To the End: Year Four (Hannaford Prep Book 4) Read online

  Odie’s eyes follow Avery’s and she switches to French. "Are you in love with this man, the Crow?”

  Blaise glances up at us with a frown, but I just smile sweetly at him. He frowns harder because, seriously, when do I ever smile sweetly?

  Avery pulls a face. "I was in love with a man who doesn't exist, I was in love with the idea of who I thought Atticus Crawford was. Lips and I have gone through this so many times. I think I should just stay away from men."

  I sit back in my chair to watch them both go through this. I feel like I'm about to get a Masterclass at girl talk, because Odie and Avery are so much better at this than I will ever be.

  Odie shrugs. “What are the differences between the man you thought he was and the man that he is, are they so different that you do not love him anymore?”

  Avery sighs and flicks the page in her own copy of Vogue. "The Crow is much better suited to me. It's the lying I can't get past. It doesn't matter that he was doing it for me, it matters that he was doing it in the first place."

  Odie nods. "I get that. How do you know he's not going to lie again?"

  "Exactly. If he was willing to do this and tell himself it was for my own good what's to stop him from doing worse? The world we live in is never going to be safe. I can't be questioning whether or not he's lying to me every time something happens."

  Ouch. Sucks to be the Crow today. I ask, “So you're voting no? Because I was only voting yes for you.”

  Avery rolls her eyes. "Why do we have to vote right now? Can't we leave it open until I figure out what the hell I'm going to do?"

  Odie leans back in her chair. "So there's a chance that you'll change your mind? There's a chance he can prove himself to you?"

  Avery groans and covers her face with her hands. "I hate how pathetic he makes me feel. I would skin any other man for treating me like this and making me feel like some pathetic little girl. I fucking hate it."

  Even in French the swearing sounds weird coming out of her mouth. "We don't have to decide now. We do need to vote about Jackson and Viola though."

  Odie points out an outfit to Avery and I watch as they giggle over it together. "We need to get you out and about on dates as soon as this war is over. Johnny has quite a few friends I could set you up with."

  I shake my head vehemently. "I've met his friends and there is no fucking chance she is dating any of them."

  Odie giggles. "Now now la Loup, you can't judge a man by the worst thing he's done."

  I pull a face at her. “Yes, I can.”

  She giggles and shrugs, and we all fall silent again for a few minutes. I get back to critiquing Avery’s history assignment while they flip through their magazines.

  “I love him.” Avery whispers, Odie nods with a little smile.

  “I know. Let’s get it out and in the air. Talk it out so we can figure out how to get him under your thumb. Men can be stupid sometimes.”

  I blink. Avery just let it out there without any extra prodding, Odie is a freaking wizard. Fuck, maybe I should take notes?

  “I don’t take failure well. I don’t like things being out of place.” Avery stops and takes a deep breath, her eyes catching mine before she continues, “My father used to beat Ash if I failed at things. I get the sense of death in the air when things don’t follow my plan. Atticus has always followed his own path, but I always knew I could trust him. Him lying to me about being the Crow… it was too much. I’ve always trusted him and told him everything. He’s lied to me from the very beginning. I can’t help but be angry at him.”

  Odie shrugs. “That’s fair. He deserves some hell for that. Do you understand why he’s doing it though?”

  Avery rolls her eyes. “I have eyes, I know he’s doing it to protect me. The problem is… this is our world. This is how we live, and that is never going to change. Even after we kill the Jackal and Senior, someone else will take their place. Either he trusts me to be strong enough to deal with this or he doesn’t. We’re doomed.”

  My chest aches at the tone she’s using. She sounds so fucking… resigned. Bleak. Unlike herself, that I want to change my fucking vote.

  She’s right though, there’s never going to be a time in our lives where we’re not being stalked by monsters. I’m always going to be the Wolf, he’ll always be the Crow, and she will always be a Beaumont.

  We can’t change that.

  “Maybe you need to take a step back. Let la Loup take care of the Crow, let her take the weight of his anger and misguided care.”

