Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel

by Annelise Reynolds

  I nodded at him because I wanted it, and I needed it. I needed him. “We’ll find her, Abs.” He kissed my forehead and then held me to him. “Titan, how do you want to play this?” I was surprised he was deferring to Titan, but then I thought it was club business so that was how they handled it.

  “We go find the place Monica found for you two to live, if that was even true. We check out Sam’s place, too. See if we can find out where they are hiding her. I also want someone to go over to the bar and restaurant to check it out. Get Gavel back out here to stay with Abby.”

  “Brice, I’m fine. Get everybody out there looking for Mac. He’s not coming after me if he wants me to bring the money to him in exchange for her. If y’all don’t find her by the time he calls for the money, I’m going in after her myself to give him what he wants.” I knew laying down the line like that wasn’t going to go over well, but it was the truth. I failed Mac. I was supposed to keep her safe like she did for me and I didn’t. I brought her to Texas in order to help her start over, move on, and be safe. All I accomplished was getting her into my trouble.

  “You’re not going anywhere and that is precisely why Gavel needs to be here. I need to know that you are safe and that you aren’t putting yourself in harm’s way. If I’m out there worrying about you, how likely do you think I’m going to be able to focus on finding McKenzie?”

  He didn’t let me answer, he just took my phone and dialed Jed. “Dad, McKenzie is missing. I nee-“

  He didn’t finish what he was saying instead, Jed seemed to take over the conversation and he just listened. When he hung up, he yelled for Titan who was still talking on the phone. “What?”

  “Gavel said that he’s been looking more into Monica’s activity since she’s been in the area. He had Hack find her cell number. The stupid bitch didn’t think we would make the connection and didn’t bother to use a burner phone. He found a general area that she had been in and then made some phone calls. The bitch has a cabin rented by the lake. It’s pretty isolated from what he could tell. “

  “You got an address?”

  “Gavel, texted it to me.” He rattled the address off. “I’m taking Abby to Gavel’s office. Wait for the rest of the guys to get there. Don’t go in by yourself, brother. You won’t do any good to her being dead.”

  Brice dropped me off at Gavel’s office and watched me walk in. I really wish he had gotten out to walk in with me.

  Chapter 26

  Brice

  I knew it would be safer for Abby to be in the truck. I wished I had my bike, but it was better for her to be protected than to be exposed. With all this crazy shit going on, I had to make sure she was protected as much as possible. She had become my whole world and if I lost her, I don’t know what I would do.

  The whole way to the address Dad had texted me I kept thinking that something was wrong, way wrong. I was out at the lake, when it finally occurred to me.

  “Jeffery, I had Hack look into Monica’s cell phone number that I was able to find. Apparently, it had been active out by the lake at a cabin that looks pretty isolated. I bet you anything that is where they are keeping McKenzie. I’ll text you the address.”

  “FUCK ME!” I grabbed the burner phone I had picked up before leaving Abby’s house. “Titan. Take Legend and Ink to the cabin. Send Roper, Chink and Dozer to Gavel’s office. Something isn’t right.” Gavel had never called me by Jeffery unless I was in trouble and he never bet anything. He was a recovering gambling addict, he wouldn’t place any kind of bet. Gavel was warning me and if I was right, I just delivered Abby into the hands of her father.

  <<<<<>>>>>

  I broke every kind of driving law there was on my way back to Gavel’s office. The more that conversation played in my head the more I knew I was right. When I pulled back in front of his office, Dozer and Chink, were there waiting for me. “Anybody come out?”

  “Not since we got here. There is a car I haven’t seen before behind the building. We’ve been watching to make sure they don’t try to escape out the back by the car.”

  “Good. Let’s go. Chink, go through the back when you hear us go in.”

  I watched as he quickly disappeared around back with his gun in hand. Thank God this small town had only a sheriff and a deputy and even if it didn’t, my woman and my dad were in there and I had the right to protect them. We were all licensed to carry. Legally we were all covered, but even if we weren’t, I would still be handling this the exact same way. That bastard was going to pay for the shit he did to Abby.

