All Hail - J. Bree Page 0,28

some bullshit gangster club you’re in.”

It takes me a second to realize he’s talking about the Twelve. I guess it still feels a little fucking foreign that I won the Game and now I sit at that table.

I did it to get rid of the abusive men in my family, to keep food on the table, and to stop the women from being murdered.

I never gave a shit about power.

Not until I saw the girl who wields it like a weapon.

Now it’s all I can think about. All of the little power plays in the Bay, all of the players on the board, the business men and the senators… every last one of them is on my radar now because I need to be sure that she’s safe.

I glance at him and, though it might be signing my own death warrant, I shrug at him. “I was with her and he didn’t hurt her. Something happened in that room and he knows about it… she doesn’t want to be reminded.”

He frowns at me. “Why is she okay with you then? If you were with her then why aren’t you a reminder too?”

I’m not going to talk about it with fucking anyone so I deflect. I lift my shirt until he can see the scar there, still red even though it’s healed up perfectly. “I guess the knife she pushed into my guts was enough to make me a safe place. Besides, she knows I’m not gonna say a fucking word about it. I’d rather fucking die and I’ve proved that to her. Luca though? He’s loyal to the Crow. He could start running his mouth and bringing up shit that might just break her.”

He stares at it for a second and nods, the corners of his mouth twitching up. “You’re lucky the Wolf taught her where to aim. She wouldn’t have hit anything important by accident.”

I smirk back. “I’ll remember to thank her when they all get home.”

He nods and the smile drops away from his face. “There are a lot of people on our list to die for what’s gone down, anyone who gets away is a risk.”

Is he… are we about to be working together? What the hell has my life become that the most infamous killer in the Bay is making plans with me about taking people out?

“I’m finding Diarmuid. I’m finding that fucking cunt and I’m killing him for what he did.”

He nods and looks back over to the door, but there are lights on upstairs so Avery has clearly gone up to bed.

“I have some people already looking into where he disappeared to, I put some feelers out.”

I nod. I have no doubt that the Butcher’s information network is much bigger than mine is but Diarmuid is still my problem to deal with. “I want the kill. I’m grateful that you’re helping track him down but his death should be mine.”

He shrugs at me. “As long as he’s gone, I don’t really give a fuck who does it. I was gonna offer to bring him to Queenie but she’s not into blood-soaked scenes. The kid might want it though.”

I’ll call the Wolf myself to put in a claim.

Diarmuid didn’t just betray the family, he was just another black mark against the O’Cronin name and I’m fucking over that shit happening. He’s the last male of that generation left breathing and I’ll be happy when he’s in the ground.

The Butcher claps me on the shoulder and I turn away from him to stalk back over to the Impala. It’s late enough out that I should really head home and try to get some sleep but I know the second I shut my eyes, all I’m gonna see is Queenie’s face.

Her face at Luca’s words, her face when she watched her family drive away, her face when she sank down on my dick at the Jackal’s orders and bled down my fucking thighs.

“O’Cronin.”

I glance back over my shoulder at him and he’s standing there, a cigarette hanging out of his lips and his keys in his hands.

“You’re a part of the family, call me Illi.”

Chapter Eight

Avery

I barely sleep for the next few nights.

I spend my days working through the information the Boar gave me about the other Graves siblings and start putting together some profiles for each of them. Colt is exactly what Illi said, a decent biker who is very clearly forced to play by his psychotic father’s rules. Chance is a wild card, nothing he