  I nod. “I can do that, Aves. We can do that. Just give yourself some time to figure out how you’re going to get him on his knees for you.”

  * * *

  A week later, Illi finally wins the argument and they both pack up to leave. I secured a safe house for them that was picked out by Avery, security set up and monitored by the Coyote, and only members of our family know where it is.

  We voted Jackson and Viola in, unanimous though Illi is still a little pissy about it.

  The Crow is still out.

  “Thanks for letting us crash here kid.” Illi says, flinging his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me in a weird side hug.

  I shrug. “Anytime.”

  Ash rolls out of my bed and stalks past us, stealing my cup of coffee on the way through. “She says anytime but what she really means is upgrade your security so we never have to do this again. Being jammed in here all together like this has given me hives.”

  I roll my eyes at him. Jammed in? There’s three times the amount of space in one of these rooms as what our group home had and we shared with eleven other kids.

  Fucking rich kids.

  Odie smiles at Ash like he’s her best friend, and my heart does this weird little clench over it. Everything that is happening is bringing us closer together as a family, so as long as we survive it, it’s all worth it. I will tell myself that every damn day until this war is over.

  Illi grunts at him, throwing an arm around Odie’s shoulders and tucking her firmly into his side. “Alright, you grumpy asshole, we’ll get out of your hair before your blue balls fucking kill you. Horny teenage boys; I don’t know how you fucking keep up with them, kid.”

  I will not blush. I’m a killer, dammit. “It’s not so bad. One of them is usually a grumpy dick and tantruming so it makes it a little easier on the… scheduling.”

  Illi roars with laughter, fucking quakes with it, and whispers loudly into Odie’s ear, “Three guesses which one is the grumpy dick, baby girl.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  After Illi’s stabbing we decide to stay at Hannaford for spring break where the Crow’s men will be walking the grounds and watching the security cameras around the clock.

  I spend the time pouring over the plans I’ve drawn up of the Jackal’s fortress, talking Avery through the best ways in and out, provided he hasn’t taken a fucking jackhammer to the walls in an effort to keep me out. Now that Illi has had to slow down his protection of us until his guts are less… perforated, the death toll in the Bay is only getting worse.

  Avery stays true to her word and stops speaking to Atticus, leaving all of the planning and liaising to me. I quickly decide that I owe that girl another blood diamond because within days I’m ready to smash my phone and never replace the fucking thing.

  I also grit my teeth the second I see Atticus’ phone number because it’s always him calling.

  “You can’t induct another member of the Twelve. That’s not how the institution works.” He snaps, and I seriously consider stabbing my fork into my own eyeballs to get out of this conversation. Ash steals my coffee, the dick, and slips his hand onto my thigh, his fingers stroking and petting.

  “Yeah, I know. I’m not inducting him, he just joined the family. It means he’s one of us.”

  Atticus huffs down the line at me and I start to count in French to stay calm. “He’s just gotten a Wolf insignia tattoo. Viola got one too. They both wear your mark now and that’s not how things are do
ne, Wolf.”

  Well, fuck. “I didn’t ask him to do that. If you have a problem with it, talk to him. Just know, if you start shit with Jackson, we side with him.”

  He hangs up on me. Grumpy fuck.

  Ash squeezes my thigh. “We should go take a shower.”

  Harley huffs and rolls his eyes from where he’s sitting at the other end of the table. “Avery will stab you for trying.”

  I glance over my shoulder to where Avery is doing yoga in front of the TV. It’s been a part of her detox and she’s trying to focus on her dance more, to find her joy or some shit. I dunno, I just want her to be happy so I’m all about it.

  “Good thing you’re going to stay here and keep her nice and distracted for us.”

  Harley quirks an eyebrow. “And why the fuck would I do that?”

  Ash smirks at him as his fingers drifts up until they’re stroking me through my shorts. I flush and Harley’s eyes flare.

  “You keep Avery busy and I’ll sleep in here with her tonight so you can have our room to yourself. I’ll even talk Morrison into sleeping here as well, I’ll suffer through some bullshit movie for you.”

