Page 21 of Risk (Mayhem Makers: MMM #3)

CHAPTER

TWENTY

McKenna

“The cellar, check the cellar!” I screech as we see the disaster that is my mother’s house.

Texas doesn’t traditionally have any cellars because of the dirt we have, but my mother is a doomsday conspiracist and she insisted on having a fallout shelter mined underneath her house.

It cost her most of her life savings to get it dug out and cemented in.

I made fun of her for it, but now, I’m thankful that she is a tad bit wacky and was prepared for the world to implode.

I grab a hold of Risk’s belt loop and follow him through the rubble. “Where is it?” he asks, kicking the wreckage out of his pathway.

“The pantry. It has a door that opens up after putting the code in,” I answer. “It’s hidden behind a family size can of green beans.”

Wrecker walks around us and heads into the house as if it doesn’t look like a war zone.

“They’re safe. Your mom’s smart, Kenna. You hid things well from her, but her mother’s intuition told her you were lying and she had to do whatever it took to keep Phoenix safe.

It’s the reason she accepted the promotion and moved states. ”

“What?” I ask, my feet stumbling while I let what he said sink in. “She did?”

“A mother knows her child better than the child knows herself,” Wrecker concludes. “She followed her gut and it’s a good thing she did.”

“There were signs,” I mumble. “I didn’t want to lie to her but I didn’t think there was another way.”

“I think when you sit down and tell her everything, she’ll be understanding and be the rock you’ve always needed her to be,” Dragon adds, coming up on our left.

“Make sure you announce yourself before going down the stairs. Your mom’s a beast, and has a big, barreled gun just as prodigious as her mentality.

She’s a sharpshooter, by the way, so prepare yourself for her to be unfriendly toward the rest of us.

She’ll raise her gun without any explanations and she will pull the trigger if we don’t go in with caution.

We’re outsiders and unknowns, she’ll perceive us as nothing less than a threat.

She’s going to do everything to protect her daughter and grandson. ”

“She does?” I ask, sounding like a broken record with all of my lamebrained questions.

Who would’ve thought my meek and mild mannered mom was packing heat bigger than her hand?

I’ve seen the evidence of her pocketknife and pepper spray, but I never was told about her owning a firearm.

Looks like I’m not the only one holding secrets in this family.

The guys fan out and sweep each room. When they all begin to shout out that their area is clear, Risk places me in front of him and leads me to the kitchen.

The pantry has already been deemed safe so I step inside, find the canned goods and input the code.

When the door swings open, I holler, “Mom! It’s me. ”

A trembling voice calls out, “Mom!”

“Phoenix! I’m here, buddy. Can I come down, Mom?”

“Are you alone, McKenna?” Mom asks, her voice firm and steady.

“No, I’m not. But the men with me, they are with the biker who helped you at the hospital. You remember him, don’t you?” I ask.

Risk leans down, saying, “Lots of explaining, Vixen.”

“I know,” I whisper back. “But we’ll deal with that later.”

“Damn right we will,” he growls.

“I remember,” she announces. “Is he here?”

“I’m here, ma’am,” Risk responds. “I’m the one who parked your car for you when you took your grandson into the emergency room. Are y’all okay, do you need anything?”

“We’re okay, you can come down with McKenna. But if anyone else is with you, they need to stay behind,” Mom recommends. “I’m feeling trigger happy down here after my home was invaded.”

“Noted,” Risk replies. “It’ll just be me and Kenna coming down.”

He lightly pushes me in my mid back to get me moving.

I’m anxious for this moment, the first time he and Phoenix will come in contact with each other and Risk knowing he’s his son.

My legs shake with each step I take downward to the point I fear I’m going to lose my balance and go tumbling down the stairwell.

Risk wraps his hands around my waist and I use his strength to embolden me.

Inhaling, I prepare myself to answer any and all of my mother’s questions because no doubt, she’s going to have a wide range of them.

As soon as I hit the floor of the cellar, I’m rammed by a vivacious boy who has tearstains on his face.

“Mom, I was so scareded. Nana said it was going to be okays, but the noises were so loud and scary that I peed my pants. I thought the bad peoples were going to get me.” The last part is said low as if he were ashamed of losing control of his bladder.

I bend down on his level and ask him, “Wanna know a secret, Phoenix?” He nods his head so I tell him. “When we got here, I almost peed my pants too. That’s how scared I was.”

“You were?” he inquisitively asks.

“I was,” I reconfirm. “Do you need me to run upstairs and get you a change of clothes?”

“No. I keep a dresser down here with outfits for the both of us. I update it every time he hits a growth spurt,” Mom announces.

Her eyes turn into slits as she takes in the way Risk has his hands on me.

“You two know each other? Care to tell me why you never mentioned that to me when I told you about the man who helped me when Phoenix sliced open his hand?”

“It’s a long story, Mom. One I’d rather not discuss in front of tiny ears,” I explain.

“That explanation better be coming soon, McKenna. My house has just been shot up and I’m not in a good mood. I want answers, I deserve them.”

“You do, and I’ll tell you everything once we get back to the clubhouse where it’s safe,” I say. “And a bottle of tequila.”

“So mote it be,” Risk mumbles, making me giggle underneath my breath. He’s always tried to force something to come to fruition by incanting that phrase. “Alcohol will be needed.”

“That’s not a good sign,” Mom surmises, giving me a skeptical look. “Tonight, McKenna. I want to know everything once this little one gets a bath, some food, and crashes.”

“Okay, Momma.”

“She said ‘Momma’, that means this is bad-bad,” my mom says in a hush tone.

“Worse than anything you could anticipate,” Risk contributes. “Don’t worry, we’ll ply you with antacids and liquor.”

“Fuck,” Mom summarizes.

“Nana said a bad word,” Phoenix whispers, cupping his hands over his mouth.

“I’ve earned that swear word, kiddo,” Mom tells him, walking over to us and ruffling his hair.

“I’ll put a dollar in the jar later as long as it hasn’t been shattered.

” When Mom swivels on her feet, her face turns vehement.

“And you’re also going to tell me why your wrists are wrapped and I see blood seeping through. ”

“Dragon was right, your mom’s not to be trifled with,” Risk tells me as I lift Phoenix in my arms, plop him onto my hip, and begin making my way upstairs.

“Like mother, like daughter.” I toss over my shoulder.