  Dozer and I snuck in through the front door. Price, the self-assured bastard didn’t bother to lock the door behind him. “I want it all. All the money you got from the estate and the money you got from the company.” His voice was crazed sounding.

  “Sign it, Abby.” I heard Gavel say to her. I was listening to find out where they all were in the room. There was no way I would want to accidentally hit Abby or Gavel.

  I heard shuffling and peaked around the corner. She was out of the way behind Gavel’s desk. “Drop the gun, you bastard. I don’t mind shooting you. In fact, I would love to, just not in front of your daughter.” God, I wanted him to make a move which would force my hand, but Abby was in the room and she didn’t need to see that shit.

  His blue eyes that were just like Abby’s, stared back at me. “You’re the piece of shit that’s been screwing my daughter. She could have done so much better, a senator’s son. Instead, she chooses a piece of shit biker. If my wife’s bitch of a mother had not interfered, she would have been married to him by now like we had planned.”

  “Planned?” Abby’s voice broke. “You planned for him to attack me?”

  “Of course not. He was supposed to knock you up, but you kept refusing to date him. The dumbass decided on his own that his step-sister wasn’t good enough and he liked it when she screamed, so he would do the same to you. I didn’t care too much, but I didn’t expect you to tell your grandmother. That bitch never did like me.” I watched as Abby started gagging at his words. How this man was the father of Abby, I had no clue. This guy was pure fucking evil. What kind of monster would set his own daughter up to be raped? “The dipshit didn’t expect that McKenzie would protect you by attacking him from behind. She was punished though, don’t you worry. Once your grandmother got you out of the house, we made her pay for her stunt over and over until one day she was no longer there. Apparently, your fucking grandmother was quite adept at blackmail. She blackmailed Richards saying if he didn’t enroll her in a year round boarding school where she could go without ever letting her go home, then she would make everything known. She also said she had a plan in place if she died of anything but natural causes.” His focus shifted to Gavel. “I’m assuming you were the fail safe plan.”

  “Attorney client privilege,” Gavel spoke roughly. His eyes were burning with fury as he took in everything that this bastard was saying. The last time I had ever seen him so furious was when my bitch of a mother had the nerve to come and talk to him about paying her to stay away from me. She threatened to start her visitations. I later found out that he did pay her to stay away for a while. When she started asking for more and more, he had her rights stripped from her.

  I listened to him and how he talked about McKenzie being raped repeatedly by her step brother since she was fourteen, and when he said he took a few turns with her too, I lost it. Nobody had ever been there to protect McKenzie and, unknowingly, Abby had been in the same danger.

  He must have sensed the change in me because he looked at me. I was going to shoot this motherfucker in the head. I couldn’t stomach anymore and I knew for damn sure she couldn’t take anymore. She was in physical pain from what she was hearing from her father.

  Price fired a half second before I did. My bullet hit its mark right between his eyes. His body fell to the floor. I didn’t even bother checking the kill, but headed straight for Abby and Gavel. Dozer and Chink both came into the room from their hiding places, around the corner. The
y cleared his weapon and confirmed the kill and started calling the sheriff.

  Abby was laying over Gavel, who was holding his shoulder. “Girl, quit your crying. It’s just a scratch. I’ll be fine.” It was more than a scratch, but Gavel was downplaying it for her sake. The bullet ripped through his right shoulder. Thank God Price was a shitty shot. The fact that he missed with a few feet between them, when someone had shot from farther away and come within inches of hitting Abby and me, was highly suspect, but I didn’t have time to figure that shit out right now. I had to get Gavel to the hospital and find out if Titan found McKenzie.

  “Grit, Titan just called,” Chink said as if he were reading my mind, “we need to get to the hospital. It’s not good, brother.” I looked back at Abby as the devastation crossed her face.

