Annalisa nodded. “Yep. Goody Two-shoes.”

“You wouldn’t have done anything?” Watson asked.

“No. Of course, before I became a Crow, I was a complete sociopath. I mean, I was diagnosed by a forensic psychologist as a sociopath.”

Watson leaned back a bit, resting against the tree. “Okay, but we all know there’s no actual cure for sociopathy, right?”

“There is when a god gives you”—Annalisa made air quotes with her fingers—“ ‘feelings.’ Which, to this day, I have not forgiven Skuld for.”

“The first week she was here,” Maeve said around a small grin, “all she did was cry and cry and cry.”

“Exactly.” Lips pursed, Annalisa shook her head. “No. Not gonna forgive her on that one.”

“Look,” Watson said softly, “I just can’t go around killing people.”

Erin faced her. “You act like we’ll be sneaking into some innocent soul’s house and killing them for shits and giggles. That is not what we do. When the Crows come to your door . . . it’s because you really fucked up. It’s because you forfeited your right not to have your throat cut by a bitch with wings.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Watson asked. “Because it doesn’t.”

Erin began to argue but Watson cut her off with a wave of her hands. “Forget it. I made a promise to Skuld, and I keep my commitments as an American and a Marine—”

“Oy,” Erin muttered.

“—but I can do other things. In fact, I know what I’ll do. I’ll do what I did in the Marines. Get shit organized.”

Uh-oh.

“It doesn’t work that way, sweetie,” Maeve explained. “It’ll never work that way. You get a job, you do the job.”

“My wings aren’t out yet. Maybe they’ll never come out.” Watson stared hard at Erin. “Ever. But until they do . . . I can make this group of women into something you can be proud of. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Erin watched the new girl walk away. She was completely delusional but that wasn’t surprising. A lot of the girls had small breaks with reality before they understood the true meaning of being a Crow. The problem, though, was that this girl wasn’t like all the other girls. She wouldn’t be sitting in her room, feeling sorry for herself the next few weeks. Nope. This one was a yenta with a mission.

And Erin’s personal nightmare.

“You need to do something,” Annalisa whispered to Erin.

“Yeah. I know.”

“Here.” Rundstöm put the blades he’d made for Watson in Erin’s hands. “Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, you did not help us.”

“Ravensdon’t hold back. We just toss you in.”

Erin headed back to the car with Maeve and Annalisa.

“What are you going to do?’ Maeve asked.

“I hate to admit it, but the Raven is right. With this one . . . we can’t ease her into shit.”

“I’m sure Chloe can help with that. She hates the ‘easing,’ too.”

“True. But first things first. Unless we want to become a well-oiled military machine, which I don’t know about you guys . . . but I don’t, we’ll need to get her wings out.”

“How?” Annalisa asked. “It took six months for my wings to come out.”

“It took me a year,” Maeve tossed in.

“That was because you were busy running to the hospital and doctors’ appointments every day.”

“I had allergies!”

Erin held her hand up in front of Maeve’s face to silence her. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Erin slowed down as she neared the car. Watson stood next to it, her nervous energy causing her to pace around it like a caged cat. It was not a good sign.

“Leave the new girl to me,” Erin vowed. “I’ll handle it.

CHAPTER FOUR

They returned to what the women called the Bird House a different way, turning off from Pacific Coast Highway onto an unmarked, hidden road. At first, Kera thought it was just some weird dirt road, but then she realized it was an excessively long driveway. The dirt road turned to a paved one after about a half mile. They pulled up to big iron gates that slowly opened after several cameras focused on them.

They drove along, nearing the house, until Kera said, “Stop the car.”

Amsel pulled to a stop. “What?”

Kera wasn’t sure she saw what she thought she saw, so she pushed the car door open and stepped out of the SUV. She walked back a few feet until she reached the large sign they’d passed. She gazed up at it until the other Crows joined her.

“What’s wrong?” Annalisa asked.

“Giant Strides?”

“Your footpath to a healthy life,” Amsel announced.

“That sounds like the name of a drug rehab.”

“It is the name of a drug rehab.”

Kera jerked around to face the other women. “I’m living in a drug rehab center?”

“Not just drugs,” Maeve added. “We also treat alcohol addiction, eating disorders, and sex addiction.”

“You’re all addicts?”

Maeve frowned. “No, of course not. What gave you that idea?”

“What gave me that idea? We’re living in a drug rehab!”

Hands raised, Maeve stepped back. “Wow, you’re getting a little too intense for me.”