  His fingers are fucking sinful. Without meaning to, my hips start to rock against them but I catch myself and snap my legs shut, glancing back at Avery who hasn’t noticed, thank fuck.

  Harley stares at me for a second longer, then he stands to stalk into the kitchen for beer and snacks. “Fine. But you better get Morrison on board.”

  Ash drags me into the bathroom with him and I follow him like a lost fucking puppy. He strips me off, biting his lip at the tiny scraps of lace covering me, a set he’d given me for Christmas that I haven’t worn for him yet. I fucking preen under his gaze.

  He tears his own clothes off without a care and I drop to my knees the second his pants hit the floor. I lick my way up his dick, slowly sucking on the head and looking up at Ash in a way I know sends him insane, and he doesn’t disappoint.

  “You look so fucking good down there, Mounty.” He groans, fisting his hand in my hair to hold me still so he can fuck my mouth. It’s taken me a minute to work up to this but now I can swallow around his dick like it’s my favorite fucking treat at the drop of a hat.

  You’d think this was degrading, him using me like this, but the adoration in his eyes as he watches me is the best compliment, and when he pulls out to tug me to my feet his kiss is intoxicating, his own type of worship that’s so different to the other two but just as fucking complete.

  The bathroom door opens and Blaise stomps in, looking grumpy and tired. I glance over at him and Ash runs a hand down my spine, cupping my ass possessively.

  “You getting in or not?” He grunts at Blaise, flicking open the shower door and lifting me in. I get my hand around his dick and slowly pump, hating that he’s stopped me from making him come. I’m sure he has other plans but fuck it, I’m pouting.

  Blaise watches us both as he strips off, his eyes flaring as Ash positions me exactly how he wants me, tugging at my body and slapping my ass once I arch my back for him.

  He slides in and I could die, it feels that good. My skin heats as Blaise’s eyes stay fixed on me, watching my body move as Ash’s hips start to grind against my ass, like he doesn’t really want to pull away. I moan, low and throaty, as he gets his phone out and takes a photo. I should snap at him, be fucking pissed off he’s leaving evidence someone like the Coyote could easily find, but right now I think I’d let him do anything just so long as he keeps watching me.

  He hops up on the bathroom counter and fists his own dick, pumping it and groaning. Oh sweet merciful lord, I could die.

  The bathroom door bangs loudly on the wall as Harley stomps in, dragging Blaise off of the sink and shoving him out of the room, nakedness be damned.

  “What the fuck-“

  “You know what, dickhead. Go walk Avery to ballet.”

  Then Harley throws a pile of clothes at him and slams the door, ignoring the vicious curses my rock god throws at him and the equally enraged snarling from Avery.

  Ash scoffs against the skin of my neck, his hips still pumping into me, so full I can’t fucking breathe. I didn’t think it was possible to feel more than what I am with Ash buried inside me, but when he pushes me forward, bending me so my hands are braced against the glass and he can hold my hips to move faster, I watch Harley slowly strip off and the fierce need in his eyes sets my body alight until I’m coming, squeezing like a vice on Ash’s fucking huge cock.

  Ash grunts like he’s dying, and says, “Get the fuck in here before she makes me blow too fast. I want to watch her take us both.”

  I shiver all over, the aftershocks of the orgasm rippling through me are nothing compared to the excitement of having them both at once.

  Harley’s eyes track the shiver, the goosebumps, the gushing between my legs and around Ash’s cock, and the fire in his eyes only burns hotter. He steps into the shower and grips the back of my neck with one big hand to pull my face up to meet his kiss. Ash releases his death-grip on my hips and pulls out, while I whimper pathetically at the loss of his perfect cock.

  “Shh, babe, we’ll fix it. We’ll give you what you need.” Harley breathes in between his long and lingering kisses, deep and consuming.

