by J Bree
Uh oh.
“Is something wrong?”
She pulls on a pair of gloves and starts to scrub the stovetop. It’s already clean from the last time she scrubbed it but I don’t argue with this brand of crazy.
“Shit, Aves. What’s happened?”
She huffs and scrubs harder. “Harlow’s parents were called about her little habit. They paid off one of the laundry staff to take the fall. All of the items have been returned and she’s still here. As you’re the only student that was here during the break, and the shoes and shirt were missing, it’ll be pretty obvious it was you. She’s already gone to Joey about it.”
I shrug. I’m not afraid of Harlow and Joey getting involved might work in our favor. I need to draw him away from his siblings so I can deal with him once and for all.
Avery clears her throat. “Are you going to tell me what Blaise sent you? Harley is also dying to know.”
The box is sitting on my bed. Avery can see it's unopened and she's baiting me. I arch an eyebrow at her.
“I don't accept bribes from rich playboys. Only favors.”
She grins at me, savage and beautiful.
Chapter Ten
I’m woken by no less than thirty text messages.
My phone may crap out and die if this keeps up. I’m used to, like, three phone calls a year when I’m not the Wolf in Mounts Bay. Even then the most I get is one or two calls a week. When I complain at Avery she shakes her head at me in pity.
Breakfast at the dining hall. Stop avoiding us just because Ash is a dick.
Harley has taken to openly calling Ash out on my behalf. I’m pretty sure it’ll only make things worse but I have zero control over this shit. Plus I get this warm feeling in my chest when I read it. I get warm in other places too, places that are entirely inappropriate when I have Harley’s cousin sitting next to me eating a fruit salad and yogurt.
Ash sits on Avery’s other side and staunchly pretends I don’t exist. Harley sits across from me, and Blaise lounges next to him. When the freshman kid next to me bumps me and then offers to let me blow him as an apology Harley threatens to stab him with the butter knife. I’ve never seen a guy piss himself over breakfast cutlery so quickly.
Ash leans forward in his chair to add in, “You don’t win the sweep for getting your dick sucked anyway, Javier. You’d have to be able to get it up and slip it in, and we all know you have problems with that.”
The kid leaves the table to the sounds of Avery’s tinkling laughter and the guys all sniggering like five year olds over fart jokes. I try to focus on my breakfast.
Blaise, who has been watching Harley like a hawk all morning, pours me another glass of juice. “Did you like your present, Mounty?”
Avery grins down at her phone. “She hasn’t even opened it, Morrison.”
The smirk falls off of his face. “Why not?”
I sigh and push my plate away. “I don’t want to have things bought for me.”
Blaise frowns and hurt flashes in his eyes. “It was a thank you, Mounty. Jesus, I wasn’t bribing you.”
I shrug and take a bite of my apple. “Most people say thank you with words. I don’t want your money.”
Blaise’s gaze grows even more intense on my face. Avery flicks a grape at him to get his attention. “She threw a tantrum at me last week for buying new sheets for her bed because I hated the color of the other ones. She’s as weird about money as Harley is.”
Her cousin doesn’t look up at any of us. He’s texting under the table as he eats his toast, his tattoo flexing over his jaw looking lickable.
Wow. Mind out of the gutter, Anderson.
I turn back towards Avery to snark at her but I catch the bruise peeking out of her shirt. I stare at it for long enough that she notices and then I meet her knowing eyes. Her face has shut down. The smile gone and, in its place, the shield of ice and cruelty is back.
I won’t be deterred.
“Junior or Senior?” I murmur. Harley looks up and scowls at us.
Avery looks over to where her brother is holding court with his little flunkies. Harlow is stroking his leg under the table while making fuck-me eyes. Well, I hope it’s his leg. Gross.
“Senior.”
I grit my teeth. The bruises are fingerprints circling the base of her throat like a necklace. Seems Joey got his infatuation with choking from his father. Avery must have been terrified. After the near miss from Joey this would have been fucking terrifying.
Ash stands abruptly and tugs Avery to her feet. “I’ll walk you to class.”
I rub my eyes and plan. I have always worked best under pressure.
Avery and Ash can never go home to that man again.
I’m calling in a favor.
My hand shakes even as I hit send. I’ve hesitated over this for weeks and, now Avery’s been attacked by her father, I need to stop being Lips and remember who I really am.
I wondered if you’d ever call.
I read the words and my mind even conjures up his voice to take my terror up a notch. Great. Wonderful. What this situation needs is more fear for sure.
Meet me tonight at Hannaford Prep. I’ll give you the details.
I hear the door swing open and a gaggle of girls walk into the toilets talking about what an asshole Mr. Trevelen is and where Joey’s next party is being held. Fuck I wish sometimes that my problems were that small.
I’m well known at Hannaford. Meet me at the park in Haven. Green bench by the swings. Midnight.
Fucking hell, really?! That’s going to be near impossible to make happen but what choice do I have?
See you there.
I stand and tuck my phone away, flushing the toilet so the other girls don’t question me. My mind works overtime as I walk to history and slip into my seat. Harley is already there, reading notes, and he frowns at the look on my face.
“What now?”
