Page 13 of Queen Crow

Morrison is the one to snap back, and I’m sure it’s because he’s still smarting at the spooning comment. “Why? You’re upset she’s getting great dick from not one, but three guys who would kill and die for her? Because I can tell you right now, none of us are missing out. Besides, she has three holes and can go all night.”

Lips groans quietly next to me and Harley tucks her a little closer into his side. Honestly, it could’ve been worse, the things they usually come out with are truly obscene.

“Just start talking about murder, the only thing that can distract him is planning out gory deaths,” Lips says, looking at Ash’s bourbon with longing.

“Fine. I have a long list of people who need to die.”

Chapter Four

It’s a surprisingly cold morning as I step out of my Rolls Royce, tucking my phone into my purse and looking around the parking lot. It frustrates me that there’s no valet here, no priority parking at all, and we’re forced to be sitting ducks from here to the hospital doors.

The wary look on Lips’ face tells me she feels the same way.

“Stay in the car, Noah; you can’t be seen and there’s security cameras everywhere in there,” she mutters as she shuts her door, ignoring his immediate cussing at her orders.

He hasn’t learned a thing about how things work around here.

“Let’s just get you inside, fuck the little brat and his attitude.”

I nod and take the lead, mostly because I know where we’re heading, but also because Lips is better at standing back and assessing situations. She’s only a half-step behind me, not really trailing along, but it still feels good to have her at my back.

She’s one of a very select few I trust to watch it.

We skip the security line at the front door, one of the Crow’s men ushering us through without a word spoken. I watch everything around us obsessively, not at all for our safety, but for Atticus. I want to know that they’re doing their jobs correctly, thoroughly, with the utmost care, because if they don’t and I lose him?

I’ll kill them all.

“I fucking hate hospitals. I can’t believe Harley wants to work in one,” Lips mutters, and I shrug.

“He used to want to be a doctor because of Aunt Iris, but now I think it’s changed. I think he wants to make sure that he can do more to keep us all safe and alive. We need a trusted medic, who better than one of the family to do it?”

She nods, and we step into the elevator together. “It makes sense, and he’s definitely smart enough to do it. The insomnia will help too. It’s just the time commitment. He’s going to be in college forever and then med school, residency? Jesus. I want to go to college but not for the rest of my fucking life.”

I scoff at her dramatics, stepping out of the elevator, and the humor instantly seeps out of me at the sight of the ward Atticus is in.

I had the entire floor cleared for him.

There’s men in suits everywhere and the nurses all look confident but on high alert, the way you do when you’re the best at your job but also are sure you’re about to take fire and have to find cover. Everyone turns to watch us both walk out of the elevator and down the hallway to Atticus’ room.

They all know who I am.

They all know Lips too.

There’s a lot of lowered gazes and dipped heads in our direction as we walk past everyone, a lot of signs of respect from everyone around us. It would normally have me gloating and enjoying the moment, finally having the respect that all of my time and efforts deserve, but here it just feels hollow.

There’s sympathy in the nurses’ eyes too, all of them sure we’re going to lose him.

I want to scream.

Lips’ hand slips into mine as we step into the room, dozens of machines surround the bed and tubes are coming out of every part of Atticus’ body. I want nothing more than to crawl up onto his chest and weep, but now isn’t the time for that. If I break down, then I can’t accomplish anything else today, and Atticus is relying on me.

He built his empire for me and I will not let it fall.

I pull up a chair at his side and grab his chart, flipping it open and then immediately regretting it as I see every last one of his vitals listed out hourly from the moment he came out of surgery.

He’s a mess.

Lips takes the seat on his other side, perching carefully as she takes in the entire room. I already know she’s looking for any little possible signs of tampering or foul play, anything to say that we’ve missed something and Atticus’ life is at further risk.