Crowned Crows of Thorne Point: A Dark New Adult Romantic Suspense Read online

  He’s in one of my classes I realize. When he cares to show up. He was there for Thursday’s lecture nursing a hangover in the back of the dimly lit room. It’s such a weird departure to think of any of these guys as college students when they’re spending their nights like this.

  Shaking my head, I shove aside my incessant thoughts before my curiosity gets me in trouble. “My brother is missing. I want you to help me find him.”

  Wren tips his head to the side. “That’s not something we do. Go to the police.”

  “You think I haven’t tried that?” A haggard noise gusts out of me. “I’ve been hounding them, but they’re not giving me anything. Not their jurisdiction, not their problem. They don't care.”

  It takes everything to keep my shoulders from slumping. I’ve been at this for weeks after Ethan didn’t come home.

  Silent mirth shakes Wren’s shoulders and Colton snorts. They’re both laughing at me. The terrifying guy remains silent, continuously messing with his knife and the one with the panty-dropping smirk sticks his tongue in his cheek while he shakes his head. My chest rises and falls with my irritated breaths.

  “I have money.” Licking my lips, I gather the courage to dig out the wad of cash in my pocket. I thrust every penny I have to my name toward them, ignoring the tremble in my arm. “I’ll pay you. I have to find my brother.”

  “Do I seem like I need your money?” Wren sneers, the humor blinking away in a flash. He indicates his suit—custom tailored maybe from how well it fits—and his wrist where an expensive watch interrupts the tattoos creeping across his hands.

  My head jerks back. I can’t—won’t—take no for an answer. I’ll make them help me one way or another. It’s just…if they don’t want money, then how?

  Wren’s sneer turns into a cruel smirk at the pinch of my brows. He leans back in the chair like a king to be worshipped. “You don’t know how we work. You’re out of your league, little girl. Run along.”

  This fucking jerk.

  “No.” I set my jaw and flip my messy braid over my shoulder. It’s the same reddish brown shade as Ethan’s, a daily reminder of what’s missing from my life when I look in the mirror. “What do I have to do to get your help?”

  Wren gives me another once over. Colton traces his lower lip with his tongue, exchanging a look with the golden-eyed guy.

  “There’s always the fun way,” Colton says lewdly with a wink. “Happy endings all around.”

  They snicker amongst themselves when I tense. There’s a heated flash of interest in Wren’s cool gaze, there and gone in a second.

  “A secret,” he finally answers after leaving me dangling at the mercy of his friends. “You can pay us with a secret.” He leans forward. “Make it a good one. If we don’t like it, well…”

  The grin he gives me is deadly.

  I stiffen, working hard to keep my face perfectly blank. Cracks form in the mental fortress I built around the memories of my dad and the accident.

  “Well? What have you got for us?” The guy with the hypnotic eyes demands, raking his fingers through thick shiny black hair that falls over his forehead in a swoop.

  “How do I know you won’t turn around and use whatever I say against me?” I ask warily.

  Wren gives me a smirk and his gaze flashes with that hint of interest once more. “You don’t.”

  I wait, but he doesn’t say more. He continues leveling me with that unwavering, powerful look. He knows he has me. I need him, but he doesn’t need me. I exhale forcefully.

  It probably doesn’t matter to Wren if I don’t follow through. I either give him what he wants, or I’m out of options.

  This secret… I shake my head and drop my gaze to the floor as I think. There’s nothing I want more than to find my brother, but I can’t. Not this.

  “I have nothing to hide.”

  It’s a miracle my voice doesn’t break.

  Wren stares at me for a beat. My palms tingle with the need to shove them in my pockets. It’s like he can see right through me with those devious icy eyes and know the worst parts I hide away.

  He peruses me as if he has all the time in the world, gaze sliding over me from head to toe in a way that makes a hot and cold sensation rush across my body. This is a man who takes everything he wants without resistance and something in me responds to it. I fight the urge to squirm for an entirely different reason so I don’t give myself away.

  “A favor, then.” Wren’s friends shoot him quick glances, but his focus stays on me. “You’ll owe us in exchange for our help.”

