Phoenix’s Plight by Tiffany Casper

 

‘Chomp. Chomp.’

- Keychain

 

Chapter 9

June

Smiling when she heard his ringtone, ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’, she answered the call, “Hey, honey.”

“Darlin’, this is Powers. Need you at the clubhouse.” She had been used to hearing Powers’ voice, but she hadn’t ever heard a wariness tone in his voice. This time, she had.

“Is he okay?” she asked as she put the phone on speaker and made a mad dash to her room, and threw on some pants and a sweater.

“Yes and no. He isn’t hurt, but he’s hurting everyone else.” That statement was so vague, it wasn’t even funny.

This was what Heathen had been telling her about. That if she ever got a call from anyone who was a brother, she needed to get to him before he could hurt any of his brothers.

“I’m on my way.” She disconnected the call and stuck her bare feet in her fluffy boots.

The moment she was in her Jeep, she opened the garage door and slowly eased her car out of it before the garage door was fully opened.

The thirty-minute drive only took her twenty minutes. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road this late on a Friday night.

She figured Powers had notified the man at the gate because the moment he saw her car, he opened it and she drove right on through with a nod of her head to the man she recognized as Zeke.

Uncaring where she parked, she noticed that there was a spot right in front of the doors.

As soon as she had her door open, there stood Powers.

Following him through the main room of the clubhouse and out to the courtyard was taxing. The man was tall, but nowhere near the height of Heathen, yet she still had a hard time keeping up. His long strides outmatched her little jog.

She had felt a presence come up behind them as it flanked her backside. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Clutch, and with a nod to him as thanks, she continued on.

As soon as they cleared a group of people staring at something in the corner, she saw it.

Or more importantly, she saw the slaughter that had taken place.

Ten bodies were laying on the ground around where Heathen stood in the center.

The moment any of them tried to stand, he snarled and advanced.

She had never seen that look on Heathen’s face. The last time she had his back when he started to get this way, it hadn’t frightened her.

But now? Now, she was frightened. He stood in that circle between those bodies with his shoulders straight, his hands clenched in fists. His feet were braced shoulder-width apart, just waiting to strike on the next one who came at him.

He must have been planning to come to her house after this because he wore her favorite color, a crimson fitted t-shirt. His massive thighs and legs were encased in a faded pair of blue jeans and his fitted ball cap was on backward. He looked almost the same as he did when she left him, except for the color of the shirt.

However, as soon as that hit her, it washed away.

No matter how mad Heathen was, no matter how much of him his monster controlled, neither one of them would dare to hurt her.

She knew.

June knew that he would rather kill himself than ever risk hurting her.

She looked at Powers. “Can you have the others who are trying to advance on him back off?”

“Yeah.” With a wave of his hand, the other five men backed off with wide eyes.

Almost as if they were asking ‘what the fuck’.

She heard a woman calling out his name. “Heathen.” But she hadn’t broken through to him. She was rather pretty, with dark raven hair and a trim figure. Thinking back, she recognized this woman was Whitney, the same woman who had tried to touch him when she had gotten in front of Heathen, blocking that touch. Also, the same woman who Heathen had said no to when she had made brunch earlier today. That had felt like days ago.

The woman hadn’t listened to Powers either because she was still calling out to Heathen.

Keeping her breaths even, she made her way over to where the first body was laying.

“Johnny,” June said, keeping her voice low. She stood there, unmoving until his eyes landed on her.

“Girl, no.” Sighing, June got in front of his feet after he had tried to grab her leg to stop her.

Heathen had advanced when the man made a grab for her.

“Do not move until I say so, guys. And for your sakes, do not try to stop me.” After she said that statement, June realized she hadn’t heard the woman calling to Heathen anymore.

“He’ll kill you,” the same man muttered with a snarl.

“No, he won’t.” She never once let go of his eyes.

She could hear the doubt flickering in his voice.

“Johnny,” she said again, a little louder than the last time.

The moment she saw his dark eyes lighten, she said, “You can get up and move away. But slowly. The rest of you, wait until I’m at your feet before you move. Slowly.”

Without waiting for a reply from the other nine men, she repeated the same process, going around Heathen slowly.

She moved slowly to the next man, simply saying, “Johnny.”

The moment she had his eyes as he did a full circle with her, she took a step closer to him.

“I love you, my monster.” She knew she shouldn’t have made his eyes darken back up, but he needed to know that she loved him, all the parts of him.

“I love you, Johnny. With everything I am,” she said softly as she took another step toward him.

He never once removed his eyes from hers.

But then it happened, someone had to have come close to June because he snarled and advanced toward something behind her.