I unpack my bag on autopilot, grabbing the assignment that’s due and handing it to the teacher as he walks past. I chew on my nails and think. Harley gets so agitated he’s practically vibrating in his seat. When the teacher finally turns his back on the class and starts droning on about 18thth century France Harley leans down to whisper in my ear, “Tell me what the fuck is wrong with you. Now.”
I roll my eyes at his bossy, entitled words but I answer him anyway, “I need to be in Haven at midnight. I need to figure out how to get there and I don’t want to tell Avery about it before I go. She’ll either insist on coming with me or she’ll try to talk me out of it.”
He frowns and shifts his focus back to the teacher, dismissing me the same way he always has. My chest tightens. I wasn’t expecting his help but I thought he’d take a little more interest than that.
When the class ends and we pack away our supplies he grabs a set of keys out of his bag and drops them into mine. “Blaise’s car is in the staff parking. Same one we picked you up in at the docks. The gate will automatically open when you drive up because Avery got him a sensor. I’ll square it with him, just don’t fucking scratch it.”
My jaw drops and I snap my mouth shut before he notices how much of an idiot I look like. I can’t find words until we get to our next class and sit together.
“Thanks. I’d tell you why but it’s better if you don’t know.”
He shrugs at me, his face nonchalant but his hands are curled into fists. “I know it’s for Ash and Avery. I saw your face when you saw the bruises. I’m guessing you’re using your connections to try and help them. Ash’s bruises are worse, by the way. I don’t know how he’s still walking.”
I curse under my breath and push my luck with his charitable mood. “Can you distract Avery for me? Keep her in your room all night?”
He nods and we fall quiet, focusing on the class and taking notes.
When classes are over for the day and I get to our room, Avery texts to say Harley caught Blaise talking to Annabelle again and she has to go tear him apart. She asks to borrow my knife to hammer home
the message and I start to wonder what Harley told him to get him to risk the fury of Avery to distract her for me.
I eat a sandwich for dinner and try to focus for long enough to do some work on my pile of assignments. At ten, Avery texts to say she’s sleeping in the boys room and I slip into the shower to get ready.
I’m preparing myself, putting Lips away and letting out the Wolf.
I almost forget to grab the diamond payment. I slip it into the pocket of my jeans, I picked the tightest pair I own so I can feel the hard stone pressing into my thigh at all times. I’m paranoid as hell about losing it.
Slipping out of my room, I walk on silent feet out of the building. I make it, unseen, all the way to the staff parking lot only to find Ash leaning against the Maserati.
Fuck.
Of all the fucking students in this school.
Fuck.
I freeze and stare at him. I’m still clutching the keys in my frozen fingers like they’ll save me from the pissy fit Ash is about to throw. How did he know I was here? I mean, there’s only one way but surely-
“Harley sent me.”
Fuck. What the hell?!
I could fucking scream I’m that angry. “You can’t stop me, I have to go. I’ll explain later.”
I’m not telling him a goddamn thing but I need him out of my way right now. He pulls another set of keys out of his pocket and unlocks the car.
“I’ll drive.”
What the actual fuck? No glare, no questions, no argument. I’m going to have to break the news to Avery that aliens have taken over her beloved brother’s body.
With that lovely image in my mind I get in and slam the door shut. Ash slides in, casual and fucking calm, and starts the car. He doesn’t look at me as he drives and I direct him to the meeting place. I settle into the seat and breathe until I can speak civilly to him again.
“You have to stay in the car. I’m just going to talk to someone about a job. You can’t be seen with me.”
He ignores me until he parks the car. Haven looks even more picturesque at night. The fairy lights strung up in the trees twinkling in the slight breeze like glow bugs dancing. I do a quick scan of the area and find the street is empty except for a black Escalade.
He’s beaten me here.
I unbuckle my seatbelt. When I reach for the door handle, Ash stops me with a firm hand wrapped around my wrist. “You can’t have my father or my brother killed. Harley seems to think that’s what’s about to happen. You can’t.”
I stare him down and take in every shard of ice his eyes are throwing at me. Why they both protect Joey is just beyond me. I’m looking forward to the day I know every last one of Avery’s secrets and I can plan without worrying about hurting her or pissing her off.
“I’m not ordering a hit.”
I wrench my arm out of his hold and get out of the car. I wait a second to make sure he’s staying put and then I walk up the small incline to the green bench. It takes serious effort, but I manage to control the tremble that’s threatening to take over my whole body.
He’s already sitting there, his back to the car and Ash, and I sit down next to him.
I don’t look at him. It’s like every cop show, where the informant and the cop stare ahead and pretend they’re not there to pass along information. I don’t want to look at him because he scares the crap out of me and I’m not sure my shields are still up thanks to Ash hijacking the trip over here. Asshole.
“It must be serious if you’re coming to me, little Wolf.”
I nod and stare at the swings for a minute longer. I hope my voice is as hollow and lifeless as his is when I say, “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Crow.”
He places his hands in his lap. “A favor is binding. I would never go back on my bond.”
Right. Well, I guess I should just dive right in. “You have some dealings with Joseph Beaumont, correct?”
