Chapter 37
Synn
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Pazessca picked up another stray. And a cannibal, at that.
It is kind of funny that she plans to use him for the Rossi family. What an enforcer... he will literally eat their opposition.
I’m somewhat shocked that all the threats have been eradicated. Poof—no more danger to our lives. Except for our mafia dealings, which is more than manageable.
I settle in for the ride back to the compound.
We’ll all have to discuss our living situation. We each have our family homes to consider, or something else altogether.
Lots of important decisions still to make, and I’m here for it.
Phoenyxx
I need to square Michael away and speak to Jax at once.
I made Michael promise not to eat anyone in the Compound.
He's intrigued at being a Rossi enforcer, which is good.
It's probably a bit weird that I like the guy, but he never did anything to hurt me. The core of my trauma stems from the abusive situations. Michael never did anything to me, Cynthia, or Sam, so I don’t have an issue with him.
I go to Jax’s office, Michael in tow. I tentatively knock on the door, and Jax calls to come in.
He looks up, frowning at the sight of Michael. “Who’s this? He looks familiar.”
I explain, and recognition shows in his expression.
“Ah, okay. Well, Phoenyxx, if you trust him to behave here, it’s alright with me.” Jax pauses, a shadow crossing his expression. “I’m glad you came to see me. I need to speak to everyone. Can you please have them come here? It’ll save me a lot of hassle.”
I frown. Jax's voice sounds weird.
I go round up everyone I can find. My eight men, Valley and Bryan, and Cynthia.
We let ourselves inside Jax’s office, and he clears his throat, standing from his desk.
“I’m sure you all are wondering about updates on The Camp. I made a snap decision to send several of my men inside incognito to further access the situation. They were outed almost immediately.”
Hunter interrupts him. “What? Why was I not informed of this?”
“I put it in motion while you were handling The Retreat, hoping for further information about what we’re dealing with. My men— all six of them— were all killed.”
Hunter’s face goes as white as a sheet. "Who?” He pushes out, visibly shaking.
“No one you’ve met yet. None of you knew them. I pulled them from other projects to do this.” Jax scrubs a hand down his face, tears in his eyes when he looks back up. “Needless to say, The Camp is being put aside for now. I won’t sacrifice anyone else.”
We all nod; all of us clearly shaken with this new information.
Michael just looks around uncomfortably.
“I’m so sorry, Jax,” Cynthia’s voice softly whispers. “I’ll help you through this.” She moves to his side, putting her arms around him.
We all take that as our cue to leave.
My heart goes out to the guy, plus everyone that was lost. Damn.
After a few hours of quiet contemplation holed up in my room, I decide to go to the media room to chill for a while. Before I even make it to the room, I can hear music pouring from it. The singer sounds familiar.
I head inside, finding Valley and Cynthia dancing around the room, and singing.
“How’s Jax?” I ask Cynthia.
She shakes her head; a glazed look in her eyes.
I decide to redirect the conversation. “Who is this singer?”
Valley grins. “FIR, baby! Well, they’re called Falling in Reverse. Aren't they awesome?”
I purse my lips in thought. I know I've heard this band somewhere...
The thought barely passes before the next song comes on.
“I’m the bad guy, I’m a savage...” it starts, and I yelp.
“Oh, my God. This is the song the fuckers tortured me with, in The Morgue!”
Valley gets a surprised look on her face, moving to turn it off, but I stop her.
“It’s okay. It's not a traumatic memory. I want to hear more.”
Valley hugs me, Cynthia joining in to hug me, also. She is lost to the serious emotions, focusing on the fun vibes.
They start dancing again, and I tap my foot. It is catchy.
The songs continue to play, and before I know it, I join them in dancing. I have no idea how much time passes, but the same songs play repeatedly.
I learn some of the lyrics quickly, so I start to sing along, at the top of my lungs, “I’m a popular fucking monster!”
I totally identify with that.
Valley grabs her phone, scrolling through it. “Want to see how hot Ronnie Radke is? The lead singer.”
I shrug, then Cynthia chimes in. “Oh my God, wifey. He's soooo totally sexy. Tall, covered in tattoos... yum.”
“Well, fuck—now I have to see,” I say. Valley pulls up some pictures, and I fan myself dramatically. “Damn. Hot as fuck is right.”
The music is so loud, we don’t realize when someone comes in. Valley's phone is plucked from her hand.
“Nope,” an unapologetic Purge declares as he snatches it away from her.
“Seriously? Caveman.” I stick out my tongue at him.
I notice Bryan and Thor are with him. Bryan just rolls his eyes, but Thor is standing with his arms crossed, glaring.
“For fuck’s sake,” Cynthia says in exasperation. “You’re hanging out with wifey's guys too much.”
