she so desperately needed one. He’s one of Atticus’ most trusted confidants, and I’d wager that he’s his closest friend.
Three people and two open seats, it’s not going to work.
We pull into the suburb and it only takes another minute before Illi is parking up at a tiny park with a single bench. Atticus is already here, sitting there waiting for me, and I run a hand down my skirt as though that will fix the uncomfortable outfit I’m wearing.
“Do you need backup or is this more of a solo mission? Either way I’ll have a gun aimed at his head.”
I scoff at Illi and open my own door. “Solo, and I have the weaponry covered, remember? I’ll be as quick as I can be; I know you need to get home to Odie.”
He grins at me, his teeth pearly white under the streetlamp. “The tail on her is already dead. Same with Harbin and Roxas’ guy. The minute they knew about them, they had them tracked down and gutted like rats. Do what you need to do; my girl is safe.”
Thank God.
I nod at him, take a deep breath, and then step out into the cold night air. It’s only a few hours before dawn and the grass has a layer of dew covering it, soaking the bottoms of my shoes in the most disgusting way.
I cringe my way through the short distance to the bench, taking a seat and looking out over the playground equipment in a mirror of Atticus’ pose.
It’s a quiet night out here.
“Things are only going to get worse, Floss.”
I refuse to cry.
I will not.
“We need an extra seat, and I know who I’d prefer to lose from the table.”
He nods slowly and then shifts in his seat, digging around in his pocket until he pulls out a small, black velvet bag.
A diamond.
“The Bear handed this over to me before the meeting. Called in a favor to ensure that we don’t have him killed.”
Motherfucker.
I look back out over the park because looking at Atticus still hurts too much. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to just look at him again, not outside of the Twelve meetings where he’s not my Atticus anymore, he’s the cold, cruel, and calculating Crow of Mounts Bay.
Finally I shrug. “No one will ever know about the favor if he’s dead. Illi will have it done by tomorrow night and half our problems would be over with.”
Atticus cuts me a look, shifting closer to me subconsciously because we’ve always been drawn to each other. “If we don’t hold to the rules of the Twelve, we’re no better than the Jackal. If favors mean nothing then the power the Wolf has fought for years to amass means nothing, and she goes back to being a poor kid from the Bay again.”
My mouth tugs into a frown but, dammit, he’s right about that. How many times has Lips come in and saved the day with a blood diamond she fought and killed for? Without them she’s still an assassin, a killer, the smartest and most cunning girl in the room, but with no extra backup.
Only the family behind her.
It’s not nothing, but twelve people against a whole city… it's not enough. Not when the other members are all recruiting to fill the void the Jackal has now left in the city and there’s been such a shift in power.
“We have three candidates, and I don’t want any of them dead.”
Atticus sighs and rubs both of his hands over his face, shifting again until his knee touches mine. That shouldn’t be such a big thing to me, considering he fucked me in a supply closet in a jealous rage, but this Atticus really is the one I’ve missed the most.
The Atticus who loves me.
“You really want the Ammoscato girl to survive? I thought you were playing with her.”
I shrug. “She’s an asset. We need more of those and less pathetic, egotistical, greedy men.”
“And what if she turns out like her aunt? The Lynx was just as bad as the Bear. She just read the board wrong and ended up dead because of it.”
I reach out and take his hand. “If she betrays the Wolf, she’ll end up exactly like her aunt. There’s something… there’s something about her. My gut hasn’t been wrong about this before, and the last time I had this feeling it was about Lips. Harley before that. If she wins, I’ll bet that she’ll be useful to us all at