by J Bree
I get a solid hour in before my coffee is finished and my skin is crawling from the eyes on me. I do my best to ignore it but fuck, they’re all fucking pathetic.
I sigh and start to pack up, my mind firmly in my reading for my AP lit class, when Lauren takes the seat across from me.
I startle and then give her a little smile. She hasn’t tried to speak to me since I became friends with Avery back in our sophomore year but we smile and wave in the hallways often enough that her opening words catch me off-guard.
“I was moved into the boys’ dorms because of the renovations as well, I’m two doors down from you guys. I noticed a weird guy leaving a package at your door, I was going to call the admin staff but I looked in the box first. What the hell is going on, Lips?”
I force my face to be a blank mask, the shadow of my smile still lingering. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The only boxes we’ve had delivered have had Avery’s mountains of crap in them. If you found her stash of sex toys then I’d suggest you keep that information to yourself. She doesn’t really like gossip.”
Lauren bites her lip, rolling it between her teeth nervously. “Look, my dad’s the Police Chief in the Bay. I know exactly what the Beaumonts are like. I know what Avery does for her brothers. If you want to get away from all that, away from the Bay, then you need to get away from her. Ditch Ash and Harley, and run away with Blaise. Otherwise it’ll be your head in the box.”
My spine snaps straight and my eyes narrow. Big mistake. Fucking huge.
No one insults Avery on my watch.
No one gets away with trying to split me and the boys up. I learnt that lesson well last year. No exceptions, no leeway, I’ll start gutting people without question this time around.
“Watch your fucking mouth. You think you’ve seen something? Maybe you should get your eyes checked because there’s no heads being stored in my room. My family is none of your concern.”
Lauren rocks back in her chair at my tone, her face screwed up in confusion. “I saw the Butcher come get the box, how the hell does Avery know him? He came to the dinner last year for her, I mean, seriously Lips, get out of there before they take you down, too.”
I shove my books in my bag and stand. She stands with me and crosses her arms like she’s trying to hug herself. “Being popular isn’t worth dying for Lips. It’s really not.”
I laugh at her, just straight up lose it right in her face. When I can finally breathe again I lean in to whisper to her, “Avery knows the Butcher because I introduced them. Maybe you didn’t read the name on the box but it came to me. Stay the fuck away from me, my family, and our business. Don’t turn into Annabelle Summers, Lauren. Just don’t.”
Then I turn on my heel and get the fuck out of the library. I’m fuming, furious that Lauren’s added herself to the list of people I have to look out for.
I make it back to the rooms before anyone else and I let myself into the boys’ room. I need a shower, a dozen shots of whiskey, and like seven or eight orgasms to calm myself down.
I flick Avery a text before I climb into the shower, letting her know we need to discuss the conversation and then I scrub at my skin like a psycho. I use a little of everything and the smell of all of my guys slowly mellows me out a little.
I’ve dried and dressed myself in one of Harley’s sweatshirts by the time I hear the front door open. I scrub my teeth and fling the door open, expecting Avery but finding Harley. His eyes take in my bare legs and his chest rumbles in appreciation until he sees the scowl on my face.
He waits until I’m done with my teeth before cradling my head in his hands, staring into my eyes and murmuring, “Who am I beating for you, babe?”
I swallow. “When is shit going to settle down enough that I can just enjoy having you? When are we ever going to be left alone?”
He kisses me softly and tugs me until I’m pressed against his chest. “We’re going to figure this out. Now, stop trying to distract me. It’s been too long since I’ve been in a fight, I’ll send the text and fix it tonight.”
I shiver and meet his eyes again. A fight club fight? That sounds like the perfect way to spend a Friday night at Hannaford but he can’t challenge Lauren.
Before I can answer him the door opens again and Avery, Ash, and Blaise walk in. Avery doesn’t make any comments about Harley being wrapped around me, she only stomps over to the coffee machine and turns it on before rummaging in the freezer for ice cream.
I pull away from Harley and peg Ash with a look. “Where’s the whiskey? We need to do serious damage control and I need something to take the edge off.”
Ash’s eyes narrow but he goes to the bar he’s set up and pours us both drinks. Blaise makes a stupid joke and Harley scoffs at him while he grabs them both beers. I try to soak it all up to calm a little more of the rage in me.
Once we’re all seated and there’s a giant tub of cherry ice cream in front of me I finally speak. “Lauren saw the head in the box. Her dad is the Police Chief back at the Bay and she said that she knows all about Senior.”
Avery frowns and starts to tap on her phone. I already know that there’s a good chance she’s talking to Atticus for information and I grab my own to ask Illi for his own assessment. They get their information from very different channels. I consider it for about a half a second before sending the same request to the Coyote. Fuck it, all hands on deck.
Blaise takes a swig of his beer and says, “What are we going to do if she won’t let this go?”
I cringe and take a huge mouthful of ice cream, not keen on discussing that avenue. I’ll take her out if I have to but I’m also pissy she’s forcing my hand. Ash watches me for a second and then pries the spoon out of my hand.
