Phoenix’s Plight by Tiffany Casper

 

“Come close. If you dare.”

- Heathen.

 

Chapter 8

Heathen

He was cussing up a storm all the way to Powers’ office.

She had just told him that she loved him in her sleep, and damn it all to hell, he hadn’t wanted to leave her. That feeling would have shocked the fuck out of him two years ago, but now, no, not with her.

He had worked himself into a flaring temper.

The moment he had his bike parked, he climbed off, then stormed into the clubhouse and made his way to Powers’ office. Powers had called him while June’s naked body had been wrapped around him, wanting him to go and beat the fuck out of someone who thought it was okay to mug an older lady. He did that, but it could have been handled by someone else who didn’t have a woman curled up against him.

Without knocking, he stormed in.

“I don’t mind doing all I do for the club. Never have I complained, not fucking once. But why is it when I’m with someone that I care about as much as I can, y’all always call? When there ain’t nothing going on and I ain’t with her, my phone is fucking silent,” he growled out.

He realized he had walked in on Powers and his ole’ lady, Lil, as she was giving him a blow job.

“Then next time that happens, tell me you’re busy and it’ll wait until you get back,” Powers said as evenly as he could all the while his eyes were closed.

“I go into the red zone tonight, grab my phone and call June. Tell her I’m sorry and have her come here as soon as she can.” With that, he turned on his heel, walked out of the office, and closed the door.

Powers

Powers had never heard Heathen speak about a woman like he just had. Sure, he saw how Heathen had treated June when she had pulled in at the clubhouse but still.

Any time Heathen went into the red zone, as they all called it, no one could pull him off. Too many men had been taken down because of that.

The fact that he openly admitted that he had someone who could pull him back, well, that woman had just earned Powers’ respect, and his protection.

Heathen

The moment he walked out of Powers’ office, it was then that he heard her laughter.

Grinning, he made his way in her direction and then he saw a haze.

Fucking Savage was smiling at her while she was making something to eat.

“You look good in my shit, babe,” Heathen snarked out the possessive statement and smirked when Savage straightened as he took Heathen in.

“Darlin’,” Savage said to June, and then he left the kitchen.

Fucking right.

As he walked up behind her, he swept her loose tendrils away and nibbled on her ear.

“What are you making?” he asked.

“Garlic chicken. I hope I’m making enough for us. I didn’t see Lil and no one else was in here. I hope that’s okay?” she said as she tossed her head to the side and offered him her shy grin.

“It’s good, babe. Need any help?” Ever since he had started this with her, the simplest of things meant the world to him.

“Sure, can you make some garlic bread? I know it may be overkill with the chicken, but I think it’s perfect.”

He was already making his way to the bread after he grabbed a butter knife, the butter, and the garlic salt.

“Damn, that smells good. You got any extra?” he heard Lil ask.

“Actually, yes. I think I made enough.” June tossed her a smile.

“Cool. Powers and I are joining you for brunch. Anything I can do to help?” And that was Lil.

“I guess drinks. This is about ready. By the time the bread is done, it’ll be ready,” June answered as she tossed the noodles she had cooked into the chicken and veggie mixture.

“I’ll grab the plates and forks.” Powers just had to add his two cents.

“Wow. Smells great. I’m starved.” The sound of Whitney’s voice grated on his nerves.

“She didn’t make enough for everyone,” Heathen said without even looking at Whitney.

The moment he had the bread ready, he placed his hand on June’s hip. After he placed a kiss to the side of her head and pushed her aside, he saw that she had already started the oven.

“Well, if she’s using club property, then she should—” Whitney started.

“Whitney, I’ve about had enough of your mouth. You’re not an ole’ lady and you are not a woman who is here at the bequest of a single member. Now, get your skank ass out of my kitchen,” Lil said with her hand on her hip.

“If you want, I can make more. It’s no trouble.” And Heathen cared more for her at that moment than he thought possible.

“No, babe,” he said.

Without even looking to see if Whitney was still in the kitchen, he helped dish up the plates with June.

“Oh my god, this is good,” Lil praised with a moan.

“I thought I was good,” Powers said as he forked some pasta and chicken into his mouth.

“You’re a special kind of good, honey.” Lil blew him a kiss, then asked June, “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“I watched cooking shows as much as I could when I was little. I love cooking.” June had told Heathen some of her past, and he wanted to find whomever raped her mother and kill the fucker.

“Yeah, I thought I made good barbeque chicken, but hers, it practically melts in your mouth,” Heathen told them.

“That smells great! Please make extra next time,” he heard Laura say.

When June looked to Heathen, he nodded, knowing good and well what she was about to do.

“If you want some, there’s enough for one helping in the pan. Unfortunately, no more garlic bread.” June had that sorrowful look on her face.

“This is great. Thanks,” Laura said as she made herself a plate and then sat down beside Lil. There was an open seat beside him, but he knew with the way he had reacted when Knot had called June a bitch, they all realized how much she meant to him.

