Phoenix (Blackwings MC Book 3) Read online

  PHOENIX

  BLACKWINGS MC BOOK THREE

  BY

  TEAGAN BROOKS

  Copyright © 2018 by Teagan Brooks

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, 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.

  Adult Content Warning: This book contains explicit language, sexual scenes, and violence.

  CONTENTS

  PART I

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  PART TWO

  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

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  EPILOGUE

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Phoenix

  21 years ago

  It was the first week of summer and I was at a field party with some of my buddies from the football team. If this one was going to be anything like the last two summers, we would practice every day during the week and find somewhere to party all weekend. Rinse and repeat. I wasn’t a huge fan of partying all the time, but this was the first one of the summer and I was pretty excited.

  My best friend, Aaron, grabbed the cooler from the back of my truck and we made our way over to the other members of our team by the bonfire.

  I was enjoying shooting the shit with the guys when Aaron nudged me with his elbow. “Those two over by Douchey Dave’s Camaro have been looking over here every few minutes. Let’s go over and talk to them.”

  I really wasn’t interested in picking up a girl, but I was the dutiful friend and played his wingman. “Lead the way.”

  “Dibs on the brunette.”

  I rolled my eyes, thinking he didn’t need to call dibs because he could have whichever one he wanted. As we neared the girls and my eyes landed on the blonde, I was quick to lay claim to her. She was breathtaking. I quickly scanned her body from the golden blonde hair that fell below her shoulders leading to her ample chest, to her flat stomach and curvy hips, to her bare, tanned legs. As we got closer, her baby blue eyes flicked to me and her pouty lips curled into a shy smile. “Dibs on the blonde,” I muttered.

  He slapped me on the back. “That’s the spirit, my man.”

  Aaron sauntered up to the girls and introduced us. “Hello, ladies, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Aaron Marshall and this is Phoenix Black,” he said, extending his hand to the brunette with a smile that he’d used to charm the pants off many.

  The brunette grasped his hand and returned his smile. “I’m Macy McManis and this is Annabelle Burnett.”

  Annabelle shook his hand and turned her eyes to me. “Hi,” she said with a shy smile.

  “Hi,” I repeated and proceeded to stare at her like an idiot.

  Aaron cleared his throat. “So, you girls must not be from Croftridge because I would most definitely remember seeing your beautiful faces.”

  Macy giggled. “I live in Cedar Valley. Annabelle’s family just moved to Croftridge last week.”

  “Where did you move from?” I asked Annabelle.

  “A little town not far from Reedy Fork.”

  “Which one? I have some cousins that live up that way in Devil Springs.” When her cheeks turned pink and she ducked her head, I knew. “You lived in Crapper, didn’t you?” I asked softly.

  She nodded. “I’m so glad we moved.”

  She was obviously uncomfortable. Not only did Crapper have a shitty name, it was also a very poor town. I was afraid she was going to bolt, so I quickly changed the subject. “So, how did you girls meet?” I asked.

  Macy started to answer, “Annabelle’s mother—”

  “—and Macy’s mother work together,” Annabelle interrupted. Macy shot her a sideways glance, but didn’t say anything else.

  “So, you’ll be going to Croftridge High in the fall?” I asked.

  “Yes, I’ll be a senior.”

  I smiled. “Me, too.” She looked down and shuffled her feet. “It must suck having to go to a new school for your senior year,” I said, trying to get her to talk to me.

  She looked up and shrugged. “This will be my third high school, so it’s not really a big deal.”

  “Oh. So, what brought your family to Croftridge?”

  She grimaced. “My grandmother passed away and my mother inherited her house.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  She shrugged. “Thanks, but it wasn’t a huge thing for me. I mean, it sucks that she died, but I never met the woman.”

  Again, I sensed her discomfort and changed the subject. I started rambling about Croftridge and things to do around the area, which admittedly wasn’t much.

  “You seem to know a lot about Croftridge. Have you always lived here?”

  “No, I was born in California and lived there until my parents died in a car accident when I was 15. My father’s parents died before I was born, so I moved to Croftridge to live with my mother’s parents.”

  “You’ll love the Blacks. Gram and Pop are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” Aaron interjected.

  When Annabelle’s brows furrowed in confusion, I knew what was coming. “How is your last name Black?”

  I chuckled. “Caught that, did ya? Oddly enough, my mother and father had the same last name.”

  She seemed to relax as we continued talking and getting to know each other. Completely enthralled with her, I failed to pay attention to the others around us, or the time. I had never met anyone like her and was fully captivated from the moment we exchanged our first words.

