Page 9 of Queen Crow
I giggle and wrap my arms around his neck. “You wouldn’t dare because you already know I’d kick you out for messing with my routine.”
He huffs out a breath at me and sets me down in the bathroom, stepping out of his boxer shorts and getting the water running for us both, like a gentleman. I try not to look around the room because there’s still evidence of the horrors of the night before, little splatters of blood and his clothes are still in the bin in the corner. I’d checked last night, but there aren't any cleaning supplies for me to sort this place out.
Aodhan would have freaked out about it if I’d have started scrubbing everything down, he probably would’ve called Lips and Ash from down the hall to come help, and then there’d be a whole new fight to deal with.
An hour later we’re both clean and dressed, looking a million times better than we did last night, and I text Lips to meet us in the meeting room. We’d once attended a Twelve meeting there, and she knows the way well enough.
Aodhan spends some time on the phone with his cousins, planning out the work they need to get done for his contracts with the Boar down at the docks. I have no intention of meddling with his business and I do my best not to eavesdrop too much on the conversation there, but I also don’t trust the Boar at all, and I’d like nothing more than to destroy his business and give it all to Aodhan.
That man watched his niece go through hell without a word, not to her or to her brother who would’ve come here, guns blazing, and killed anyone who ever dared blink in her direction threateningly.
I might be appropriately terrified of the Devil, but I also respect his love for his sisters a hell of a lot.
When we arrive at the meeting room, Lips, Ash, Illi, Luca, and Noah are already there waiting for us. I’m shocked to see Illi, but when I raise an eyebrow at him, he huffs at me.
“I’m still on paternity leave, but I’m not leaving you all in danger, and I’d rather be here for this. Odie and Johnny are safe, Harbin has already promised a grisly death for anyone who so much as walks past the warehouse.”
I nod approvingly, because half of my workload is now about taking care of all of these kids we’re now somewhat responsible for, and then I steel myself for what’s to come.
“Luca, can you bring in the men I requested, please.”
He nods without a word and walks out, silent and very obedient.
“Well, that’s just fucking weird,” Illi drawls, and Ash nods.
“I bet he’s a fucking sub. Atticus probably has a torture den filled with whips and leather somewhere in this shit-hole.”
Aodhan tries to hold back his scoff and laughter but he can’t and I elbow him. “If anything, I’m jealous he’s been so well trained. You lot could learn a thing or two.”
Lips slaps a hand over her face as she cackles. “Now all I can see in my head is Luca in a gimp suit and I’m traumatized.”
Gross.
My eyes flick over to where Noah is sitting in the corner on one of the chairs he’s pulled over from the table. He’s on his phone, messing around on there, which raises more questions for me because who would text with a dead boy? Wyatt? Is he such a great brother that he checks in with him?
Aodhan slips a hand around my waist, ignoring the way Ash’s eyes narrow at him, and leans down to murmur to me, “Are you going to be okay dealing with Luca?”
The door opens again and six men file in slowly, all of them wearing the suits and fresh haircuts that the Crow’s men are known for. I nod to Aodhan as my eyes meet Luca’s. I might never like Luca after what he was forced to do, but I can get through this. I can get through anything I need to if it keeps our family safe.
I pull out my phone again and check over each of the guys, just to be sure that we have the correct men before the bloodbath begins.
The men all look calm enough, assuming they’re here for a job and not the job itself. The only one smart enough to look at least a little wary is Lips’ informant, he obviously knows a little more about what happens when the Wolf arrives somewhere than the others do.
Luca presses the door shut and then says, his tone firm and commanding, “On your knees.”
He says it a little too convincingly to believe he really is a sub, and Lips meets my eyes with the slightest of smiles on her face. This is definitely not the time or place for the two of us to be having these sorts of silent conversations, but when have we ever lived by the rules?
The men all move to their knees, hesitant but obedient, and Luca zip ties their wrists without any trouble. Illi moves behind them, his gun already in his hands. I’m glad he’s chosen to go with bullets, my stomach can’t take another slasher blood-soaked scene right now.
Luca meets my eye again and I nod, stepping to the side so that I’m as far away from the splatter zone as possible. Aodhan moves in front of me, and when Lips steps over to join us, Ash follows along, his body only half covering hers because he’s learned not to try to block her entirely by now.
Luca waits for another minute and then says, “If it’s not already clear to you, you’ve been made. We know that each one of you has sold out information on the Crow to his allies and his enemies. One of you even had him shot.”
Illi points the gun at the back of the head of the first guy and pulls the trigger, the silencer muffling the sound to a small pop. One by one, he takes the men out.
The guy on the far end panics, his eyes peeling back as he jerks around to try to plead with Lips, “I’ve only ever been loyal to you! I’ve never given anyone else information!”
She stares down at him with the same cold apathy that she gives everyone in the Bay. “You’re a snitch. You’ve done great work for me but allegiances change, that’s part of the game. If you were willing to sell to me, then you’ll be willing to bend for someone else too. You played your part and now you’re dealing with the consequences, take it like a man.”