Rise of the Phoenix: Phoenix Skulls Motorcycle Club: (Phoenix Skulls MC Romance Book 1)

by Cooke, Jessie

  She looked back over at him then. He was still sitting there on the floor, staring at a spot on the wall. Or maybe he was staring at the model in the string bikini on the poster on the wall. Beck snorted. Men. All it took were a nice pair of tits and a round ass to distract them. She pushed herself up off the floor. Speaking of nice tits and a round ass, it was about time for a lunch break and she felt like distracting her old man for an hour or so. Her obligation to her conscience was taken care of. Streak was a big boy; he could figure out what to do from there.

  * * *

  One Week Later

  “I need a type and cross here stat!” The green-eyed, blonde-haired nurse barked out the orders in a calm, cool manner...but the tone of her voice still said she meant business. “This one needs to get to surgery. Did someone call transport?”

  “I did.”

  “Good. Where’s that bag of lactated Ringer’s I told you to hang, Yani?”

  “We’re out. I called pharmacy about it half an hour ago.”

  “Call them again and while you have them on the phone find out why that antibiotic for the pediatric case in two isn’t here yet either.” The licensed nurse scurried off to do what her charge RN was telling her to do, brushing past the man standing in the corner next to the door with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He hardly noticed her; his attention was on her boss.

  “Excuse me, sir, can I help you?” The female security officer noticed him there too. He’d snuck back when the door was buzzed for an older couple. He’d held the door open for them and walked in behind the old man like he was with them. He broke off and went in the other direction as soon as he heard the nurse’s voice. He loved watching her in action. He’d only had the pleasure of it once before and that was when their own father had been brought in after a minor car accident. He was impressed with how calm she was able to stay in an emergency, and he had so much respect for how well she led her team members.

  “I needed to speak with RN Green.”

  The security officer looked over toward Taylor, who was now holding a burgundy chart in her hands. She had on a pair of scrubs almost the same color as the chart and Streak thought she looked damned sexy in them. Of course, she looked damned sexy in everything, and nothing. “She’s busy. If you’re not with a patient I’m going to have to ask you to step outside.”

  “Brandon?” Streak looked back toward where Taylor stood. She was looking at him like she thought he might be an apparition or something. She wrote something in the chart she was holding without taking her eyes off him and then set it down on the counter in front of her and came toward them. “It’s okay, Alicia, I’ve got this.” The security officer looked skeptical, but she went back to her post and left them alone. “Why are you here? Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything is good. I needed to see you.” Taylor looked around the busy ER and then took his hand and led him out through the side exit. They were in a beautiful courtyard with wooden benches, rose bushes, and a lush, green lawn. Taylor led Brandon over to one of the benches and they sat down.

  “What is it, Brandon? You look so serious.”

  “I love you, Tay.” He saw her eyes widen slightly but she waited for him to go on. “This might be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do...but, if you still want me, I think we should talk to Mom and Dad.”

  “Why the sudden about-face?” she asked.

  “I’m tired of this. I thought it was you and me doing what we do that I was tired of, but the truth is that it’s the pretending I’m sick of. I’m ready to stop being alone, but no matter how hard I try I can’t imagine being with anyone but you for the long haul. Maybe it’s because it’s been in my head for so long.”

  She smiled. “That’s romantic. I’m an idea you’re used to.”

  He smiled too. “You know that’s not how I mean it. I mean...”

  “Taylor, here you go.” A young man came by and handed Taylor two plastic IV bags filled with blood.

  Streak laughed and said:

  “Would I be here in the most romantic place in the world, telling you how much I love you while you hold bags of blood in your hands, if it wasn’t much more than that?”

  Taylor stepped forward, got up on her toes, and gave him a quick kiss. “I have to get this blood to its lucky recipient. Meet me at Mom’s and Dad’s at 7:30.” She turned to walk away and another nurse walked up next to her and said:

  “Is that your boyfriend? He’s hot.” Streak smiled. Her boyfriend. That was cute, but he preferred old man.

  29

  Streak stood outside his parents’ house, staring at the front door and wondering if they had to do this at all. Maybe Taylor had been right all along, and they could just run far away and their parents would never have to know.

  “Hey, dork, what are you doing out there?” Streak looked up. Will had pulled open his bedroom window and was looking down at his brother.

  “Mom and Dad in there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well then, I’m avoiding them.”

  Will laughed. “You’re an idiot then for traveling seventeen hundred miles to stand in their front yard.”

  “True story. Did they hear me drive up?”

  “Yes, but I think they sense you’re wandering around out there in the cold, looking for your balls.”

  Streak flipped his little brother off. He had called before heading over to make sure his parents would be home. He’d also called Will and told him what he was going to do. Will told him he was “gross,” but in a playful way. Streak hoped that meant his little brother was coming around to the idea of Taylor and him being together. “You didn’t say anything to them, did you?”

  “Are you kidding? No fucking way.”

  “Hey, watch your mouth.”

