Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Thirty-Five

After the incident at the graveyard, Kennedy began to relax a little more around Andromeda. The heiress was content just to be included in things like girls-only outings, and campouts with the team. She even started receiving dinner and study session invitations, soaking up the normalcy without a second thought. Though she hadn’t had much contact with her father, Andromeda revelled in the fact that she finally had people her age that didn’t care about her status and family background.

Then came the day Kennedy found her sobbing in the shade of the humungous apple tree. Her eyes red and puffy, she snapped at the red-head while the other girl just stood there, arms crossed and looking passive. Ranting and raving, the blond suddenly realized what she was doing, paling considerably as she stared at Kennedy in fear. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to downplay your pain.

“My pain has long since been dealt with, Rom. Yours is still fresh and raw, while I had nine years to actively get over it. So, since I love stirring the s**t pot and making others lick the spoon, why don’t we go plead your case to Amber and Callum?” Kennedy asked, a startlingly scary grin gracing her features.

It was the day she figured out that Kennedy could talk circles around the older mobsters as fast and articulately as Phoenix could. Finally, after weeks of separation from her father, Ambrosia and Callum allowed the visit, calling ahead to alert the Maestro of his daughter’s impending return. The man agreed, shakily thanking them for the small relief of being able to see that his daughter was in good health.

Ross, knowing Kennedy was more than capable of pulling off the basic operation, placed her as the Mission Lead. Now, as they approached the final leg of the journey, she was starting to feel antsy. Antsy wasn’t a good thing. Hell, it was so out of the “good” zone for her that she was already moving through all possible scenarios in her head.

She glared at the male soldier, wondering if he had a death wish of some kind. He was trying to get Andromeda to smile, to draw anything but the stoic stance she’d adopted from Kennedy and Skylar. "Dereks, I'm going to gut you.”

Knowing what the teen was capable of, he gave a nervous laugh, "I'm just being friendly, Red. No harm, no foul, right?"

"Right… and I'm just about to shoot you for target practice." She grunted. They pulled up to the entrance gate of the manor, and Kennedy felt like a weight was pressing down on her. The dread blooming in the back of her mind grew stronger, tugging at her far more feral instincts. She pulled out her phone, concerned that Phoenix wasn’t blowing it up yet considering her best friend didn’t actually have the patience it took to wait very long. She frowned at the lack of notifications, worry filling her as she realized that not even Declan had sent her anything, and he always messaged her every hour to check in.

Knowing that something was about to go very, very wrong, she asked one of the other guards. "Diesel, do you have service?"

The ex-soldier glanced over at her as he pulled out his own device. Shaking his head, he said, "That’s a negative, Red. You?"

"Damn it," Kennedy hissed. Suddenly, the nagging feeling she had blossomed into full-blown suspicion. Without any of them being able to contact their base, the probability of a surprise, organized attack had risen significantly. "s**t, the signal's been jammed."

"Kenni, c'è qualcosa che non va?" Andromeda whispered.

Annoyed, Kennedy snapped, "Let me be for a minute, Rom."

Falling back in the seat, Andromeda tried not to let her anxieties get the better of her while her friend worked through the different solutions in her head. She stared out the window, her blue eyes roaming the gardens of the large manor. Her eyes burned as she fought the flood of tears that threatened to fall.

Praying that her father was alive and well, she let her eyes wander the lawn. Tilting her head to the side, she stared at the out-of-place cone-shaped object that caught her attention. She reached for the other girl's arm, dragging her attention to the object that had caught her attention. "Kenni, what’s that?"

The redhead glanced at the place Andromeda was pointing toward. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her mini telescope. Her eyes hardened as she saw the small gray cell jammer device taped to a tripod. Beneath it was a laser sensor. Letting her gaze follow the direction the tripod was facing, she spotted three more, each strategically placed where they would shut down any technology within range.

Kennedy winced, wishing for a moment that she’d taken Lukas or Jaxon with her.

"Damn it! The car ain’t starting, Red. Something’s wrong with the engine," the other man grunted darkly.

“Figures. Don’t worry, and stay alert. We are moving into treating this incident as an enemy attack,” she muttered. “Have your weapons ready.”

