Not that I find Phoenix sexually attractive. I mean, she’s gorgeous and owns her sexuality, but I have my Wynter, and no one else will ever come close.
We watch the scene unfold in front of us, and I have to hand it to Phoenix, she’s got some skills. I watch as she allows Billy Ryan to believe she’s about to make all his Christmases come at once. Phoenix straddles his lap, giggling as he grabs her waist.
I know Phoenix didn’t sleep with the man, she’d never allow her father, brothers, and nephews to watch if she had. Though I can tell watching this is bothering BlackJack.
‘Gotta admit,’ Billy Ryan’s voice comes loud and proud through the speakers. ‘You grew up to be a fine lookin’ woman, little girl.’ I roll my eyes at the contradiction of his words—fucking idiot.
‘I did grow up,’ Phoenix replies. ‘I’ve learned many things. Wanna see a special trick?’
‘Does it include you losing those clothes?’
‘You never know.’
‘We gonna do this in front of your little friend over there?’
Phoenix chuckles. ‘It’s more fun with an audience.’ We all watch as Phoenix slides her hands down Billy Ryan’s arms, all the time laughing to herself. I note Phoenix’s left-hand slide over her hip and around her back. Something flies through the air, and Phoenix catches the handcuffs and slaps them around the arm of the chair and Billy Ryan’s wrist.
‘What the fuck is this?’
Phoenix climbs off his lap, turns to the camera, and catches another set of handcuffs. Ava obviously threw them to her. ‘This is nothing but fun, Billy.’ She handcuffs his other hand to the chair. ‘Now, are you going to be a good boy and give me what I want, or am I going to castrate you where you sit?’
Billy yanks on the handcuffs. ‘What do you want from me?’
‘Well,’ Phoenix folds her arms around her chest. ‘First of all, I want to know why the hell you thought you had a chance with someone like me? Secondly, what real man meets a Snakes Henchmen woman in a bar and leaves with them inside a minute? That’s right, dumb ass druggies.’ Phoenix slaps her forehead with her palm in mock stupidity.
Phoenix, on-screen, asks Ava to hand her the extraction forceps, and both Gabe and I wince. Neither of us needs to see it to know Phoenix pulled teeth today.
Nevertheless, we all watch as Phoenix walks behind Billy, grabs the back of his head, and yanks it back. She mocks him repeatedly while pulling a gold tooth from his head. All the while, Billy is screaming in agony, yet Phoenix laughs.
“I tell you what,” Gunner shifts on his feet. “If that girl ain’t earned her patch, I’ll eat my jacket.”
He’s right. Phoenix did things her way, but she did complete the task Jett handed her. It would be a dick move for him to deny Phoenix’s patch.
“What do you think, BlackJack?”
BlackJack looks at Jett, arms folded, feet shoulder-width apart, and he rolls his neck. “I think sending my daughter to retrieve a drug dealer’s gold tooth was low. He could have turned on her and killed her, Jett.”
“You really don’t think much of my ability if you believe that, Dad.”
BlackJack sighs before walking over to his daughter and taking her shoulders in his hands. “I have every faith that you can take care of yourself, Phoenix. I don’t for one second think you’re any less than anyone else here. I know you think I treat you differently because you’re a woman, but it’s not the case. Just ask Wrench how wrong you are.”
Wrench laughs. “He treated me the same way until you were born. You’re his baby girl, Phoenix, of course, he’s going to worry about you.”
Phoenix nods and hugs her father. She still doesn’t like what he said, I can tell by the look on her face. Phoenix is a tough cookie, and I don’t think she’ll ever accept that her father is just doing what every father does where his daughter is concerned.
“Phoenix?”
“Yes, Prez?” She pulls away from BlackJack, who himself moves to the left.
“Today, you did well. Apart from your actions concerning Tex’s bike, I’m impressed.”
“Thank you.”
Jett nods his head slightly. “I’m going to ask for a show of hands. You’re going to stand here and find out if your fellow club members have as much faith in you as your father does.”
