Page 20 of Queen Crow
News of me laying down the law with the rest of the Twelve has spread and when I step out of Aodhan’s Impala, there’s a lot of eyes on us both. I’m so used to the attention now that it barely does more than register with me but Aodhan isn’t a fan, his protective instincts kick into overdrive and he tucks in close to me.
Then Ash’s Ferrari pulls up next to the Impala and the rest of my close family piles out—suddenly the eyes are anywhere but on us.
No one touches the Wolf.
I was clear about that. Illi was clear as well, and every person who has heard even a whisper of what took place here in the city last year knows what it means to cross the Wolf and her people, and now the Bear has been taken out for crossing that line.
They’re all terrified and rightfully so.
Lips acts as though it isn’t happening, stepping over to slip her arm into mine and nod respectfully at Aodhan. “Let’s get tonight over with, I already hate everything about it.”
I nod and scan the crowd quickly for any signs of Lucy or Luca, the only other two people that count right now, but they’re nowhere to be seen.
As we move through the crowd, it parts like the Red Sea, eyes dropping as they all move away. It’s weird seeing such large scarred and tattooed men looking so subservient and respectful, but nothing in this city talks quite like blood and violence.
“Jesus fucking Christ, what have you done while we were gone to have them all acting like this?” Harley murmurs, and Aodhan smirks back at him.
“She’s put the fear of God in them all… and she’s reiterated the power of the Wolf. They all know they’re on notice.”
Lips meets my eyes with a quirk of her eyebrow, as close as she’ll come to a grin while we’re surrounded by crime lords who are intimidated by us and their loyal followers who are equally quaking in their biker boots.
The Coyote comes over to stand with us, looking a little less insolent and boyish now that Atticus isn’t here to protect him from the fallout of his words. Viola is with him, which is rare these days, but she’s looking happier and healthier than I’ve seen her since her father was killed.
I’m strangely happy about it.
I don’t understand their relationship at all because I would rather die a grisly death than ever touch Jackson and his unwashed, greasy self. Lips always laughs at my assessment of him—something clearly went terribly wrong with her during development because she doesn’t think he’s actually that bad.
He is.
I don’t care what she thinks.
“You need to come visit us, we have some shit for you,” Viola says, her voice quiet enough but she sounds smug, which gives me hope that it might actually be good information.
I raise an eyebrow at her as we watch Luca arrive, wearing his usual dress pants, a white tee, and a jacket thrown overtop. He meets my eye across the room and dips his head in a sign of respect, clearly so everyone can see it, and I nod in return.
The convoluted politics of the Bay are even more important when you’re a woman, especially a young one, because everyone doubts that you deserve it. Lips has used those biases to her advantage a million times, but I can’t hide in them.
I have to break them to keep Atticus and his empire safe.
Aodhan’s hand slips into mine and I thread our fingers together, giving him the only comfort I can right now with so many eyes on us. As the newest current member of the Twelve, he can’t afford to have any doubts or infractions against his name.
Not that I would ever let anything happen to him. Oh no, I would use every last one of my resources, and then I would work my way through all of Lips’ and Atticus’, until I had wiped all of Aodhan’s enemies from the face of the Earth.
That’s kind of my specialty.
As the warehouse fills up with more bodies and the air gets thicker and hotter around us, I check the time, ready for this night to be over with. We’re already running behind schedule and I want to bleed someone out for it. My impatience is palpable, like a thick cloud around us all, and Aodhan squeezes my hand again. “We’re waiting on the Viper and the Fox. No surprise they’re the last ones arriving.”
I shoot him a look but he’s too busy watching the small group of contenders. Without the Bear’s men, who are now ineligible thanks to his death, there’s only eight left. Nine, once Lucy arrives.
I start to feel a small pit of nerves in my gut that she’s not here yet. I might not count her as a friend or really even an ally yet, but she’s still who we’ve backed, and any attack against her is only a step away from attacking us.
We can’t let something like that go.
“Fucking finally. Your girl isn’t exactly proving to be reliable, is she?” Jackson says, his voice a low drawl, and Viola digs her elbow into his gut. I glance over to the door and, sure enough, Lucy is stalking through the crowd as it parts for her. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a high pony and the red lipstick is like a bright slash across her face. She’s dressed the same as she always does, jeans and a leather jacket with knee-high boots that look as though she could murder a man with the heels.
Well, she’s already proved that she can.
“She’s not someone we want to get on our bad side, Coyote, or else we’ll be hiring a food taster for the rest of our lives,” Viola snaps back at Jackson, and I shoot them both a look of disapproval for talking so openly andloudlyin this stupid warehouse.