  It was hours later when she looked at the time and gasped. “I need to find Macy and get home before I miss my curfew.”

  She stood and scanned the area for her friend. I stood as well and looked for Aaron, but didn’t see him anywhere.

  “Shit,” Annabelle cursed. “Her car’s gone.”

  “I can take you home,” I offered.

  “No, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

  “You didn’t ask. I offered. Come on,” I said and nudged her with my elbow.

  “I don’t know…” she said warily.

  “I had one beer tonight and that was hours ago.” I held my hands up and met her eyes. “I promise, I just want to make sure you get home safely. My Gram would whoop my ass if she found out I
knowingly left a young woman stranded in an unfamiliar place with strangers at night.” That was the truth, too. Gram and Pop had taught me to look out for others and offer help when help was needed.

  While we walked to my truck, I pulled out my phone and called Aaron. “Where the fuck are you?” I growled into the phone when he answered.

  The sounds of heavy breathing and female moaning filled my ears, causing me to sigh. “Never mind, I know where you are.”

  “You’re gonna take her girl home, right?” he asked, clearly not taking a break from his exertions.

  “It’s a little late to be asking, don’t you think?” I snapped.

  “Nah, I knew you would take care of her.”

  “Fuck off, Aaron.”

  “Trying to,” he laughed and ended the call.

  I opened the passenger door for Annabelle and gestured for her to get in. “Your friend left with Aaron.”

  “She’s not really my friend.”

  “Oh? You mentioned your mothers worked together, so I just assumed you two were friends.”

  “My mother cleans her parents’ house. She was sick a few days last week and I had to fill in for her. While I was there, I met Macy and she invited me to this party,” she said with a shrug.

  “I’m glad she did. I enjoyed meeting you,” I said softly.

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  I followed the directions Annabelle gave me to her house. When I pulled up to a rundown house on the outskirts of town, I didn’t want to let her out of my truck. But, I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed. I didn’t care where she came from or how much money her family had, but I did care about her safety.

  I tipped my head toward the dark structure. “Are your parents home?”

  “My mom should be,” she muttered. I felt marginally better knowing she wouldn’t be alone.

  “You want to go get lunch tomorrow? Maybe I can show you around Croftridge,” I blurted.

  “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

  “Okay, doll face. I’ll pick you up at 12pm tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay.”

  After a few beats of awkward silence, I cupped the side of her face with my hand and brought my lips to hers. Nothing overly passionate or intense, just a soft, lingering kiss. I wanted her to know I was interested, but I didn’t want to scare her off by being too forward.

  “Do you want me to walk you to the door?”

  “No, my mother will raise hell if she finds out a guy brought me home.”

  “I’ll wait here until you’re inside,” I said softly.

  “Good night, Phoenix.”

  As I watched her walk into the dark, dilapidated house, I knew, right then and there, she walked into that house carrying my heart in her hands.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Phoenix

  I saw Annabelle every day for the rest of the summer. During the weekdays, I had football practice and she worked at my Gram’s shop when she wasn’t helping her mother clean Macy’s parents’ house, but the evenings and weekends were ours. To me, it didn’t matter what we did or who we were with, as long as the two of us were together.

  When school started, I picked Annabelle up every morning and drove us to school. In the afternoons, she drove my truck to Gram’s shop to work for a few hours while I was at practice. I hated that she worked so much, but she told me she was trying to save as much as she could so she wouldn’t have to work much when she went off to college. And I believed her, until a month before the Homecoming football game and dance, when the nominations for Homecoming King and Queen were made.

  I wasn’t surprised in the least when Annabelle was nominated. Yes, she was new to the school, but she quickly became the sweetheart of our little town. Annabelle, however, was completely caught off guard by the nomination and didn’t seem too happy about it.

  On the way home from school that day, I finally asked her, “Doll face, what’s wrong?”

  She remained silent for several minutes before finally giving it to me. “Phoenix, I don’t have the money to be a part of the Homecoming festivities. I’ll need to buy a new dress, shoes, jewelry, pay to have my hair done. I just can’t afford it.”

  I wanted to offer to buy her dress and everything else she needed, but I knew from past experience she wouldn’t like it. So, I tried a different tactic. “You know, Gram is one hell of a bargain shopper. You’d be surprised at some of the deals she’s come across. I bet she could help you find a dress for a steal.”

  Annabelle turned hopeful eyes to me. “You think she can help me find what I need for less than $50?”

  I smiled. “I know she can, doll face. I’ll talk to her when I get home.”

