Page 1 of Queen Crow

Prologue

Atticus - Two years ago

The second I meet the Wolf’s eyes across the hallway as the elevator doors shut, I know that this is the moment I’ve been waiting for since I’d heard from Luca that she was attending Hannaford.

This is the moment that I have to kill the girl to keep Avery safe.

I meet Luca’s eye from across the room where he’s been watching this entire evening unfold, nodding to him as I step forward to wait for the next elevator. I check the security cameras on my phone and watch as they all walk into their hotel room together. Avery looks upset and Ash is snarling at the Wolf, so clearly she’s let them know.

I wait until I get up to their floor before I call her, sure that she’ll leave me to go to voicemail but when she does actually answer, I don’t give her the chance to talk her way out of this. “Which room are you in? We need to talk.”

There’s a pause like she’s considering this but when she speaks, her voice is as steady as ever, the immovable Wolf of Mounts Bay. “We’re leaving. We’re going back to Hannaford. Avery is under my protection and if you want to discuss the parameters of that protection with me, we can do it at the next meeting.”

Like that would ever stop me. “Open the door, Wolf.”

She hangs up on me and it’s a full minute before the door opens, the Morrison kid staring me down with that moody arrogance he’s perfected. I step past him without acknowledging him, now isn’t the time for playing pretend, and the moment he has the door opened for me, he stalks back over to his friends, flanking the Wolf alongside Ash.

Avery is sitting on the living room chair, her back straight and a look of scowling betrayal on her face. I have to contain the snarl I want to let out at the little slum assassin for meddling in her life. I shouldn’t have let Luca talk me out of killing her.

I’ve never been able to see why he’s so soft on her.

All I see when I look at her is athreat.

No one should be able to get into the places she can without help or detection, and the trail of bodies she’s been able to leave behind her isn’t just impressive...

It’s disturbing.

Ash is staring at me with that same furious loathing he always has for me, except this time he’s practically vibrating with rage and bloodlust. Morrison is also ready to throw himself into a fight, rocking back on his heels as he shifts his stance in preparation.

I need to play this right.

Stepping forward and inclining my head at the Wolf respectfully is the right thing to do, but she’s too perceptive not to see what this is about. She’s always seen too much, always been a little too smart for everyone else in the Twelve to get a handle on her.

It still is astounding that she sides with the Jackal.

“I already told you we’re leaving,” she says, her voice pitched low and even, as though she’s projecting an older, more formidable version of herself.

She’s seventeen, for fuck’s sake.

I keep my eyes fixed on hers as I kick the door shut behind me, using my peripherals to check for the Butcher, because nothing would shock me less than that psychopath stalking out of the bathroom right now.

When it’s clear we’re alone, I get right to it. “I’m not leaving here without her. Name your price.”

It’s like a match to Ash’s temper, instant ignition as he snarls, “She’s not for fucking sale!”

It’s a calculated move for me, a test to see not only what they know about her, but how it is that she’ll treat them here. If she offers me Avery, she’s dead. If she doesn’t… Well, I’m leaving here with her, so she’s still dead.

Killing a seventeen-year-old girl from the slums isn’t even close to the worst thing I’ve done.

Except the Wolf holds up a hand to stop Ash from lunging at me and taking a swing, the shot he’s been waiting for years to take. Miraculously, his eyes break away from me for a second to glare at her. Even more interestingly, Morrison instantly stiffens like he’s getting ready to jump in between them and I’ve never seen him side with someone over Ash. Never, in over a decade of friendship.

There’s a staring contest for a second, everyone watching and taking bets in their heads over what the fuck is happening in the air between them, before Ash crosses his arms and swings back to seethe in my direction once more.

Avery and the Wolf share a look and I don’t like that at all. I don’t like that they have their own language, that Avery trusts her enough to establish that level of communication.

“How much? How much is she worth to you?” Lips says coolly.

It doesn’t make sense with how she’s acting, but I don’t have the time or patience to speculate right now. It’s all about the negotiation. “Three favors.”