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“Good. Captain America has finally arrived.” Gabriel wanders in and sets down two large platters of roast turkey with stuffing and vegetables.
Okay, maybe family has some drawbacks. I frown at Gabriel as I stab a roast potato. “Don’t call me that.”
Gabriel shrugs as he pours himself a sparkling grape juice. “Sorry, it’s what Antony calls you, and it’s kind of stuck. If it makes you feel better, I’m Pretty Boy.”
“He called you the Emo King the other day,” Claudia says between mouthfuls.
“Why, I’m hurt.” Gabriel pretends to wipe away a tear. “That you could misunderstand the deep, raw, beauty of my music cuts me to the quick. I’ll have you know I’m pure punk rock. I sing in the key of Anarch-E.”
Everyone groans. Gabriel grins at me as he passes around the food. “Where were you, anyway? You were supposed to be here a few hours ago to help me drag Noah out of the kitchen.”
I roll my eyes as I slide a pile of turkey and stuffing onto my plate. “It took me longer to get my stuff than I thought. Nero caught me as I was heading out the door. He’s bugging me about working for him again.”
“Why’s a crime boss so interested in you?” Noah asks. “He has to know about your father’s connection to Brutus. I bet he thinks you know where Brutus is.”
“I do know where Brutus is – the parts of him that didn’t burn are in an unmarked grave behind my father’s crumbling homestead.” The words taste bitter on my tongue. I put down my fork and push my plate away. I’ve lost my appetite.
Claudia sets down her utensils and studies my face.
“Take the job,” she says.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Nero’s up to something. If you work for him, we’ll have eyes inside the Lucian operation. That’s valuable. What does he want you to do?”
“Office admin stuff. He said something about working with animals.”
“That’s perfect for you, then.”
Antony wipes his mouth with a napkin. “I need to see Nero in December. It could be useful to have you on the inside, especially since he seems determined to win you over. Now that we know Walter Hart was selling body parts to Brutus, it makes sense that Nero might want to be part of your family.”
“Does it?”
“Nero has his own skeletons in the closet he needs to disappear. He might think you have your father’s connections. This could work out very well for us. Thank you, Captain America, for finally turning out to be useful.” Antony’s lips tug up into a smile, but I can’t help but feel it hides a threat. “You came over to the dark side in the nick of time. I was about to have your throat slit in your sleep.”
“He’s kidding,” Claudia whispers.
I’m not so sure that he is.
Antony and Claudia exchange looks across the table, an entire conversation conveyed between them in glances and eye movements. I stare down at my food, my stomach churning.
Claudia has said over and over again that everything she’s done has been so she and Antony can escape her legacy. With Brutus dead, she’s one step closer to being free.
So why does she want me to burrow deeper into the criminal world?
How deep can we go before we can’t escape?
Claudia
My first day back at school after being shot is hell. Walking is torture. After dragging my feet up the wide palm-lined boulevard and ascending the front steps, my forehead is coated in sweat and my head spins. Of course, the powers that be have ensured all my classes are as far from each other as humanly possible without being in treehouses or across some impassable ravine.
When I hand Cleo my forged doctor’s note saying I’ll be off the cheerleading team for the rest of the year, her face lights up like her daddy bought her that facelift she’s been dreaming of. “Oh, that’s such a shame. Obviously, we have games coming up, so we’ll have to replace you. I can’t guarantee there will be a spot open when you come back, but don’t you worry about that. You just focus on getting well.” She sweeps her gaze over my body, like a lioness searching for the weakest wildebeest. “What’s wrong with you, anyway?”
“None of your damn business.” I grab my note from her hands and storm off.
I know I need to deal with Cleo, but the list of shit on my plate is piling up fast. Saturnalia is only a couple of weeks away and we need to figure out what the hell to do next. And then there’s the little issue of Mackenzie Malloy and her murderous intent toward me.
I sit at the back of Ms. Drysdale’s class and struggle to breathe through her lecture on women’s suffrage. I remember another issue I’ve yet to deal with – the fact that my favorite teacher is being extorted by Nero Lucian.