“Johnny, eyes on me, baby. Eyes. On. Me.” She saw the fight in him that he was restraining.

“Powers, I swear to Christ, keep everyone fucking back.” She tried to keep the anger out of her voice, but she couldn’t. Did they not realize anything about their brother?

“Johnny.” And then his eyes came to her.

They lightened with each step she took toward him.

Then, she did what she had been itching to do. She placed her hand on his cheek and then her other arm wrapped around his side.

“I love you,” she said softly so that it was for his ears and his alone.

Heathen closed his eyes, then lowered his head so that their foreheads touched. Then he had his arms around her, hauling her up as he pressed his nose into her neck and inhaled her scent.

For a few moments, they stood there, unmoving. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and she placed gentle kisses on the side of his head.

“Can you walk backward for me, honey?” she asked, unsure if he would comply.

Just like a puppy wanting its first bone, he simply walked backward for her.

“When your legs touch the picnic table, sit down, honey,” she murmured softly.

Then he sat down.

In his ear, she murmured, “I love you, Johnny.” Any anger that he held had simply washed away as his entire body softened right beneath her fingertips.

She started to draw lazy circles on his shoulder blade, uncaring if the sweat from his shirt ruined her top. He hadn’t been wearing his kutte in the fight and she wondered where it was.

“Okay?” she simply asked.

“Okay,” he replied softly while his nose was still buried in her neck, breathing in her scent.

Then she saw Whitney with a sad smile on her face and nodded to her.

“Thank you for trying to help him,” she said to the other woman. When Whitney’s eyes flashed, she knew that she didn’t have anything to worry about from the woman again.

“Can you grab us a couple of beers, Powers?” She knew Heathen was close to Powers, so she knew that he was okay, that he would tolerate Powers’ presence better than anyone else’s at the moment.

“Yeah.” Within a few moments, two beers had been handed to her.

“Do you know where his kutte is?” she asked as she looked at Powers.

Without a word, the man left.

Leaning back, she handed Heathen one of the beers that Powers had handed her. His crystal green eyes were vibrant as he looked into hers.

“I love you,” he rasped out.

Uncaring who was watching them, she planted her mouth on his as their tongues tangled in a delectable web.

When they parted, they both took a swig from their beers.

It was then that Powers had returned carrying Heathen’s kutte.

“Here, man,” he said as he handed it to him.

“Put it on her back, brother.” Heathen stared at Powers. The unspoken words were left unsaid and she saw the shock on his face.

However, he didn’t say a word as he placed it on her back.

“Hey, honey. Everything okay?” She looked at Lil.

“Yes, thanks.” June returned the kind smile to the other woman.

“Y’all need anything?” she questioned.

Thinking, she grabbed one of his hands that was on the top of her thigh and saw that he had a few split knuckles. “Yeah, a washcloth and some peroxide, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Back in a flash.” Lil smiled as she turned and went to grab what June asked for.

Nothing needed to be said between Heathen and herself.

Then the first man who he’d taken down approached them.

“Hey, man. You alright?” Heathen asked one of the men who she had recognized had been lying on the ground in front of Heathen.

He asked the man that, all the while he had his arm wrapped around her waist as if he were keeping himself grounded with just the touch of her body on his.

“Yeah, man. Just need to hit the gym more and get in shape. Damn.” They both chuckled.

None of them would be getting an apology, but Heathen asking if they were okay was all that he would do, and the others knew that.

When Lil got back with the items she had requested, June set about tending to his cuts.

“I heard it was your birthday the day before yesterday. Happy belated birthday.” Lil was sweet like that.

“Thanks, Lil.” She would have gotten up and hugged her, but she was quite cozy, and she wanted to make sure that his skin was clean.

He didn’t even flinch when the peroxide met his wounds. The man was a beast.

That made her pussy clinch in wanting.

The man had made a crazy sex fiend out of her. And she gave zero fucks about that.

After his cuts were clean, he stood up and she slid her body down his until her feet landed on the ground.

The moment he had his kutte back on, he grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers.

As they were moving from the picnic bench, someone had spouted trash at him. “You’re nothing but a fucking animal that needs to be put in a cage.”

She jumped out of Heathen’s arms, went to the man, and kicked him in the balls, and when his knees hit the ground, she wrapped her hand around his neck, making sure to hit the pressure points she had been trained to do. Heathen hadn’t known that she had taken some self-defense classes.

“Watch your mouth. He’s more man than you could ever attempt to be. Sure, he may be a beast, but even that beast is something you couldn’t even comprehend. Say another word in disrespect toward him and I’ll kill you myself,” she snarled out at the dipshit.

