Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel (3 page)

              “Grit,” she cried as her body hurdled over the edge for the second time. I let go when I felt her walls clamping down around my cock. I thrust a few more times then pulled out, letting her legs fall to the floor. She swayed a little so I steadied her and helped her straighten up.

              “Thanks, baby,” I said, removing the condom and cleaning myself up.

              “Grit, why don’t you let me have you more than once a week?”

              “That’s just my rule. You don’t like it, then you don’t have to take what I give you.” I went to the sink to wash my hands, then made my way to the bar for breakfast.

I grabbed some eggs that one of the girls must have made this morning and put them on my plate along with some bacon and French toast. That’s another thing I love about the clubhouse. I don’t have to cook or anything because the girls that don’t work are expected to cook and take care of the clubhouse. Everybody is supposed to carry their own weight. It’s a great feeling being able to be a part of something. It’s like a well, oiled machine. Everybody has their place and everybody does their job. Titan was at the table with his plate already I joined him and we talked as we ate.

After eating, Titan and I got on our bikes. We didn’t expect to really be doing any work today, but even if we did, we could call the other guys and they’d bring the truck and the tool trailer. Today was really about finding out what they wanted and working up an estimate that was fair for all parties. I knew the building they were buying and I knew that whatever they wanted to do with it, it was going to take a lot of work. 

Chapter 3

Abby

              I had a hard time sleeping because I was so excited that Mac was finally down here. I had wanted her out of New York for a while, but I didn’t have anything that I thought would be enough to get her down here. Our families are both toxic environments to be around, so the farther away we are the better.

              After turning over for the millionth time, I figured it was pointless to just sit here and stare at the ceiling. I made my way downstairs for a cup of coffee. Mac was sitting in the chair at the table already drinking her cup. There was a second cup waiting by the machine. “You know me too well.”

              “I was wondering how long it would take you to give up. You surpassed my expectations by an hour.”

              “Ha ha. Well, since we are up, we could start brainstorming.”

              “We could, or you could get the letter your grandma left and read it. I know it will be hard Abs, but obviously she had something she wanted to say not only to you, but to me as well since she asked that you wait until I moved down here to open it.”

              I grabbed the yellow envelope that was sitting on the desk and brought it to the table with our cups of coffee. I broke the seal and dumped the contents of the envelope onto the table. Inside was a locket that my Grandma always wore, two small mail envelopes, one addressed to each of us, and a list of different corporations.

              I swallowed the tears that threatened to spill over. “You first, Abs. If you want to share when you are done, you can. If not…I’m here for you.” I nodded my head and opened the letter.

My Little Phoenix,

              If you’re reading this, then the cancer ran its course and I’ve been gone for about two months. When everything happened your junior year of high school, I have never been more proud of you and more let down by the actions of your parents. I’m sorry about what happened, but having you come stay with me to finish out school and attend college, was the best thing that could have happened for both of us.

              I left my locket in the envelope for you because I knew that you would bury me with it if you found it, but I wanted you to have it. I’ve taken your granddad’s picture out. My hope is one day you will find a man that you love enough that you want to carry him with you always. In the meantime, I’ve replaced it with a picture of us. When the time comes and you are ready, replace the picture and know that you carry my love with you always.

              I couldn’t be more proud of you. No matter what you decide to do with the company, it is yours to do with as you please. I don’t want you to hold onto it because of some misguided sense of obligation. If you want to let go, let go. I’ve included a list of companies that have shown interest over the years. I must also make you aware, that your parents have been taking money from the company for years. I have done nothing about it, even though I probably should have, because I didn’t want to cause you any more pain. When I became aware of what was going on, I confronted them and told them if it started to effect the employees and the bottom line of the company then I would press charges. So they have been discreet and only taking a little at a time.  I tell you this to prepare you for WHEN you sell. I know you, Phoenix. I know you don’t want a part of that world. No more than I did.

              Remember this honey; some bridges are made to be burned and life remade from the ashes. That’s why I started calling you My Little Phoenix. I knew, even back then, that you would never be able to go back to the life you once had. Make your own life, but make sure you bring McKenzie with you, because she is the type of friend you always want in your corner. I love you, both of you.

