The Ruthless

by J Bree

  Great.

  I’d thought it was just me struggling with that wired nervous energy. It’s as though electricity is crawling through my veins, looking for an outlet and scorching my blood when there’s no way for it to get out.

  I text Lips.

  On our way now, Illi is on high alert as well. I’ll call you with updates.

  I slip my phone back into my pocket and then sigh, slipping it back out and messaging Ash.

  I’m nervous about tonight. I miss you.

  His reply is instant. I can be home in three hours, Floss. Say the word and I’m on my way.

  I’ve barely finished reading it and he’s calling me. “I’m booking a private flight now; where am I meeting you?”

  I huff at him even though this is exactly what I need right now. “I’m fine, stay where you are. You guys are due back soon anyway. I just—I just haven’t heard your voice in a few days and that makes me nervous. Sorry. How is the tour?”

  He grumbles a little, “It would be better if Finn stopped trying to fuck the Mounty and if Lips’ brothers stopped showing up out of nowhere.”

  Jesus H. Christ.

  “Ash, I highly doubt Finn is trying anything, because Lips would have said something to me. Jesus, Blaise would have beat the shit out of him and we both know it. You’re just pissed off at the close quarters; you’re not made for tour buses.”

  He huffs, but I ignore him and continue, “I met Colt and, as far as bikers go, he’s a decent guy. I’m not saying he’s never going to be a problem for us, but at least he isn’t pure freaking evil. You should trust me a little more.”

  More huffing. “Of course I trust you, but you’re not here to see any of this, and Lips was nervous about meeting him. It might have… affected my feelings a bit.”

  No shit. “Call me tomorrow? We’re almost at the Game, and I need to be my cold self, not Floss. I love you. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  Illi glances over at me as we pull into the parking lot. “He still pissed about the drummer? Harley made me run a background check on the kid. He’s harmless.”

  I roll my eyes. “Stupid, jealous fucking boys. Like I’d let Lips on a bus with Finn without a full screening.”

  Illi laughs. “There’s only room for four in that bed, and they’re making sure everyone knows it.”

  Christ.

  When we pull up, we find the Impala waiting for us, and Jack opens my car door, pulling me into a quick hug as he helps me out. It only lasts half a second, but my heart squeezes in my chest.

  Everything is going to be fine.

  Aodhan tucks me into his side, kissing the top of my head. “Your nominee isn’t here yet. We’ll wait with you, keep an extra set of eyes out just in case.”

  Illi nods and leans back against the car, his fingers drumming against his thigh. Jack looks calm and relaxed as he watches the road. The roar of the motorbike can be heard from miles away and at first I assume it’s the Boar and his men, but when she turns into the parking lot, it’s very clearly Lucy.

  Her hair is tucked up into the helmet so when she removes it, it’s like every cheesy movie montage ever. The only saving grace is that none of the men here have any interest in her, so I don’t have to watch anyone fall at her feet. Illi is happily married, Aodhan only has eyes for me, and Jack is still mourning the death of his pregnant fiancée.

  She tucks the helmet into the pack on the bike, stripping the gloves off and shoving them in too before she stalks over to us.

  “Sorry I’m late. My cousins tried to run me off of the road like the little pussy bitches they are, and I had to take the long route here. Are you sure I can’t take them out before the Game? They deserve it.”

  Illi huffs out a laugh at her. “We said don’t hunt them, not don’t kill them. If they’re dumb enough to start shit, you can fucking end it.”

  She rolls her eyes and unzips her jacket until some of her cleavage peeks through. Nothing about her is suggestive or provocative, but there’s no denying she’s a very attractive woman.

  It’ll be an asset in the fights, even after last week’s bloodbath.

  Men never think the bombshell will gut them.

  “Let’s get in there before the Crow starts some bullshit about us being late,” Illi murmurs, and Aodhan kisses my hair again before letting me go, stepping forward and taking the lead with Jack. They’re too similar from behind, their strides the same, and Jack makes some joke that Aodhan chuckles about, a dry laugh in the quiet of the night.

