I wouldn’t want to be Patrick when he wakes up in the morning.
We stand there and watch the car disappear, the sound of the engine barely audible over the music of the party, and then Lips rolls her shoulders back and shares a look with me. “Ready, Queen Crow?”
I smirk at her for using that name and nod. “Let’s go ruin some lives, Wolf.”
She cackles and then glances at Atticus, wiping the joy from her face like a pro as she stalks toward the party. Ash shares a look with Aodhan as he passes him, but he waves him off.
It’s a passing of the torch, Ash is handing me over to him for safekeeping. It’s more than I ever thought I’d get out of my neurotic, overprotective twin and I smirk at Harley over it.
I slip my hand into Aodhan’s and we step up to where Atticus is still waiting, clearly not happy going into the party or the meeting without us. His men disperse a little more, fanning out to cover us as well as their boss. Luca tips his head at me and I have to remind myself again that he’s now an equal to Atticus, Aodhan, and Lips in the eyes of the Bay.
Aodhan glances at Atticus and then says, “Thanks for grabbing the fucking idiot boy for me, he’s going to be led to hell by his fucking dick.”
Harley scoffs from where he’s following after Lips and calls out, “Aren’t we all?”
He catches an elbow to the gut for that comment but Morrison roars with laughter like a child over it, singing some lyrics from one of his latest songs loudly, the words all dripping with obsession and love for his Mounty.
Aodhan shakes his head at them, grinning roguishly, and mutters to me, “Sometimes I think they don’t all make sense together, then something like that happens.”
I scoff at him, “They’re all wildly co-dependent and obsessed with one another. You should ask Harley what he did to Morrison’s stalker on tour… he didn’t do that for the Mounty, that was all someone going after one of his best friends, and he doesn’t deal with that well at all.”
He shakes his head, and then Atticus is checking his watch like it really matters if we’re late to this thing, so we get moving. It’s very strange and oddly sweet the way they flank me, staring out at the drunk and high Mounties all writhing on the dance floor to the deafening music playing from the dozens of huge speakers set up throughout the warehouse.
The crowd parts like the Red Sea for us, the patrons already wide-eyed after the mythical Wolf and her pack walked through with their tattoos all glowing under the UV lights. My own tattoo of the Wolf insignia on my wrist glows as well, though Aodhan’s arm mostly obscures it from view.
Once we make it up to the meeting room, we find everyone waiting for us, which is a nice change of pace. The Viper curls his lip at me and I smile back at him just to piss the asshole off. Ash watches the entire exchange with that very Beaumont sort of intent and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s planning a trip down to the Dive to kill the man later.
I won’t be even a little mad about it.
Lips takes a seat between Lucy and Jackson, greeting them both quietly. Jackson makes a shitty joke to break the ice and Lucy stares him down like she’s trying to figure out if he’s actually hitting on her or if he’s just mentally deficient.
Thank God Viola isn’t here to see it.
I take my place between Ash and Morrison, my phone in my hand even though we’re not technically supposed to have them here. I want to make notes of the turf disputes that the Ox is once again having.
When Atticus starts the meeting, diving straight into the Ox’s shit, Lucy looks around the room as though she wasn’t expecting this sort of formality about the whole gig.
Lips looks at her with a raised eyebrow and murmurs quietly so she doesn’t disturb Atticus and the Ox snarling at each other, but so I can hear her as well, “Welcome to hell. If you want my advice, keep your mouth shut until you know a little more about the lay of the land… it’ll also get us out of here a little sooner.”
Lucy still looks vaguely ill at the sight of Lips but she’s not rude to her and answers her with a forced smile, “I have much better places to be than here at a fucking dock party.”
From two seats down, the Fox’s lip curls at her and he snaps, “Too good for them, eh? Another fucking wet blanket at the table, the whole place is going to the dogs.”
The rest of the arguments continue around them as Lucy smirks back at him, not shaky at all when she’s dealing with his crusty self. “Maybe if you cleaned the place occasionally, I’d come down here, but I’ve heard a lot of stories about girls getting chlamydia from sitting at the bar and that’s not my idea of a good time.”
I immediately look down at my shoes and curse under my breath.
Another pair of Valentinos to be burned.
I fucking hate this place.
* * *
Atticus is still attempting to mediate between the Viper and the Fox on some stupid issue with adding fights to the parties when my phone buzzes in my hand with an alert about my house alarm being turned off from the inside.
Fucking Noah.
I know it’s him immediately because Lips had read him the riot act before we’d left and he stood there all surly and sassy, like he’s got a leg to stand on with her.