“I’m not watching you tongue-fuck the spoon tonight, Mounty. Her dad belongs to Senior. The problem is if she speaks to him about the box. He might come to investigate it to try to impress the Senior. The only reason he can afford to send his kids here is because of the dirty money Senior and his friends give him.”
His eyes flick to Avery’s and I can see his brain working. She can too.
“Yes, I’m well aware the Crawfords pay him too. I’m also very aware that Atticus has nothing to do with them anymore,” she says, her tone is just a little too civil to be genuine.
Harley scoffs at them both. “If we walk down the hall and kill her now there’ll be a fucking mass exodus. The students here are already twitchy as fuck about Annabelle and Harlow disappearing. Word’s out that Joey’s dead. It’s pretty fucking obvious it all leads back to us. If we start killing students off then we’ll have the fucking FBI showing up. Senior got any of them in his pocket?”
Ash flicks a wrist at him dismissively. “Of course he does. He has fucking senators and governors on his payroll, for fuck’s sake. FBI agents are nothing in comparison.”
I snatch my spoon back off of him and tap on the table idly as I think. Avery watches me carefully. I meet her gaze and she nods. “I agree.”
Harley huffs at us. “Wanna let the rest of us in on your telepathy? I fucking hate it when you both pull this shit.”
Avery smirks at him and sets her phone down on the table. “We need to start building our own network. We need to have legitimate people on our payroll as well as Lips’… connections. I have some but we need more. We need people that Senior hasn’t already gotten to, or people that want protection from him.”
Blaise blows out a breath and rubs the back of his neck. “I have a whole fucking list of people for you then.”
There’s a sort of stunned silence and then we all turn to look at him. He rolls his eyes at us. “Seriously? I’ve been dragged to the Kora headquarters in New York every fucking year by my parents, you think I don’t listen to the shit going on around me? My parents sent me to Hannaford to stop me from falling in with the wrong crowd. Half the board of Kora is owned by someone. My dad has spent a lot of time and energy keeping himself away from corrupt political influence and he only deals
with other people that are the same. So I can give you a whole list of people who are clean.”
Avery leans forward onto her elbows and pegs him with a vicious look. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this earlier? I could have had them in our pockets months ago.”
Blaise shrugs. “You banned me from talking about my dad and Kora. I could probably get my mom to help with the list. She could tell us who’s most likely to break and what pressures are best… applied.”
I can’t think of anything worse than involving the woman currently holed up in an exclusive five star resort being paid for entirely by the son she’s spent eighteen years treating like utter shit but I keep my mouth shut about it.
For now.
Chapter Eight
The Crow’s presence at Hannaford is like a wet blanket, smothering and uncomfortable. The riots in Mounts Bay are on the TV everyday, and the violence is only getting worse. The entire student body at Hannaford is edgy. I steer clear of Lauren, because I’m pretty sure I’ll be tempted to stab my way out of that conversation, and focus on my studies instead. It’s easy enough to do because she avoids me as well.
I start to notice that the fear in the other students' eyes only gets worse as the weeks go on. I hate it but it’s a fuck-load better than the whispers I’ve dealt with before. Harley fucking preens over it, smirking in every class as we sit together. I should have known he’d enjoy being infamous for deadly reasons.
One the the perks of having the Crow’s men as our teachers is that I no longer have to even pretend to be discreet when my phone buzzes in my pocket. Harley’s eyes stay glued to his notes but he raises an eyebrow at me. He’s intent on beating Ash but he’s also super freaking nosy and overprotective of me, even when it’s only Illi messaging.
Stay at school. Things are getting worse here. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.
I sigh and flick the screen to Harley, and then to Avery when she turns in her seat to see what we’ve been distracted by. Her lips press into a firm line and she doesn’t pay the teacher another second of attention, her hands flying over her phone screen in her lap.
I shift my focus back to my classwork and try not to think about the potential dangers Illi is facing. Luckily our AP classes come with more than enough assignments to keep my mind busy. For a month or two at least.
I start up study sessions in the evenings again and this time around the whole family joins in. Harley goes to swim practice first and Ash always goes for a run, but by the time Avery has cooked some massive, complicated gourmet meal we’re all back and ready to tackle our classwork.
Harley and Blaise take three weeks to come to an agreement of who can sit next to me because Avery claims best friend rights and has a permanent seat next to me. Harley argues that we have too many joint assignments, while Blaise still needs more help than the others.
I consider chiming in but Ash gives me a sly look and says, “They’re probably going to fight it out, Mounty. I know how much you enjoy that.”
Avery makes a disgusted noise when I get goosebumps but I shrug her off. She’s been extra pissy and touchy since we got back to school. I make a mental note to aim for the most painful points if I ever go hand-to-hand with the Crow. I think I can punch him hard enough in the dick that he’ll piss blood for a month.
When we’ve eaten and everyone has survived the Beaumont Bullshit I immediately jump into my studies. Ash snarks at me for how far ahead I already am. I ignore him, my greatest skill, and completely focus on Blaise’s homework. Possibly the only downside to our family group sessions is that Blaise struggles to focus with so many people around. The margins of his pages are full of little drawings, stars and roses, and I place my hand over his to stop him. He scrunches his nose up at me but not without looking.
