All Hail

by J Bree

  He scowls at Illi as he looks me over. “Who the fuck is this?”

  Illi smirks at him. “Calm the fuck down, she’s a friend. She’s good friends with my girl.”

  Colt glares at the back of Illi’s head. “Which girl? The one you married or the one you sold your soul to?”

  Huh.

  I wasn’t sure how much of the Bay’s politics is talked about outside of California but apparently the news of the Butcher’s induction made it to Texas.

  Illi shrugs. “Both, actually. We run a tight ship. Queenie here is just along for the ride today, keeping her out of trouble.”

  I roll my eyes but his words work like a charm, the scowl on Colt’s face eases off until he only looks mildly irritated at my presence and no longer outright suspicious.

  “So, what’s the job? I wasn’t expecting a call from you.”

  The biker eyes my seat off as he scratches at the scruff on his chin. “I need someone taken out, no questions asked and no ties back to me. You think you can do that?”

  Illi huffs. “I’m definitely gonna ask some questions but I can kill whoever you need. Name, identifiers, a photo, and a reason, Demon.”

  Colt pulls out his phone and clicks through his photos, handing it over to Illi to look at. When I glance down at his hand, there’s a little diamond tattooed to his ring finger… that’s a sign of something. I don’t know the specifics but I make a mental note.

  He huffs as he sits back in his chair, looking out over the barren desert outside the car window. “Is there an unlisted number I can send that through to? I don’t want anyone tracing this shit.”

  Illi tilts the screen just a little so I can see.

  It’s a Chaos Demon.

  Georgie, the Vice President of his own MC, it looks like Colt Graves is trying to work his way up in his father’s club by any means necessary.

  Illi shrugs and waves a hand at him. “I know who he is. Gimme the reason, you could take him out yourself on a drug run. Stray bullets happen all the time on the road.”

  He stares at me for another second and then says, “He doesn’t fucking go on them and… fuck, not many people know about this. I keep it quiet for a reason.”

  “I trust Queenie with my life, she’s a vault. I wouldn’t have brought her along otherwise,”Illi says with a slow nod.

  Colt stares at me for a second longer but whatever the reason is that he needs Illi to do the killing for him is urgent enough that he finally takes a deep breath and says, “I have a sister.”

  Illi doesn’t move a muscle.

  Neither do I, but that isn’t what I’m expecting.

  Colt doesn’t notice our new, statue-like states and continues. “Grimm’s a fucking cunt about her, has it in his head that she’s a risk to the club so he’s told the brothers that he’s making a game outta her.”

  What the fuck?

  I glance at Illi but he’s completely expressionless for now. “Are you close to this sister? Don’t want her getting hurt?”

  Colt grimaces. “Fuck, she’s been outta my life more than she’s been in it but she’s only a fucking kid. Lives with the Unseen down in Mississippi, got a cop for a half-brother, and she doesn’t remember a thing about me… but I remember her. I’ve done what I can to keep my club the hell away from her… to give her a chance of getting clear of Grimm. Now that he’s painted a target on her back? I can’t keep up with that shit, I need some help. Whatever the cost, I’ll pay it. I’ll figure it the fuck out, just take Georgie out for me.”

  I shouldn’t attempt to speak to him, not after his reaction to me being here, but I have to. “What exactly is the game Grimm has started?”

  Colt stares at me and my heart clenches a little at the intensity of his eyes. There’s a little of all of the siblings staring back at me and it hits me right in the chest just how badly I miss my best friend.

  “He’s told the club that the only way on the council is to be a Graves or to have one. The whole fucking club is gunning after a fifteen-year-old little girl to get a spot at that table. No doubt the second one of them manages to get her and drag her back Grimm’ll slit her fucking throat. He doesn’t like the idea of daughters. Says having pussy in the family is fucking useless.”

  God.

  If only that piece of shit knew.

  If only he knew about the pussy in the family who walked into the Game and killed her way into the Twelve. Who became the most infamous assassin the Bay had ever seen, the fear she strikes into the hearts of any Mounty looking into the shadows at night. If only he knew about how she took on the Jackal and Senior and walked out of it alive.

