It brings me so much joy to think that the fucking bitch had assumed she was safe from the Wolf, that no matter what the rumors said, there was no way Lips could actually get to her.
I never had a doubt in my mind.
Ash steps around us both and opens the door first, his gun in his hand in case she’s managed to get out of her restraints overnight, but he drops his arm back down to his side and lets Lips slip past him once he’s sure she’s where he left her.
There is something truly satisfying about seeing her tied to the chair, a gag in her mouth as she screams and grunts while she throws herself around as madly as she can while being tied down. She’s clearly gone off the deep end, because she doesn’t acknowledge our arrival at all and her thrashing doesn’t falter in the slightest.
I nudge Ash out of the way a little so I can step fully into the room. “I’d rather you not watch this. Lips is here; I’m safe.”
He nods but doesn’t step fully away, shutting the door behind me and then pressing his back against it. I shoot him a look but he waves me off without a word.
I’m not sure he’ll be able to stop himself from interrupting the interrogation, especially not once he knows what I have planned for her at the end, but there’s no real reason for me to stop him being here.
She sent him that tape.
He deserves some justice too, even if it’s just being here to see her destruction.
When she finally stops thrashing around and notices the two of us, there’s a glint in her eye, a little spark of hope that she’ll be able to manipulate and talk her way out of this. She looks Ash over with that quick assessment of hers, takes in all of the ways that he looks like a Beaumont.
Too bad his appearance showsnothingabout who he really is.
Lips steps out from the shadows, appearing as if from thin air thanks to years of being the Wolf. Amanda flinches at the sight of her and Lips gives her the smallest, coldest smile I’ve ever seen out of her before.
I adore it.
I take one of the chairs from the table and move it so I can sit in front of her, just outside of her reach if she were to break free of the ropes. Lips watches me settle in and then grabs one for herself, slumping into it like a true street kid, one foot propped up on the seat for her elbow to rest on. With the Docs, ripped jeans, and one of Morrison’s old band tees, there’s a lot of Noah in her look.
Even the sharp look in her eyes is the same as his, and another reminder that we need to stop ourselves from underestimating him because he’s still a Graves sibling through and through.
Lips holds up the phone in her hands, Amanda’s, and I take it, enjoying the fact that Jackson has already been through it and added my face to the lock so it just turns straight on for me. “What a lovely little black book you have here. Quite the list of men you own, I’ll be sure to wipe them all out once your body is cold.”
Her eyes flick down to the phone, the smudged eyeliner and matted hair around her face making her look deranged.
I come across my own phone number in the contacts list under that stupid little moniker she’d given me.
I smirk at her, a slow and dangerous thing. “It irritated me when you first called me little bird, you know. Well, it was your intention to demean and belittle me, that’s why you’ve been sending out those pictures and the tape.”
Her eyes finally snap away from Ash and zero in on me. She still feels like she’s won here, it’s as clear as day that she really does think her father will come and save her.
She’s been outplayed.
"You were once a little bird, weren't you? That's what your father would call you whenever you'd be allowed to speak to him. You think I'm as naive and stupid as you were back then?"
She stares at me for even longer, the manic intensity in the room suffocating, and I nod slowly to her as though we've come to an agreement. "It's a valid conclusion to come to. You were only ever let down by the people who were supposed to take care of you. Hurt and abused by everyone in your life. It's almost... disappointing how banal and boring your story really is, Amanda. You're the same as hundreds of other little lost girls around the world with daddy issues, except that you found a serial killer to fuck through your emotions with."
Her eyes flick back over to Ash and the longing there sets my teeth on edge. The only thing that stops me from scratching those eyes out is the knowledge that it's not really my brother she wants. Just the father he resembles so much. The one we both resemble.
I lean forward in my seat to catch her attention again, enjoying the way she startles at the intensity and fury in both Lips and I at her actions. I don't have to look over at my best friend to know that she's livid over this woman's actions. Lips isn’t a naturally jealous girlfriend, but there's also something about the way these women keep stalking and coveting her guys that forces her back into the merciless and cold Wolf.
“Last chance for last words, Donnelley. Any parting jabs you want?” Lips says, leaning forward to rip the tape off of her mouth in one brutal tug.
“You’re all dead. When my father comes for you, he will wipe you all from the board in one swoop. Not even your little senator bastard brother can help you here.”
Lips grins at her and gets up, pulling out sheets of plastic that Amanda watches with thinly veiled terror. She might be angry but she’s finally understanding that she’s going to die here, no matter what threats she throws at us.
I refuse to let her die with peace. “Your father chose his son. He doesn’t care about his traitor daughter, fucking FBI agents and giving them intel on the cartel. It was a very simple transaction, but he owes me a blood debt now, so thank you, Donnelley. Thank you for your contribution to my black book. I promise I will squeeze your bloodline for all they’re worth, and they will all know that it’s your fault they belong to me. You better say your last prayer that there’s no afterlife because they will hunt you there as well.”
Her eyes are frantic but she has nothing left to say.