"I'm not gonna survive this year," he mumbles.
I shrug at him and squeeze his hand. “You can always move to the lower classes. I mean you're not planning on going into business, you don't need to know complex algebraic equations to play guitar."
Harley smirks and says, "He's not in the classes for the education. He's just being a brat and doesn't want to sit by himself."
Blaze flicks a beer cap at him. "Maybe I'm just worried about ending up singled out like you were last year. The principal looks a little too buttoned up for my liking, that usually means she’s a closet freak. You should watch yourself, rape-bait.”
Harley’s eyes narrow dangerously and Avery gives Blaise a severe look. "Atticus would not put anyone in this building unless he were sure they’re clean."
I hum under my breath and do my best not to make eye contact with her. I don't want her to see what I think about her assessment of Atticus and his business, but of course she notices straight away and calls me on it.
"Do you have concerns about the Crow’s men?"
Ash bristles at her tone but I don't care. "I don't think that he would send anyone unless he was sure, but the Bay has taught me that you can never really be sure. I mean, I'm sure about you guys and I'm sure about Illi and Odie. I highly doubt Atticus has such a close relationship with any of these men and women. They’re not family.”
Avery’s anger simmers down just a little and she tucks her hand into mine under the table, her own little version of an apology.
Ash stares at her for a second, and then snaps, “Crawford isn’t family either. We don’t trust him or his people. That’s the quickest way to fucking die.”
I sigh and settle back in my seat as the fighting starts up again around me. This is going to be my whole fucking year. Beaumont Bullshit over Atticus fucking Crawford.
I could stab the dick for that alone.
Ash decides that Saturday mornings are his time to spend alone with me, kicking everyone else out of my room and settling me into his lap to eat breakfast in front of the TV. He always comes with a giant mug of coffee for me so I don’t really ask questions.
Avery is in the shower washing her hair, something that usually takes at least forty-five minutes, and so Ash is taking advantage of the time by feeding me French toast and kissing down my neck, grunting when I squirm and grind against his very interested dick.
Fuck, I’m addicted to him.
I’m glancing at the clock and doing quick math to figure out if we have time to get off before Avery catches us when the front door unlocks and the other two stalk in. I don’t really look away from the shitty cartoons, I’m not worried that they’re walking in on us, but when Ash grabs my hips to stop me moving I frown and turn to them. Harley looks thunderous, fucking enraged, and I slide out of Ash’s lap.
“What? Fuck, what now?” I say, and Blaise grabs the remote to fumble around the channels until he lands on a news station.
Senator Ayres is dead.
I sit and soak in the report, my hands shaking. Ash takes the plate from me and sets it down on the coffee table where my rage won’t break the damn thing. The reporter is standing in front of a large, luxury looking office building and she’s surrounded by flashing lights and uniform officers.
“Senator Ayres murder is said to be gang-related, with reports of gang activity across the state only getting worse. When interviewed, Senator Ayres’ widow, Hannah Ayres, pleaded with her daughter Viola to come home. Reports say the teenager dropped out of school to run away with an older lover. Police have not yet confirmed if there is any connection between the young girl’s disappearance and her father’s murder.”
The image shifts to the crime scene and, sweet lord fuck, the Jackal has lost his damn mind.
Written in blood across the wallpaper in the senator's office is a message. For the Coyote, the Crow, and, probably most of all, for me.
The Jackal sends his regards.
Well, fuck.
“I have other news,” says Avery.
She comes to sit down next to her dressed in her workout gear. I wrench my eyes away from the TV and give her a side look.
"Lauren's dad is owned by Senior. I know that we already knew that
but the list of things that man has done that Senior can hold over his head… it's a lot. More extensive than I thought. We need to do what we can to stay out of that man's way."
Harley scoffs and snags a piece of French toast off of my plate. "It's not like we didn't already know that. One of us just needs to go down the hall and put the fear of fucking god in that girl."
Ash’s fingers drift back to my thighs, tracing his little patterns there, something he does when he's thinking. For once I don't have to fight a shiver; I'm too busy hating myself. The TV flicks through other scenes in Mounts Bay, of the unrest and riots starting up everywhere. I frown at the screen as I see a familiar building, it’s on fire and hard to see but something is so damn familiar.
My phone buzzes and I grab it answering without even bothering to look, I know at this point it’s going to be Illi. I’m hoping he has a lead or a plan or something. We need to retaliate, the Jackal can’t be left unanswered.
“Have you seen it?” His voice is all fucked up. I lurch forward, my spine snapping straight. Harley’s gaze flashes to mine and Ash’s fingers still on my leg. I try to ignore them both and find my voice but there’s something so fucking raw about Illi that I struggle.
My brain fills it in for me as the pictures on the screen change. The building is burning but everyone in it are already dead. Bullet’s in their brains. It’s Illi’s safe house.
Odie.
“Kid. She’s in that fucking building. She’s... fuck. FUCK!”
I can’t breathe.
I can’t move or think of fucking breathe. Ash jumps off of the couch and starts yelling at Blaise to grab his keys because they’re heading out and Harley snarls at Avery when she tells them they can’t.