He turns to look at me, and the steely gray of his eyes cut me to ribbons. He’s a handsome man. His hair is only a shade or two lighter than Avery’s and it’s short on the sides with some length on top, making him look like a distinguished, clean-cut businessman. Cleanly shaven, straight nose, and cheekbones for days. His tattoos swirls across the skin of his chest that his v neck shirt shows and look faintly like feathers and claws. Tall and broad but completely self-assured in the way he carries himself. He looks older than twenty-two. His entire demeanor screams wealth, enough that I keep questioning myself on who he is when he’s not the Crow. Only the desperate enter the Game to become a member of the Twelve.
“I find it wise to avoid the man. I’d suggest you do the same.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out the velvet bag that holds his black diamond. His eyes drop to it and grow hungry. He wants the diamond back and favor over with. I can only imagine how heavy the weight of an owed favor must be.
“I need to make sure he’s busy. I need him to disappear during the school breaks, all of them, until I graduate. I don’t care how, I don’t need details.”
The Crow takes the bag and pockets it. He doesn’t check the contents like Diarmuid did, that would be a grave insult to me. Even the Crow is cautious of what I can do.
“You should tell the Jackal to stay away from Joseph Beaumont as well. Whatever it is he’s making you do in that house, it’s not worth the wrath of that man.”
I measure my words very carefully before I speak. I need to start distancing myself from the Jackal and everything he does but to say that outright would risk him coming to Hannaford for me.
“This favor is my own. I have people I need to protect, people who are no concern of any other member of the Twelve, and I am well aware of the extent of that man’s wrath.”
His eyes flash. His face slips just enough that I see concern. I’ve never been close to him, I’ve only really seen him at meetings, so I don’t know why he’s worried about me.
“You’re protecting his children. They go to school with you, don’t they?”
“They’re not up for discussion. I’m asking you to ensure that man never steps foot in a room with the twins again. Do you require any further information?”
I slip into protocol to end this little meeting. I don’t want him digging into this and drawing more eyes to my back.
“Done. I’ll call if anything comes up.”
I give him a curt nod and walk back to the car, slow and steady like I’m used to meetings at midnight with crime lords and no backup. Ash looks grim in the front seat but his eyes never falter from the silhouette of the Crow. Only when I’m safely buckled into the Maserati does he glance away. My hands shake and I lace them together on my lap to hide it.
Ash doesn’t speak to me as we drive back. He walks me back to my room and once I’m inside he grabs Harley’s keys off of me. He hesitates by the door.
“Whatever you’ve done, if he finds out—“
“He won’t. He won’t the same way Harley’s grandfather can’t come after him. I’m not going to explain it, you’ll just have to trust that it’s taken care of.”
That’s the problem. Ash doesn’t trust anyone but his friends and I am not his friend. I can see him fighting with himself, the war waging in his mind clearly visible on his face, and I must be tired because I feel so fucking bad for him. How many times has he gone home from school to be beaten by his father? How long has he been abused by the other men in his family? Is that why he can’t trust anyone? How deep is the damage?
“Go get some sleep, Ash. Just forget tonight ever happened.”
Chapter Eleven
I text Harley the next morning and tell him he’s a treacherous asshole.
I know he has training for his swim team so I’m not expecting a text back, just the cold shoulder he’ll give me all day in our classes. As I rush out the door, late because Avery wasn’t around to make coffee and snark with, my phone pings.
I check it while I lock the door.
I’m helping Ash get his head out of h
is ass. I see how much you’re doing for us. I see how much Avery means to you. I see that you’re one of us. He needs to open his eyes and see it too. Fuck, even Morrison sees it and he’s usually too far up his own ass jotting down morbid love poems to see anything.
My heart does a weird little flip.
I don’t know how to answer it. Shrug it off, make a joke, or give him the same honesty? It’s a private chat, not the group one, so I take a risk.
I’ll do whatever it takes to get us all out of here alive and together.
He doesn’t text back.
When I arrive late to our first class he doesn’t say a word, he just tips his chin to acknowledge me when I sit down. We work in silence but it’s soothing to me now, I don’t feel any hostility from him at all. When it’s time for lunch he grabs me by the elbow and directs me to the dining hall with him. Usually I eat an apple in the library and work on assignments or hang out in the dance rooms while Avery practices.
He grabs a tray and fills it with food. I know he’s grabbing for me as well because he hates mushrooms and he’s grabbed the mushroom risotto I like. I grab us both iced coffees and we sit together.
My stomach does not want to eat under his intense scrutiny but I also can’t turn him down like that. We don’t speak while we eat and after a few minutes Ash takes a seat next to me. I put down my cutlery with a sigh.
Harley sees the look on my face and says, “Just eat, Mounty. He’s here for lunch not war.”
I eat my banana.
Harley and Ash start up a random conversation about cars they’re interested in, though Harley seems to be more reserved. Ash doesn’t look at me or try to speak to me and I focus on eating my lunch. I’m busy texting Avery about our plans to go to Haven together when Joey takes a seat next to Harley. I don’t acknowledge him and I finish the text. I’m not going to show this evil dickhead any respect or fear. Fuck him.
“Does the Jackal know you’ve made some friends, Mounty?”