Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Twenty-One

Unfolding the paper, she knew they were telling her the truth. There was no mistaking the flowing script that was her father's handwriting. She would recognize it anywhere.

'My beautiful emblem of grace,

Do not be afraid, la mia preziosa figlia. The people you are now in the care of are friends of your Phoenix, and come highly regarded by the Icelandic Meistari. I have been assured by both of Phoenix’s parents that your safety will be their top priority.

You see, I am aware of Giovanni’s increasingly concerning behaviour, and know he overstepped many times in regards to you. Rest assured, my sweet girl, that your Papa will take care of it without delay. You are my daughter, and will forever come first in my life. Therefore, I have chosen to send you to a place where you will be safe until everything has been taken care of properly.

Forgive me, Bambi, but I could not take unnecessary chances with your life. I would never disparage your beloved mother’s memory by allowing you to meet harm without at least trying to keep you well.

Please, stay safe,

Love, Papa.'

"I don't understand. Is my Papa in danger?" Andromeda whispered. Her eyes burned with unshed tears at the thought of losing her father.

Lukas sighed, "No, Andromeda. You are. See, because our fearless leader is such a stickler for knowing all the details, he asked us to hack your father’s security and find any incriminating information we could. Jax and I ended up finding a s**t ton of emails from Bianchi to someone in Italy talking about making sure you understood he was the only one that could make you happy and all that crap. The Maestro spoke to Phoenix behind Callum’s back yet again, and that’s when we found out about your upcoming birthday, and what it would mean if we didn’t help out."

“Freaking Cho-Mo,” Markus muttered darkly.

Her eyes wide, she listened to their words for any sign that they were messing with her. Realizing that they were actually being sincere, she felt the world around her crumble. “The whole reason we came here was because I wanted to go to school like normal children. Back home, Bianchi was always far too interested in me, and, well, I had begun receiving threats so I begged Papa to bring me abroad. You mean to say that my intuition was correct all along?”

“If you were scared to be alone with him and acted on those impulses, you saved yourself, Principessa. Along with moving here for school, you ended up catching the attention of our favourite weirdo. Go ahead and tell him that, he’ll only laugh and call me something worse in return,” Markus replied without taking his eyes off the busy city streets he was navigating.

"When Callum heard the i***t was planning to kidnap you, he didn't waste time. He handed Phoenix the task of hatching a plan of action with his team. Once we ran it past the higher-ups, they agreed to send the two least threatening of the crew with a guard. That’s why Luke and I are here,” Jaxon piped up, eagerly joining the conversation.

Markus didn't say anything about the backhanded jab that had his brother laughing hysterically in the back seat beside the blond girl. Turning down a side road, he pulled into an underground garage. Pulling the car to a stop, he opened the door for her. She rocked slightly, her head spinning.

"If I let you go, will you be able to stand on your own?" He asked, noting that she was trembling.

She shook her head. The whole morning had been a ploy to get her to safety before Bianchi could snatch her from her father and take her back to Italy. Her blue eyes locked onto his greys, "I'm scared."

He nodded, "And that's okay. It's a lot to take in, but you're going to be safe with us."

Breathing deeply, she nodded her head. Things had already progressed too far for her to argue at this point. "Alright. So, what's going to happen to me now?"

"You’ll be under our protection for a few weeks until this stuff gets settled," Jaxon said.

Lukas shuddered as he grabbed a few bags from the trunk of the car. "The relationship between Ken and Nix is so damn confusing. His maternal uncle is married to Kenni’s older sister, which makes both of them Phoenix’s aunts through marriage.”

“Don’t think that bitchface is interested, though. She sees Nix as family, and nothing more," Markus muttered, yawning as he stretched his aching body. “Stupid fucker almost got me last night.”

“Count yourself lucky Memphis noticed the knife in his hand,” Lukas retorted. He glanced at Andromeda. “We’re talking about the raid we were involved in last night.”