Not to mention the fact that June was in a button-down shirt that morphed her small frame and looked like a dress on her.

After the meal had been consumed, Heathen helped June clean up the dishes with Laura and Lil putting things away.

“Want to go for a ride?” he asked after they made their way back to his room.

“I want to say yes, but I’ve got a few orders that I need to knock out today.” The sadness in her tone was his undoing.

“That’s okay.” He smiled as he began unbuttoning her shirt, placing kisses all along her skin as he went.

“Johnny . . .” she moaned aloud.

“June.” He finished removing his shirt from her body and then he attacked.

He hauled her up his body, and when she wrapped her legs around his waist, he slammed her into the wall.

The moan that escaped her lips was his favorite sound. He unzipped his jeans and pulled out his cock, all the while his mouth was atop hers.

And then, just like fucking normal, there was a pounding at his door.

Growling into her shoulder, “Yeah?” He didn’t bother to hide his anger.

“Church!” Cam called through his door.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” The soft sigh that escaped her lips made him hate his close proximity to his brothers. The moment he lifted his head, he looked down into those eyes that straight up mesmerized him.

“It’s okay. Duty calls.” Had he not been staring in her eyes, he would have questioned the hell out of that statement.

“Text me when you get home?” he asked her as she made her way to his bathroom, gathering her things and her overnight bag.

And there was that smile, the smile that he wanted to say she reserved for him and him alone. “Sure.”

He wasn’t ready to admit that four-letter word aloud, not just yet.

Something kept holding him back.

He knew what it was. He wasn’t going to be the first one to say it. No fucking way.

She would be saying it to him first aloud and not in her sleep, come hell or high water.

After they dressed, he walked her out to her Jeep and kissed her hard, then he headed to church, closed the door, and took his seat.

Powers began, “We got a tip. Man by the name of Frank Bendicito is wanted by the Guzman Cartel. Namely, Alberto, the head honcho of the cartel. Reason is the man raped his daughter when she was just seven years old.”

“We going after him?” Savage asked while he pulled a knife from his boot and began twirling the tip in his fingers.

A double-tap on the table from Skinner was a ‘yes’ from the silent man.

The moment they had their plan in place, six of them loaded up and went to the house.

They parked half a block from the house so as not to disturb the occupants and to not let them know that they were about to be put to end.

With a smile, they saw that the slimy fuck was having a little party in the backyard.

They made their way around the house and to the party as they pulled their weapons out.

Which was a good thing, because as soon as the man’s goons saw them, they started to pull their smaller pieces.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Cam said hauntingly.

However, one of the goons hadn’t listened, and Skinner popped off a shot, knocking the gun out of the man’s hands.

“He doesn’t miss,” Heathen told them.

“Fuck. Lower your weapons,” Frank, the asshat, said. “Who the fuck are you?” he asked.

As if he didn’t know.

“Doesn’t matter who we are. Fact of the matter is, you fucked up,” Powers said calmly.

“I fucked up? You all are a bunch of no-count bikers. Fuck you,” Frank said with a sneer.

“Look, man, I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think. Fact is, you’re a piece of shit,” Heathen told him. “Am I right?” Heathen looked behind him at his brothers and asked them.

“Looks like you nailed it, brother,” Gage said in a dead tone.

“Yeah, special kind of place in hell for fucks like you,” Savage remarked.

With a barely-there perceptible nod, Skinner also agreed. Normally, the man was quieter than oxygen, and very rarely did anything garner a response from the man.

Had he been a tad bit more dangerous than Heathen, he would be the Enforcer.

At the sound of the rumbling pipes, Powers smiled dangerously. “Feel like a big man now?”

The man started to shake. He knew what that sound was. Frank’s past had just come up and kicked his ass.

“Thank you for the call,” Alberto Guzman said as he gazed at the fucker who raped his daughter.

“Marker.” And that was why we did this, to have the cartel at our back if we ever needed them.

“Of course.” Alberto walked off toward the asshole.

And that was that. We all loaded up on our bikes and road toward home.

“It’s fight night, boys,” Powers said as they had drinks flowing around them with his hands out to his sides.

“Look, I want a chance at Heathen,” one of the men from an allied club stated.

Heathen looked at the man, sized him up, and nodded.

Four other men came forward with the same request and three other men who were friends of the club. Then three of his brothers stepped forward with a smile.

Heathen glanced at Powers, then handed him his phone. “Remember your promise. You call her if it’s needed,” he said.

Then he handed him his kutte. Heathen glanced at Skinner and saw an odd smile on the man’s face while he held up a hundred on Heathen.

With a smile, Heathen stepped into the clearing.

“Don’t bitch and whine, fuckers. Bring it on.” Heathen held both hands out in front of him and beckoned all ten of them forward.

“This is going to be good,” Cam said. “Hundred on Heathen.”

Multiple bets were made on him and a few on the other ten men.

With the first punch, Heathen blacked out and allowed his beast to unleash.