Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Sixteen

Russell gulped in a breath of air as the brunette he’d been falling for slid into the passenger seat. His heart was doing a Two-Step as he watched her fluid, practised movements for any sign that she was uncomfortable with him.

Looking her over carefully, he noted that her shoulder-length locks had a scent that was vaguely familiar as the smell of honey and sweetly perfumed oil filled the interior of the Trans Am. The shirt she was wearing beneath her dark green coat hugged her torso while her jeans fit her like a second skin. He inhaled again. “Did you do something to your hair?”

Watching her cheeks redden a little, she nodded. Clearing her throat, she said, “It was tangled, like always, so I let Jax put some kind of hair oil in it. At least he didn’t have a lighter this time.”

He watched, not bothering to be discreet about it, as Skylar pulled the seatbelt across her toned body and snapped the buckle into place. With his mouth watering, he kept himself in check as he drove out of the garage. The last thing he needed was David ripping him a new asshole. Not to mention the fact that Skylar had been trained by his elder sister, making her more than capable of killing him without breaking a sweat.

Shifting gears, he listened to her laugh. He'd been trying to be as good a soldier as possible after he had learned the hard way about breaking someone's trust. Damaging it was exceptionally easy, but earning it back was something different altogether.

It was a lot more difficult than he thought it would be. His old life had been ripped from under him with the truth getting slammed down his throat violently. All the lies his parents had concocted came to light in a blaze of fiery glory as his siblings went through the motions of helping him heal. When he was introduced to Ambrosia and Declan, he didn’t know where to put himself or even how to handle the much more genuine reality of their personal world.

For the first time in his youthful, eighteen-year life, he knew familial love without the side of pain and deceit. Telling his eldest nephew in front of all the others wasn’t easy when the boy asked him for his reasons. It was the day he finally awakened from the shadows to learn who his mother and father had put at risk because of their baseless hatred. If he’d gone ahead with the plan and not listened to Robbie, he wouldn’t have been any better than his parents.

It scared him that he almost lost the chance to know his siblings; that he’d nearly had a hand in ending the life of his own nephew. It had taken some ass-kissing, and a lot of hard work, but he'd slowly built his reputation from the ground up with Robbie beside him every step of the way. Hans had made him take lie detector tests and mental health assessments every few months. He was never fully sure of the brunet, but he did want to believe his grand-nephew was right about Russell being a lost soul in need of saving.

Then, just a few short months ago, just after he’d finished the last round of testing, he was reinitiated. Days later, Hans passed away, leaving his treasured Trans Am to the young man in a show of trust. Shocked, but unwilling to protest the words written in the will the man left behind, he’d accepted the posthumously presented gift.

Shaking his head, he down-shifted the transmission and stopped as the light at the intersection turned red. Skylar giggled again. He looked over to see her on her phone. "What's up? Did you find a funny meme or something? Please, by all means, share the humour ‘cause I need a laugh."

Her hazel-blue gaze flickered to him, a grin tugging at the edges of her mouth, "Jaxon told dad he was gay, but lost his s**t right after. Dad talked to him, so they're good now."

Russell grinned, "That certainly sounds like something Jax would do. I didn’t know the kid was gay, though. He usually tells me everything, so it’s a little hard to believe. Was he scared or something? Is he okay now?”

Biting her lip, Skylar nodded. She enjoyed the fact that Russell looked out for her brother and his bestie without being asked to do so. When he mentioned not knowing, she almost regretted bringing it up to him so casually. Without looking at him, she grinned at the picture Memphis sent her of Mark cuddling Jaxon on the couch with the caption ‘the big baby wanted to snuggle, so now your bro is a teddy bear’.

"Yeah, he’s fine now. The guys are with him, and he and Daddy talked it out. My poor baby brother got physically sick fighting his anxiety just to tell Dad, so it couldn’t have been easy to deal with a secret that huge. Where are we going to eat, by the way?" Skylar asked as she finally put her phone away.