I burst out laughing, holding my side as tears leak out of my eyes.
Cynthia goes to Thor, who takes her hand, leading her from the room. Bryan does the same with Valley after getting her phone back from Purge.
That leaves me and my sexy hacker. I flash him a brilliant smile.
Purge leans in close, stealing my breath with one hell of a kiss. His hands roam down my body, and I ignite like a bonfire.
“Let’s take this back to your room?” I suggest. “If no one else is there.”
He hits me with a panty-melting smile. “Hell yeah, Iskra. I’m dying to have you all to myself.”
Two days pass with no issues.
It doesn’t escape me that we haven’t talked about where we’ll live, but we’re all enjoying just being alive. It's like a celebration, and we’re all having a blast.
We're all in the kitchen, grabbing breakfast and coffee. My plate is piled high with pancakes and bacon, a cup of steaming hot ambrosia in my other hand.
We all sit at the table, chatting amongst ourselves.
Jax walks in, clearing his throat.
“Can I get your attention?” Jax asks.
Me, my eight men, Valley and Bryan, Cynthia, and Thor all wait for what he needs to say.
“I have a gift for you all,” Jax says. “You have been invaluable in taking down The Retreat, and you’re all amazing people.” Jax looks right at Cynthia, blushing as he quickly averts his eyes.
Hmmm... that's a thought I’ll pursue later.
“I’ve noticed you have been listening to the same band for days, so I did some checking, and found out they’re playing here tonight. Falling in Reverse, right? Anyway, I have VIP pit passes for all of you and meet and greets with Ronnie Radke for the girls.” Jax hits us with a rare smile.
Us girls shoot up from our seats, squealing in excitement.
The guys shake their heads but are smiling.
“Wait—does this include me?” Thor asks.
“Of course,” Jax says.
“Whoa…”
“We have to go pick outfits!” Valley announces. “Sexy is the key word.”
“Oh, fuck no,” Synn starts, but I cut him off with a murderous glare.
“We will wear whatever we want, husband.”
The others grumble, but no one else speaks up.
Satisfied we won’t have any more interruptions, we dance right out of the kitchen, chattering about the possibilities.
“Damn, girls, we look superhot. Ronnie won’t know what hit him!” I exclaim, knowing the guys will be fuming.
Valley giggles, and Cynthia nods her head several times.
“Totally agree, bestie,” Valley says with a grin.
I'm wearing a micro-mini skirt in green, the color of my eyes.
Paired with a cropped, black tank top that barely covers the bottom of my breasts, and thigh-high, shiny, black boots.
My hair is full of voluptuous curls hanging down my back.
My eyes are done up in green and black eyeliner, and my lips are rocking a bright red.
Valley has on black, skin-tight shorts that show her butt cheeks, a black crop tee that skirts her ribcage, and her usual black combat boots. Her eyes are heavily lined in black, and her lips are a deep crimson. Her normally curly hair is straightened and shining.
Cynthia is wearing a skater-style skirt in deep blue so short that if she bends over, she’ll be mooning everyone.
A light blue cami with thin straps and ankle boots with fringe and small heels in black complete her look.
Her eyes have black liner and her red lipstick matches mine.
Her blonde hair is a tumble of curls pulled off her neck in a high ponytail.
I am so excited for this show. Knowing we’ll be in VIP, and get to meet Ronnie Radke himself, is insane.
We owe Jax for this one. It's such a thoughtful gift.
We spritz ourselves in perfume, then Val asks, “You guys ready?”
“Lead on, bestie,” I tell her.
We file out of Valley’s room, walking straight into the guys, who aren’t even pretending to wait for us like stalkers.
Bryan is the first to react. “Uh... Val? That is not appropriate. I mean, guys will be staring...”
The poor guy turns beet red, his hand going up to wipe the back of his neck.
“Bry... really? You've been hanging with those bozos for too long. I am wearing this. End of,” Valley insists.
Thor walks up to Cynthia, trying to block her from the others’ view.
“Cyn? That is some outfit... but everyone will see your ass. Please tell me you’re wearing underwear.” Thor blushes.
“Well, I never. It's my choice, boyfriend. Don't be a dick.” Cynthia puts her nose in the air with indignance.
Hunter moves over to me, shocking me by being the first to protest.
“Pretty Girl, we’ll be in the front of the pit. Any slight movement will show your ass to the world. Then, the meet and greet—”
Hunter is cut off by Trikk. “Yep, that is not happening, Bambi. No one gets to see you looking edible except us.”
I stamp my foot, and groan. “Ugh! Will you guys pull back the alpha hole routine for two seconds?”
“Alpha hole? Where did that come from?” Frost asks.