Hell on Wheels (Faetal Attraction #1)

Rich Girl

My new family stayed until closing, which turned out to be a good thing. The crowd got rowdier, and with the call-outs, we wouldn’t have been able to handle it if Rogue and Archie hadn’t jumped in to help. Our girl has experience from the club, but spoiled, leonine Archer was a surprise. He learned quickly, though, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t move quick on his feet for a big dude. His momma would be proud as hell; I can’t wait to tell her about it.

“Dude, this shit is hard ,” Archie says as he wipes his brow. “No wonder you stay all cut and stuff without working out.”

I roll my eyes as Rogue snickers. “Yes, Arch, working in service or retail is hard as hell. People don’t give us enough credit, even if supes are less douchey than their human counterparts about it.”

“I didn’t mind helping,” our girl admits, shrugging a little. “I miss the bar.”

Frowning, I exchange a look with the lion, and he walks over to kiss her temple. “You don’t have to worry about that place being unsafe again with us to help.”

“I don’t, you overprotective goon. However, I can’t work with Winnie if I’m sure she was part of the beat down. I’ll beat her ass and you’ll be bailing me out of jail.”

The smirk she gives us is delightful, and I walk over to give her a brief squeeze. “That’s our girl. No fear, only rage and spite fueling her spirit.”

Rogue wrinkles her nose, but lets me get my fix by touching her. “You guys are developing a fetish for praising me. That’s my job—don’t steal it.”

“I like when you and little D praise me just fine,” Archie says as he refills the shakers. I’m impressed that he’s doing side work, too, without a complaint. “But I’m not gonna give up telling you that you’re hot and shit. I’ve been waiting too long to be able to do it, Wheels.”

Damn, he’s accepting his new thing with Damon without skipping a beat.

“He’s probably right,” I add. “We all spent a lot of time pretending not to be attracted to each other, so being free to talk about it is a novelty.”

“Okay, okay. I get it, boys,” Rogue says with a tired smile. “I’ll let you bask a little bit. But keep it between us, yeah? I don’t need the soft shit getting out when I’m surrounded by fucking psychos.”

Looking at the server station, I sigh. “Thanks for doing that stuff, man. It’s a lifesaver for the staff tomorrow.”

Archie gives me a cheesy grin. “The others are sitting out there like pampered queens, but I’m in the trenches. Mama’s gonna be so damn proud of me. She’s always said my dads let me get off easy playing sports and not working a part-time job when we were in high school. This will give her a big smug smile to flash at them.”

I roll my eyes, shaking my head. “Man, your family is probably the most and least normal of all of them. It’s so loving and cool, but your parents are addicted to giving each other hell in a handbasket.”

“I’ve always enjoyed that,” Rogue says, shrugging a little. “When I came to his house with Reb, it was so oddly nuclear for a poly, supernatural household with mixed species. Graciela and Odhran were beyond hands off with me outside of criticism, and we knew about Luca. Your parents had zero interest in your friends. Archie’s house was like pretending to be on a sitcom.”

We both look at her in surprise. It takes me a minute, but I find the words eventually. “You pretended to be part of his family, sort of? Because your folks didn’t seem to care what you did either way unless they were mad at you?”

Rogue nods, looking at the counters as she cleans them off. “Yep. It was fun to watch and felt a hell of a lot better than wishing our adoptive parents gave a shit.”

Damn. I didn’t realize how isolated Rogue was growing up. No wonder she’s so glued to Rebel.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore, Wheels. We’re a family and even though Luca was a pain when you told him, Samara and my dads will love this news. It will make them beyond excited to know we’re a unit.”

The same is not true of my parents, so I purposefully don’t add to his statement. Esmerelda and Diego will be a lot like having an audience with a cross between cartel bosses and generational wealth from the East Coast. Phoenixes are notoriously elitist because of their rarity and the price for magical ingredients produced by our kind. Tears, feathers, and even ashes can be sold for ridiculous amounts of money, both legally and illegally, so not one family of my species has an ethical amount of money in their name.

In fact, we’re tied with dragons in the top five ‘rich assholes’ category of supes.

“You’re pretty quiet, dude,” Archie says with a wry look. “Imagining Diego and Esme pulling their bullshit when we tell them?”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” Rogue says as she moves to drying glassware. “The one time I saw your mom at a school thing, she looked at me like roadkill in the middle of her Berber.”

“Yikes. I don’t remember that.” I wince a little, trying to find that memory. “But it doesn’t surprise me. She and Diego have always been hot for me to stay with the firebirds. It pissed them off that I never dated in their crowd.”

“And why is that?”

I snort, tilting my head as I look at our girl. “First, the phoenixes on this coast are far too inbred at this point. Second, they all act like their shit doesn’t stink. But third, and most importantly…” I pause, waiting for her to look up at me. “I’ve had a thing for this adopted Fae girl since middle school and no one’s ever compared.”