  He turns me around, shifting and lifting and tugging, until I’m held between them both, Ash plunging back into my pussy while Harley is lining up to take my ass. I let my head drop back onto Harley’s shoulder, the way it always does, and I stare into Ash’s eyes as Harley pushes in. The last thing I see before my eyes roll back into my head is the smug look on his face as they both take me apart. Pushing and pulling, groping and squeezing, the rough strokes of their hands all over me, a girl can only handle so much before I die.

  Ash’s hand slides back up over my chest to my throat to tug my lips back to his. “Come around my cock for me, I want to watch you go over the edge with both of us inside you.”

  My breathing stutters to a stop even before his fingers tighten, and Harley’s hand slides down over my hip to my clit, licking and sucking at my neck as he strokes and I’m a squirming mess between them. I can feel myself dripping around Ash as I come, shouting out so loud I pray Blaise and Avery have left for her dance class already. Ash grunts as he comes with me, his hips pumping as he strokes out his orgasm inside me. Harley groans slowly under his breath as Ash pulls out, dropping my legs down and bending me over until I’m back to where I started; braced against the glass door as he fucks me from behind. His fingers tighten on my hips when he lets out his own shout, coming so hard it joins Ash’s mess dripping down my legs.

  I take a second to remember how the fuck to breathe.

  Harley washes me off, his fingers gentle but firm, and my legs shake so much I have to hold his shoulders to stay upright. When his fingers slide over my raw and deliciously abused pussy I jerk away and he scoffs at me.

  “You’re a fucking skittish thing.”

  I’d poke him or something if he wasn’t holding me up. “Sorry, my brain is leaking out of my ears right now. Stop looking so freaking smug!’

  He laughs at me. “I’m allowed to be smug for making you come so hard, babe. Come on, let’s get you into bed before Morrison gets back and throws his fucking tantrum.”

  * * *

  I stay in my room for the night because I have breakfast plans with Avery in the morning and don’t want to deal with pissy boys if she marches into their room at 7am to get my ass up. Harley keeps his dibs on being with me for the night, leaving the other two snarking at each other as they go back over to their room, neither of them wanting to take the couch for the night.

  Harley and I eat leftover pizza in bed with a movie playing on Harley’s beat-up laptop because finally having access to his inheritance hasn’t changed him one freaking bit.

  When I mention this to him he quirks an eyebrow at me. “I dunno, I’m looking up what it’s going to cost to put my ‘Stang back together and I think I’m going to fucking pay it. It’ll tri
ple the cost of the thing but… I think it’s worth it.”

  I nod and put my coffee back on my side table, leaning back into his chest. “I think it’s worth it too. It’ll still be less than what Avery spends on hair care for the year.”

  His chuckle is a rumble under my cheek and I let my focus slide back to the laptop. The movie is an old action flick, something I’ve never seen before but Harley knows all of the words and pokes me when something important is about to happen to make sure I’m watching. It's cute but I can barely keep my eyes open, being here, warm and safe and wrapped up in his arms, it’s my happy place.

  The door unlocks and Avery stomps through it like the devil in on her ass. “Lips, there’s another box. Lips, it’s- I can’t! I’m sorry!”

  I jump up and off of the bed, Harley cursing up a storm behind me as he scrambles up. “It’s okay. I’ll get it. Go to the bathroom, or the boy’s room! I’ll sort it out.”

  She clamps a hand over her mouth. “This one is different, Lips. I could smell it.”

  Ah fuck. “Bathroom, Aves. I promise you, I’ll sort it out and have the smell gone before you’re out of the shower.”

  Blaise stalks in after her, the box in his hands but held as far away from his body as possible. “It fucking reeks! This one isn’t fresh. I need to go burn my clothes and sit in a fucking bleach bath.”

  I grimace as the smell finally hits me and, yep, this one has been dead for a few days. Fuck, depending on how much the skin has slipped we might not even be able to tell who the fuck it is. That adds a whole new layer of headache to this fucking situation! I’ll have to call the Crow and see if we can run the DNA through the police and FBI databases. Fuck, I’m also going to have to call the Boar and tell him he fucking sucks at sorting this shit out!

  While I’m planning and raging in my head Blaise moves towards the coffee table to set the box down and out of his hands.