  Will rolled his eyes and said, “Says the sister-boffing biker.” He closed his window before Streak could respond. He shook his head at his little brother, took a deep breath, and walked up to the door. It was 7:15 and Taylor should be there soon. He’d only have to stall them for a little while. He turned the doorknob and before he got the door pushed in all the way he heard his dad say:

  “Hey, babe, your son decided to come inside.”

  “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hey, buddy.” His dad got up and hugged him and his mother came out of the hallway from the direction of the bedroom. She hugged him too, tightly.

  “It’s so good to see you. You’re skinny. Have you been eating?”

  Streak laughed. It was her standard line every time she saw him since he left for the Navy. “All the time, Ma. How are you?”

  His dad sat back in his favorite chair, the one that pointed toward the big television over the fireplace. His mother took his hand and led him over to the couch. He sat down but she didn’t. “I saved you a plate. I’ll go heat it up...”

  Streak pulled his mother down next to him. “I’m really fine, Mom. Will said you guys are planning a trip to Kenya in the spring. What’s going on there?” He knew that would shift his mother’s focus at least for a bit. While she told him about their mission in Kenya, his dad kept his eyes on the college football game on the TV and interjected occasionally when he thought his wife needed help. His mother was still talking when Taylor walked in and as soon as she did, Streak heard Will’s footsteps on the stairs. The little shit was like a spectator back in the days when the loser of the match was fed to the lions. He couldn’t wait for the sight of blood.

  “Well, Taylor, this is a surprise,” their mother said. Taylor smiled at her, avoiding Streak’s eyes, and went over and kissed her dad on the cheek.

  “How was work?” he asked her.

  “Ah, you know...I’m the boss so mostly I sit in the office with my feet up.” Her father smiled up at her. Streak saw the pride in his eyes. Both of their parents were proud of Taylor, as they well should be. He was the fuck-up, the one who had broken their hearts by not going to college and running away to join a “gang,” as his mother had put it when he first left. S
treak gave them credit for rolling with the punches, but he was scared to death that this might just be the punch that knocked them out. “Hey, Brandon,” Taylor said to him, almost like she didn’t want their parents to know she expected him to be there. “Hey, brat, I hear you on the stairs. What are you doing sneaking around?”

  Will came out from the stairwell with a grin. “Just curious what brought the older siblings here on a Tuesday night. I was afraid if I showed myself I’d be sent to my room like I was for so many important family events over the years.”

  Streak picked up a pillow and threw it at him and then looked at his mother, who had a deep frown between her eyes. “Is something going on?” she asked. Streak looked over at their father; he had turned off his game and sat up straight in his recliner. They weren’t stupid people, they knew something was up, but could they even imagine the train wreck that was about to take place?

  “Brandon and I have something we need to talk to you guys about,” Taylor said, taking a seat in the other recliner. Again, his mother looked nervously at their father.

  “Okay,” their dad said. “Shoot.”

  Taylor looked at Streak. He wanted to go back out in the front yard and see if he could find those balls Will had been talking about. He took a deep breath, rubbed his palms back and forth against his jeans, and said, “I’m in love with Taylor.” He knew blurting it out like that wasn’t exactly ideal, but hemming and hawing about it wouldn’t help either. Ultimately that information would shock and upset them...only the strangest thing was happening at that moment and Streak’s brain was having a hard time processing it. Neither of their parents looked shocked. He looked at Taylor and wondered if she was thinking what he was: they hadn’t understood.

  “I’m in love with Brandon too,” she said.

  Streak heard his mother sigh, but she still didn’t speak. Instead she looked toward her husband. Streak’s eyes were on his brother, sitting before the fireplace now next to their father’s chair. Will looked as confused as he felt. By now, Streak thought his mother would be crying and their father demanding answers. Instead, in a sad voice their father said, “We know.”

  Taylor looked at Will then too and when their little brother realized they were both looking at him, he put his hands up and said, “I didn’t tell them.”

  “You told Will?” Streak felt his mother’s blue eyes on his face. Finally he couldn’t avoid her eyes any longer. He looked at her and cursed himself for the tears he saw floating in them.

  “Yes,” he said, not explaining why he’d told his brother. “I told him.” Again there was silence in the room and finally in a soft, pleading voice Taylor said:

  “Daddy, please say something.”

  Their father let out a deep breath he seemed to be holding and said, “We’ve known for years, but we hoped it was a crush, or infatuation, and you’d grow out of it, especially once Brandon left.”

  “We didn’t want this,” Streak said. “We tried hard to fight it, I promise you.” His mother reached over and put her hand on top of his and in a soft voice she said:

  “You know, if one of my children came to me and said, ‘I’m gay,’ or ‘I want to change my gender,’ my only concern about that would be the pain and suffering they would experience at the hands of cruel people in this world. In other words, they would still be my children and I would still love them more than anything. All your father and I want for any of you is for you to be happy.”

  “We know you both well enough to know you didn’t make this decision lightly, or based on raging hormones,” their dad said. “And I appreciate and respect how hard it had to be for both of you to come here and tell us this.”