  Throat burning, I nod. A favor. It could be anything, but I’ll do it.

  Whatever he wants, it’s better than serving up the one painful secret I’ll never give up.

  Three

  Wren

  Do what we do long enough and reading people becomes second-nature. To know when they’re lying. When they’re hiding something that could destroy them.

  It’s part of the thrill. I’m fascinated by the lengths people are willing to go and revel in ripping their darkest secrets from them.

  Even in the shadows me and my brothers shroud ourselves in, I can tell she’s hiding something. She has no idea who we are, who she came to beg for help.

  I’ll cut it from her if I have to. Normally, I’d already have done it. I can feel the questioning glances the guys direct at me for hesitating and letting her owe us a favor instead.

  We grant few exceptions. If we need it, we’ll take it. I’ll temporarily allow her to keep the secret she doesn’t want to pay us with.

  For too long I’ve been coasting in a vast chasm of emptiness. Day in and day out, completely numb save for the bursts of anger, the sole emotion that can still touch me. But there’s something about this pretty little thing with the stubborn tilt to her full lips. She strolled up to monsters and put on a brave face instead of running. Her fire is the first thing to intrigue me in years.

  It’s made me do something I don’t do: break all my rules. Maybe I need to take that as a warning. Nothing makes me stray from control.

  Except when my boys and I finally tracked down my little sister’s teacher two years ago. Harold Coleman, the predator who manipulated her, poisoned her mind, drove her to suicide.

  Shoving a hand in my pocket, I grip her heart-shaped locket. Bastard thought he could hide from me, but we found him thanks to his need to groom another girl out in Ridgeview, Colorado. It didn’t matter how far he ran, we dragged him back to Thorne Point. I still hear his screams, his pathetic begging before I ended him.

  It didn’t bring my sister back. Without Charlotte, my world is a dark place of static noise.

  “Colt.” I don’t have to say more, sinking back into the emptiness that drowns me. Sometimes I welcome it instead of enduring the ache of missing my little sister.

  Colton sits forward, elbows propped on his knees. “Name?”

  “Ethan Hannigan,” she answers, green eyes wide because she thinks I let her get away with keeping a secret from me.

  All in good time, curious little kitten.

  Colt sucks in a quiet breath at her brother’s name. He recognizes it. I glance his way, but he shakes his head. He’ll tell us later.

  Jude huffs in amusement. “He means yours, sweetheart.”

  “Oh.” A hint of color fills her cheeks and the static clears for a moment, drawing my attention. “Rowan. Also Hannigan, obviously.”

  “We’ll be in touch.” Colton’s thumbs fly over his phone screen. Within an hour the genius hacker of our group will have a full workup on her. He glances up when she hasn’t moved. “That’s it, babe.”

  Rowan’s lip curls and I swipe my tongue over my own in anticipation of how she might mouth off. The need for control rears up in me, eager to tame. The urge to take her long braid and wrap it around my fist to see how much she can handle before she cries out fills my head, pulling heat into my groin.

  She passes her gaze over the four of us, lingering on me, then disappears into the cro
wd, swallowed up like a riptide in the ocean. I search for her auburn braid amidst the red lights and curls of smoke long after she’s gone, drawn by the flare of interest she stirred. It’s futile, but still I scan the crowd, leaning my head against my fist.

  Frowning, I push her pretty features from my mind.

  The music, dancing, and scent of sweat mixed with alcohol doesn’t fill me with the same thrill it used to. The old ballroom is brimming with energy I love, but I’m done for the night.

  “Let’s go.”

  My command is followed without argument. We’re a brotherhood without a leader, but more often than not Levi, Colton, and Jude look to me before we make a decision. It’s been like that since we were kids in high school. Loyalty—something we believe in so deeply we inked them into our skin. It’s how we operate, with utmost trust in each other.

  Our bond runs deeper than blood. They’re all I have left. My parents haven’t been the same since Charlotte died and neither have I.

  After we leave the Crow’s Nest, we end up at one of our exclusive fight rings. This one is near the docks in the shipping district, the air thick and tangy with the ocean only a few blocks away. The chaotic energy here is just as much of a rush as the hedonism that goes down at our club. I live for it, the way people lose control. It feeds the twisted thing inside me.

