Phoenix (The Broken Book 5) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Phoenix

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  From the desk of

  Where to find me

  Other books by the author

  Phoenix

  The Broken: Book 4

  By

  Serena Simpson

  Copyright

  Phoenix – The Broken - Copyright © September 2018, Serena Simpson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  Cover Art by Peri Wolford

  Published by Serena Simpson

  Chapter One

  Rylee’s day was just like any other. She was behind the bar smiling at her regulars and filling glass after glass of beer. Now and then, she’d get an order for a mixed drink. A few executives came in around lunchtime.

  The place looked like a dive on the outside, but if you came in you were coming back. The owner went out of his way to make the inside inviting. Some corners were dark enough for clandestine meetings while other corners had enough light for you to meet with your friends after work and have fun.

  Then there was a special attraction. Special besides the food that the back served, it was delicious. The place was called The Vortex, there was a door that was some type of metal she had never seen before. The words on it said, ‘one-way trip to The Vortex, all humans die.’ It had thirteen locks on it. She knew because she counted them. It was also chained. She felt it was a bit of an overkill, but the patron’s loved it. There were also noises that came from behind the door. Yells and pleas for mercy. Then there were the unexpected bumps like someone was banging on it or throwing things at the door. All in all, it made for a slightly spooky atmosphere and everyone who came in ate it up and came back for more.

  She jumped when a loud noise rang through the bar from the locked door. She thought she should be used to it by now. There was no rhyme or reason for when an unexpected noise would be heard. That was the part she couldn’t understand. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t time it or anticipate what would be next.

  “Hey, Rylee.” A woman in a two-piece gray pantsuit slid onto the barstool.

  “Gia, I didn’t expect to see you this early.”

  “I just closed the biggest deal of my life and decided to give myself the rest of the day off.”

  “Every time I see you, I wonder why I didn’t take business in school and work for myself. Then I remember I hated business classes.”

  “Maybe or maybe you were supposed to be here to meet that hottie. Has he been in today?”

  “He hasn’t been around lately. I guess he got bored.”

  “He’ll be back, mark my words. Who could stay away from you? You’re like fire; he wants to be burned.”

  “And that’s one of the reasons we’re friends. You want the imported wine from Sweden?”

  “You know it. It’s rather loud back there today.” They both turned to look at the door that everyone was forbidden to open. Not that it could be opened with all those locks on it.

  “It has been. You would think that I’ve worked here long enough that Troy would let me in on the secret. But nooo… sigh.” They both laughed when she said sigh instead of doing it.

  “Mmm Troy, now there’s a fine-looking honey.”

  “Eww Gia, he’s my boss. Besides, I don’t think you're supposed to call a man honey.”

  “That’s the problem with you human’s you get caught up in the small things of life.”

  “Girl I keep telling you that you’re as human as I am.” Rylee shook her head and went to pour a drink for her friend and customer. The liquid was pink, but it sparked with different colors inside of it as if it were a prism.

  “I think you watched too many episodes of Star Trek,” Rylee said when she slid Gia’s drink in front of her.

  “Come close I’ll tell you a secret. Closer Rylee, I don’t bite. Well, I do but you’re not my type.”

  She bent over until her ear was right next to Gia’s mouth.

  “It was the 4400,” she whispered.

  Rylee’s head popped up her eyes got wide, then she laughed from her belly and had to hold on to the bar to keep from falling.

  “I hate you Gia,” she said between trying to breathe.

  “You say the sweetest things to me, that’s why we're friends. One night we should break into that room. I’ll keep you alive, don’t worry.”

  “Because you’re not human.”

  “You’re catching on.” She winked at Rylee before downing her drink. “I wish I could stay longer, but I really need some time just to myself. I’ll see you soon. When that hottie comes in, give him a kiss from me.”

  “Hate to disappoint you. But if I get my lips on him, you’re the last person I’ll be thinking about.”

  “That’s the way it should be, later.” She slid off the stool and walked to the door drawing every eye in the bar. There was something about Gia that commanded attention.

  This was why Rylee loved her job. Friends like Gia made her want to come to work even when she had to put up with the occasional drunk.

  “Did I miss Gia?”

  Rylee jumped and turned around. “Troy, are you trying to give me a heart attack? You scared the bejezus out of me. When did you get here? I didn’t see you come in?”

  “I like being the male of mystery. You never know when I’m going to turn up.”

  “Between you and Gia I’m going to need a head shrink.” She gave Troy a once over. Gia was right, Troy was prime, but for unknown reasons, he didn’t ring her bell.

  “Don’t worry hun you're about to get a one-way trip to the other side.”

