Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
The Twelve sit at a round table without assigned seats, everyone sitting wherever they want as they arrive.
Half the seats are already taken and I pick the vacant seat between the Coyote and the Bear as the best option left.
Before I sit down Illi snags a jacket from Luca, who is more than willing to help me cover myself, thank fuck, and I pointedly refuse to look at his boss to see how the Jackal feels about his gracious assistance.
As more people arrive around us, Harley helps me into the jacket, zipping it all the way to the top for me, his eyes twitching like he’s trying not to glare at every guy in the room.
I’m oddly proud of him for controlling his protective urges.
Then my guys take up watch by the wall with the rest of the henchmen, flunkies, guards, and overprotective husbands.
Well, there’s just the one overprotective husband and he’s glaring at Harley like he thinks my boyfriend is going to try to jump the Lynx’s bones. I frown, but when I glance over at the woman herself, I find her staring at Harley like she’d happily drop to her knees at his feet to worship his dick.
Fuck.
Just what I need.
I glance around and see we’re still waiting on the Boar.
The Jackal takes a seat directly across from me and I refuse to look in his direction at all.
He’s dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit.
Only the Fox and the Coyote are in the required underwear, everyone else has approached the Jackal for a pass to get themselves in without stripping.
Honestly, I’ve worn worse than the lingerie to parties before to blend in, so if he thought I’d hate it enough to come groveling, he’s still underestimating me. I quirk an eyebrow at the Coyote, the youngest member after me at twenty, and he smirks at me.
“Why the fuck not? I’m going pussy hunting after this; it’s been a while since I left my dungeon.”
I shake my head at him but it only makes him cackle.
He’s the hacker of the group, there’s no digital information in the world that’s safe from this guy, and he’s a certified genius with tech.
Someday, when I get a permanent residence, I’m getting the fucker to set up my security system.
Or, maybe not. He’d probably sit around and jerk off to me in the shower.
He’s one of the few members I can stand speaking to.
“Who’s the hot piece you came in with? She a part of your crew?” the Coyote continues, and I give him a look.
“She’s mine,” I say with a flat tone, and I meet the Crow’s gaze across the table.
My breath catches as the steel gray of his eyes cut me.
He might not have a target on me, but he’s as dangerous as the Jackal and I treat him just as carefully, the same way you’d handle a bomb.
I don’t need any extra bullshit going on in our lives right now.
After a minute he dips his head to me and says, “Has my protection been sufficient?”
“Exemplary, as expected,” I say and he nods, almost amicably.
The Boar finally arrives, clothed, and has three giant bikers in tow with big bushy beards and cuts covered in patches.
He’s in the same club as Harbin is, but they’re not exactly on friendly terms, and the guys he’s brought with him today aren’t great.
I’m not exactly pleased when they stand next to Harley, and Illi sends them all a warning look. Fuck.
The Jackal calls the meeting to a start, forcing me to finally look at him.
There’s a tension in the air that’s present at all of these meetings but when his gaze stays fixed on mine, I can feel the shift around the table.
The other members are all taking note; he’s not attempting to hide the possessive obsession from the others anymore.
Just what I need. I stare him down because sending a guy out of the city to kill Harley was the last fucking straw.
I’m done trying to find a casualty-free way of fixing this.
I’m going to war.
The Jackal runs through some squabbles the bigger players are having with turf wars and cops getting involved, and I keep my mouth firmly shut.
No one cares about my opinion on these things and I don’t care enough about it to offer them any advice.
I just want to be left the fuck alone. It gets heated pretty quickly, and I sit back to enjoy watching the Crow shut the Jackal down at every pass.
With their empires rivaling each other in size, the Crow is often the one to put the Jackal in his place.
If only he weren’t a terrifying, coldly-calculating man, I’d actually like the Crow.
Finally, the Ox speaks and shuts the rest of them up, “Are we not going to talk about the fact that the Vulture is dead and his killer is standing here with us, protected by one of us?”
I don’t freeze or flinch. I just stare them all down.
“Are you going to explain yourself, Wolf?” the Jackal taunts, and I finally look up at him. He’s smug and so fucking arrogant as he calls me out, but fuck him.
“No. I’m not. Unless you have proof the Butcher did it, move on.”
