ever heard the man speak. He looks like a washed-up rave rat with colorful tattoos over his face and neck. If I saw him at a party, I would think he was high and way too old to be out in the Bay but he’s the mastermind behind all of the parties on the docks, all of the must-be events that no Mounty would dare miss out on attending.
He’s the reason I had to attend in my lingerie junior year, the asshole.
Atticus stares him down with utter disdain. “If I had control of the Jackal’s product, I would destroy it. Do you have any idea how many people have died from his dirty batches? If I had to guess who was moving it, I’d say it’s you or the Bear so tread carefully.”
The Fox smirks. “Sure, sure. That’s the story you’re going with. I’m just saying, there’s a lotta suits in the Bay these days and all signs are pointing at you. Is the Wolf in on it too? She was always pretty anti-drugs so I’d be surprised. Are you a part of her little family or did I miss the memo?”
There’s a lot of shifting around in seats, everyone but Atticus and myself are uncomfortable at witnessing this.
Just because I’m sure he isn’t the dealer, doesn’t mean everyone else has the same conviction.
The Viper grunts under his breath and he spins the rings on the hand that still has all of the fingers. “This is what happens when do-gooders come to the Bay. The Crow fought to keep the skin auctions out of business, why would we believe he’s moving the drugs? Fuck, next minute he’ll be in my fucking bar tryna shut down my fights. Or will it be the parties, are you pissed enough at losing your girl to the Stag down at the docks that you’ll go after the Fox’s business?”
I roll my eyes at the snarling and arguing that explodes around the table.
It’s going to be a long night.
As much as I want to go home with Aodhan, the O’Cronin compound doesn’t have the security that even my mansion has and there’s no way he can come home with me tonight. The favor Lips had called in has come up with three new leads on who the hell is stalking me and leaving the photos. Illi is meeting up with one of his contacts about one of the leads while Aodhan will be heading down the coast to meet with another.
Jack will be staying close in case I need anything in the short term which is very helpful now I’ve planned out the rest of my evening.
We leave the Twelve meeting together where nothing was achieved except to know that the fractures from the Jackal’s betrayal are only getting bigger.
Aodhan climbs into the Butcher’s car with us as they drive me back to the Crow’s mansion for safe keeping. He’s not happy about the plan but I’d discussed it with Illi and we’re both sure enough about Atticus’ intentions and their ability to get me out of there that I’m fine with taking the security of the mansion for the night.
Atticus will be too angry at me ignoring his demands to skip the meeting to bother me, I’m sure, so it’s the perfect time to get some work done.
The only problem is that the moment I slide into the passenger seat my phone rings with an unknown number.
Illi frowns at me when I turn the music off but the moment the phone reaches my ear the fake honeyed tones of Amanda Donnelley greet me, “A perfect little birdie, playing a game much too far out of her league.”
The sound of her voice is like nails on a blackboard to me now but I’m nothing if not an expert at hiding my irritation from people beneath me. “I’m sure you’ve built your business up from the ground by passing gossip around from all of your whoring but some of us have more worthwhile things to do than sitting around passing off insults like it’s a useful way to spend our time. Is there something of value you have to say or just a general call of idle threats and posturing?”
She’s just as good as I am at playing the mind games needed to wage these kinds of war. She giggles down the phone to me and I know for sure it’s a calculated move because of the careful tone of it. She’s trying to irritate me