Chapter 1

1

AXEL

I groan as I run my hand down my face, the papers strewn across my desk crumpling when I lean on my elbows. All these notes will have to be burned by the end of the day. We can't have evidence lying around, after all. Until then, they sit here and mock me with all the things I need to do, all the messes I need to clean up.

I've only been head of the Crows for a few months but the excitement of it is already wearing off. My father's death was unexpected and sudden, a heart attack probably caused by all the fucking stress of running this gang for his whole life, and that meant there'd been no time at all for a proper handover.

Sure, I've been raised to take over one day, but I thought I had more time. At thirty-five, I'm no stranger to the dark reality of gang life, but the blood staining my hands is getting harder and harder to ignore. I don't regret it—regret isn't something that survives long in a life like this—but … I sigh, unable to deny the fact that I'm just tired.

I'm tired of running illegal businesses when I know for a fact I could take them legit and make just as much money but with half the damn stress. I'm tired of doling out punishments in the form of torture and bullets, tired of constantly having to watch my back because every other gang in this city is out for my head, tired of all of it. Not that I can afford to admit that to anyone. Weakness gets you killed.

I get my shit together, stack the papers in the corner of my desk, and set a lighter on top to remind myself to burn them. There are notes of what my men overheard from our rival gangs scrawled across them, notes that have since been backed up by our tech guy in an impenetrable folder that not even the best hacker could get into. My father was far from a good guy, but he built a solid team of some of the best, most skilled guys around. From our snipers to our runners to our tech guys, The Crows is the strongest gang in the city for a damn good reason.

My office door opens as someone raps their knuckles against it, not waiting for me to invite them in before they're already barging into my space. I know who it is before I look up. There's only one man who would dare to invite himself into my office like this, and he's damn lucky I grew up with him or else I'd have shot first and asked questions second.

Nick shuts the door behind him, and instead of his usual cocky smirk, his lips flatten into a grim expression that has me on edge immediately. The instant I was made head of the gang, I appointed him as my second in command. There's nobody else I trust in this world like Nick, even if he can be an asshole at times.

"What's wrong?" I ask immediately, pushing to my feet as suspicion trickles through my blood. Nick groans and walks over, flopping down on the chair on the other side of my desk dramatically.

"You know how you sent us out to collect what we're due, yeah?" he starts, and I nod. Between trades and our multiple businesses , it's not uncommon that the lower gangs or thugs in the city owe us, and I don't let anyone get away with theft. They pay up, or they pay in blood. It's brutal, but it's just the way things have to be. I can't afford to be lenient.

"I'm guessing by your attitude that not everybody was happy to be visited?" I guess, raising a brow.

Nick shakes his head. "Most of them paid up, but Ford hasn't sent payment yet."

My teeth grind together as frustration builds in me. Toby Ford runs one of the smaller gangs, the Vultures, who have a reputation for being callous bastards. Sure, we're dangerous as hell, but Ford is cruel.

If it wasn't for the fact we do business with him, I'd have shut him down before now. He's a pain in my ass and the kind of man who's only got to where he is through threats and fear. My men respect me, like they respected my father before me, because I've earned their loyalty. But Ford commands his crew with violence and cruelty, and I know for a fact I'm not the only one sick of his shit.

"Why?" I manage to grind out, barely keeping my anger in check.

Nick grimaces. "He's hiding away like a coward, but I got Knox looking into it." Knox is our hacker, and I gesture for Nick to go on, knowing there's nothing Knox can't find out. "He's not just broke, he's dead broke."

I scoff. "Not our problem. I'm not asking him to pay. I'm fucking demanding it."

"I know, Boss," Nick agrees. "So, how are we gonna deal with it?"

I pause to think about it. He's way overdue paying, and we'll need to make an example of him because of it. But I hate the idea of sending my men into his territory. We're stronger, sure, but starting a gang war is risky business that puts my guys in danger no matter how we do it.

Before I can answer Nick, the door rattles with another knock. Both our heads turn in the direction, and my spine straightens as I hide my frustration behind a mask.

"Enter!" I call out, my voice as steely as my demeanor.

Jace slips into the room, a streak of blood on the side of his face. Nick pushes to his feet beside me, his relaxed exterior hardens like mine has. Jace is another part of my inner circle, head of our weaponry and training. He's nearly as big as I am and almost as feared, too.

"Sorry to interrupt, Boss," he starts, running a hand through his red hair. "But you're gonna want to see this."

"What is it?" I bark, already at the end of my damn tether.

"Unless Ford has miraculously found the thousands of dollars he owes, I doubt Boss is gonna want to hear whatever this is," Nick says with a scoff, taking the thoughts right out of my head.

To my surprise, Jace pulls a face and says, "Well … that's sort of what's happened."

"Sort of?" I ask, confusion mixing with my anger and creating a temperamental mixture of emotions that has me likely to stab the next person to interrupt me today.

"It's better if I just show you." Jace pokes his head back out the door and gestures for someone else to enter.

There's nothing on this Earth that could have prepared me for what enters my office.

Two of my lower-level lackeys drag someone between them, and Jace hurries to close the door behind them. For a long second, everyone just stares at the limp, dirty person hanging between the men and silence reigns.

Then she lifts her head.

Dirty blond hair frames a heart-shaped face, and tear tracks create clean lines down pale cheeks. Huge blue eyes meet and hold mine, vulnerability and something harder, something steelier shining in them.

It's a woman. Not just any woman, but the most stunning woman I've ever laid eyes on. Even filthy and bruised, her hair a mess and her clothes torn, she's captivating .

My men let her go, and she hits her knees on the floor, holding my gaze as she tips her head back to stare up at me.

I can't look away, even if I wanted to.

"What the fuck is this?" I ask, still staring at her even though my question is meant for my men. For a second, nobody answers, and my blood boils. "I said what the fuck is this?! "

The girl stiffens at my raised voice, and for the first time in a very long time, I feel a surge of guilt. I thrive on people being afraid of me, and yet, the idea of scaring her makes me want to murder someone. I want to gather her up into my arms and make sure nobody ever causes her to feel afraid ever again.

But first, I have to figure out who the hell she is and why she's in my office.

"This is Ford's payment," Jace finally says, and my head snaps up to glare at him.

"What?" I snap, my voice dark and full of deadly promise.

To his credit, Jace holds my gaze instead of flinching away the way the lower-level guys do. "He sent her as payment to clear his debt," Jace explains, and I swear to God I've never been so angry in my damn life.

My eyes return to the girl, unable to stay away from her any longer. She's shivering, but she hasn't dropped her head, her eyes still trained on me. There's strength in the way she refuses to cower, and goddamn it's incredible. She looks a good ten years younger than me, and I can't help but wonder where the hell Ford found her.

If Ford thinks this is going to get us off his back, he has another thing coming. This just shows how big a piece of shit he is. I'm an asshole, but I've never hurt innocents or tried to pay with people instead of cash. He won't get away with this.

"He thinks he can just send a random girl instead of the money he owes?" Nick asks in shock by my side.

"She's not some random girl," Jace says. "She's Ford's daughter."