  At least it used to, before I stopped feeling anything but murderous anger.

  I leave Jude and Colt to handle pick ups from the bookies we employ to drive our revenue while I go to the back room for a drink. They’re both better at dealing with people, while Levi and I prefer to use physical force. After the first swig of vodka, my phone vibrates. It’s a text from my father. I ignore it with a grunt.

  The old man only cares about work, and since I technically graduated in the spring his hounding is growing relentless to take up the family mantle. It’s one long ass line of sons following in their father’s footsteps in my family. The Thornes. Fingers in every pie in Thorne Point dating back hundreds of years to the founding members of this city.

  I have no interest in doing as I’m told. I’ve built my own legacy with my friends. One I’m proud of that we’re building into more.

  When I head back out into the main room of the warehouse with the bottle of vodka choked in my grip, Levi is in the ring. He’s shirtless and beating the shit out of his opponent, lip ring removed but he kept the barbell in his nipple. He doesn’t have to worry about the danger of leaving metal on his body when he’s the deadliest thing in there.

  I track the lethal movements of his tattooed body, impressed by his ability to mask his intent. There’s no way to tell what he’ll do next, an expert at avoiding telegraphing his hits until it’s too late. His lips twist in a contemptuous frown that usually puts people off. Rightly so; my friend is more monster than man.

  If he’s up there, it means we’re doubling our profit tonight. There’s no match for Levi Astor.

  A smirk crosses my face as I weave through the rowdy throng screaming at the fight. One look at me and they quickly get out of my way, either because of my name or because of my reputation.

  We have a few of these set up around town. One near campus draws in dumb rich frat boys to make easy cash off them. This location attracts a more elite patron—businessmen, socialites, and politicians. These people want to watch down and dirty fights with no fluff or glam. The only rule for the fighters who step in the ring here is that there are no rules. The crowd wants to see a bloodbath and we provide.

  Levi proves it by dealing a vicious roundhouse kick that catches his opponent across the mouth. Blood and spit go flying, along with a tooth. The fighter sways on his feet, likely struggling against blacking out. The wild atmosphere is palpable as people cheer and wave their money in the air, hungry for the violence.

  I find Jude and Colt, dismissing the woman in Colt’s lap playing with her pearls. She shoots me a haughty look. He whispers something to her that makes her giggle before she slips away.

  “One of your mother’s friends, isn’t she?” I bring the bottle of liquor to my lips. “Into undergrads?”

  Jude and I may have officially graduated, but Colton and Levi are still in their senior year of college, both of them younger than us.

  “It’ll make the next event on her social calendar more interesting if I can get that chick to suck my dick while my mom praises the canapés.” Colton shrugs with a devious grin, taking out his phone. He’s always got a device or two in his hands. “My dick doesn’t discriminate. Pussy is pussy and she’s a hot cougar. Where’s the downside in that?”

  “Put that on your wedding announcement.” Jude snorts and elbows him. “Your mom will love it.”

  A sharp bark of laughter leaves me. The DuPonts are part of the socialite crowd. New money compared to mine and Levi’s families, but Colton’s parents made a name for themselves. Out of the four of us, Jude Morales is the only one that wasn’t born with a silver spoon.

  We met him at Thorne Point Academy and recognized the same illicit thing in him that lives in the rest of us—the instinct for survival and the drive to be in control of mayhem.

  On his first day as a scholarship student Jude tried to con us. He was damn good, too. The smooth-talking fucker almost swindled me out of the five hundred bucks in my wallet.

  The easy smile drops from Jude’s face as two cops enter the warehouse. He nudges Colton and jerks his chin. His demeanor changes once the first one pushes her way through our shouting patrons while Levi exits the ring.

  Pippa Bassett. Youngest detective on the force. Instead of joining us at Thorne Point University, she was recruited into the police academy. Every time I see her betrayal flares hot and vicious in my gut.

