by J Bree
“Are you excited at getting back to having your own room again, Star?” Blaise mumbles into my hair. I elbow him but he ignores it. “Looking forward to your orgy-sized bed? Maybe we should put it to good use.”
Fuck.
I shiver and pull away a little to scowl up at him, trying to ignore just how turned on I am at the thought. “When are you guys going to learn to stop talking about our private shit out in the halls when we’re surrounded by the fucking snake pits of Hannaford?”
Blaise gives me a smug look. “When are you going to stop caring what they all think?”
I sigh at him as Avery rounds the corner, marching towards us like a woman on a mission, students scattering out of her way. “If the roles were reversed, you’d by getting high-fived for having three girlfriends, not glared at and whispered about. I don’t really care, I’d just rather not hear the gossip about it later.”
He frowns at me, and Harley steps up closer to us both with a vicious look when Avery finally makes it to us and interrupts them both, thank fuck.
“We need to talk. Now,” Avery says, tugging me away from the guys and along the hall until we’re standing outside the principal’s office. I give her a look which she ignores, knocking sharply while her foot taps impatiently.
I don’t really want to be in the room again, the last time I’d stood here I’d had to hack Ms. Cougar Whore to pieces, but there’s no sign of the carnage left here when the principal opens the door, ushering us in.
“Atticus has already had this room swept. I’ve arranged to have our rooms done again and the Coyote has already called about upgrading the security system. We should have had him do it in the first place.”
I nod and try not to think about just how fucked we are if he double crosses us. This is the fucking problem with the Jackal crossing the line and starting a war; there’s no longer any sort of honor amongst the Twelve.
Avery flicks her wrist at the principal and she nods respectfully, exiting the office and leaving us to speak privately. Even knowing she belongs to the Crow, it’s fucking weird to see, even more so when Avery perches on the desk and crosses her arms at me. I take a seat and steel myself to whatever the fuck has happened now. If we’re all alive it can’t be that bad, right?
“I used Blaise’s list to start recruiting our list of contacts and it’s paid off. I have big intel from the raids on Senior and his pocket pigs.”
I snort at her use of Illi’s term for the men Senior owns, in her cultured tones it’s something else. “Yeah? Are we about to have our doors beaten down?”
Avery smirks. “No. But last night the Bear’s doors were blown wide open.”
I freeze. “The Bear?”
Avery nods, tapping away at her phone and then handing it over to me to show me the file. Every last one of the Bear’s businesses, the legit ones and the fronts, have been raided. Millions of dollars in drugs, stolen cars, weapons, and illegal chemicals have been seized.
An entire empire taken down in one day.
“Fuck. Me,” I gasp, and Avery nods.
“Either the Bear tried to switch sides and the Jackal found out, or Senior sold him out to prove a point.” She says, taking the phone back and tapping away at the screen.
Fuck. Me.
I blow out a breath and stare at the ceiling for a second, mulling over the price of the Jackal’s insane and traitorous ways. No fucking honor in the man. I mean, I know we’re all criminals, I kill people for fuck’s sake, but there’s always been a code we live by. Without it… anarchy. Chaos. Bedlam in the streets of Mounts Bay.
We’re all fucked because he doesn’t know how to be rejected.
“No word on who got the bug into our room. It’s definitely one of the Jackal’s men though, the Coyote traced it back to him. Jackson isn’t so bad I guess, once you look past his smart mouth and atrocious fashion sense,” Avery mutters, and I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Not into baggy jeans and band tees? He looks like every guy I ever went to school with, you’re lucky you were born richer than god.”
She shudders. “It’s disturbing that someone of Viola’s pedigree has fallen for him. I thought she was just trying to piss her parents off but Jackson made a comment to me last night and I thought she was going to reach through the screen and choke me out for it. I don’t know why, he was the one saying it.”
He always was a flirty dickhead. Viola should know better than to listen to a word that comes out of his mouth by now.