She had, in fact, been wondering about the relationship between Phoenix and the girl he was always with. She now knew she at least had a chance with the blond Adonis she'd been dreaming about. She followed the boys to an elevator, nervously stepping inside. When the lift stopped, only Lukas and Jaxon got off with her. Markus had something to do, so the younger two took her to a door just a few meters down the hall.

Lukas didn't bother knocking as he walked in and kicked off his shoes. "Aunt Tem, can Jax and I go play on Kenni’s system for a bit?"

"Of course, you can. Just clean up when you’re done.” Andromeda's jaw dropped when a woman walked into the front hall with a dazzling smile in the direction of the teenagers crowding her coatroom. Her long red hair was tied back into a high ponytail, and her blue eyes were filled with maternal warmth as she gazed at the girl in front of her while wiping her hands on her apron.

She smiled as she took a few steps closer to the teen, "Well, hello. You must be Ms. De Luca. I’ve heard so much about you."

"Really?" Andromeda whispered in shock. From the rumours her father spoke of, she thought her welcome to the Towers would be anything but warm.

Temperance looked the girl over with a smile. "Sure, my nephew never shuts up about you, sweetie. I'm Temperance Reyes, Kennedy's sister."

"Are you talking about me, Aunt Temperance? My ears are ringing," a boy called from the next room. "Please don't pull one of my great-grandmother's stunts and crack open the baby book."

"That's your mother's job, not mine,” Temperance called back with a laugh. “You might want to come here, though. You have company.”

Phoenix stopped in his tracks as he recognized the girl standing by the door. Unable to think of anything to say to her, he opened his arms in a silent invitation. Shell-shocked with emotion, she ran into his embrace without thinking twice about it. His eyes wide, he gently wrapped his arms around her and spoke soothingly, "It's okay. You're safe now."

The door opened, and Declan walked into the apartment, his expression blank, he looked over at Phoenix, and shook his head. "She ripped through the ones we found, but we can't find the one she really wants to have a crack at. It has been twenty-four hours, but she’s still holding out against our attempts to get her to calm down. When Russell woke up, he told us the guy we missed was named Fabian Devons."

Andromeda gasped, "He is one of my father's men. He joined us when we came here."

"Is that right? Well, would your father be so kind as to release him to us? My sister-in-law wants to pull his brains out through his nose," he replied. He looked at his wife, "How were the kids today?"

"Good, as always," Temperance laughed. "Hans is living up to his namesake, and Melody is already planning for the new baby."

Amazed that the man went from wanting the life of another to tenderly holding his wife in his arms within seconds, Andromeda blushed furiously. "May I call my father?"

"Unfortunately, that’s a no. He's got Bianchi with him and, until we know if he was working alone, we can't allow you to contact him. Do you know if there might be anyone else that could pose a threat to you, Miss De Luca?” The man abruptly turned his focus to the primary issue.

Finally, who he was clicked with her as a memory revealed his identity. "You're one of our teachers."

Declan’s eyes narrowed, “That’s irrelevant at the moment. Answer my question.”

She blinked back tears at the harshness in his voice as she said, "There could be twenty or more – mostly guards. Any one of my father’s people could be working with Bianchi."

His dark blue eyes hardened, "Are you sure?"

"I am," Andromeda replied.

Declan grimaced, "We need you to talk to our Head of Security."

"Uncle, she just got here…" Phoenix protested.

"And the less innocent blood we shed, the better. If she has a list of possible suspects, we needed that intel yesterday. I have to ask you something personal, Miss De Luca. What's your mother's maiden name?"

Andromeda’s heart dropped to her stomach. Her father begged her not to speak her mother’s last name, yet these people wanted her to tell them. She sobbed, her lower lip trembling, "Please, let me go. Don’t make me say it, I beg you."

"We can always find out on our own, but I'd much rather you just tell me yourself," Declan reasoned. He watched the girl as her eyes flickered toward the door, looking for an escape. He took a step, blocking her path.

Knowing she was cornered, Andromeda silently begged her father to forgive her. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage as she said, "Romero.”

“No…” Declan paled. “s**t… Ross is going to lose his mind over this.”

“Please, forgive me. I was not to talk about the stain on our familia. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she cracked, sobbing heavily.