  She speaks to the fresh-faced rookie with her, pointing at Levi with a frown. Fucking perfect. Ever since the driven brunette defied odds to make detective she’s pushed the rookies to follow academy training instead of falling in line like every other pig on the city’s force. The rest are bought and paid for with bribes and generous donations, mostly from the senators pushing for reelection. It’s how things work around here, but she’s nursed her righteous vendetta against us for years.

  “Look alive, it’s our favorite pain in the ass,” I say mildly. “Jude, handle that.”

  “I’m on it.” His jaw clenches. “She knows better.”

  I hold back a scoff. She used to. His ex-girlfriend was one of us once, a long time ago. Before Jude’s stint in a juvenile detention center. After that, we learned we can’t trust her. It’s the reason we bound ourselves together with a tattoo of a crowned crow perched on a skull surrounded by words we’d never fail to remember again: loyalty above all else.

  It’s only because we respect Jude that we haven’t punished her.

  “You’re in my prayers,” Colt says solemnly, then his face splits into a wide grin. “Can I have your Ducati?”

  Jude flips him off as he stalks up to the woman who still owns his decayed heart. We watch him herd Pippa against a column, bracing his palm as he flirts with that signature tilt to his mouth, tugging on her blazer. His shoulders remain set with a tense edge as she glares at him. Jude quickly drops the act while they argue. He gestures sharply with his hands and she crosses her arms.

  “Oh great,” I snarl when the stubborn bitch shoves Jude out of the way.

  “Think our boy is losing his charm?” Colt mutters while Pippa stalks closer, Jude following.

  “Pippa,” I greet in a flat tone, adjusting my cuffs. “Never a pleasure.”

  “Don’t ‘Pippa’ me, Thorne.” She scowls, thick dark brows pulled tight over gray eyes. “You’re done. I’m calling this in.”

  I offer her a sinister smile. “Are you? Adorable. I love how you just keep going.”

  Over her shoulder, Jude’s got his phone pressed to his ear. A muscle in his jaw jumps when he rakes his gaze over his ex.

  “Sergeant Warner, hey,” Jude speaks into his phone, keeping his eyes pinned on Detective Bassett whe
n she whirls to face him. “Yeah, it’s Jude Morales. How’s your wife?” The corner of his mouth kicks up in a triumphant smirk. “Good, good.”

  Pippa’s spine is rigid while Jude talks to her direct supervisor, one we know very well is partial to bribes. When the phone is held out to her, she blinks. Jude wiggles it and she relents, flashing Colt and I a fierce look.

  She steels herself before answering. “Hello?” Warner’s shout is loud and she flinches. “Sir—But sir, I—”

  Colton snickers at my side. Jaw set, Pippa turns her mutinous fury on Jude while her boss reams her out over the phone.

  “Yes,” she mutters. “I understand. Here.”

  Pippa throws Jude’s phone hard enough to hit him in the chest. He grunts, catching it with nimble reflexes. Levi walks up just in time, mopping sweat from his body with a towel. There’s no hiding what we do here and it only makes Pippa more furious.

  “Until next time,” I say.

  “I will catch you when you’ve run out of favors to cash in, so you assholes better watch your backs,” she promises.

  Pippa can try, but it’s an empty threat. She can’t prove anything.

  My brothers chuckle darkly and I join in, tucking my hands in my pockets. “We won’t hold our breaths.”

  Colton wiggles his fingers in a cheeky wave. Releasing a rough sound, she leaves, pausing long enough to wrangle the rookie still gaping at the recognizable faces of the patrons. Jude watches her ass sway the entire time on her way out.

  “Let’s get drunk.” Colt tucks Jude and I under his arms as he steers us around. “Levi’s buying.”

  “Why me?” Levi’s growl is nothing but shadows.

  “Because you won your fight,” Colt tosses over his shoulder. “And because I’m pretty sure the mayor’s niece and her friend are about to give you a nice tip as thanks for leaving your shirt off. Her friend’s hot, you down to share?”

  Levi rumbles, cutting a look in the direction Colt nods. Jude and I snort. Sure enough, the women follow us where Colton leads. Neither of them entice me the way Rowan did.