Page 4 of Queen Crow
If that’s the cost of keeping her alive, I’ll gladly pay it.
I hesitate at the door, but I turn back to Lips because this has to be said. “Don’t ever let her wear red again. She wears your color or mine.”
And then I walk out, praying I’m not wrong.
Chapter One
Avery
I stand there in the middle of Atticus’ front foyer, covered entirely in blood, with the knife still dripping in my hands, and watch in horror as Ash throws himself at Aodhan.
Horror because I’ve seen my brother fight a million times before and there isn’t a single part of him that is holding back right now. He’s here to kill Aodhan, and fighting someone who doesn’t want to kill you back will always give you the advantage.
“Ash, stop! ASH!” My voice is shrill and hysterical, but it does nothing; he doesn’t even register that I’ve spoken, his fists just fly.
I’m about to do something stupid, ridiculous even, but as my feet start moving toward the brawl, the front door opens again and I see the greatest sight ever.
A furious looking Lips stalks through the doorway, looking me over quickly for injuries and when it’s clear that I’m both alive and unharmed, she dives into the fight with absolutely no regard for her own safety.
She gets an arm around Ash’s throat and a foot on Aodhan’s chest, shoving them away from each other. It would be an impossible move, except that she hisses something in Ash’s ear and he immediately stops, pushing up and standing, even with her wrapped around his back. She stays holding on to him for a second before she eases up and slides down his back, stepping around him so she’s in position to grab him again if she needs to.
Aodhan pulls himself up, his lip cut and one of his cheeks swelling, but his eyes stay fixed on Ash even as he takes a step toward me.
Ash stares right back at him, his lip curled into a snarl. “Stay the fuck away from her.”
I purposely step toward Aodhan, my voice still caught in my chest at exactly howexposedI am right now. A pair of yoga pants and a Kevlar vest, I might as well be naked for how far out of my comfort zone I am.
Lips glances around the room, taking in Bingley’s corpse and the knife in my hand, and then she says, “Are you going to explain exactly what the fuck is going on now, Ash? Before we resort to homicide, we usually vote on that shit.”
He doesn’t react to her at all, his focus is entirely on the space between Aodhan and I. “There’s no voting on this. He hurt Avery; he’s dead.I will fucking kill him.”
I share a quick look with Lips, but whatever the hell he’s talking about, she has no idea. How they’ve gotten back here without this conversation is also beyond me, but that’s for a later, less fraught time.
Ash looks up at me and then says through clenched teeth, “I saw the fucking tape of him raping you.”
Oh God.
I fall into a complete panic, every inch of my body beginning to shake, but Ash is still seething with the rage he’s obviously been wallowing in since he saw thatfuckingtape.
His voice is almost shaking with unspent rage. “At the Jackal’s lair. I knew something happened, I fucking knew it, and everyone told me to give you space.Space!I left you behind with that piece of fucking shit and I will never leave you again. Fuckingnever.”
His eyes lock onto Aodhan again, but Lips shuts him down quickly. “You go for him and I’ll be throwing myself into the fight. Look at me, Ash. I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. You’re here about Avery being hurt, right? You’re the only one hurting her right now.”
She’s not getting through to him, I can see it clearly, and the knife in my hand slips away from my fingers to land with a heavythunkon the marble floor.
I can’t lose either of them.
All I’ve been doing for weeks is losing; people, power moves, my sanity and privacy. I can’t do this anymore.
“How the fuck can you say that to me?I saw the fucking tape, Lips.”
“I heard you the first time, Ash, but you need to look at your sister.Look at her.Look at what you’re doing to her. Because you’re doing this right now,notAodhan.”
His eyes flick over to mine and finally he sees me, roaming over the blood and carnage all over me before his eyes meet mine.
A sob breaks out of my chest, rattling me, and he moves so quickly that he’s just a blur before I’m pressed into his chest. “Are you hurt? What happened? Where the hell is that fuck Crawford?”
My sobs get even worse and then I’m breaking the hell down because his arms have always been my safe haven, but this is all wrong. He’s not my protector anymore.