  “Yeah, you can keep The Vortex all to yourself, and yes, you just missed Gia.”

  “Pity, she’s hotter than hell, and I would know.”

  “All right, stop, wait.” She made some football gesture she’d seen one of the few times she’d watched the game. She thought it meant time out.

  “I need everyone in the bar to remember they are human. If you’re not human, I need you to pretend that you are.”

  “Damn it, Troy, stop bothering the bartender. I hate when I have to pretend to be human.”

  Set. Match. Done. “I’m taking a ten-minute break, and no one better come looking for me.” She stared at Troy until he nodded his head.

  This was when her job became frustrating. Lately, Troy had been around more often pointing out what he called the mysteries of life. When she asked him what he was up to, he would say preparing her. She supposedly didn’t have that long to accept that everything she ever
believed was wrong.

  She loved the break room. It contained the usual table and chairs. A large refrigerator, long countertop with a microwave and coffee machine on it. There were individual cups of her fav coffee. If that was all, it would be enough. On the other side was an honest to God couch with two chairs. The couch and chairs weren’t covered with the plastic you see in hospitals. They were soft and comfy.

  That’s where she went after she retrieved her coffee. She had no idea how they kept the furniture so clean and didn’t ask. She took a large sip of her favorite brew for fortification and sank into the couch after she took her shoes off. Every job should have a perk like this, maybe she would think of moving on.

  She closed her eyes and thought of the hottie Gia teased her about. He had bad boy written all over him. He tended to drink tea of all things, but once in a while he ordered one of the special bottles of alcohol that Troy imported from Sweden. She’d asked Troy about it once. He gave a typical Troy answer. It was only for aliens; humans could get addicted and die from it. Umm, that’s what alcohol tried to do. Sheesh, hopefully, he would let up on her now that she had been here for close to three years.

  She groaned when she looked at the clock. Her ten minutes had turned into fifteen, and she still needed to visit the bathroom. Not that Troy would mind, he wasn’t that type of boss. She guzzled the rest of her coffee, hit the bathroom, and then walked back out front.

  Troy was holding court at the bar that was typical.

  “Aww here’s my Firestarter.” He threw her a wink.

  She felt her heart racing before she calmed it down. “Careful Troy I may burn you.”

  “Another promise from a beautiful woman, I know you won’t be keeping it. I’m not your type.”

  He had her there. She was all about the dark brooding type.

  “Tell me he’s been doing his job while I was taking a break?” She looked at the customers; her mouth turned down into a frown. They laughed and told her how slow he was refilling their drinks.

  “So, you do need me!” She gave a happy sigh and refilled the first drink.

  When everyone had a drink, they drifted back to their spots in the club leaving her and Troy at the bar.

  “The best thing I ever did was hire you. I want you to know you’ll always have a job here.”

  “Not this again.”

  “Just listen to me. Then I’ll leave you alone for the rest of your shift.”

  “You can deny something about yourself all you want; it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Fate has a way of giving us what we need even when we’re too slow to realize it. I’ve never lied to you Rylee, and I never will.”

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she turned around to ask him a question, he was gone. How did he do that?

  Chapter Two

  “How are you?”

  “The cage works; I gave it another try.”

  “That’s not what I asked you Phoenix.”

  “It’s what you should have asked me.” They were in the basement as Phoenix went over the defenses to keep him from escaping the cage he had constructed to hold him if he ever presented a threat to his brothers and now his sisters, his brother’s mates.

  “How are you doing?” Slade bit off each word.

  Phoenix stepped out of his cage and crossed the floor until he was standing in front of the other male. He allowed his control to slip for a moment. His eyes glowed, and his teeth elongated. He spoke around them with a deep guttural voice.

  “How do you think I’m doing? I see my brothers; my sisters ripped apart. I see a fiend dancing in their blood and their entrails. I know it doesn’t matter how far I run, I will be the cause of their destruction, and you ask me how I am doing? No one survives Slade, except, maybe, you.”

  “Then stop it.”

  “You know I can’t.”

  “You’re the only one who can. You can see the future.”

  “Has watching our brothers mate driven you insane? I don’t see enough of the future to change it. All I get is bits and pieces that tell me we’re fucked. There isn’t enough to make a plan or defeat the sadistic…” He turned and walked to the stairs. “You want a plan? Take everyone and leave. Come back when it’s all over.”

  “The same way I ran when Akron or Mekhi, or our other brothers were fighting the darkness? Is that what you’re referring to?”

  “What do you want from me, Slade?”

  “What I’ve always wanted. I want you to fight.”