              My last piece of advice, sweetheart, is for both you and McKenzie, to keep your identities as secret as possible. Jed knows who you both really are, and Linda knows your name, but probably has not made the connection. Jed had her sign a confidentiality agreement before he recommended you to her. She is completely aware of the consequences should she talk about you to anyone. Trust me, she won’t say a word. Lawsuits would be the least of her worries if she spoke.

Love,

Grams

P.S.

              When you sell the company, be prepared that your parents are going to try and make your life hell in more ways than one and do your best to stipulate with the new buyer that your parents will be fired, but no charges brought up, unless you want to go through that mess and the hell they will bring down upon you. You know they will.

              I was speechless. I knew that my parents were greedy bastards, that was made obvious junior year, but to embezzle money from the family company. I didn’t realize I was shaking until Mac came over and put an arm around my shoulder. I couldn’t feel the tears streaming down my face or hear the sobs escaping my mouth.

              “Shhhh, shhhh. Do you want to tell me?” McKenzie rubbed my back and helped to calm me. I simply nodded and passed her the letter. She quietly read while she continued to try and soothe my pain. “Oh Ellen,” she said, her own voice choking up, “God, you had the best grandmother ever.” I sobbed harder and nodded.

              It was several minutes before I calmed down enough to talk. “Ok,” I cleared my throat, but it was still thick with emotion. I picked up her locket and looked at the picture inside. Sure enough, there she and I stood with our arms wrapped around each other. We had been on vacation one summer and had someone take our picture together. Our bright smiles looked back at me from the photo. It was a reminder of the love and happiness I found after finally being away from my parents. I closed the locket and hung the chain around my neck. The disk fell between my breasts, resting above my heart. I fingered the chain and fought back the emotions, loss, and memories that flooded my mind.

              Thinking back, Grams always called me Phoenix or baby girl in public. She never called me by Abby. I had no clue of the steps she took to protect me and my privacy. It was just now becoming clear to me that she was the world’s best planner. She always said it, but I never imagined how true it was. “Phoenix,” I said to McKenzie. “Don’t call me anything but Phoenix anymore. In private, I can be Abby, but in any public situation, I’m Phoenix.”

              Abby nodded. “Ok, do you think it’s really necessary to hide our identities like this?”

              I nodded to the letter in my, “Grams said it was necessary, so it’s necessary…” I took a deep breath before I broached the next subject. “I have an idea for the names of our restaurant and bar, but you might not like it and if that’s the case, then we will come up with something else. It kind of pays tribute to Grams, but only you and I would ever know that.” She nodded encouraging me to continue. “I would like for your restaurant to be Phoenix Grill and the bar to be Phoenix Bar, if that’s okay with you? Together, but separate both building something out of the ashes of burned bridges.”

              Mac smiled, “it’s perfect. Ok, well since neither of us are sleeping, what do you say we go into town and work on the future Phoenix Bar and Phoenix Grill? I’m sure the contractors aren’t going to want a bunch of old crappy tables in their way. And the upstairs sure needed cleaning out.”

              “Sure, while we are cleaning and clearing out, we can work on your code name. Your identity is more important than mine and Grams said we both need to protect our identities. I kind of feel like a superhero,” I winked and joked, trying to clear the very emotional air.

              We went upstairs to our rooms and got dressed. It was one in the morning, but we weren’t going to sleep, so we might as well get busy. The cleaning supplies we had bought earlier were still in the truck and I went ahead and packed up the coffee pot. Heaven knows we would need it by the time the contractors got there tomorrow afternoon. We’d probably be falling on our asses trying to sleep.

              I looked up as Mac walked by. She must have raided the liquor cabinet, since she is packing a bottle of tequila into a bag with two cups. “What?” She asked when she looked up. “I figure we can drink and listen to music while we clean and maybe relax enough to get some sleep at some point.”