  I want to break something.

  Illi looks as though he’s trying not to put his fist through the car window.

  Colt nods. “Like I said, he’s a real piece of shit.”

  I shouldn’t say a word.

  I really shouldn’t, and the look Illi gives me is disapproving, but I turn in my chair and stare at Colt for a second.

  “Why do you care about your sister? If you don’t know her… why pay all of this money to keep her safe?”

  He frowns at me and glances over at Illi like he’s trying to figure out my angle. I don’t care, I’m asking for Lips. When I call her right after I get home, I want answers to every question she’s going to have for me.

  He shrugs. “It’s not her fault that Grimm is a cunt. She got the worst mom outta the lot of us too. Chance is… Chance is fucked up but his mom fought Grimm on everything she could for him. Mine overdosed years back but she kept me fed. Posey’s mom auctioned her off for a hit. Left her behind to fend for herself when the acid dropped in her system. I’m the oldest, it’s my job to look out for the other two and I’ve done what I can but Georgie will be fucking impossible for me to take out without Grimm catching wind. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  I pull my phone out and start running through all I know about the Vice President and his whereabouts. He’s in Texas, I know this for sure because he barely leaves the compound and he certainly never goes out on jobs. “You want the Butcher to head to Texas?”

  Colt nods. “Georgie doesn’t leave his crack whores there. He’s either high or balls deep at all times. Fucking useless cunt.”

  Illi scowls. “Why him? Where is his death gonna help the kid if he’s not going after her?”

  Colt glances between the two of us slowly and says, “Two birds, one stone. Grimm’ll call everyone home for a vote, nonnegotiable, and they’ll vote me into the Council to replace Georgie. I’ll have more of a say on what happens from there… I’ll make sure I only send halfwits anywhere close to Mississippi. Men dumb enough that they won’t make it past the Unseen to get to Posey.”

  It looks as though Colt Graves won’t just live, he’ll find his own way into the family.

  There’s no way that Lips won’t seek him out knowing what he’s willing to do for Poe, no way that she’d ever let him deal with his father without her support, and honestly? It’s only taken one conversation for me to feel the same way about him. He’s not only got a soul but a soft spot for Poe… I wonder what Nate would do if he knew? If he knew just how far Colt would go to protect his little sister?

  “We heading to Texas, Queenie?” Illi murmurs, a smirk already over his lips.

  I shake my head. “No. The Wolf will take care of this one for us. You know as well as I do that she’s the right choice for this one.”

  Colt stares at us both in shock from the back, finally croaking out, “What’s this gonna cost me?”

  Illi shrugs. “Nothing. The Wolf doesn’t take cash. You’ll owe her a favor.”

  Colt blinks at him, scratching at his chin. “I’m not sure what I could possibly do that would be of use to the infamous Wolf of Mounts Bay but if it saves me green then sure. I’ll owe her a favor. What could it hurt?”

  A hell of a lot more than he thinks.

  But that’s for later.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I wait until I’m home and in bed
before I call Lips.

  They’re in Kansas for a sold-out show so I wait until I’m sure they’ll be back on the bus before I call. I’d texted my Mounty to tell her we needed to speak and she’d promised to go straight back to the bus after the show so I wasn’t waiting around for whatever debauchery they decided to get up to together.

  It’s a little after two in the morning when she finally calls and she whispers down the phone to me, “I’m sorry it’s so fucking late. The venue was a nightmare to get out of and security has been a problem the whole trip. I’m about to fight the guy in charge of the tour so you might have to bail me out for that shit.”

  I laugh at her, the grumpy and savage tone is just so her. “Ash can bail you out except I guess he’d be sitting in the cell next to yours. Is Harley managing to keep his head a little better now you’re out of the Bay or is he still being an overprotective dick?”