“Right. So we go back to the ranch, unpack, have a shower, then head into the meeting. Atticus has said the entire of the Twelve are attending thanks to the Jackal’s stunt. Well, obviously he’s not going. I don’t even think they’re counting him as a member anymore. Is there some sort of process you go through to kick him out?”
I stand and tuck my arm into hers.
“We kill him.”
Ash reappears and we head down to the Bay piled into Blaise’s Cadillac, though Avery packs so much that we really should have brought both cars. Ash is still feeling pretty pissy about his Ferrari being put in any danger and no one seems to be able to get the steaming pile of wreckage out of their mind, all that was left of Harley’s Mustang after Joey had gotten to it, so we’re stuck with bags on our laps and under our feet.
I don’t mind but Harley looks ready to kill.
The ride is reasonably quiet, mostly because Ash and Avery are no longer speaking to each other, and I do my best to zone out and ignore the tension in the air around us. I haven’t had the chance to ask Ash where the hell he’d disappeared to, instead burying my nose into the last of my literature books that I need to read for class for the year. Harley reads over my shoulder, which sounds sickeningly cute and romantic except he reads much slower than I do and I find myself getting bored in between page turns.
After a quick stop off at the ranch, we head straight to the meeting. The Crow lives in an honest-to-god fortress on the rich side of town. I've been there a few times, long before I knew his name was Atticus Crawford and he was in love with my best friend, but I've never been further than the reception room. Yup, the place has a reception room. Fucking rich people.
When we arrive at the large stone walls and electric gate Blaise puts down his window and makes eye contact with one of the Crow’s men. The guy nods at him and, I kid you not, he speaks into a microphone lapel, as if he is protecting the President of the United fucking States and not a well-connected crime lord. When I murmur this to Ash it barely gets a reaction out of him. I sigh and roll my eyes at his pissy nature. I can’t fucking wait for this whole bullshit to be over with.
"If he did all of this to protect you then I’d be worried, Aves. Pretty sure this place has a fucking sex dungeon or some shit,” says Blaise, smirking at her as she sits with a rigid back in the front seat.
You’d think just this once he'd let it go and not make some dumb comment but no, that's just not his style. For once Avery has no snappy comeback, she just sits there and glares out at everything.
Blaise parks next to Illi’s car where the Butcher and his stunning wife are waiting for us. I give Odie a quick hug and she kisses Avery’s cheek sweetly, murmuring pleasantries in French. Then we walk into the fortress.
The Crow is waiting for us in the reception room, the place still as cold and bleak as ever. Harley looks around curiously but Avery keeps her eyes ahead, barely even acknowledging the Crow’s existence. I give him a respectful nod, which he returns and then leads us further into the cavernous building.
“It’s like a castle that some doomsday prepper lives in but with like… weird-ass paintings in it,” Illi fake-whispers at me, and Harley and Blaise both snicker at him like children.
To be fair, he’s not wrong.
The Crow casts a disapproving eye at us all over his shoulder. “The first year of being the Crow, the Jackal attempted to kill me seventeen times. This building was built like this for a reason.”
Avery’s mouth turns down like she’s
taken a hit. “That painting is a Delacroix. It’s a classic.”
Odie nods and says, “My father had some in his collection too, but he could not afford one of this size. It’s very impressive.”
I keep my mouth shut because I know exactly nothing about old French paintings. Ash rolls his shoulders back like he’s preparing to take a swing, then he shocks the hell out of us all by stepping up to Avery and tucking her under his arm, something he hasn’t done in months.
“Let’s get this meeting over with. We have other… commitments to get back to,” he says, squeezing Avery’s shoulders and she waits until the Crow turns his back before giving him a cold look. He doesn’t react, only walks with her into the large meeting room the Crow is leading us to.
We’re the last ones to arrive.
I keep the surprise from my face as I take in the room. Every member of the Twelve, except the Jackal, is present, with a whole heap of their flunkies and followers jammed in as well. I’d been expecting the Bear, he’d lost everything, but to see the Fox and the Tiger here is shocking. The Tiger has been too afraid to turn his back on the Jackal, and the Fox’s businesses are so intertwined I really thought he’d stay with him until the end. The Lynx is a devious bitch so I’m less surprised there.
