I nod my head slowly, years of being with Lips has made me a little more sensitive to kids with poverty issues, but there’s also no getting around this. “Money is nothing to us. Sorry if that’s too blunt but it’s the truth. Keeping you safe is all we care about. No one is keeping tabs on anything… except that Ash will definitely have a lot to say if you touch his cars without permission again. Also, only Lips and I have free rein with them, so you’re probably never going to drive one again.”
He scoffs but takes it better than he has ever before, scuffing his shoe against the ground, his face serious again. “I’ve only trusted three people in my life. One betrayed me in the worst way and another is the guy who tried to kill me. This isn’t easy because if my gut feeling is wrong about you all, then I just spent a year in a basement for fucking nothing.”
I nod slowly. “And the third person? What did they do?”
“Wyatt gave me the basement. He’s a cop who’s as straight as they come, and he faked my death. He’s the only person I trust.”
The lights of the Escalade hit us and I use the seconds we have left in this moment to sway him. “I had the same thing with Lips. The moment I did trust her though, my whole life changed. I went from a terrible life of being scared and hunted to having a family, all of us safe, thanks to her. Trust her with this one thing and she will never let you down, Noah. She doesn’t know how to be anything but loyal and ruthless.”
The tires on the car screech as it comes to a stop, then the car doors fling open and Ash flies out of it as though the hounds of hell are biting his ass, bundling me into his arms and growling under his breath, “Can we be done with this phase? I can’t fucking handle you being out here on your own and dealing with men yourself. It’s fucking killing me, Floss.”
I chuckle at him, glancing over at where Noah is staring at Ash like he’s a piece of meat, still completely unrepentant in his obsession with his sister’s boyfriend. “I wasn’t on my own. Noah is a very handy young man in a fight.”
Ash glances over at him, a frown still secured tightly over his features, and then mutters, “Good job. Now get in the fucking car.”
I’m fairly certain Noah ejaculates in his pants at the praise, which is completely disgusting, and I wave him on in front of me to get him moving.
If I wasn’t already a thousand percent sure of it, I definitely am now; we’re going to have our hands full with him around.
When we’re all back in the car again, Noah lets himself bask in Ash’s approval for an extra two minutes before he pipes up in the back and destroys it all, “Was that McLaren P1 insured?”
* * *
Noah doesn’t get a whole new personality thanks to our little adventure at the docks together, but he does suddenly become much less of a problem to handle. When Ash finds out the McLaren was stolen, not wrecked, he starts harassing Jackson to find it, scouring through security footage until it shows up.
In pieces.
Thanks to a chop shop run that’s been opened by the Hyena, who’s taking over from the Bear’s old businesses. Lips almost has a coronary when she finds out how much the car cost Ash, not that he can’t afford to get a new one, but Mounties are all very neurotic about the prices of things, and for a moment I think that this might be the thing that gets Noah sent back to Wyatt’s basement.
He does actually apologize for what he did and offers to work off the cost of the car. Ash refuses to look at him or acknowledge him, which is the real punishment here because for all his teasing, there’s something about my brother that has Noah craving his approval and attention.
I don’t bother telling Atticus about his father’s attempt on my life, other than to apologize for the death of his guy, and he doesn’t find out about it until days later thanks to our great job at the cleanup down there the next evening.
Aodhan could very well take over the business if he wanted to, arriving in the morning with a van and a handful of O’Cronin men, including a very green-looking Patrick who had the decency to look sheepish at us.
When we’re done, we all head back to the ranch together, except for Lips who is meeting with Nate for dinner. For once, none of her guys argue with her or insist on riding along.
The true power of the Devil.
I almost think I’ve gotten away with multiple counts of murder without any complications when Atticus storms into the kitchen with an enraged look on his face while I’m busy making enough pasta to feed an army.
Aodhan slides in front of me immediately, ready to shoot Atticus for whatever has pissed him off and sent him to me. Sweet, but entirely unnecessary. He’s not a threat to me, no matter what’s pissed him off.
He doesn’t look at or acknowledge Aodhan’s existence, snarling, “The worst possible option? If I wanted Morningstar to come deal with my father, I would call him and pay the price myself.”
Aodhan turns to stone, horror written over every inch of his face, and I have to step around him to level Atticus with a glare for dropping this bomb on Aodhan like that.
I still haven’t worked out how to tell him about Nate. Does that make me a bad girlfriend? Probably, but I already know that the Devil is kind of a touchy subject to anyone even remotely aware of his history and what he is capable of.
“This is a freebie. Lips called in a favor.”
And now Aodhan looks like he’s going to vomit. “The Devil himself owes the Wolf a favor? Balls of fucking steel on her, that girl, but, Avery, you can’t meet with him. I don’t care what he owes her, you are not meeting him.”
I cringe and Atticus snaps, “She’s already met him. They’re on a first name basis, he’s a member of the family.”
Again, I think Aodhan is going to pass out. I shove him gently toward a chair and then wave a hand at Atticus. “I gave you the option to kill him yourself, you chose the other option. I can’t really go back on that now because Nate is already here to see Lips. They’re actually out having dinner together as we speak.”
Atticus is still staring at me like I’m unhinged for trusting Lips’ assessment and loyalty to her brother, but I agree with her.
