All Hail - J. Bree Page 0,36

the wall and sighs. “This is a very specific threat though. The Collector is dead. The Crow paid Lips a black diamond to kill him. It was the very first favor he ever gave out. I remember it so fucking clearly because D’Ardo almost busted a fucking nut over it. He was convinced the Crow was trying to make friends with her, amped up the assassination attempts and sent a whole lotta chaos his way.”

I frown and set forward. “Atticus paid her for his death? Who was he? What exactly did he collect?”

Illi shares a look with Aodhan that would infuriate me if it were anyone else. They’re trying to gauge how much exactly I can handle of this story and though I know it comes from a good place, it’s entirely misplaced.

“Girls. He collected women, or children, didn’t he? It’s some sick story of a perverted man isn’t it?”

Illi shrugs. “Sort of. He didn’t ever touch them or hurt them, he just… kept them. When Lips killed him, she set the girls in his penthouse free and none of them had been assaulted beyond the head wounds to get them into their cages. He fed them, gave them clothes and beds… but they were all kept in glass cages.”

I slowly sink down onto the lounge and prop my chin up on my fist with a sigh. The sexual perversions of men are disgusting but understandable to me. A childhood of growing up in the Beaumont Manor means I understand exactly what the darkest of sexual fantasies can be, but this? This isn’t something I understand. The power men wield has always tied into their sexual urges.

This absolute power with no sort of bodily harm is strange.

“Yep. Lips never could fucking understand it either.”

Aodhan sinks down in the seat next to mine and tips his head back to stare at the ceiling. This all feels so… normal. As if we’ve done this a thousand times before and I have, just not with these two men. But I trust them both, I trust them enough to be sitting here in my basement without the constant guard of my brother here with me.

Aodhan sighs and rolls his head on his shoulders to look at me. “It’s a threat. Clearly, it’s a threat to you but it’s also a threat to Lips. Whoever posted it there wants you to sweat over how much they know.”

Illi grunts and pulls out his phone, tapping away at the screen. “Well, we know that they’ve walked their ass up to the front fucking door so this place isn’t safe until we lock it the fuck down. Question is, why the fuck didn’t the Coyote catch this?”

He lifts the phone to his ear and then snarls into it, “You’re on my last fucking nerve, asshole, and I’m about to come call into your bunker for a little chat… yeah well, what the fuck happened to your security at Queenies place… no, I’m sure there’s been a breach, I’m staring at it… you have ten minutes, make them count.”

Aodhan snickers under his breath and I cast him a look. He shrugs, “It’s funny when the threats aren’t being aimed your way. You wanna come stay at mine, Queenie? It’s not as pretty as this place but you’ll be safe there.”

Illi huffs. “Like fuck. She’s coming back to my place. Odie will be fucking thrilled to have you, she’s been at me about putting together the nursery and I’m sure she’ll appreciate your taste a helluva lot more than mine.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Let me guess… you wanted a cleaver mobile for the crib? Blood spatter decals on the walls?”

He grins at me and shrugs. “Hearts in jars on every surface, just so the kid knows what Daddy does to anyone who comes after the family.”

I smile at him because how could I not? It’s too sweet how much he loves his wife and I know for sure that it doesn’t matter how high his body count is, that child is going to be loved more than any Mounty has been before.

Aodhan grimaces a little. “Please don’t say Daddy around me again until the baby is here, I think my soul just left my body.”

Illi roars with laughter and Aodhan looks a little sick.

I roll my eyes at them both. “I’ll pack a bag. Do me a favor and don’t tell the guys? I’ll call Lips and tell her but Ash will try to come home and I