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Claudia’s eyes widen as I help Ms. Drysdale out of the car. She takes in our teacher’s glitter body paint and immediately grasps the situation. She lets me drape Ms. Drysdale’s arm over her shoulder, propping her up while her ice eyes search mine for an explanation.
“I have to go back,” I say. “I’m not supposed to be here.”
“Go.” She leans up to kiss me. “I’ll take care of her.”
I put my foot to the floor and break several speed laws to get back to the club. I’ve already been gone too long. The girls have disappeared. The club’s deserted apart from Livvie, who’s sipping a golden egg in the VIP area with Essie draped over her shoulders, and Casper, who runs in circles around her chair.
Livvie raises her eyebrow at me. She leans back in her chair. “Wow, awkward much. Your ex-girlfriend?”
“Teacher,” I say before I stop myself.
Livvie scrunches up her nose. “Daddy’s told me her story. It’s sad. Her ex racked up gambling debts, borrowed a ton of money from Nero, then did her the disservice of dying in a freak surfing accident before Nero got his pound of flesh. Now she’s on the hook for the lot. Nero took her condo.”
I swear. “How much more can she possibly owe?”
“Turns out the ex forged her signature and took out a mortgage on the condo, so the thing’s basically worthless. She owes Nero around fifty g’s, plus interest.”
I swear again. “And he pays his dancers so well that she’ll square up that debt in no time.”
“Don’t be naive. The dance is to show Nero’s guests what’s available for purchase. There’s a reason these women wear chains.” Livvie frowns. “If Julian August were still alive, Nero wouldn’t be so bold with his perversions. But then, Julian lost his empire because he was a softie. Everyone says so. I overheard Nero saying Brutus is dead, and they’ll be introducing a new August Imperator at tomorrow’s feast.” Livvie wraps the snake’s body over her tits, like it’s a designer scarf. “I hope they’re prepared for a bloody reign, because Nero doesn’t like to share his toys. He won’t settle for being one of three much longer.”
Noah
“Help me, Noah.”
I leap to my feet as the ballroom door bangs against the wall. Claudia hobbles inside, her face screwed up in pain, and for a horrible moment I think she’s been shot again. But then I see Ms. Drysdale hanging off Claudia’s neck, wearing nothing but gold underwear, her face as white as a sheet. I rush over and scoop our teacher into my arms, taking the pressure off Claudia’s body.
“What happened?” I huff as I settle Ms. Drysdale onto the couch.
“Eli just dropped her off. He had to go back to Nero’s club.” Claudia sits on the edge of the coffee table, clutching her abdomen and catching her breath. “I don’t know any more than that.”
I glance over at Ms. Drysdale. Her cheeks flame with color. Her eyes beg me for something I can’t give her. After tonight, our whole teacher/student dynamic will be shot to shit. I can’t look at my teacher’s tits. I shrug off my hoodie and toss it to her. She throws it over her head with visible relief. It practically comes down to her knees, and she tucks her legs up inside it.
“Thank you,” she whispers, tucking her chin into her knees.
George hovers in the doorway. “What’s going on? I heard voices and—”
“Can you get Ms. Drysdale a drink? One of Gabe’s fancy sodas.”
“Fizzy drinks,” Gabriel corrects with a smirk. He hovers behind George, headphones slung around his neck and hair flopping in his eyes. They’d probably been listening to music together. “People who speak proper English call them fizzy drinks.”
I ignore Gabriel and turn to George. “And there’s some of my lasagna left in the fridge.”
“Peanut butter sandwiches it is.” George rushes off to the kitchen. I glare at Gabriel, who does a poor job of hiding his laugh behind his hand.
“That lasagna was perfectly fine.”
“Oh, no, it was.” Gabriel’s shoulders tremble. “Stack ten of them together and you have the foundation of a beautiful Italian stone wall.”
I toss a pillow at his head.
George returns a moment later with food and soda. Gabriel and I sit on either side of Ms. Drysdale as she sips her drink. She swallows, shying her body away from us. “I shouldn’t be here. This is inappropriate.”
Claudia pushes her golden hair behind her ear. “Ms. Drysdale—”
“Call me Madeline, please, while we’re outside of school.” She sighs. “I might as well get used to it. After this weekend, I won’t have a job to return to.”
“No one in this room will breathe a word.”