              “Yeah, we should really turn the second floor into an apartment. I have a feeling it will make a good space for one of us eventually or a love nest that we take turns using.” I joked knowing full well neither of us were the type to do hookups. Not after our history. “Ok, drinks, coffee, IPod doc, cleaning supplies are in the car, anything else you think we might need?” Her negative answer had us heading out the door.

              When we got to the building, we decided to start downstairs. The electricity was turned on, so we cranked up the AC. I lied to Mac. I still wasn’t used to the heat, but I wasn’t going to tell her that this was mild compared to July and August. We still had about four months of summer left, because anybody who lives in Texas for any amount of time knows that you have eight months of summer and four months for all the other seasons.

              We turned on the music and started dancing and singing as we cleaned downstairs. “Hey, Phoenix,” Mac called from the bathroom. “We are going to need a plumber to check out the pipes as well. We need to call Jed in the morning to see if he knows someone   or ask his contractor.”

              “Yeah, I’ll add it to the list.” I jotted it down on our ever growing to do list and grabbed the tequila sitting on the counter. I filled two shot glasses as she walked over. We both downed the shots, our faces contorting at the strong burning flavor. “I’ve got an idea for your nickname, Mac. Let’s do something with fire. Keep the flames going, so to speak. How about Blaze? Or Cracker as in firecracker?” I laughed at the second one. “Smolder, Inferno, Ember, Sparky, Flame.” I rattled off the names as she only gave me half an ear.

              “Wait, what did you just say?” She asked

              “Flame, Sparky, Ember…”

              She smiled. “Ember. You can call me Ember.”

              “That’s hot.” For whatever reason Grams, wanted us to keep our names to ourselves so we went with it. “Until we get used to calling each other by those names, we should call ourselves nothing but. Plus, I think it suits you, though one could make a valid case for Sparky as well.” I ducked at the rag she threw at me. We had been cleaning the windows, but weren’t really getting very far. They were caked with years of grime.

              “This is pointless,” she pointed at the windows and then took another drink of tequila. “Dark windows are going to be a must. We want the two businesses to look uniform and not easily seen through from the outside.”

              “Yes, what are you thinking as far as seating goes?” We discussed our plans, drank, sang along to the music, and did a little bit of cleaning. It was about seven in the morning that we leaned against a wall and fell asleep leaning on each other.

We didn’t mean to fall asleep, but with the tequila, the emotions, and the excitement, we were really on borrowed energy. I dreamed of the future, or at least what I hoped for the future; the bar and the restaurant being a success. It looked great in my head and I really wanted that for us, Mac especially. She deserved happiness after everything she has been through. My dreams and thoughts turned darker then, remembering my own hell and my suspicions that I got off easy compared to Mac. 

              I must have whimpered since I felt a hand nudge me awake. I sucked in a breath. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown, his skin tanned from working in the sun. His hair and brows were dark brown with hints of lighter brown and his chin had a small cleft. I shook my head as if I was imagining things because he was sexy as sin.
“Shit, if I’m dreaming I don’t want to wake up”.
I thought to myself, but apparently it wasn’t to myself when I heard a chuckle.

              “Um, hi,” I said trying to cover up my blunder, which was useless at this point. I shook Mac to get her up, but she never woke up well and this time was no different.

              “Quit shaking me, bitch,” She mumbled. The rumble of laughter brought my eyes across the room to the other man. He was tall, really tall. He looked like he was solid muscle. His jeans were faded from wear and his boots were black and bulky. His shirt was stretched tight across an enormously chiseled chest. I couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses, but I didn’t need to. He was intimidating. I turned my attention back to the safer of the two men.

              “Hi,” I cleared the frog out of my throat. “Sorry, we must have fallen asleep. Did Jed send you?” I asked and made a mental note to tell him about Phoenix and Ember.

              “Yes, he said his girls were in need of a contractor.” He stepped back and stood up. I didn’t expect him to hold out his hand to help me up, but he did.

              His hands were huge, his fingers thick compared to mine, and when I grabbed his hand, I felt the rough calluses graze against the smooth softness of mine. It was crazy. I’ve shaken men’s hands over the years, but I have never before catalogued the feel and texture of the hand that I was shaking.