Chapter 2

Phoenix

“You’re fuckin’ jokin’ right?” Leo, my VP stares at me with shock in his eyes. I take another drag from my cigarette and flick it to the ground, blowing smoke into the humid air.

“Not even a little.” Leo shakes his head not sure how to respond to what I’ve just told him. His eyes are wide as he lets the words settle inside of him. He isn’t happy about it and I can’t say that I am either, but Miami is my home. It always has been.

“So that’s why we’re on this side of town?” Leo looks over as I sigh and nod my head.

“Gotta talk to Ascher as much as I don’t fuckin’ want to. I need to know his thoughts on this shit and I sure as fuck don’t need any surprises from him or his boys right now,” I sneer, knowing all too well that Ascher would be the one to try and pull some kind of bullshit on me. With all the issues we’re having with Blood Brother’s MC, we sure as hell don’t need his too. Devil’s Ash MC is my birthright, my home. I was born and raised in this club here in Miami and will do whatever it takes to protect this city and what’s mine.

We walk the block in silence until the sound of the booming bass echoes through the streets. Leo smirks at me but stops to lean against the brick wall of the building.

“I’ll wait till I hear a scream before I move,” he chuckles. Shaking my head, I walk into the garage and spot the one person I hadn’t planned on seeing for as long as I’m alive. My brother. My twin brother, Ascher.

“What the hell are you doing in my shop?” His voice mimics my own as he pulls himself out from under the hood of the car he’s working on. Wiping his hands on a rag he saunters toward me.

“We need to talk,” I tell him not missing the glares from his crew.

“Talked to Vernon, huh?” he asks with a smirk on his face no doubt thinking he’s going to win this round.

“Miami is mine, Ascher. Always has been. You bailed as soon as you turned eighteen for your car shit. You turned your back on the family and all that dad had built. You don’t deserve to run shit and you know it.” Ascher doesn’t even blink as I tell him exactly how I feel. In fact, the asshole looks all too happy with my little rant.

“You done crying yet?” Most people would think that being twins, we’d be closer, but we aren’t. Not since he ran off to California to start up his car club. No matter how hard my dad tried with him, Ascher just wasn’t into the club the way I was. I was like a sponge, trying to absorb whatever I could from anyone that would toss me some info. My dad saw that Ascher wasn’t into the MC and left it all to me. I take great pride in what I do and knowing that the decision is coming down to me or him? Yeah, I’m pissed.

“No cryin’ involved in this lifestyle. You know as well as I do that you don’t give two shits about what happens in this city as long as it suits you and your little club,” I hiss.

“You think so brother? You forget this is my home too. I was born here just the same as you.”

“I have more connections and pull in all the areas that matter, Ascher. If you fight me on this, shit is gonna go south and I don’t think your little club is ready for that.” My words are meant as a threat. Ascher knows it too. He steps toward me, a wicked look in his eyes.

“You’re resorting to threats now, Phoenix?” he asks cocking his head to the side as he studies me. He knows me, he knows I mean business and if he doesn’t? He will soon find out. I close the space between us, standing toe to toe with the person I was brought into this world with. The one person that should have been standing by my side not fighting against me. Our mutual hatred runs deep.

“I don’t make threats, Ascher.”

“I will tear you down, brother.”

“Guess we’ll see about that. Like my name? I will rise from the fuckin’ ashes,” I thunder before turning on my heel and walking out of his garage. As soon as I step foot back onto the sidewalk my cell rings. I’m already on edge with this shit. I don’t need anymore.

“What?” I snap into the phone.

“Tick tock Phoenix. You know I only gave you a few days, right?” Anger courses through my veins. I know this motherfucker wants a war and as much as I’d like to give him one, I won’t tear up my city to do it.

“Is that supposed to mean somethin’ to me? I don’t take fuckin’ orders from little people like you, Rip.”

“Oh, come on now, Phoenix. You don’t want to start findin’ your girls dead do you?” His threat runs wild through my head as tension coils my body. I crack my neck from side to side trying to relieve a little, but it just worsens.

“You know how much your threats make my dick hard, Rip? Keep talkin’ and I will make sure you stop breathin’. You want the fuckin’ dope or not?” Leo watches me as I stomp toward him. I’m sure he can tell by the look on my face that the meeting with the Ascher didn’t go quite as planned and now I have a threat against my girls?

“Yeah. Have it on time!” The call ends and I stuff my phone back in my pocket. I’m over this whole fucking day already.

“So, it went well, huh?” Leo chuckles as we start walking back toward the bikes.

“Ascher’s gonna give me a fight on this. Rip is ready to kill off girls to get his spot in Miami. Fuck, Leo!” I run my hand over my head before grabbing my bandana and tying it on. As soon as we get to the bikes, I climb on holding my helmet in my hands.

“Damn, Phoenix. That’s some shit, brother.” Nodding my head, I glance around at the city that is my home. The place I’ve always thrived in. My dad ran the Devil’s Ash MC with pride for his men and his city. I won’t let Ascher ruin what he worked his life to build and what I’ve taken over and improved.

“I’ll meet you at the clubhouse,” I tell Leo, pulling my helmet on and revving up my bike. I need to clear my head and I need to think this shit through.

As I pull out on the road, I realize what all of this could mean. The empire that my father built over his lifetime could fall and burn to the ground with this takeover. Vernon’s words linger in my mind.

“It will be up to my daughter. She will choose who she wants to rule this city with. The choice will be hers and hers alone. You and Ascher are her only options. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with what I’ve built.”

The more I ride, the more aggravated I become. My father lost his life trying to make this city better. He made it his life mission to clear out the bullshit that ran rampant through the streets. Of course, not everything we do is legal, but we keep control. I fucking keep control. From the drugs we run under the table that keep the infected shit from killing people in our city to the prostitution. I make sure it’s all run smoothly and as safely as possible. And now everything that my father and I have worked our asses off to build and run is coming to an end.

To an end that comes down to Kenna Vernon.