  “Let’s go. Follow us to the hospital.” I pulled dad up by his good arm and he walked to the car, clutching his shoulder with his hand. “Fuck, Dozer, stay here man. Tell the sheriff what happened and tell him we are at the hospital if he needs statements.”

  “The sheriff is going to be pissed at us for not staying,” Abby warned as she continued to try and hold pressure on Gavel’s shoulder.

  “Don’t worry about it, Abs. Dad needs to see the doc and I wasn’t about to leave you. Plus you need to be there for McKenzie. There is no telling what she looks like or what happened to her.” I regretted the words the second they left my mouth. Fuck, the last thing she needed to hear was that her best friend was in pain. Knowing Abby, she would end up taking this on her shoulders and blaming herself for that damn phone call.

  She leaned onto my shoulder and cried. “I should have told you.”

  “Honey, even if you had told me. You didn’t know everything. There would still have been blank spots. Now we all know. We can all move on.” Knowing everything she knew would have helped, but the fact remains that her dad was coming after her and McKenzie no matter what. As I drove to the hospital, I tried to be careful on turns so Gavel’s shoulder didn’t get bumped. Though, I heard him hiss a few times, he didn’t say a word. My dad is one tough motherfucker, even for a lawyer.

  “How you doing, Dad?”

  “How the fuck do you think I’m doing? It took you long enough to figure shit out.” The fact that he was still a smart ass and grumbling at me let me know that he was going to be fine.

  When we pulled up at the hospital, I saw Titan’s bike right by the front door. The security guard was about to tow it. “I’ll move it in a minute. Let me get him inside and I’ll get it out of the way.” The guard nodded and moved off to do whatever it is he did at a small town hospital. Twiddle his thumbs and eat donuts most likely.

  We went in and found Ink, Titan, and Roper in the waiting room. Titan looked like he was in pain. I’d never seen him like that before. “Brother,” I said, setting my hand on his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch or acknowledge my presence. He was solely focused on watching the nurses and orderlies walk in and out of the door.

  It took a few minutes, but he finally spoke when Abby’s sobs broke through. His voice was gruff. “She’s in surgery. She was unconscious when we found her. They fucked her up good. She had knife wounds all across her stomach. I don’t understand why they did that. What was the point and what was the message he was giving to her? None of it makes sense. I think he raped her, but the doctors won’t tell me a damn thing. She had blood between her thighs, so I’m assuming it happened.” Titan finally looked at me. His eyes held anger, hatred, and a lot of despair. “Tell me he’s dead. If he’s not, I’m going to kill the motherfucker.”

  “He’s dead. What about Monica, Sam, and Abby’s mom?” I didn’t want to go into details in the middle of the hospital, but he needed to know and would eventually know that I put a bullet through his forehead and all that we had found out before I pulled the trigger.

  “Roper took Abby’s mom to the station. The deputy detained her while the sheriff headed to the cabin. Monica and Sam were dead when we got there. Abby’s mom was shrieking at McKenzie, but when I say shrieking, I mean shrieking to the point we couldn’t understand a word the woman said. I saw her slap McKenzie.” He took in a deep breath before continuing. “Grit, she was already unconscious, but Abby’s mother was still slapping her and yelling at her. Roper got ahold of her before I could, which turned out for the best, since I would have killed the bitch had I got to her first. I grabbed McKenzie and came straight here. They haven’t told me anything. They won’t tell me a goddamned thing.”

  “I’ll find out what’s going on.” Abby spoke up.

  “You aren’t family they won’t say anything.” Titan growled his frustration.

  “I’ve got medical power of attorney for her as she does for me. Just ask our lawyer. He should be in one of the rooms here already.” I smiled. She was a fighter. When her world was burning down around her, she picked her shit back up and kept swinging. Thank god she was mine.

  Chapter 27

  Abby

  She looked like she was sleeping. The machines she had hooked up to her were beeping, showing that she was in fact still alive. The doctor said that the swelling in her brain was from the beatings she took. Her body likely shut down to protect her from further pain and from the torture she had suffered through. He expected her to wake up, it would just be in her own time.