  She giggles and I hear the sounds of traffic down the line even at this hour. They must be parked up close enough to the venue that people are still leaving. “He’s been so relaxed it’s kind of freaking me out. He only threatens Finn every hour, practically civilized. Ash has been better… mostly because Blaise has been keeping him either half-cut or high the majority of the time, so he’s mellowed a little. It’s like fucking babysitting toddlers, I swear to God.”

  I giggle along with her. “I haven’t heard you this happy since… ever. I don’t think you’re having that bad of a time. That’s really great. I’m so relieved for you.”

  She sighs and then mumbles down the line. “I feel guilty for how much fun we’re having. You should be here having this fun too but I know you wouldn’t be with everything going on. Fuck. I just miss you, okay? I miss you a lot and it’s fucking weird living with this many guys and being the only girl. I got my period last week and Harley was the only one sober enough to take me to the store for supplies. Literally no one had a fucking tampon, not the bus or the venue… it’s like uteruses aren’t a thing on tour and I was pissed. I raged out a bit and then Finn said it was hormones. Avery, he almost fucking died.”

  I almost die… of laughter, the seriousness in her voice kills me. “Did Harley take the knife off of you? What a dick.”

  She snorts. “I walked away. Ash was the one who almost killed him. Told him never to talk about my body again and when Finn said he wasn’t, Ash knocked him out. He still has a bruise under his eye. That shit was hilarious.”

  Kudos to Ash, I’ll have to buy him something nice for treating our Mounty so well. He’s been eyeing the newest Ferrari, that’ll do.

  I fill her in on the entire conversation with Colt and she’s quiet through the entire thing, not making a single sound until I tell her about the little game her sperm donor has made around Posey.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck. Fuck! Nate’s gonna lose his shit.”

  I hum under my breath. “Yeah, he will. If he doesn’t already know, he’s got pretty close tabs on her, doesn’t he?”

  She grumbles under her breath. “Yeah, he does but I’m not sure he has someone in the club itself or just watching it.”

  I stretch back against the pillows in my bed and switch the light off. Some things are better discussed in the dark. “Honestly? I think Colt might be our person on the inside. He does not like his father, that much was clear as day, Lips. I have the recording, I can show it to you whenever you’re ready.”

  She hums, a habit she’s picked up from me, and says, “I will. I’ll watch it when I get home, for now I’m happy to just kill the VP and deal with the rest when this tour is over. Anything else? How is Aodhan? And Atticus, Illi has been telling me he’s been a dick but that’s kind of his deal these days.”

  God.

  That’s the perfect opener and I take a deep, deep breath. She’s my best friend, my ride or die, and if I can’t tell her this absolute mess I’m in then there’s something fucking wrong with me.

  One last breath. “I think I need a girl chat about the entire situation and it’s killing me that you’re not home for it.”

  She huffs out her trademark laugh at me, the throaty one my brother would bleed men out for the rest of his life to hear. “I’m surprised you didn’t just climb onto your private jet to come find me for the night.”

  I sit up in the bed, restless now, and prop my chin up on my fist. “I thought about it but Ash would throw a tantrum about it and we wouldn’t get a second alone. How is he? He only ever gives me safety reports when I call him.”

  “He’s… good, I guess. This trip has been kind of— I mean, it’s been great, but I think we’re all still just in a weird place.”

  I don’t like the sound of this. “What does that mean? Has something happened? You just told me things were great.”

  She sighs. “No, nothing has actually happened but it’s like we’re all holding our breaths waiting for the bus to fucking blow up or something. Like, we can’t possibly be lucky enough to be alive and happy. It’s just… weird.”

  I get it. That’s exactly how I was feeling before I found myself busy with men and politics and death threats. “I have something I want to tell you but I need two things from you first.”

  “Anything, you know that.”

  I’ve really missed the hell out of her. “I need to know that you’re completely alone and there’s no chance of any of the guys hearing this conversation and I need you to hear me out… to hear the entire story before you say anything. You can’t hang up on me to call… anyone else and order a hit.”