The Viper sneers at me, rubbing at the stumps on his hand where his missing fingers once were. “He killed a member. If you’re willing to overlook that, then you’re spitting in the face of the institution of the Twelve. Maybe we need to dispose of you, too.”
I hold my hand up because I know Illi is just about to start throwing knives and shooting people for my protection, and I don’t even want to know what’s going through Harley’s head. Fuck.
Staring the bookie down, I give the man nothing to use against me.
“I’ve known the Butcher a long time, you know that better than most, Viper.
We’ve been negotiating his induction for most of that time, hashing out the finer details.
I believe him when he says he had nothing to do with the Vulture’s death.
If any of you have proof that he’s guilty, I will happily hand him over. ”
Blatant fucking lie, I’d never sell him out and he knows it, but he’s also sworn there’s no evidence of his crime so it’s a lie I’m willing to take the risk in telling.
“He’s been telling people for years he’d kill the Vulture for what he did to that pathetic French slut, of course he fucking did it!” the Viper snaps, and again I hold my hand up though I know it must be killing Illi to stay silent on this one.
“Exactly. If he’s been saying it for years, why now?
Why wait until the Vulture’s business was bigger, his protection stronger, and thousands more girls have been sold?
He wanted to kill him, but he didn’t want to mess with the Twelve.
Now the Vulture’s death tipped in my favor and he’s finally agreed to my terms to become one of mine.
So, I’m not saying I’m happy the Vulture is dead, but I’m very pleased with the outcome. ”
The Bear nods at me like my reasoning is sound and, for a second, I think I’ve won.
Nope.
Of course not, the Jackal would never let it go now I’ve openly defied him.
He smirks at me like this is his favorite game, cornering me and bending me, hoping I’ll break. I know for a fact it is. “I don’t find that plausible at all. Majority rules, Wolf, and unless you’re going to call in your favors you’re not going to get the majority here.”
My favors. He wants to force me into using them. Even he doesn’t know how many I really have and, though I don’t want to use any more than I have to tonight, I will. I only need six votes.
“Fuck the favors, the Wolf has my vote,” the Boar grunts, and the Jackal’s head snaps over to him. I admit, I’m kind of shocked too. He’s probably one of the last members I’d expect to back me.
He shrugs. “She’s been nothing but true to the Twelve, and she’s taken every job I’ve ever asked from her. If she wants him in her crew then so be it; it’s her own back that will be knifed if he’s not loyal.”
The Jackal grits his teeth and says, “Any other votes in favor.”
I hold my breath.
After a beat, the Bear, Fox, Coyote, and Lynx all make some noise or motion of voting yes. I only need one more and just as I open my mouth to call in a favor with the Ox, who owes me quite a few, the Crow says, “Aye. Majority wins, the Butcher is spared.”
I glance over to him, but his eyes are on the Jackal. Their little rivalry has worked to my advantage, thank fuck.
“Any other issues before we move onto the settling of the Vulture’s business?
” the Jackal snaps, and I smile at him, giving him my best fuck-you impression of Avery.
The girl is an ice queen after all. I’ve been planning this for months, knowing the Jackal expects the quiet, reserved Wolf he knows to be in this room and not the fierce, protective Wolf that’s formed now I have a family behind me to guard. I throw myself in.
“Actually, I have two. Firstly; I would like to address some threats that have been made against my people. I would like to formally remind the Jackal that Harley Arbour is mine, and if he sends any more street rats to knife him in dark alleyways, I will see it as an open act of betrayal against not only me, but the Twelve as a whole.”
Silence.
I think I can hear the blood pumping furiously in the Jackal’s veins from across the table, and the slight flare of his eyes is the only sign I’ve just shocked him. The rest of the table is also clearly fucking floored.
“Why would I have him killed?” he asks carefully, now the Crow and the Boar are watching him closely.
“Because you’re pissed I turned you down. I may choose not to grow an empire but at this table, I am an equal to you. Send someone after my people again, and I won’t have to call in favors to have you taken care of. The Twelve will have no choice but to do it.”
The Jackal doesn’t try to argue or deny what he’s done, he just stares at me like he wants to punish me the same way he’s punished me for years, labeling it as training.
Well, fuck him. I’ve learned a whole lot in the time I’ve been away from him and it’s only made me more dangerous. Now I have people to protect.