“Daddy? Kennedy, it’s my father!” Her heart pounding in her chest, Andromeda suddenly sucked in a breath as Francesco, holding his side with one hand, fell against the vehicle with a thump.

One of the male guards from the van ahead of them helped him into the car with the girls. Once he was inside, he sighed in relief.

"Sir, what happened?" Kennedy asked.

Rather than answer her, Francesco reached for his daughter's hand, gasping in pain. "Mia cara ragazza, he has returned. Forgive your Papa. I failed…"

He breathed deeply as a wave of pain washed over him.

The world tilted on its axis as terror engulfed Andromeda's mind. Her worst fears had just come to pass. "Papa, he... he can't! I was promised to Phoenix, Papa. We can’t go back on our word! I will not accept anyone else.”

"We have made him look like a fool, child," he told her. His paternal rage grew as he watched his daughter’s tears fall.

Kennedy looked over at him, please to know that Andromeda would fight to stay with Nix. "We're pinned in, Maestro. Until backup gets here, there's not much we can do without putting you and your daughter in danger. Bianchi's blocked our contact with the outside, so there's no way we can call."

"Then drive away!" Francesco snapped.

Smirking, she shook her head. "You make it sound like that’s a possibility. Once we got to the gate, the car engine died for some reason. If we get out, it leaves you wide open to attack, and my job was to protect your daughter at all costs. They're using some pretty high-tech s**t, but I didn't come here to be outdone by amateurs. I missed my check-in, and that alone will have the Veiðimenn here in no time. Not to mention my personal back-up is on the way. We have fifteen minutes before they arrive though."

Paling, Francesco fell quiet. As he watched the driver try the key again, he realized she was telling the truth. The vehicle's engine wasn't turning over at all.

"Fanculo a me, this can't be happening right now," he growled out. Holding his daughter, he seethed, "I must keep her safe."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kennedy caught sight of movement just beyond the gate. "Diesel, go two meters back the way we came and call this in just in case. Dereks, I want you to stay with Maestro Francesco and his daughter; I’m going to see if I can get to the cell jammer to disrupt the signal.”

Using the old school walkie talkies they had brought. She contacted the other vehicle. “Corbin, Sean, and Tag, I need you guys to watch my back. The rest of you start taking down whoever comes at us. I want no survivors, people. These jokes are after the Veiðimenn Prince’s fiancée, so let’s do our damn jobs and keep her as safe as possible."

Kennedy suddenly paused halfway to her objective as the distinct sound of a discharged weapon reached her ears. It had come from inside the car where Andromeda and her father were waiting. Phoenix was expecting them back in one piece, but her promise was getting harder and harder to keep as the mission started escalating quickly.

She fired at her target. It toppled to the ground, sizzling with electricity as she ran back to the gate. Several seconds later, her phone started going off like crazy as the notifications finally started coming through.

Andromeda’s screams filled the air, and she fired a shot that took down the heavily tattooed, built-like-a-brick-building man trying to drag an obviously terrified Andromeda out of the car. The faint sound of nails tearing through leather made her proud to know the girl was at least trying to fight back. Her eyes darted to Carissa's smug face, “I knew I smelled a rat.”

"You didn't really think I was going to follow a little girl, did you? Don Callum should have accepted my sister instead of that slut he chose. Destiny would have been a way better Donna," the woman said as she walked over.

Raising her weapon, Kennedy could faintly hear her father whispering to her, teaching her how to get the job done properly. “Shoot the shoulders. It limits their range of motion. If they can’t use their arms, they can’t shoot you back.”

Carissa shrieked, her weapon clattering to the pavement. With her father’s voice coaxing her, Kennedy fired again. “Next, take out the knees. They can’t run then. Go for the head last. Make them beg for what they will never receive.”

This time, the woman collapsed as her gut-wrenching screams filled the air. She grasped at her knees, sobbing in pain as she fumbled for her weapon.

Kennedy stared blankly at the woman. “Any last words, b***h?”

“Go to hell,” the woman rasped out as blood started pooling around her.

“After you,” Kennedy said as she pulled the trigger for the last time.