycle she’d seen him driving, she had pleaded with him to take a car instead. Thankfully, he agreed without poking fun at her unease.

Memphis, on the other hand, didn’t miss the opportunity. He was still laughing as the sleek, black Jag XE pulled up. Though he was acting like a certified jackass, she knew he was testing her – Phoenix had the decency to explain that his friends took their jobs regarding his safety seriously, so she didn’t bother getting upset.

Memphis revved his bike a few times and laughed maniacally. The smile fell from his face when Phoenix smirked at him, his brown eyes dancing with humour. "Awe, man. Really, Nix?"

"We can't draw attention to ourselves, so go the speed limit. I’m not taking chances on Andromeda’s safety. That's an order," Phoenix replied with a grin.

"Prick," Memphis muttered, running a hand through his blue-dyed hair. He glowered at his friend as he turned off the engine. "You just gotta pull rank, don't you?"

Phoenix laughed, "Tell you what, to make up for this, you can order whatever you want, and I'll pay for it."

The other teen c****d a brow, "What's the catch?"

"I don’t want you to sit with us," the blond replied. "I want this to go smoothly, and don't need you telling her any embarrassing s**t about me. You start that, and I’ll make sure you catch hands."

Memphis wiggled his brows, "You and Ken the only ones able to kick my ass six ways from Sunday. She’s down for the count, and you need me right now. What’s going on? The truth, Nix."

Phoenix grunted, "I just want to get to know her, that's all. She... she's my... um…"

Impatient, the other boy glared at his leader. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but Phoenix seemed to be on edge about it. He sighed, "This ain’t like you at all. I mean, yeah, you’re socially awkward, but this is the first time I’ve seen you so protective of a girl. You’re not even like this with our girls, so what changed?”

Phoenix's eyes flickered to the concrete floor, then back to Memphis. "As of today, I signed a marriage contract with her father. I want to keep her safe, to make her happy. There's no out clause, not that I would want one. I mean, there’s not a doubt in my mind that she’s the one for me, Mem."

He watched his friend’s eyes go wide, staring at something over his shoulder. Phoenix turned on his heel, his browns locking onto her wide blue eyes. Shock rooted him in place as he waited for the stinging slap of her retribution. Grabbing a tissue from the box on the wicket counter, Phoenix gently cleaned her up, "I’m sorry. I… I should have told you beforehand, but I didn’t know how to broach the subject."

“Kenni and Sky notwithstanding, you never could hold a decent convo with a girl,” Memphis muttered.

Rolling her eyes, Andromeda gave Phoenix a weary look, "Can we stick him next to the kitchen so he can't hear us talking?"

Phoenix snickered. "He’s got eyes like a hawk, but Memphis isn’t much of a listener."

"f**k you, Callumsson," Memphis said as he got back on his bike and restarted the engine. Listening to the machine as it rumbled beneath him, he basked in the feeling of empowerment. Slipping his helmet over his head, he snapped the strap into place and nodded at Phoenix.

Returning the nod, Phoenix ushered Andromeda into the car before taking his place behind the wheel. The Jag roared to life for a few seconds before quieting to a gentle purr. He glanced over at Andromeda, his heart hammering nervously in his chest. Memphis wasn’t wrong - it really was hard for him to gather the courage to talk to girls. The ones he hung out with were more like sisters rather than romantic interests.

"Phoenix, did you mean it?" Her soft voice cut through his train of thought.

Glancing at the GPS, he memorized the route before turning the device off. The less distracted he was this evening, the better. He sighed, "Did I mean what, Romie? You’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that. I said a lot of things where you're concerned, so, yeah."

"Did you mean what you said about the contract?" She clarified.

Biting his lip, he carefully pulled out of the garage and turned onto the main road. Several minutes went by as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t set off a panic attack. Scolding himself for overthinking it, he opted for the truth. "My father was concerned when your father brought up the idea, and I copped some attitude with him over it, but your father was convinced that I was the best option for you. I can promise you that I’m not doing this for your father or for myself. I’m following through on my promise to protect you from harm, Andromeda."

She fell quiet beside him, her face a passive mask he found himself unable to read. While Francesco advised him that he’d never trained his daughter, being able to hide ones emotions wasn’t easy to learn. It told him she’d been using the ability to stay alive.

He sighed, "Look, I really am sorry that you’re only now finding out. I probably should have told you sooner, but I didn't know what to say or how to bring it up without sounding like an asshole, and that's the truth. I wouldn't have agreed to the contract if I didn't like you, either."

Startled, she couldn't find the words to reply to him. She fell back in the seat, relaxing as he steered the car through the busy streets. Nodding, she relented to his explanation. “What exactly were the terms? I was not made aware of any of this.”

“My team are going to be your new guard, and he basically demanded we get married for your continued protection. The terms are clear in the respect that I get to guard you as I see fit, but within reasonable boundaries so that you don’t feel entrapped by us. Your only task is staying safe and alive while the rest of us deal with the threat, so you’ll be surrounded by people from my team all the time. I won’t cage you, Romie. On the other hand, I ay have told off your father and let him know that if he wants to keep using you as a pawn, then I’ll start training you to be a thorn in his side.” Phoenix replied.

He pulled off the main road, driving a bit more until he pulled into the parking lot of an Asian restaurant.

"You got us seats? Here? Papa couldn’t even get a reservation without having to wait two months, so how did you?" She questioned as she got out of the car.

Phoenix grinned, "This is the place where my dad proposed to my mom when I was nine. They were separated for a little over eight years because my maternal grandmother believed my father wasn’t good enough for her daughter. Mom, on the other hand, ain’t no pushover. Besides, my Afi – that means grandfather – set it up so that the mob’s head family gets priority treatment from the actual owners in return for our unlimited protection from the Legals and other gangs."

"I really like your parents, Nix. Your mother is so strong and forceful – something I wish I could be," she replied as he led her inside.

He glanced at her, his eyes holding a mix of pride and secrecy. “Well, if you want to, my girls can start teaching you to be bolder and more outspoken. However, I know every woman has an inner b***h. The first step in making you stronger, is bringing out the side of yourself that scares you and coming to terms with it.”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Memphis already seated with a menu in his hands. "How did he beat us here?"

"Bastard probably took all the side roads he could find. Between him, Mark, and Kennedy, it’s always a competition. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, Kenni always seems to win,” Phoenix muttered.

As soon as they were alone in the booth, Andromeda groaned in frustration. "This suspense is killing me, Nix. I mean, do I actually mean something to you, or are you playing with me?"

"Andromeda, I was raised to say what I mean and mean what I say,” he told her calmly. “I wanted to know you the first day you walked into our Science class. I can’t even describe the thoughts running through my head at the time, but I started falling then. It was the reason I so readily agreed to bring your books to you when your dad pulled you out for almost two weeks. I was disappointed when I learned Craig got to you first; that you accepted a date with the schools drug supplier."

She scoffed, "Biggest mistake of my life. We were supposed to go to the movies, but he took me to his house under the assumption that he’d forgotten his wallet."

"That was a p***y move on his part,” he scoffed.

One brow arched elegantly over one eye, “Perché?”

“My Afi was strongly against s****l assault of any kind, and instilled his deep-seated beliefs into his mob so that we all knew that no is no regardless of circumstance. My mother also carries that belief with her because of her profession of being a doctor," Phoenix explained.