There’s quiet chatter, murmuring amongst the flunkies, as I take a seat and my family all spread out around me. Harley helps me into my chair and then takes up watch by the wall with Blaise. Ash helps Avery into the seat next to mine and then takes my other side, a cold and detached look on his face. His hand keeps drifting to his pocket like he’s checking his phone is still in there. Fuck.
Once the Crow sits at the head of the table with his sharply dressed men, the room falls quiet without any instruction needed.
“I think it’s best if we keep this meeting short and to the point—” the Crow starts, only to be interrupted.
“I think it’s pretty fucking clear; the Jackal is out. What’s the plan for killing the backstabbing fuck?” the Bear snarls, and I do my best not to roll my eyes at him. It’s hard. It’s fucking hard.
“How about you shut your fucking mouth and let the adults talk? You’re only sitting here because you’re broke and about to do life in federal prison because you picked the wrong fucking side,” Illi drawls, and I bite my lip to stop the smile from spreading across my face. Fuck, I was not expecting this meeting to challenge me so much.
“Why the fuck is the Butcher talking for you, Wolf? Is he crawling into your bed as well?” the Bear snaps, gesturing between my family with a leering look. “You guys take turns or fuck her all at once?”
I can see the effort it takes the Crow to not roll his eyes as the room explodes around us. The rest of the Twelve either laugh or make some noise of disgust. Harley’s tattoo flexes as he grinds his teeth to stop himself from unleashing on the dickhead but he’s the only one trying to show restraint.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Blaise cross his arms with a scoff, a lazy grin on his face that doesn’t hide the danger flashing in his eyes. “I know this must be hard for you, knowing a teenage girl is getting way more ass than you, but if you stopped stinking like rotting corpses and that cheap cologne then maybe you could find someone who’d look past how fucking ugly you are. I can’t give you any tips for your micro-dick, sorry. Not something I’ve had to deal with.”
Avery lets out her sweetly murderous giggle and Illi’s hand drops to his side to stroke lovingly at his meat cleaver that’s strapped to his thigh. The Bear watches that hand like he’d stand some sort of chance if he could see the moment Illi chooses to kill him.
He wouldn’t.
The Bear opens his mouth to snarl a comeback to Blaise and two very different but equally startling things stop him: the Crow interrupts him with a snarled, “Can we stay on topic so we can get the situation under control? Preferably by killing the psycho fuck?”
I’m not expecting the ever-proper and rule following Crow to just come out and say we’re here planning to take out a fellow crime lord.
The Bear is stunned, shocked enough that he doesn’t see Ash move until there’s the barrel of a gun pressed to his temple. That shuts him up real fucking quick. The whole room goes silent again until you could hear a freaking pin drop.
“Let me make this crystal clear to every last person in this room; insult the Wolf and I’ll personally end your life. Piss me off enough and I’ll let the Butcher join in, make a real mess of the job.”
The Bear’s jaw clenches but he dips his head. He has no choice but to agree; he’s here alone, all of his men are in lockup, and here I am with the only guys in the room that don’t look worried. It’s a weird position to be in, to watch this empire fall right as my own is slowly, hesitantly, building.
Ash finally lowers his gun again and the Crow takes over. He details a very specific, and very discreet, plan to take the Jackal out. I don’t agree with the plan at all, but I choose to keep my mouth shut. It doesn’t affect me, I’m not involved, all this meeting has told me is that I won’t be hunted for taking out the Jackal myself when the time is right.
Avery is not so easy to accept the shitty plan.
“Shouldn’t we be sending in a team, not just a single shooter? The Jackal is not someone who is easy to sneak up on and since the defection of Luca—”
“Less is more.” The Crow cuts her off. Fuck me.
Avery finally looks at him and raises an eyebrow. “True, less is more… unless we’re talking about dick. Maybe you should stop acting like one.”
