All Hail - J. Bree Page 0,21

Aodhan. “And what if the drugs are being peddled by the cartel? There are three prominent families in the Bay, each more dangerous than the last. How about you ask the Butcher about what they do to girls they like the look of?”

Bad move.

I cringe before he even takes the first step but Aodhan is faster than them both, moving until he’s standing in front of me like a shield while Illi stalks forward to punch Atticus square in the jaw.

Luca finally reacts, darting forward to stand between them both as Atticus reels back, blood pouring out of his mouth at an alarming rate.

Illi doesn’t move from where he’s now planted in front of them both, the scowl on his face reminds me of the one he wore when we were forced to go down to the skin auctions by the Jackal for a Twelve meeting.

“That’s your one and only warning, Crawford. Mention that shit again and nothing will fucking save you.”

Atticus wipes the blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand, in a very non-Atticus way, and then he turns to me, his voice low enough that I can barely hear it. “I’ve seen your dead body before. That’s not something I can so easily forget.”

I freeze and my eyes dart away from the blood on the back of his hand to meet his. Cold steely gray, his gaze cuts through me until I find the last bit of my courage is sliced away and my tether to this moment is gone.

“Never again, Avery.”

I swallow roughly and look away, finding Aodhan staring down at me but he glances away as soon as our eyes meet like he’s trying to hide something from me.

Nerves start up in my stomach and I loathe the feeling.

“Nothing would have happened to her. Jack and I were watching her every fucking move, the Butcher was in the area, there was no fucking danger to her. You don’t own her, Crow. She wears the Wolf’s insignia, not yours, and if she wants to come out with me then there’s nothing you can fucking do about it. She’s as safe with me as she is with you.”

Atticus’ lip curls all over again, blood coating his teeth, but he doesn’t get the chance to say a word.

“How did that work out for you last time? Maybe Avery should choose a little more wisely who she spends time with,” Luca drawls, and the air evaporates from my lungs. It’s as though Luca’s words have thrown me into a vacuum and now I can’t fucking breathe.

I need to get out of here before they all see me break.

I walk with a straight back up the steps and into my house without looking back. I shut my mind down completely, walking on autopilot until I make it all the way up the stairs to my bedroom. I know this place so well I don’t have to hit the lights to make it there without breaking anything, I can arm the security alarms from my phone and the moment I do I switch my phone on silent.

I strip out of my clothes and step into my shower with the water cranked up high and just lose myself there.

There’s no hiding myself from the Jackal’s damage now.

Chapter Six

The Jackal’s Lair

“You can kill him or fuck him, the choice is yours.”

My eyes snap to Aodhan’s and his chest is heaving. He didn’t scream once, matter how deep I pushed the knife in. Even with the sweat on his brow he’s still staring at me with clear eyes, like he wants me to do whatever I have to do to survive.

I can’t kill him.

He blows out a breath and tips his head back to look up at the ceiling. I think he’s seen the resolve in my face and assumed I’ve prepared myself to stab him through the heart. He obviously doesn’t know me because there’s no way I’d kill my family and he got our votes.

Killing him would be a betrayal of what we’ve built and I won’t do it just to get out of being forced to have sex with him.

There’s still a choice here and I’m making it.

We’re obviously taking too long to make a move because the Jackal pushes off from the far wall and stalks over to where I’m tied to the chair, lifting a knife and slicing the straps of my camisole cleanly until the fabric falls away from my chest.

I’m wearing a bralette underneath