Phoenix looks around the room at each man and swallows hard. She has to know that ninety-nine percent of us are on her side? Sure, there’s one or two that have reservations about allowing Phoenix to join. Nothing to do with the fact she’s a woman, and everything to do with how out of control she can be. But who the fuck isn’t?
“Raise your hand if you think Phoenix has done enough to earn her patch?”
I can only imagine how tight Phoenix’s stomach is right now. All her life, she’s longed for this day. Right here, and right now, she’ll either be given her patch or she won’t, but she’ll finally know, one way or another.
Our opinion doesn’t mean shit. Jett only asks for a show of hands to keep whichever prospect in suspense. Jett has the last say, and ultimately it’s his decision. Hell, we all know that he’s going to hand her that damn patch.
One by one, every member raises his hand. Tank does a quick count, then turns to Jett and nods.
“Looks like it’s unanimous, Phoenix,” Jett takes the leather jacket that Tank hands him. I smile because that jacket will have ‘Member’ stitched into it, meaning, the world and his dog will know Phoenix is one of us.
Phoenix takes the jacket from Jett, opens it wide, and stares at it for a moment. She runs her hand over the stitching of each word and smiles. She then takes off the jacket she’s wearing and hands it to Ava, who herself is smiling excitedly.
Phoenix slips her new jacket on and takes a deep breath. “I did it,” She mumbles to herself. She looks at BlackJack. “I really did it, Daddy. I’m the first official female member of Snakes Henchmen MC.”
“And we’re all damn proud of you!” He yells.
“Drinks all round!”
I can’t turn my president down when he offers alcohol. It’s only right that we celebrate with Phoenix, though I wonder how Wynter is getting on, wedding dress shopping with Cassie and Tonya. I only hope they’re done soon. I need a little Wynter time.
Chapter Eleven
Wynter
“I can’t believe my dress is ready!” Cassie screeches, happily while placing her coffee cup on the table in front of us.
I’m so glad I got to be here with Cassie for her final dress fitting. I’ve missed out on so much when it comes to helping Cassie with wedding plans. I got a little emotional this morning, and Havoc thought something was terribly wrong with me. I laughed and threw my arms around him tightly. When I told Havoc what was wrong, he smiled and told me not to be upset. He kissed me before saying that I haven’t missed the wedding, and there are still plenty of things to help with before the big day. It made me feel a lot better about things.
“You looked absolutely beautiful in that dress, Cassie.” I take Cassie’s hand from my seat next to her and squeeze it. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you before now.”
Cassie smiles sweetly, and I have to wonder how she’s such a warm and kind woman after everything she’s been through. “You don’t need to be sorry, Wynter. You’ve always been there for me. Since the day we met, I knew I could count on you. I know things haven’t been easy these past few months, but I never doubted that you’d be here for my wedding.”
A tear slips from my eye, and I laugh when Cassie wipes it away with her thumb. I’m an emotional mess today. It has a lot to do with Cassie and my guilt at not being here when I should have been. But if I’m honest with myself, seeing Cassie with her sister makes me miss mine. I miss Spring so much today that my stomach is tight with grief.
I never got to say goodbye to Spring. The last thing we said to each other was, ‘I love you.’ I’ll never know what her final thoughts were, but I know she would have been scared. How could she not have been?
/> What I’ll never understand is why John killed my sister. Yes, John was a monster, but he loved Spring. He’d tell us often that Spring was the best thing he’d done in life. She was perfect in every way, not like me. I was my mother’s failing, and he couldn’t stand me. He once told me that the only reason he kept me around was for Spring. John knew it would hurt my sister if he sent me away, and by that, he meant he’d kill me, and he would never hurt Spring like that.
So why did he kill her?
He was evil, and no one was safe around him, not even his pride and joy.
I often wonder if Spring is up in heaven with our mother, looking down and me. I hope they know that I’m proud of them. I’m proud of my mother and the way she fought to get me the help I needed with my hearing. I still, to this day, don’t know what Julianne had to do to get John to agree. Whatever it was, I’ll be forever grateful to her for all that she did.