  Titan sat in the chair beside her bed. He didn’t leave her side. “Titan, you can’t keep doing this. It’s been three days. You need to go home and get a shower, get some rest.” I was a big one to talk, it took me two days before Brice finally dragged me from her side. He took me home and made me shower and sleep at least a few hours.

  “No.” He just continued to sit there with his head tilted back and eyes closed. “I’m not leaving her.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. They told you about the text, right.”

  “Yeah, they told me, but if I hadn’t been dickin’ around, I’d have noticed her. Had I noticed her, I would have been by her side when that text came in.”

  “It’s not your fault. The blame falls on my parents, Monica, and Sam. They made their choices and they are the ones responsible for her injuries. YOU are not, Titan. YOU saved her.” When Brice first got me back home, he held me as I cried. It took him a few hours of talking to me and reassuring me that this wasn’t my fault. I still don’t fully believe him, but Titan right now needed that same assurance.

  “For what it’s worth, Titan.” I paused waiting for him to look at me. “I hate what you did, don’t get me wrong, but I’m rooting for you. Mac needs someone strong to help her fight her demons. I think you’re strong enough, but if you don’t think you are, do as Brice said and leave her alone.” He nodded his head saying he understood. His lips quirked with a bit of a smile at my warning. I guess from his view, it would have been funny, I mean the man dwarfed me and could break me with one hand if he wanted to.

  I wanted to talk to the doctor and when I looked back at Titan, he was looking at Mac. His face was unguarded and soft for such a big guy. I felt bad for him. He was carrying guilt that he shouldn’t feel. I know that Brice said he didn’t want Titan to pursue McKenzie, but I had a feeling she was going to need him to help her heal from all this shit. We still had a few worries out there. I was still worried about her step-brother and step-father, but I was going to trust Brice to keep an eye on things and keep us safe.

  Epilogue

  Abby

  Mac had been in a coma for two weeks. During that time, I focused on working and getting everything ready for when she woke up. This was the only way that I could concentrate on anything other than the fact that my best friend was in the hospital, unconscious. If I hadn’t been at work, I’d have gone crazy. I was fine as long as I was busy. It was when I stopped at night that everything caught up to me. Brice was my rock. He held me as I cried, whispered everything would work out, and soothed the ache in my soul. When I got the call from Titan that Mac was awake, I burst into tears, the relief was overwhelming.

  They
kept her a few more days after she was awake to run more tests and to give her time to regain some strength. Her body was weak after two long weeks of inactivity. I went to visit her several times in those two days. When I hugged her, it never failed that I started to cry all over again. She wasn’t herself. I could see that right away. She was pulling back from everybody, even me, and that stung. The only person nothing seemed to change with was Titan, but that was because they were always at each other’s throats anyway. The doctor said her recovery was going to take a long time. Her physical wounds would heal in a matter of a month or two, but I was more concerned about her mental state and emotional wounds. The torture she went through would have left scars beyond what we could see.

  To make sure that Mac got the time she needed to heal, I hired more staff for the reopening and the running of the two businesses. A new cook, Hannah, was looking for a job. She is shy and quiet and I felt like I have to drag everything out of her, but she is a sweet girl in her early twenties, fresh out of cooking school. She isn’t as good as Mac, but she is a damn close second.

  I also hired a new manager. Piper’s car had broken down on her way through town and she was stuck with her two year old son. She looked like she was running from something, though she wouldn’t tell me what. It was a look I was all too familiar with, so I offered her the job after meeting her. She needed to work days only, to make sure her son was taken care of in the evenings. Titan’s mom had come into town to help out with Mac’s recovery and Piper’s son. “Do you think she will mind?” Piper asked me worriedly.

  I looked over at the gorgeous redhead that had come in the bar from the kitchen. “No. She had wanted to hire a cook and be the manager, but she won’t be able to do full time for a while.”

  “Not about that. Do you think she will mind that Declan and I are living in the house with her and that you and Brice have moved into his house?”