He shrugged, "What are you in the mood for?”

"Oh, can we go to Giulietta?" She replied. The brightness of the streetlamps glinted off the butt of the gun she had tucked into her handbag.

"Hide your piece under the seat before we go in, though. I can’t let you take that into a civilian setting,” he nodded at her purse.

“Sure,” Skylar answered. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Russell, can I ask you something?"

Now there’s a loaded question if there ever was one, he thought. He blew out his cheeks, "Is it about my past?"

"I just wanted to know why you did it," she said softly.

He winced, knowing that the question would eventually come up. "I told you and the team years ago that I was brainwashed into thinking Hans was the bad guy. I was made to believe the twins knew, but weren't allowed to be with me, and they needed to be saved. When my mother and father started grooming me at the age of ten, I believed they were telling me the truth. I was so hungry for their affection, I blindly let them lead me into a situation where I would have become their cannon fodder instead of their treasured son.”

Russell paused. She was the only one who could make him expose his soul like this, and it made him feel naked. "After Robert begged and pleaded for him to spare my life, Hans helped me get through the crushing reality. That was when I knew he wasn’t the cold-hearted monster my parents made him out to be. The day we met, I thought I was getting erased. I was fully prepared to walk into deaths arms like an old friend over the guilt of what I had done.”

Glancing at her, he saw that, while she was looking straight ahead, she was also attentively paying mind to every word he spoke. “Instead, Declan told me they wanted to get to know me. He retrained me personally, giving me everything our father should have given. I wanted to make him proud, to show him that I could strive for the same greatness he’d attained with his skills, so I pulled my weight and did everything I was told without complaining.”

Her father's words echoed in her head, the long list of judgemental comments he’d made before sparked her curiosity even more. Finally, she asked: "Why doesn't my dad like you?"

"I nearly sabotaged a massive mission, which would have gotten a lot of people killed. If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t like me, either," Russell replied.

"Dad thinks that you're going to turn again,” she murmured softly.

"I would rather die than turn my back on the people who gave me a second chance. I learned a hard lesson. Trust is easy to break, but it's damn near impossible to earn back." He told her gently as he pulled into the parking lot of her chosen restaurant. Not thinking, he ran to her side of the car and opened the door. Heat rushed through him as he realized the mistake too late. "Sorry. I forgot you don’t like being treated like a damsel in distress."

Skylar giggled, "It's fine, Russ. Just don't make it a habit. After all, mistakes happen, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't need to give David another reason to plot my funeral." He griped as they walked to the entrance.

She pursed her lips, thinking hard about something. "Russell, do you think that... forget it, let's go eat."

He really wanted to know what was on her mind, but didn't want to pressure her. Holding the door, he waved her into the restaurant before following her inside. He glanced at her as they were led to their table, taking in the light pink blush on her cheeks.

A guy walked over with a few menus. "Good evening, my name is Alvin, and I'll be your server. Would you like to hear the special for this evening?"

"Yes, please," Sky answered. Her voice was saccharine sweet, but the underlying tone of indifference was clearly there.

Alvin grinned, "Tonight’s special’s are Chicken Pasta Primavera, Creamy Mushroom Risotto, or the Manager’s Choice – Arancini stuffed with pulled pork, mushroom, onion, and traditional seasonings with a side of our house marinara sauce. Of course, all meals come with toasted garlic bread and a choice of sides.”

"I’ll have the Primavera, hold the garlic bread, and I would like a diet Ginger Ale for my drink," Skylar advised.

"Absolutely," the server beamed. "And for you, Sir?"

"The Arancini, and a black coffee, thanks," Russell replied monotonously.

Skylar turned her eyes to the man across the table as the server left them alone. "It's not nice to plot the death of everyone who looks at me, Russ."

"I can't help it, Sky. I just want you all to myself," he told her. His eyes widened in shock. "I mean... I... crap. Sorry, that came out all wrong."