  “I did. I have, and still when I look at my hands all I see is the blood of my brothers slipping through my fingers as the fire in their eyes goes out. Now you want me to do it again. To watch those that I claim as family die because I can’t stop the rising inferno.”

  “You are not alone in this. We have all lost someone to him.”

  “The reaper is coming and the only one he isn’t looking to harvest is you.”

  “Then I volunteer as tribute.”

  Phoenix spun around to look at him. His angry retort died on his lips as both he and Slade burst out into laughter.

  “Just no,” Phoenix told him. “The sisters no longer get to pick the movie. We’ve gone from blood and gore to Peeta and Kat stealing kisses in some mock version of the future.”

  “It could be a parallel world, we haven’t visited all of those.”

  “True, but I caught them talking about the next movie night. They want to go with a superhero theme.”

  “At least it has action.”

  “True, think about what I said, Slade. If the only one here when the reaper comes is me, the rest of you will still be safe.”

  “No, we won’t. He won’t stop until he has us all. Our chances of winning decrease without you Phoenix.”

  “I’m going out.”

  “Say hi to the redhead for me.”

  Phoenix growled and took the steps three at a time. He stopped by his rooms for a fast shower and a change of clothes. He was not going to The Vortex. Slade needed to mind his own business.

  When he walked into the door of The Vortex looking as human as possible, he bit back a growl. She called to him.

  “Who pissed in your Wheaties?” Rylee gave him a big smile. The eyes that stared at her without a clue made her sigh. “Sometimes I forget you’re a little behind the times. What can I get for you?”

  “Whiskey imported from Sweden.”

  “It’s been that kind of day already?”

  “Why don’t you ever say my name?”

  Yeah, that. Saying his name felt intimate to her. It also suggested an intimacy she wanted to go further than ‘can I get you a drink.’ Phoenix wandered into the bar about two years ago looking alone and aloof. If someone had told her one look into his eyes would make her want to drop her panties, she would have roared in laughter. Then it happened.

  She tripped over her tongue like a child uttering her first words. When he left, she knew he was never coming back, but he did. He’s never stopped until recently.

  “I missed seeing you around Phoenix.” Damn his name tasted good on her lips. She turned to get him a whiskey and to make sure she wasn't drooling.

  “My brothers have found their mates, my new sisters, they needed me to be around. A lot has happened.”

  “I think it must be nice to have siblings.” She placed the glass in front of him.

  “You don’t have any?”

  “Not that I know of. My parents died in an accident; I was the only one who survived. There were no others in the car, and they didn’t have any identification on them. The authorities think they were running from something or someone.” Why was she telling him this version of her life story? It was as close to the truth as she was willing to come. She wanted him to know about her. She shook it off that way led to insanity or at least to death.

  “My sister, Brandi, she’s mated to Jabari, was an orphan. She grew up in an orphanage. Serenity was also an orphan, but her story was different.”

  “Who is she mated too
?”

  “Akron.”

  “No wonder I haven’t seen them around in a while. They’re too busy falling in love.”

  Phoenix nodded and drank more of his whiskey.

  “Is there anything to report on The Vortex?” His eyes cut to the door to let her know what he was asking.

  “There have been more random noises lately as well as yells, screams, I swear I heard some guttural curses coming out of there one night. Why do you always ask me about that door?”

  “One day it’s going to open, and I want to make sure you’re not around when it does. That will up your chances of survival.”

  “From what to what?”

  “From no chance to maybe five percent.”

  She laughed unable to take the seriousness of his voice. “You realize that the room is just a gag that Troy set up to drum up interest in his business. I must say it’s ingenious. Still, it’s just a gag. If we opened the door, it would just be a plain room.”

  “Are you so confident that you’re willing to risk opening the door?”

  No, she wasn’t. Two or three years ago she'd have done it in a heartbeat with a smile on her face. Now the door scared her, but she wouldn’t let Phoenix or Troy know.

  “Let’s let sleeping dogs lie.”

  “What do dogs have to do with The Vortex?”

  “You are so cute I can’t take it.”

  “I am not cute,” he groused before finishing his whiskey and asking for a refill.

  “So, I was wondering.” Her words trailed off as she gave him his whiskey.

  “Wondering what?”

  “Never mind it was stupid.”

  She went to turn away, but his hand covered hers burning them both where they touched.

  “Tell me.”

  “I was wondering if you ate… I mean if you wanted to eat… me. No! I mean with me.” Rylee’s cheeks were burning bright.

  “Rylee, are you asking me out to dinner?”

  “Yes… no? Are you interested?” She peaked up from under her lashes.

  “No one has ever asked me out before.”