Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Twenty-Four

Kennedy gasped as a bucket of warm water was emptied over her. Her head throbbed in time with her heart. She tuned it out, not wanting to deal with the raging migraine that made her dizzy enough to see stars.

Her eyes were covered with a thick leather blinder, preventing her from seeing anything around the room. Her wrists and ankles were strapped to the chair she was sitting on, and a gag ball kept her silent. She wanted to laugh at their attempts, knowing that there was only one way to make her submit. Not that she was in a mood to tell them that little fun-fact, though. Then again, if they sent in someone who knew, they might stand a chance at breaking her mental and emotional barriers. Hell, even her own brother-in-law wasn’t able to get into her head.

Her friends, however, would have done it easily. They would have cajoled her into joking, bringing her back from the brink with their collectively twisted sense of humour. Phoenix would have been able to stop her days ago, but he wasn’t allowed near her when she was out of control.

The door to the room opened, and she stilled, listening intently. She waited as the person stood a few feet away.

"I know you're sane enough to hear me," David said softly. His voice echoed slightly in the large, soundproof chamber that Don Hans built when he first took over. "Phoenix is worried about you."

He stepped closer to her until his work-roughened hands gently smoothed her hair back from her face. "Declan sent me as a last resort, Ken."

Dropping his voice to a whisper, he said, “Too bad they don’t try to kill that darkness of yours with kindness, huh? I figured it out a while ago, but I didn’t mention it to anyone else.”

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, she turned her head and spat on the floor as soon as the gag was removed. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. Your sister’s pissed about this, but we didn't have a choice. You were completely out of control when we got you back to the Towers. You took down three of what we thought were our best before we got you restrained," David said with an edge to his voice.

“Did those bastards hurt my friends?"

Cocking one brow, David was suddenly thrown back in time eight years. Back to the first time he’d seen her handle a gun to defend her family. He grunted, "Everyone is fine unless you count Russell, who is currently on bed rest with a promotion on the horizon. Can you believe that?"

Kennedy laughed dryly. "That's hysterical. He deserves it, though."

"Is everyone against me? She's my daughter, I don't want him with her," he argued.

Again, she laughed. "Not my problem, Dave. Russell's my brother-in-law, but I've made it clear to him that the twins ain't finding the body if he hurts Sky. She’s like a sister to me."

"That's something I can get behind," David muttered. He removed the restraints on her ankles, noting the slight bruising that told him just how enraged the girl was. The blinder came off, and he watched her wince against the brightness. "Cameron, dial back the lights."

"Yes, Sir," the soldier replied as she moved to obey.

The brightness dimmed to a tolerable level, and Kennedy sighed as her eyes adjusted to the light. "At least I got a bath this morning."

David chuckled, "Bring a blanket for Ms. Rubin, will you? Kennedy, do you know how long you’ve been in this room?"

“Six days, eight hours, twenty-two minutes, and counting,” she told him.

As the guard left the room, David turned his hazel-blue eyes to the young woman and sighed. Frowning, he said, "Sometimes, I regret finding you and your sister.”

Kennedy lowered her eyes to the floor. "I love my friends, David, they’re family to me. I'm afraid that I’ll snap and hurt one of them by accident. I don't want that to happen, they mean too much to me."

"I know, Kenni," David said. He unbuckled each of her wrists, gently rubbing the ache from her joints. He looked into her eyes as he worked, waiting for any sign that she would turn on him, but she was finally lucid enough to hold a decent conversation.

"What happened when I blacked out?” She asked quietly.

David shook his head, understanding what she was trying to say. "A couple of the guards got a few black eyes."

"What about the gang," She asked quietly.

Undoing the last restraint, he said, "Personally, I think they're too damn scared of your temper to step out of line now. You literally snapped the zip-tie right in front of them, grabbed the nearest weapon, and ripped through anyone who thought that they were going to get away with betrayal."

Her interest was suddenly piqued by the knowledge that she'd earned her place among the Scorpions. She had been treading a fine line when it came to belonging to both the Chapter and the Mafia. Now, there were no more doubts. She was one of them, whether she liked it or not. She remained seated in the chair despite the chill that the water had given her. The cold steel was making her shiver slightly, but her legs were asleep so it wasn’t as if she could get up and walk around easily to stay warm. Her headache was still there, still throbbing behind her eyes as she struggled to stay awake.

"Any word on the last asshole that needs to be put down like the rabid dog he is?" She questioned, her blue eyes narrowing darkly. She was desperate to know if they’d found Fabian.

David grinned, nodding as he gave a little laugh. "Yeah, actually. As it turns out, he was hiding in the Italian Mafia's ranks. Andromeda told us when she heard Declan say his name yesterday. Maestro Francesco is handing him over today."

"I owe her a thank you gift. Got any ideas?" Kennedy asked.

"She's been talking about going back to her manor for some things she needs, but Nix got her on lockdown until this bullshit with her father's men is dealt with." The man said as he ran a hand through his brown hair.

Kennedy felt herself grow stronger as she started flexing her toes. "He’s the one who hurt my mom before he killed her."

"How much of that s**t did you really see, Ken? I mean, there must have been some point where you looked away. You were a little girl who got the worst of the world shoved down her throat, and you came out swinging. So tell me, at what point did you look away from that s**t?" David frowned at the girl as she lowered her head. "Kennedy?"

"They raped her, David," Kennedy whispered. "Even if I did look away, I could hear her begging for mercy right up until they put a bullet in her. They took turns with my mother after they beat my father into a bloody mess, then they shot them. Jealousy really is the ugliest emotion, isn't it?"

Unable to hold in his rage, David grabbed the back of his chair and threw it against the opposite wall. He roared in frustration at the things she was describing, knowing that she wouldn't lie about something so traumatizing. "Why the hell didn't you say something before, Kennedy? Why wait for years to tell us the truth? We could have helped you through it."

"It wasn't your business," she snarled. "They were my mom and dad. Besides, I didn't need help. I still don't, so don't give me that crap, David. I may be small in stature, but I'm a helluva lot stronger than I look.”

He glared at her, leaning over to make his point more clear. Grasping her chin in his hand, he snarled. "You are one of us, and that makes what happens to you our responsibility. Veiðimenn forever, remember?"

Finally, as though the dam blocking her emotions had been completely destroyed, her eyes burned with unshed tears. She threw her arms around David's neck, sobbing. Sighing, he lifted the teen into his arms, letting her cling to him. He was reminded of the day they'd met, and the reasons behind her odd behaviour suddenly became clear to him. He listened as she murmured "I'm sorry" over and over again.

“It's okay, Princess,” he said, using her old nickname. “You knew that this was all we needed. You're strong, yes, but even you have limits, Kenni. By the way, none of the men or women working under Cal ever want to go head-to-head with you now. They're pretty freaking scared of that temper you got."

"Did you mean it? I'm still Veiðimenn?" She whispered.

"Yeah, I meant it. Cal's officially made you Nix's Shield, by the way." David said as he sat on the cold floor with her in his lap. "You were always one of us, Kenni. That was never going to change, regardless of what you decide to do with the Scorpions."

Numb, she fell against him and sighed as the warmth of his body filtered through the thin cotton clothes she was wearing. Her eyelids became heavy as sleep beckoned, welcoming her into its dark embrace. Hearing her soft snores, David got to his feet and carried her out to the two other men who'd been watching the entire exchange.

Declan held out a thick blanket and wrapped her in it before taking his young sister-in-law into his arms. "I'll take her home."