All Hail (Queen Crow, #1)

by J. Bree

“I do. I’ve had a file on you from the moment I found out about Harley, I’ve known about you long before you even knew I existed.”

“My sister killed my mom.”

“So my dad never laid a hand on Cara but mom did. She was a mean old bitch but she knew better than to hit her around me or dad. Jack and I did what we could to keep the kids all safe but I didn’t see what was happening to my own sister… not until I came home to find Ma dead and Cara sobbing over it. She’d slit her own wrists over it, told me she didn’t want to go to prison over it.

He smirks at me. “You love secrets, you just want to collect them for yourself. We’re here because I have a shipping container in storage in the warehouse over there and I just need the coast to be clear before we go over there. Lots of eyes down this way, lots of old loyalties we don’t want to fuck with.”

Colt pulls out his phone and clicks through his photos, handing it over to Illi to look at. When I glance down at his hand, there’s a little diamond tattooed to his ring finger… that’s a sign of something. I don’t know the specifics but I make a mental note.

I open the box and immediately I want to cry. I want to breakdown and weep like a child because there’s never been a better gift for me. It’s the necklace Lips gave me for Christmas, the little platinum cage with the blue diamond in there except now there’s another diamond in there with it. Dark, brilliant green that’s the same shade as his eyes. A lump forms in my throat. “You chewed me out for going back in there and getting shot, remember? I couldn’t leave the necklace behind… after what happened, I couldn’t have you lose that too.” I swallow and slip the chain over my head. It’s a little tight but I make it work until the little cage and the priceless diamonds are hanging over my bare chest. “You know that Lips gave it to me as a favor? If anything happened to me I could use it on her behalf and no matter the cost, she’d fulfill the favor.” He smiles and nods. “Of course. I’m taking a leaf outta the Wolf’s books and I’m not giving out favors… except that one. Just for you, Queenie.” I blink away my tears and swallow around the lump in my throat until I can speak without sobbing. “I would like it if you stayed the night.”

After I’ve filled my freezer with my baked good and scrubbed my kitchen completely I spend an hour on the phone with Ash to talk him down from running after Lips while she’s on a recon trip at the Chaos Demon MC. Harley went with her, leaving Ash to babysit Blaise because of the groupie problem he’s been having, but my brother is not a man to sit around while the love of his life is in danger. If I were there with them it would be different, he could convince himself that watching me was a greater priority and Harley is more than capable to watch after Lips, but Blaise can take care of his own… we all know it.

done. “Your father has sold you at auction four times.” I freeze, only my head moving slowly so I can stare over at him. He keeps his eyes on the road, his hands still tightly wrapped around the steering wheel and his jaw is working as he grinds his teeth. I always knew he’d been protecting me but he’d never told me the finer details. He doesn’t sound tense though, he’s just firmly laying down the facts that I was completely unaware of. “The Devil was only the last time he auctioned you off at those skin markets. The buyer before him collected women for the pleasure of owning them, the one before that was one of his business associates. The type of man that enjoyed slapping women around and belittling them, and he enjoyed them a little too young. I took care of both of them and so your father just kept using you as a threat to Ash until he would grow bored and attempt to sell you again.” “What about the first buyer?”

“I bought you first. I bought you and I made arrangements for you to move into my apartments in Mounts Bay. You could live there happily, and safely, without ever having to see Joey or your father again. I would have taken care of you until you were eighteen and made your own decisions.” My heart is beating too hard in my chest, loud in my ears. “You bought me… to keep me safe from Senior? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t I get to stay with you?” He stares at the gates but he doesn’t make a move to direct the car down the driveway. “Ash. I was very aware that there was no way to get you and him both out. If I had’ve just taken you both your father would have thrown everything at me and I wasn’t a match for him at eighteen years old. I needed this empire to be able to get you both out and… I knew you’d never leave your twin behind. I knew you’d never be whole without him. It was always my back-up plan, to just take you and run, but until Joey attacked you I thought you were safe enough in the house as long as I kept you from being bought.”

“Did you know they were hurting Ash?” He sighs and the leather on the steering wheel creaks again under the pressure of his hands. “I did. There was nothing I could do about it without risking everything. It is not a choice I would wish on anyone Avery but you know how far your father’s net reached… there’s still a lot of clean up going on thanks to his death. It’s never as simple as just killing an evil man. Dozens spring up in their place.”

“Tell me, then. Tell me who I need to neutralize and I’ll do it. He was my father, my problem, and his death was for me. Why shouldn’t I be the one cleaning up the mess?” He straightens back up and finally moves the car forward. “I became the Crow for you, Avery. None of this will be worth it if anything happens to you.”

“There’s always more, Avery. Between us, there will always be more.”

“I told you I don’t want to argue with you, Floss. Please can we just eat dinner and talk like we used to?”

“The door isn’t locked Avery, but there’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight. The Crow was very clear about keeping you in the house, safe and secure.”

Just because I’m sure he isn’t the dealer, doesn’t mean everyone else has the same conviction.