  “You ready to win, Ammoscato? You better not have any rings on tonight; they’ll start a fucking riot,” Illi says, falling into step with us both.

  Lucy scoffs and holds her hands up, both of them bare. “It’s not the element of surprise if they’ve seen it before.”

  We step into the warehouse, the same one as last week, and it’s already teeming with bodies. After the shock from the losses last week, there’s even more punters here to watch the fight and attempt to make some quick cash.

  Illi leads us through and we stop, with Aodhan and Jack, only a few feet away from Atticus and Jackson where we’ll have a clear view of everything happening.

  The crowd parts and moves as the Bear and his nominees make their way past us. I roll my eyes at the sneers and posturing bullshit but then the Bear pauses in front of me, snarling, “You don’t belong at the table and soon enough you won’t be fucking sitting at it. You won’t even be in the fucking city.”

  I freeze, but he’s already scurrying away like the little fucking cockroach he is.

  “Did he just fucking threaten you?” Aodhan snaps, and I roll my shoulders back to straighten up.

  “Forget about it. He’s not distracting us from tonight—“ I pause, the words dying in my throat as I watch the Bear hand Atticus a slip of paper and fuck. Fuck.

  The Viper had chosen the pairings in the last round.

  It’s the Bear’s turn.

  “He’s going to put them together. He’s going to pair two of our three, we both know it,” I murmur, and Illi stares him down as he takes his place across the room from us.

  “If he does, he’s dead. If he does, no diamond is gonna save him from the wrath of the Wolf. Harley will fucking lose it.”

  I glance over to where Aodhan and Jack are talking but neither of them look worried. I’m actually shocked at how calm Aodhan seems, like this is all following a plan, when really everything is going to shit. I should have just had the Bear killed and asked for forgiveness when the dust settled afterward.

  Aodhan notices me looking and tilts his head at me, as close to a reassurance as I’ll get from him in this room, filled to the brim with people who would slit our throats and take our place at the round table of the Twelve in a second if they thought they could get away with it.

  Illi leans in to whisper to me, “No matter what happens, tonight changes shit. The Bear just threatened you directly, Queenie. He’s dead. The Twelve isn’t the top threat in the Bay anymore. We are.”

  I nod and take a half step toward him, letting his body shield me a little more from the smirking asshole across the room. I need the comfort and security of Ash tucking me into his side right now, but Illi is a good stand-in.

  I understand why it is that Lips has always been so loyal to him.

  “I’m calling the kid when we get out of here. Shit is gonna change around here right the fuck now,” Illi snarls, his voice still quiet and meant just for me, but the crowd around us hears the tone and backs away like their asses are on fire. I nod and wait for Atticus to announce the next fight.

  He stares the Bear down as well, his eyes a slow and meticulous assessment of just how far this man is going to push us all tonight.Then he looks down at the list and calls out the first names.

  In under a minute the fight starts, the first of twelve we have to sit through.

  It takes forever, the bigger of the two men intent on actually beating the other man to death, which is not at all a quick process when you’re inex
perienced.

  Ash or Harley could handle it in a third of the time.

  One by one, Atticus reads out the list, and every time I don’t hear any of our three competitors, my stomach churns more and more.

  When ten fights have been held and five dead bodies have been dragged out of the ring, I pray.

  I pray that Luca and Lucy have been paired together. I pray that he gives her a swift death and that she feels no pain, because there’s no way that Jack will kill a woman. No way, I know it without even looking at him.

  “Luca and Jack.”

  My heart stops in my chest as Illi starts cursing up a storm under his breath. Luca blows out a breath and looks to Atticus. He stares over at the Bear, and I’m about to pull my gun and take the asshole out, end this entire fucking farce right here, but Aodhan slaps Jack on the back as he steps forward and I blanch.

  How the fuck is he so calm right now?

  They step into the ring and I want to scream. Aodhan’s hand slips into mine, squeezing gently as he leans in to me, completely disregarding the audience we have, and murmurs, “He’s wanted to die for a long time, Queenie. He wants to go be with Amara, wherever their souls end up, and I can’t keep asking him to stay alive for me.”