  “How did you know?” Taylor whispered.

  Their mother smiled and squeezed Streak’s hand. “When you have two beautiful, smart children and they’re both almost thirty and have never been in a serious relationship...you have to wonder. Besides, it’s obvious when the two of you look at each other. You can’t hide some things.”

  “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Streak asked her.

  “Because it wasn’t our place to bring it up. It was something the two of you had to figure out.”

  “Are you going to be...embarrassed,” Taylor asked, “when your friends find out?”

  “I will,” Will said. He got four dirty looks and immediately shut up.

  “I dare anyone to say anything to me about one of my kids,” their dad said. “Even Will.”

  “Hey!” Will protested.

  Streak smiled and looked at Taylor. He could see the kind of relief he was feeling all over her face. “Does this mean you’re moving away too?” Taylor was their father’s princess and although he’d never treated Streak as anything other than his natural son, even Will knew she was his favorite.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “We haven’t really talked about the future...yet. We had to do this first and we’ll go from there. Besides, you’re going to Kenya as soon as Will graduates.”

  “So,” their mother said, obviously ready to change the subject. “Who wants dessert?”

  * * *

  “Brandon?” Taylor was lying in her bed snuggled up to Brandon’s side. It was the first time...ever...that she hadn’t woken up after a night spent with him with the terror of his leaving and never seeing him again on her mind.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Do you really like being in that motorcycle club, or did you join it, just to get away from me?”

  He was quiet for a minute and then he said, “I admit, partly it was to put distance between us. But to answer your question, yes, I really do like it. For one thing, it’s more like a family than a club. Anyone in that club would do anything for me and vice versa.”

  She pulled her head up and propped herself up on her elbow so she could look down at his face. She loved his face. His hazel eyes and the perpetual light brown stubble on his chin were like a work of art to her that she couldn’t stop looking at. “Tell me what else you like about it. I want to understand, and I don’t mean any offense by this...but, you’re so smart, and you’re artistic,” she said, tracing the tattoos he’d drawn the patterns for on his own arms. “You could have done anything with your life and yet you’re working on motorcycles for a living.”

  “You know that Jace taught himself everything he knows about bikes?”

  “No. I didn’t know that.”

  Streak started talking about Jace. It was obvious that he held the man in high regard. He called him an “artist” and a “genius” and he talked about what a good leader he was and how he thought the club was going to go far once they got it up and running. When he finished describing Jace he said:

  “Working on the bikes with Jace, learning the trade from him, it’s not the same as being a mechanic. He’s teaching us his art, something that no one else knows how to do because it didn’t come from a book, it comes out of his imagination.” He smiled and then he grimaced and said, “Then there’s Beck. I know that she is probably not your favorite person...” She snorted and he laughed. “She’s hard to love.”

  “She’s hard to even like.”

  He propped himself up on his elbow so that they were face to face. “You know she’s part of the reason why I finally showed up here, to see you. A big part, actually.”

  “You’re kidding? The last time I talked to her she told me I was being selfish and immature and I think she even said we were ‘disgusting’ if I recall correctly.”

  He chuckled again. “Beck is not a poet with her words, for sure. She says what she thinks and sometimes it comes out a little harshly. But, other than you, she’s the best friend I’ve ever had. She’s never betrayed my confidence, she’s the most loyal person I’ve ever met, and believe it or not, she’s as smart as Jace. She’s tough and...”

  “Okay, that’s enough about your hot friend.” Taylor rolled her eyes. She didn’t like feeling jealous, but in Beck’s case she couldn’t help it. The woman was not only gorgeous, but now Brand
on had admitted that she was his best friend.

  He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s never been like that with me and Beck, I promise. Have I noticed that she’s hot? I’m not going to lie to you because you’d know I was lying.” Silly boy, Taylor thought, in this case a little lie would have been okay. Brandon went on, “Beck and I didn’t hook up when we were both available, and now, there would be no possible way. Beck loves her old man. She’d kill for him in a heartbeat and not even bat an eyelash. She’s his equal partner in every way and I think the Phoenix Skulls is going to be bigger, bolder, and more successful than any club that ever came before it, or that will come after.”

  Maybe he noticed the look on Taylor’s face because then he said, “She has her faults, plenty of them. Maybe the worst of them is that she’s extremely opinionated and rarely apologizes or admits that she’s wrong. But she approached me about you this time, baby. She told me she was wrong and that she thought I should do what made me happy and quit worrying so much about what everyone else might think...” Taylor lifted an eyebrow and he said, “I know, you’ve been telling me that for a long time. But I think I needed to hear it from a neutral party...not only neutral, but from someone that doesn’t necessarily approve themselves, if that makes sense. For her to feel like it’s ‘creepy,’ but still give me her blessing...I think that’s huge and it had a significant effect on me.”

  “Well then, maybe I owe her an apology for all the choice names I called her.”

  “You called her names?”