God, my mother was so young, yet she was an amazing mother. All those fears that must have plagued her were pushed away because she’d never want us to feel the same way. She taught me how to speak like everyone else, and she taught herself sign language from books that she convinced John to pick up from the library. She then taught Spring and me, and we learned quickly.
I’ll never forget my mother and sister, but I have to move forward. If I don’t, I’ll only be living a half-life, and I know they wouldn’t want that. They’d want me to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. Until the mess with whomever those men are is dealt with, I can’t really enjoy my life. I’m too scared to hope everything will be okay. Though I can put my family to rest, and live the way they’d want me to.
“I wouldn’t miss your wedding for anything.” I bring Cassie’s hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. She smiles at me. “You were my sister the moment I met you. I know you have three sisters of your own now,”
“You will always be my sister, Wynter,” Cassie cut me off. “Nothing will ever change that. My family knows about everything you’ve done for me. They know how you took care of me at school, in the care home, and even on the streets.”
I look at Tonya and Chelsea, Cassie’s sister, and swallow hard. Cassie swore she’d never tell anybody what happened out there on the streets. I can tell that she’s told them everything, and I feel my gut clench.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Wynter.” I stare at Tonya. “And you most certainly shouldn’t feel ashamed of what you did. Only a true friend would have done whatever it took to help someone the way you did. You saved Cassie, and her father and I will be forever grateful for that.”
I don’t say anything in response because there’s nothing for me to say. I did what any decent person would do, and I don’t need thanks for it, though I do smile.
The girls and I order lunch, and talk about Cassie’s up and coming wedding for a while longer. Cassie can’t contain herself and tells us all about her love for Cormack, and how he first asked her out.
I find it so sweet how Cormack wooed Cassie with music and flowers. Even when she told the man that she didn’t want to date him, he didn’t give up until she agreed. Cassie tells me how secretly, she didn’t want Cormack to give up. She wanted him to prove that he wanted to be with her, and not just for one night.
I wish I’d been around to watch their love grow and flourish, and I’ll always regret that I wasn’t. However, I’m here now, and I’m happy that I get to see my best friend marry the man she claims she can’t live without.
It’s funny, but she sounds like me and the way I talk about Havoc. Chelsea wants to know everything about how I met and married Havoc. So, the next twenty minutes is spent with me telling our story.
It’s so damn good to talk with my best friend, not to mention her stepmom and sister. I feel so comfortable right now that I could just hug myself!
Jesus, Wynter!
“Sorry, guys,” I hold a finger up to Cassie, cutting her off from what she was saying. I know that’s rude as hell, but Zena is calling, and I promised to answer her calls. I shift in my seat and answer my cell. “Zena, is everything okay?”
“Oh, my god, Wynter! I need to see you; it can’t wait. Oh, god, it’s so important!”
“Whoa,” My stomach is in my ass. Zena sounds so panicked, and my heart is in my throat. “Calm down. What’s wrong?”
Zena stumbles over her words, and I can’t understand what she’s saying. I’m starting to panic. I promised to be there for Zena whenever she needed me, and I’ve let her down.
Christ, I’m the worst friend in the world!
“I need to see you, can you come over to the shelter? I have so much to tell you, and it can’t wait!” Zena spoke so quickly it took a minute to register.
“I’ll be right there.” I end the call and grab my purse. “I’m sorry, guys, but I need to go.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know, Cass.” I kiss her cheek. “I’ll call you later and let you know.” I take some money from my purse and drop it on the table.
“No, sweetheart,” Tonya shakes her head while grabbing the money. She gets out of her seat and places the twenty dollars in my hand, closing my fingers around it. “This is on me,” She smiles.
I’m not used other people paying my way. However, I’m not ungrateful, and I really don’t have the time to argue the point. “Thank you. See you all later.” I blow everyone a kiss and race to the shelter.
