All Hail - J. Bree Page 0,61

at me and stands up, stretching his back out until it pops. “The Irishman who keeps coming around here is just as obsessed. The Crow too, he just has his head too far up his own ass to go about it the right way.”

I shrug and stand up with him, finishing the last of my coffee off. “I don’t care about any of that. I just want to fill my black book and sort out Lips’ twisted family tree. Let’s go meet with Graves and decide if the executioner’s block is calling his name.”

Illi waits for me to change clothes quickly. I’m conscious about wearing a white blazer over the navy dress, a beautiful pair of Manolos I’d happily have sold my soul for if I wasn’t able to cover the cost without even feeling it. I’m taking my role as the Wolf’s representative very seriously and as Lips always says, half of being a crime lord is reputation.

Mine is going to be impeccable.

Illi has brought his Mustang over for a change and he opens the door for me like always. I settle back in the passenger seat and text Lips to keep her updated. I can tell from her replies that she’s worried about this meeting, worried that Colt is going to be an asshole or, worse, a problem for us.

Ash and I had an entire childhood with Joey to know he deserved to die, that there was never going to be redemption for him. Lips has only had a few months even knowing that she has siblings, let alone navigating whether they’re decent people.

If they’re shit and they leave us alone then they can live.

If they pose a threat to any of us, they have to die.

I blow out a breath as Illi gets onto the highway and ask, “What’s your take on Colt? I know I’ve asked before but every time I ask you about him you remember something else. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Illi shrugs and curses under his breath at how bad the traffic is at this time of the day. “Well, the first time I met him was because I grabbed him off of the road. Actually, it’s the same place we’re meeting him today. I tortured him for a few days for information, he didn’t give anything up, but he did manage to break out of my workroom and find Odie.”

I hum under my breath. “So, he’s resourceful… I doubt you left him much to work with down there.”

“Honestly, I was a fucking mess back then.” Illi shrugs. “I’d only just gotten Odie back from the cartel, my mind wasn’t fucking good. I was probably sloppy about it but even after days of being carved up he got out and up into my apartment. Came face-to-face with Odie and instead of killing her or just fucking leaving, he offered to get her out. He took a look at how messed up she was and thought I was hurting her. I decided he wasn’t so bad when he tried to help her.”

Without being there I can’t say for sure if I also think he was trying to rescue Odie.

Ash once told me of the games that Joey would play with the girls Senior would give him. He would tell them he was trying to rescue them from our father and then he’d help them run away to the guest house where he’d rape and murder them.

Senior only gave him girls when he did something ‘good’ so it’d only happened a handful of times but it was fucking awful.

Ash still has nightmares that it’s me or Lips trapped in that guesthouse with Joey.

Illi runs through the other short meetings with me. There’s nothing new to pick over but now that they’re fresh in my mind again I feel more ready to meet Colt. There’s less chance of me missing things now I have a little more of his background fresh in my mind.

We drive for over an hour until finally Illi pulls into a rest bay off of the highway. There’s no one else around and it looks as though not many people stop here. I move to get out but Illi shakes his head at me, slipping a tablet into my lap.

“Stay there. I’ve told him to get in the back seat, there’s a camera set up so you see his face and review the footage.”

I raise my eyebrows at him and he chuckles at me. “I’ve been taking your ideas on board!