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I can’t believe it. There’s Gabriel slumped in a chair, his fingers toying with the cord for his headphones, while Cleo leans over the desk, shoving her tits in his face as she points at the screen. Bitch.
She’s still in her psycho Lala Land where Gabe marries her and she gets to live in a fairytale castle.
Gabriel slides down in the chair until he’s practically under the table. He looks miserable, but there’s nothing any of us can do about it without making a scene at school. And the Cleo problem needs to be tackled outside the walls of Stonehurst Prep.
Cleo catches my eye. She raises a pink-tipped middle finger.
I whirl away. If I have to look at her a moment longer, I’ll choke a bitch, and that’ll put a serious cramp on my plans to infiltrate the elite of Emerald Beach.
I can’t go into this knives out. If I’m going to take Cleo down, I need another tactic.
“So, what are you planning for your criminal empire?”
“Can’t a girl eat her lunch first?” I wave my fork at Noah as I settle between him and Gabriel, sliding my cafeteria tray onto the desk. It’s too cold outside for us to brave the bleachers, but Tiberius says we can sit in his classroom under the guise of a ‘study session.’ The boys have pushed the tables together, and Gabriel’s even ordered food from his favorite burger joint. I push my kale salad aside and grab a handful of his fries.
“I can see that beautiful brain of yours churning away.” Noah stabs at my salad. “Go on, what’s the plan?”
“This Cleo thing has me thinking… Daddy focused on trafficking drugs and antiquities. He drew his line at skin and exotic animals, although I’m living proof his line isn’t carved in stone. Judging by what Eli’s seen at Nero’s club, and the fact we had to rescue Madeline, darling uncle Brutus had no such scruples, and neither does Nero. I plan to cut Nero off – if he wants to traffic humans or animals, he’ll do it without the August family’s network. But I need something more valuable to trade with him.”
“You mean, apart from yourself?” Eli splays his hands on the desk.
“Don’t start this shit,” Noah warns.
“What? I’m not trying to be a downer here, but we all saw how Nero acted at the feast. If I have to see him put his grubby hands on Claws again, I’m gonna end up sharing a jail cell with my dad.”
“I hate to be off-brand, but I agree with Captain America,” Gabe pipes up. “We’re the only ones with the talent to roll those pert wee nipples in our mouths, or spread your legs and lick you until you scream—”
George shoves her hands over her ears. “Lalalala. I don’t want to hear this.”
I grin as I pry her fingers away. “I hear you both. I’m not exactly thrilled about the marriage, either. But trust me when I say if either of those horny goats lays a finger on me, I’ll chop it off. We’ve got until Lupercalia in February to stop the wedding. In the meantime, there are more pressing matters. Like obtaining the currency we need to compete against Nero and Constantine.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s the currency?”
“Secrets.” I smile, nodding to the students passing by in the hallway outside. “Look around you. All these trust fund babies, influencers, and sons and daughters of industry – this school is a goldmine ripe for plundering. We all know the power our secrets hold over us, and we’ve all done desperate things to keep them safe. It’s time we turn that back on our tormenters.”
“I can help with that.”
I look across at George. She stares at me intently as she unwraps a candy bar. “The thing about being an outcast is that you become invisible. People say all sorts of things when their guard is down.”
I think of George hiding in the bathroom stall during lunch, and how Daphne and her friend came in and spilled gossip without a thought to who might be listening in. I remember how she was the one Eli went to when he wanted to find out about me, because he knows firsthand how George can sniff out a secret from a hundred paces.
“What do you know?” I proffer Gabriel’s fries to her, like an acolyte making an offering to a goddess of wisdom.
“All sorts of things,” she grins, shoving a handful of fries into her mouth and sliding her laptop from her satchel. “I’ve been saving everything I’ve overheard at school, just in case it came in handy. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I have some news.”
“Good or bad?”
“It’s… well, just look.” She taps a few buttons on her laptop, bringing up a file containing a series of blurry videos. “This is the CCTV footage from the hotel the night Dylan died.”
She taps a button, and a video plays. It’s shot from a camera mounted near the ceiling in a long hallway. A group of girls in leather and lace stumble down the hall, crashing into the walls and jostling each other as they fight over the attention of—
“That’s Gabriel,” I point to one of the figures. Even on the grainy film, he’s unmistakable with his long hair and butterflies circling his neck.
“Right.” George hits pause just as Gabriel flings open the door to the suite. She points to one of the girls in the group. “And who does that look like to you?”
I peer at the girl she’s pointing to. Silky black hair, a long, thin neck, and something about the way she holds herself… My heart races. “It’s hard to tell – it’s such a bad picture. But it kind of looks like Cleo St. James.”
“Bloody hell.” Gabe’s breath rasps against my ear as he leans over my shoulder to get a look.