* * *
I rush into Second Chance House as if my ass were on fire. I rush past Carol and Jake, and straight to Zena’s room. God knows what Carol and Jake think of me, but I don’t stop to explain.
Zena’s door is open, and I rush through without knocking. “Are you okay? Did somebody hurt you?” I didn’t mean to yell, and I certainly didn’t mean to scare little Claire.
Zena’s eyes widen for a second. Then she shakes her hand and her head. “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. Wynter, I didn’t mean to make you think I’d been harmed.”
I close my eyes and breathe deeply. My stomach finally unclenches, but I’m still shaking. I was so scared there for a moment. “Zena,” I open my eyes. “I was terrified when you called. I couldn’t make out half of what you were saying.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” Zena wraps her arms around me, and I hug her back tightly. We haven’t known each other long, but Zena has come to mean a lot to me, and I’d hate if anything happened to her.
“You sounded panicked on the phone,” I huff out around, trying to catch my breath. I only ran from the car, but I now realize how unfit I am.
How the hell am I meant to attend Nova’s self-defense classes if I can’t even run a short distance without gasping for air?
Zena pulls away from me and smiles. “I’m sorry. I was excited, but I can see why it would seem different to you.”
“Excited?” I’m confused. Zena did not sound excited to me. An excited person blurts out what they want to tell you because they can’t stop themselves. They also laugh and squeal, and you can hear the happiness in their voices. I didn’t hear any such thing.
Claire suddenly jumps up and down in front of me. “We got a new house!”
My eyes shoot to Zena. “You did?”
“Yes!” Zena yells as she grabs her daughter and swings her around. Claire laughs happily and hugs her mother.
I think I’m in shock. I lined up an interview for Zena at the dental surgery in town. There’s more than one, but this one is huge, and the job comes with many perks. Not only does Dr. Clive Van Drew give his staff and their children and spouses free dental care, but he also makes sure his team is covered when it comes to full medical insurance. That means if Zena were offered the job, she and Claire would be secure when it comes to medical care.
I came across the job vacancy by chance. I was in town with Cassie, and I’d mentioned needing to look for job vacancies for Zena. Cassie told me how she had a friend who worked at Dr. Van Drew’s surgery as a dental nurse. Cassie met the woman a few months ago when they
literally bumped into each other at the supermarket.
Cassie asked me if Zena had any qualifications when it came to reception work. I explained that Zena was a qualified dental surgeon, but hadn’t had any joy finding a job because she had nowhere to live. Not to mention everything else that had gone wrong in her life since her husband died.
Cassie dragged me into Dr. Van Drew’s surgery, and we spoke to him personally. He told us that he has a vacancy for a dental surgeon, and if Zena came in, he’d interview her for the job. I was both excited and nervous, but I sat and told him about Zena’s situation. Dr. Van Drew is a kind man and told me that everyone deserves a chance and to bring Zena in to see him.
I felt terrible that I couldn’t go with Zena today. I couldn’t because I couldn’t let Cassie down. I’ve done enough of that over the past months.
Oh, my God, did Zena get the job?
“Zena, back up,” She stops bouncing around with Claire and looks at me. “I’m a little confused. How do you have a new home? Did you get the job?”
“Oh, Wynter,” Zena kisses her daughters cheek and set her on her feet. Claire runs off to play, and Zena offers me a seat on her bed. “First off, thank you for loaning me these clothes.”
I chuckle. “You’re welcome.”
Zena had been worried that she didn’t have the right clothes for an interview. I brought over a white blouse, a black pencil skirt with a matching blazer, and a pair of black, low heels. I’m a size bigger than Zena in clothes, but we made it work.
She looks great in that outfit. The French braid in her hair and light makeup on her face make her glow.
“I met with Dr. Van Drew, and he was very kind. The interview went well, and I thought he’d say that he’d let me know in a few days. He didn’t; he told me then and there that I got the job!” She squeals, and I do the same while hugging her tightly.
Havoc: Snakes Henchmen MC Page 11