“Oooooooh! Smooth , brother,” Archie says as he offers me a fist bump and I accept. “Look at that bright red face; our girl is definitely giving you some lovin’ tonight.”

I will not complain about that; I’m not stupid.

It takes another hour to finish getting the Lotus up to snuff, and the other guys are halfway in the bag by the time Rogue, Archie, and I are done. Archie shakes his head, hefting Damon over his shoulder while I take Angelo and Rogue steadies Reb. They killed off another two bottles of Fae wine farting around, and they’re going to feel it in the morning. It takes a hot minute to get them poured into the cars, and we quickly jet off towards the house we all share. Reb is muttering goofy, unintelligible shit the entire way in my car, so I imagine it’s worse for poor Arch.

“You… you left us to amuse ourselves,” Reb slurs to Rogue from the back seat. “It was mean.”

She snorts, looking over her shoulder. “You three sat like lazy lumps while Javi tried to hold that restaurant together with his fingertips, buddy. Archie and I were doing the right thing, and you guys deserve the hangovers.”

Rebel pouts, and I laugh as I see it in the rearview mirror. Dude is so whipped and he’ll never admit it. “She’s right, man. We could have been done so much earlier if you idiots would have pitched in.”

“I don’t get why you work there,” he says grumpily. “You’re a sole heir to a mega fortune. Rogue and I’ve had to work because our parents aren’t leaving us shit. They’re donating it or something to look good for their friends—at least, that’s what Graciella says. I think it’s ‘cause we’re adopted and they refuse to give us anything, even though they pretend to like me.”

What the hell?

Rogue’s face turns white as she looks at me and murmurs, “I knew nothing about this. I didn’t expect shit from them, but they’ve always alluded to Rebel being their heir.”

“Nooooope,” Rebel says with a loud, drunken ‘pop’ of his lips. “They really don’t like either of us, but they were stuck after trading a kid once. Would have looked bad to do it again. I heard Graciella talking once in middle school. S’why we always have to protect Rogue, Javi. I don’t want them to change their minds and try sending her away.”

“Holy fuck,” I whisper. Rebel’s been drunk around the two of us hundreds of times over the years and he’s never mentioned this. I don’t know what the hell truth serum Fae wine is for him, but it’s definitely made his tongue looser than normal.

Our girl shakes her head, her expression unsurprised. “It’s not anything I didn’t fear without knowing this, Javi. After they sent Reck away, nothing I did ever pleased them, and when Rebel came along, they put all their energy into making him the golden boy. His decision to race and do things with cars instead of going to school while waiting for our Guardian assignment always pissed them off.”

“My parents aren’t great, babe, but I don’t know that I can imagine them doing that shit. Sure, they huff and puff about my bartending, and dislike that I won’t step into my heir role until they’re gone… but I don’t actually believe they’d do this kind of shit.”

She gives me a rueful smirk. “Javier King, phoenixes are rare as hen’s teeth, and they don’t reproduce often. It’s usually some cosmic miracle when they do. Even if your folks were like ours, they don’t have good options. Fae, both Seelie, and Unseelie, are a dime a dozen if you have the right connections. Mythicals are far less likely to be fobbed off for bullshit reasons.”

I think about that for a moment as I pull into the driveway, not happy with the thoughts it engenders. Honestly, I’m not sure about Esme and Diego now. They’re very into this whole West Coast upper-crust society thing and my refusal to bend to their expectations vexes them. They might have traded me in for a lost one or hybrid adoption through the Society if phoenixes didn’t require pure blood in their ranks.

Fuck, that’s terrible and now I need a drink.

“Hey,” she says softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you face something you didn’t want to. I’m angry at our parents for fucking with both of us and maybe I was too… harsh.”

“No, the problem is… I haven’t been harsh enough, Dragonfly. I think they would have ditched me based on that thought process if they could have found a suitable heir. It’s probably why they’ve been ice cold my entire life. It’s just a brick to the face to admit, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. Reb’s admission tonight isn’t great for me, either.” Her gaze falls and she sighs. “I always thought at least he was getting love, then one of us was okay. But I was mistaken, obviously.”

“I have love!”

Reb’s protest makes me grin a bit and Rogue looks back at him again. “You do, huh?”

“Yes. My beautiful step-sister loves me and that’s enough forever. She’s perfect and I’ve loved her my whole life, but not like a sister, which is why I kept a big, big secret.”

Rogue bursts into giggles at the childishly hushed tone Rebel uses in his drunken stupor. “Yes, Reb. I’ve always cared about you and I will not leave you.”

“Good. Because you are mo dhochas ? 1 , ” he says with a sappy grin, “and no one will ever take you away from me and our family. They are my teaghlach .? 2 ”

I look at our girl, waiting for her to explain. She smiles more softly than I think I’ve ever seen before as she says, “He says I’m his fated and you guys are his family.”

That’s pretty sweet and Reb’s going to be pissed when he finds out he said it—I can’t wait.