  There’s complete silence on the other end of the line, then she takes a deep breath and says, “Okay. Okay, I’m definitely alone and I promise I’ll hear you out. I also promise I won’t order a hit because from the sounds of it I’ll be coming home to do the killing myself.”

  It’s sweet and blood-soaked and entirely a Lips thing to say.

  I move to lie back down, it’s impossible to get comfortable, and stare up at my ceiling.

  And then I tell her everything.

  I tell her exactly what happened in the Jackal’s lair, I tell her about Luca finding us there and keeping my secret, I tell her about the deep ache in my chest that I still feel for Atticus but there are butterflies that Aodhan has somehow freed deep in my gut and the way that I’m now desperate for them both to love me. How maybe now it’s impossible to decide between the two of them. I tell her about the dead end I’ve hit with her other siblings and the file that Atticus handed over to me about Nate’s alleged murders. I tell her about the new photo-mapping of connections I’ve started in my basement that I’ve been losing more hours than I’d like to admit just staring at and getting lost in all of the possible plays that are happening at once.

  I tell her about how scared I am of how Ash and Harley will react if they find out about what the Jackal forced me to do to Aodhan and the fact that no matter how much people will try to play it off as his fault… I made the choice, not him.

  Then I sit there in silence and just think about it all until she finally speaks.

  “If I could go back in time and do things over, I’d be the one cutting the Jackal’s head off. Fuck, I think I would have just fucking blown the entire shithole up and been done with it.”

  I laugh at her but the fact she hasn’t immediately started asking questions is soothing to me.

  How do I describe the trauma?

  Because I don’t regret what I did. I don’t hate Aodhan or what happened just maybe how it happened. I’m worried that he only really wants me because of my virginity and some weird sort of obligation he’s feeling. Even now that he’s been affectionate with me, I’ve had this awful feeling in the back of my mind that all of this is some joke on me… like I’d never actually get to have someone that loves me for me.

  God, what a mess.

  “Aves, if he still wanted you after you and Atticus fucked at the gala then I think it’s safe to say that he wants you. Fuck, he could’ve just moved on with his life after we rescued you from the Jackal
. He’s a member of the Twelve, he’s in our inner circle, he doesn’t need to date you to have influence. He’s already got it. I saw the photos of the aftermath of his fight with Atticus after Luca came and got you, Illi gave me the details. A man doesn’t react like that unless he has skin in the game.”

  I huff and then groan as my eyes close and I can see so clearly that wall three floors down of all of the faces of the people who might just want us dead. I’ve stared at it for so long that it’s etched into my mind now, no chance of ever forgetting a single detail.

  “So you’re saying I should pursue Aodhan? Forget about Atticus and just go after the man I raped? Jesus. It’s so fucking bad when I say it out loud.”

  She huffs at me. “Avery, it sounds bad because it’s not what happened. You gave something up to save him, he could have argued with you, he could have said no.”

  My eyes well up just a little but I blink until they clear. “He did. He—“

  She interrupts me. “No, you just said he told you that you didn’t have to. That’s not a man saying no, that’s a good man giving you an out. Look, I’d be the first person to tell you if I thought something bad happened in that room and it did but that was all on Matteo. Fucking nothing is on you, Aves.”

  I sigh. I want so badly to believe her but I can’t until I speak to Aodhan.

  What a fucking mess. “So I’m just supposed to invite him over and say, ‘oh, about that night, did I assault you? Is this all Stockholm syndrome or are you good for round two? A girl has needs you know?’ Because I may die if I have to say that to him, Lips. No, I’d rather die than say it.”

  She scoffs at me. “At least invite him over for dinner. You know guys do better with a steak in front of them. He’s a Mounty though, so don’t go crazy with all the trimmings. Just a steak and beers and call it good.”

  I try to do simple.

  And for my standards the four-course dinner with two options for dessert that I cook entirely from scratch is simple but I’m sure it’s not what Lips was trying to get through to me. When I send her the menu for critiques, she replies something snarky back and I switch my phone to silent so I don’t have to listen to her laugh at me over my obsessive freakout.