Illi chuckles and slings his arm over the back of her chair to pull my Ice Queen bestie into a sort of side hug. Odie snuggles into his other side, a self-satisfied smirk across her stunning face. They look like a very happy, if psychotic, threesome. That’s fucking weird to think about, but I enjoy the look on Atticus’s face all the same.
Ash develops a fucking eye twitch, but he manages to hold it together. Harley smirks at the look Atticus gives Illi and Blaise outright fucking roars with laughter, throwing his head back and just fucking shaking with glee.
I slip my hand into Avery’s and give it a little squeeze, the smirk on my own face directed at the Bear. “I don’t see why we’ve sat around waiting for the intel, only to send a single guy in. If we’re going to do that, I’ll just go in myself.”
Three sets of eyes glare daggers at me but I keep my attention focused on the Crow. He smooths a hand down the front of his jacket, something rich people must do a lot because I always catch Avery and Ash doing it, and then he leans back in his chair.
“The Jackal is on high alert. He has thousands of loyal men and every last one of them will be on the lookout for you. Your trip to the Dive to see the Viper was a fluke; there’s a bounty on your head and every last one of the Jackal’s followers want it. You cannot go after him. We are outnumbered, unless I call in all of my own men which I won’t do. Therefore, we send in one shooter. Take him out quickly and quietly, then clean up the mess his organization is in.”
It’s not going to work. “I’m the best there is. No one else will come close.”
Avery catches my eye. “You would have been better off getting Luca to kill him, then plead your case with the Twelve.”
Atticus shakes his head at us both. “Anarchy is what has gotten us into this mess.”
I huff out a breath and shut my mouth again. No point trying to argue with the holier-than-thou, pretentious, arrogant fuck. He might have struck a nerve with me. Just fucking maybe.
When the meeting is finally over, shitty plan and all, Avery stands before anyone else and moves to the door. Ash stays in his chair, his eyes glued to the Crow, so I wave the others out and stay with him. If he needs to have a showdown to get this out of his system then fuck it, we’re having a showdown.
Lord fucking help us.
“Anything else?” the Bear snarls, and the Crow shakes his head at him, dismissive as though the Bear is a disobedient child. It’s funny as fuck to see and my little dark stain
ed heart soaks it the hell up. They all stand and make their way to the doors.
Atticus gives us a hard look, but his steely gaze means nothing to Ash. “Is there something else you need?”
Ash reaches into his pocket and pulls out a scrap of fabric, soaked in blood, and he throws it down on the table in front of the Crow. I stare at it and try not to let the shock show on my face. What the ever-loving fuck is that?
“You might want to vet your men a little better from now on, Crawford. It wasn’t that hard for me to find the Jackal’s mark. You’re really not doing a good job of proving me wrong. You’ll never be worthy of Avery. Never.”
Atticus unwraps the fabric and sure enough, there’s a piece of skin with the Jackal’s insignia on it. Holy freaking shit.
I stand before all of the words streaming through my head burst out of my mouth and I pull Ash up with me. His hand is steady in mine as we leave the Crow behind, pausing by the door when he calls out to us.
“The Coyote needs to do another sweep of Avery’s ranch. You should all stay here tonight to ensure it’s safe. I’ve had rooms set aside for you all,” he says in a blank tone, and I nod.
No matter how much I’d like to tell him to shove it up his ass we have a job to take care of. “Thank you, we will stay but we only need one room.”
Then we head back towards the reception room to find the others.
“Where the hell is he? What if someone finds the body?” I hiss at Ash the second I’m sure we’re alone. Fuck me.
He tugs me into an alcove by the painting Illi hated, his eyes like icy blue pits. “Obviously I didn’t leave anything behind. I’m not fucking braindead, Mounty.”
I give him a hard look and his mood sours even more. “I called Illi to get rid of the body and my clothes, then I had a fucking bleach bath. I’m a little fucking insulted you think I can’t do this.”
My eyes dart over his face, taking in his ire and his fierce protective look. “I’m not doubting you. I’m not good at letting you guys take the lead. You know that already. I can’t handle something fucking happening to one of you.”