  Gram was more than willing to help Annabelle. She, too, wanted to buy her a nice dress, but I explained Annabelle’s feelings about having things handed to her. Gram grinned as if she knew something I didn’t. “Well, I guess we will have to start shopping tomorrow.”

  The next afternoon, Annabelle and Gram went shopping and returned home with what looked like a brand new dress, matching shoes, jewelry, and a purse. Annabelle squealed with delight when she pulled the dress from the bag to show me. “We got all of this for $30! Can you believe it Phoenix? Look, the dress still has the tags on it!”

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, smiling at how happy she was. “A beautiful dress for a beautiful girl.”

  I knew Gram’s friend owned the local thrift shop. I had no doubt Gram bought the dress and accessories in Cedar Valley and dropped it off with her friend to hold for Annabelle and only Annabelle.

  Before Annabelle and I left to meet up with Macy and Aaron for dinner and a movie, I hugged Gram and whispered my thanks into her ear.

  She winked and shrugged. “I just went shopping.” Yeah, twice, I thought.

  ***

  Since Aaron and I had to be at the school early for the Homecoming football game, Annabelle and Macy decided to get ready at Macy’s house and ride to the game together. Macy didn’t go to school with us, but she was escorting Aaron onto the field when the players were announced. Annabelle, of course, was escorting me.

  When I caught sight of her walking onto the field, my breath seized in my chest. She smiled as she neared me and all I could do was stare. I still hadn’t moved or made a sound when she reached me. “Phoenix?” she asked worriedly. “Is everything okay?”

  At the sound of uncertainty in her voice, my faculties came back online. “You are undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the world,” I breathed.

  She blushed and cast her eyes to the ground. “Thank you, Phoenix.”

  After they announced the team, she went back to the stands with Macy while Aaron and I took to the field. I was the starting quarterback and Aaron was the starting left tackle. Since we were both seniors and it was our last Homecoming game, the coach kept us in the game for the entire first half, which meant I was a stinky, sweaty mess by half-time.

  I had less than 20 minutes to get out of my football gear, shower as fast as humanly possible, put on my Homecoming clothes, and get back to the field for the Homecoming court announcements. I pushed through the locker room doors and ran to the field, coming to a stop beside Annabelle.

  “I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time,” she whispered.

  “I almost didn’t,” I whispered back, right as our names sounded over the speaker. We took our place on the field and waited while the other nominees were announced.

  I will openly admit I was nervous. For her, not for me. I couldn’t care less if I won Homecoming King or not. What I didn’t want to happen was for me to win and her not to. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t realize I had missed something until Annabelle jabbed me with her elbow and whisper-yelled, “Phoenix, go!”

  I stepped forward, unsure of what was happening until I saw someone coming at me with an obnoxiously large, fake crown. Fuck me. I won.

  I stood in front of the court, facing the packed stands, nervously glancing aro
und and waiting for the next announcement. And draw it out, they did. The microphone was tested, as if it hadn’t been working properly the entire night. The announcer took a sip of water. The envelope was dropped. When the girl started to fumble with the envelope like she couldn’t get it open, I couldn’t take it anymore. I yanked it from her hands, ripped it open, and said into the microphone, “This year’s Homecoming Queen is my girl, Annabelle Burnett.”

  I turned and extended my hand to her. She immediately stepped forward and took it. Once she was crowned, I cupped her cheek and gave her a chaste kiss. Then, against her lips, I whispered the words I had wanted to say for some time, “I love you, Annabelle.”

  She grinned. “I love you, too, Phoenix.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Annabelle

  After Homecoming, my relationship with Phoenix was different, in a good way. I think hearing the words “I love you” from him was what I needed to stop holding back. I no longer felt the need to hide the true nature of my home life from him. So, when he took me home one night in November and asked if anyone was home because the house was so dark, I answered him honestly.

  “It’s dark because we don’t have any power,” I said softly.

  “Annabelle—,” he started, but I cut him off.

  “Phoenix, my parents aren’t like your grandparents. My mother is a drunk and my father is hardly ever home. He only comes home for a day, two at the most, before he takes off again. He doesn’t help with the bills and my mom lost her job with Macy’s parents not long after school started. When she didn’t show up for work and I couldn’t fill in for her, Macy’s parents had no choice but to fire her,” I explained.

  He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “You aren’t working for Gram to save money for college, are you?”

  “No, I’m not. I’m sorry for lying to you. You come from such a good family and I was embarrassed by mine.”

  “Annabelle, I don’t give a shit about what kind of parents you have or where you come from. I care about you. I love you, doll face. Now, please let me help you,” he pleaded.