  I shake my head, desperate to look away as they both stretch their arms out to show they have no weapons. “He needs a therapist then, not to die! Aodhan—“

  He looks down at me and swallows roughly. “He’s a man and he makes his own choices. I’ve spent fucking months wrapping my head around it, but this is where we’re at. He told me he’d enter and do what he could. If he won, he’d live. If he dies… he wanted to go out with some kind of fucking bravado so his younger brothers don’t hate him for just swallowing his gun. I’m fucking gutted, but what else can I do?”

  His voice ends on a ragged note, and I’m about to start screaming.

  I should have made Ash come home.

  He would have stopped this for me. He would’ve fixed it; he would have helped me.

  Atticus pauses for a little too long before he calls the fight to a start, his hesitation like a wound in my chest because he knows what this is about to do to me and my family.

  “Illi, shoot the Bear. Let’s just end this now before—“

  “Don’t do it, Illi. Jack made his choice.” Aodhan cuts me off.

  I want to scream.

  I manage to swallow it and choke down the bile creeping up my throat, but no one else around me is freaking the fuck out as we watch Luca very quickly and efficiently murder Jack.

  Jack does much better than the last guy, landing a fist to Luca’s jaw that definitely breaks something with how loud the crack is, but Luca has definitely had the sort of training that Lips has and he takes Jack to the ground, snapping his neck with nothing but his hands.

  I’m going to pass the fuck out.

  “Fuck, fuck, Queenie, breathe. Breathe. If you don’t fucking breathe, I’ll call Ash home right the hell now,” Illi snaps, and I take a single gasping breath.

  Aodhan’s hand is clammy in mine, but he’s silent, watching as Luca shoves the man who attempts to take Jack’s body away and grabs him by the armpits himself.

  Atticus waits long enough for them to make it outside of the taped circle before he calls out for the next fight. Lucy doesn’t say a word, none of her snarking or bravado, and she drops her jacket to the floor as she steps up. She holds out her arms, but Atticus barely looks at her before starting the fight.

  I watch the entire thing but barely see any of it.

  She wins.

  I don’t know how or why or fucking anything about it, but she wins, and she stalks back over to us to grab her jacket, awkwardly hovering for a second before Illi tells her to get her ass out of here.

  I can’t look at her or anyone else.

  Aodhan’s hand is cold in mine.

  “C’mon, we’re going for a fucking drink. O’Cronin, get moving. We’re finding a bar right the fuck now.” Illi grabs my elbow and starts to drag me out gently, his eyes savage as he clears us a path without so much as a word.

  Every man in here is terrified of what he can do.

  It still didn’t save Jack.

  We get out to the cars and my mind is in a fog. The warm night air does nothing to kick me out of it, not the buzz of my phone in my pocket or the stream of profanity coming out of Illi as he rages about our night.

  He doesn’t take casualties well.

  Aodhan tries to convince Illi that he’s going home and doing this alone but the Butcher isn’t having any of it, demanding he gets in the BMW right the fuck now so we can find a bar. I don’t really know what the fuck to do, so I throw my purse in the backseat and I’m about to slide in when the warehouse roller doors open and people start pouring out. All of the other members of the Twelve start making their way over to the parking lot, and I wince, but then the yelling and screaming starts up.

  It’s the fucking Bear and his men celebrating their win.

  I could throw up.

  Atticus and Luca make a beeline for us but I have absolutely zero interest in seeing either of them, and Illi steps directly in their paths.

  “Not fucking likely, dickhead. Stay the fuck away before you catch a fucking bullet between the motherfucking eyes.”

  Atticus glances over at the Bear and Illi’s spine snaps up straight, snapping into high alert as the Bear comes fucking charging toward us.

  “Slow your fucking roll, cunt, you get any closer and you’re fucking dead.”

  The Bear slows down at Illi’s words and starts screaming at Atticus like he can stop the inevitable. “I paid you a diamond; if they kill me, you’re fucked, Crow! The Viper and the Ox will know, and you’ll have a fucking revolt on your hands.”

