we haven’t done a thing with it since we buried the asshole.”
Unacceptable. “Illi, add it to the list. We’ll take it out as well.”
Aodhan and Illi share a look but I ignore them as we get out to the back rooms, a large round table set up there and already half-filled with the other members of the Twelve. The loathing that Atticus throws at Illi and Aodhan is like a physical thing. It’s the first time I’ve seen him show any emotion at one of these meetings and all of the other members are taking note of it too.
I don’t give a fuck.
I take a seat and Aodhan sits down next to me. “I’ll have my phone back now, Crow.”
His eyes barely change when they flick to mine as he slides it across the table. He probably is counting this as another show of weakness at this table of important people but he’s putting value in them that they don’t deserve.
I could destroy them all right now if I wanted to.
“Coyote, we need to start this or we’ll be here all night. We’ve already been delayed,” Atticus snaps.
I look over and find Jackson staring at the wall of mugshots with a smirk. “There was no way I was gonna let you start without her here, like I’d be dumb enough to get on Beaumont’s bad side. I like my balls where they are, thanks, and rumor has it she’s fully trained with a knife compliments of the Wolf herself. No fucking thanks. Hey, where’s the guy from this pic, Boar? He looks fucking familiar.”
The wording is a little too close for a coincidence so I’d guess that he was watching the security cams of Atticus’ mansion as I took down Luca… which means there’s a camera in my bedroom.
Assholes.
The Boar glares at Jackson like he’d enjoy peeling the skin from his body but that might just be his relation to the Devil showing through. “None of your fucking business, asshole. The Queen is here so you can sit your ass down and get this over with.”
The vitriol that he uses to spit out my name is vicious but I guess he’s only decent to his blood and I am definitely not a Graves child.
The meeting is a boring one, full of turf arguments and whining over the Jackal’s assets. The Bear wants to take some over, as reparations for his businesses lost, and Atticus shuts that idea down quickly.
“Nothing is stopping you from picking your business back up, stick with what you’re good at.”
The Bear’s lip curls at him and Jackson bursts out laughing. “He can’t! No one fucking wants to pledge themselves to the guy who lost everything by choosing the wrong side. Where are all of your men, Bear? Ohhh that’s right, rotting in a federal prison.”
The Bear snarls back at him, “That wouldn’t be fucking there if the Wolf had’ve stopped being a fucking c—“
I interrupt him, “I’m assuming you’re about to say something that will end in the Butcher hacking your body to pieces and I’m wearing white so let me just stop you there. You lost everything because you got too full of yourself. You’re lucky you only lost your business and not your head like the other men and women who crossed us.”
The Bear stares at me and then slowly around the table at each of the other members, like he’s waiting for one of them to tell me to shut up.
Even in his rage at me being here, Atticus won’t say a word against me in this issue.
The Fox, the Tiger, the Ox… every last member remembers all too clearly what happens when you betray the Wolf or speak out against her. The finer details might still be concealed but it’s clear that speaking out against the Wolf gets you killed in the worst ways and there’s no one here today who is willing to risk that. At least, not so openly here in front of me and the Butcher.
“Let’s move on. Are there any other issues that need to be addressed?”
There’s silence around the table, mostly because everyone is still looking between the Bear and me, and then the Fox speaks up. “When are you gonna tell us all that you’re the one pushing the Jackal’s product, Crow? Isn’t that part of his empire that we vote on who gets it? Seems like you have your own rules for yourself and another set for the rest of us.”
It’s the most words I’ve