“West, you’re out of here. Move,” Powers said in a glacial tone.

She felt his heat at her back before his arm wrapped around the back of her neck, and she tilted her head back as he kissed her.

Her toes curled. Fuck, but she loved this man.

“Be back. Bathroom,” she told him.

“Come find me when you’re done. I’ll be inside,” he told her as he led her to the bathroom, then turned and walked back to the main room in the clubhouse.

After she used the bathroom, she exited from the room and saw the woman who had been trying to distract Heathen.

“Look, I’m not used to doing this shit.” She had heard Powers and Lil telling Whitney to back off.

“Thank you for trying to get through to him,” June said in all seriousness. She really was thankful that the woman had tried.

“I’ve wanted Heathen since day one. And then someone waltzes in here and takes that chance away from me. It hurts, but he would never look at me the way he looks at you. Hell, I could try to be you and I know that I still wouldn’t stand a chance. So, I’m backing off. Friends?”

June wrapped her arms around Whitney and hugged her. “Friends.”

“Cool.” The two of them wove around the brothers and the other women.

“Want to grab a beer?” June asked her.

“Yep.” Surprising her, Whitney linked arms with her.

Halfway to the bar, a man stepped into their path. He wasn’t someone who she had seen before, and he had on a different kutte than the brothers wore.

“Two for one. I like this club.” The man stepped forward to touch her and she stepped back quickly, taking Whitney with her.

“Sorry, but we were on our way to the bar. Please move,” June said evenly.

“Yeah, I don’t think I will. Neither one of you are wearing a property kutte,” the man said. He had graying hair at the temples, and he had a scar on his right cheek. He was her height at five-foot-four. Really?

“Rosch, back off. She’s Heathen’s.” June looked up and saw Cam.

“She ain’t wearing a property kutte,” the man had the balls to say.

“She don’t need one. Move the fuck out of her way,” Cam said, brooking no room for an argument.

She saw the man running the idea of moving out of her way through his head. “If I can’t have this one,” he pointed at June, “then I’ll take this one,” he finished, pointing to Whitney.

Cam looked at June. She shook her head and pulled Whitney behind her.

“Looks like you have your answer. Now, fucking move. Before I go get Heathen,” Cam said, all the anger he was holding back now evident in his tone.

June took the cue and pulled Whitney behind her to the bar.

“Ugh, that creep makes me cringe. Thanks again,” Whitney said.

“No sweat. Just who is he? His kutte is different.”

“Oh, they’re an ally of the club.” That was all Whitney was going to give on the matter.

“June,” Laura bent forward and whispered in her ear, “whatever you’re drinking is on me.”

June offered her a smile. “Laura, thank you.”

“Vodka sprite.” Her mouth watered at that.

“Oh, that sounds good. Make that two,” Whitney said.

“Got it,” Laura said with a grin.

“Yo, back off. She’s Heathen’s.” June saw Laura talking to someone who had come up behind her.

When June looked over her shoulder, the man with long brown hair threw his hands up in defeat and backed off.

“God. Horny asses,” Whitney muttered.

She felt him before she heard his voice. His heat at her back caused her to lean back into his body. His cologne wafted over her.

“What’s this I hear ‘bout motherfuckers coming up to you,” Heathen said in her hair.

“Oh, two so far. Cam took care of the first and Laura took care of the second.”

And then Heathen made a statement. He spun her around, gripped her by her ass, and lifted her onto the bar. He stepped into her opened thighs, wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, and slammed his mouth on hers.

As their tongues danced the rhythm, she hadn’t heard the catcalls and the whistles.

And then Heathen pulled back from her. She missed his closeness and almost pulled him back to her.

Loudly, he said, “Any other fucker comes at her, you’ll deal with me.”

After Laura handed him a beer and her and Whitney their drinks, she hopped down and made her way with Whitney while Heathen trailed after them.

They had a little dance floor set up out back, and June reached back and pulled Heathen with her.

Smiling, Clutch chose this moment to get behind Whitney. Looked like there may be something there, she thought silently.

With his hands on her hips, they moved to the same rhythm. Had they been in her house or in his room, she would be jumping him in a heartbeat.

With his hand holding hers, he pulled them over to the firepit and sat down on one of the loungers as she climbed in between his legs and stretched out.

The moment his arm wrapped around her chest, she was happy.

“Yo, prospect, grab us two beers.”

The moment the prospect handed him the beers, he popped the top on the first, giving it to her, and then he popped the top on his and took a swig.

“Good?” he asked.

“Great.” With a contented sigh, she took another swig from her beer.

With the music playing and people having a good time, she allowed the heat from his chest to seep into her. And like that, she fell asleep.