  Pathetic.

  The fog finally lifts, burning away with the rage pumping through my veins. I’m untouchable in this moment, if I had my gun there would already be a bullet in his fucking brain.

  “The Crow doesn’t speak for the Wolf or her family. What you did tonight, the fight and threatening me? Well, you’re about to learn all about the real hierarchy in Mounts Bay.”

  A nervous laughter bursts out of his chest as he looks around desperately, but none of the other members are laughing. No, they’re all a little smarter than this idiot and every last one of them has figured it out already.

  The Jackal broke the sanctity of the Twelve. He cracked the foundations of the institution and now something else has taken hold in the Bay. A family of people loyal to each other and themselves, fiercely protective of our own agendas. If the Twelve is no longer useful to us then they’re out.

  The Bear is out.

  “You can’t do shit—“

  I step forward until I’m in his face. “I could slit your fucking throat right here and now and no one would do a thing about it. You breathe at my discretion and if you value that oxygen, you’d run. You’d run so far away that the Devil himself couldn’t find you because you just made yourself problem number one in my books.”

  His eyelids peel back until the whites of his eyes are showing but when he looks around, all he can see are the four men caging us both in, ready to pounce and bleed him out the second he attempts a goddamn thing.

  “I paid a diamond.”

  “Your favor to the Crow is nothing to me, and it means nothing to the Butcher. Stag, does it mean anything to you?”

  Aodhan answers without hesitation. “Fucking nothing, Queenie.”

  “There we go. You just keep picking the wrong fucking sides.”

  I step away from him, mostly because I don’t actually have my gun on me and don’t have any other options to kill him with, and the moment I turn my back on him, he snarls.

  I hear the single gunshot and then a body landing on the gravel.

  I turn back to find Atticus staring down at the Bear’s corpse, the gun still in his hands.

  “So the favors mean nothing now then? The Twelve means fucking nothing,” The Ox says, two of h
is men inching closer to us.

  Atticus shakes his head and snaps, “No, it means that I’m not going to put up with a second Jackal. Stick to your own fucking business, stay out of each other’s shit, and we’ll be fine. Don’t mess with the fucking Family.”

  “Of course you’d fucking say that! Looking after your own fucking people,” the Viper snarls and stalks off toward his car, his own men following quickly after him like they’re glad to be clear of this shitshow.

  Atticus doesn’t glance our way at all, just stares down all of the other members until they walk away. “I’m not a member of the Family. I’m just smart enough to see the writing on the wall.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Illi gets Aodhan so wasted he has to help me carry him back up to the loft.

  When I tell him no one is supposed to know about it, Illi shrugs. “There should always be a fail-safe and now Jack’s gone, that’s me. I’m gonna—Queenie, Luca didn’t put him in the acid. I’m gonna go pick him up, and we can get him on ice until the O’Cronins decide what the fuck to do with him. I’m sorry, kid. We shoulda just killed the fucking Bear and dealt with the consequences.”

  My eyes fill with tears again. “You heard Aodhan… he made his own choices.”

  Illi huffs and pours Aodhan onto the mattress for me as I hit the light. He’s already snoring lightly, something he never does, so I start panicking about him choking on his fucking tongue.

  “We both know his decision was a shit one. A really fucking shit one because now you’re crying and Aodhan’s gonna go fucking feral. You don’t lose people without losing your head.”

  I nod, but we all made our choices tonight. The wrong ones. I should’ve just said something. I should’ve been the one to put an end to it, goddammit!

  “You need me to hang around? Is there a couch I can pass out on, keep you company?” Illi looks around, but it’s still pretty bare.

  “I’m fine, Illi. Thank you. Thank you for taking us out and for—for getting Jack. You’re a good man.”

  He gives me a grin that’s more of a grimace, raking a hand through his hair. “Not really, kid. I’d just do anything for family and… this shit is hard. Lock up after me, I’ll keep some eyes in the area just in case there’s retaliation.”