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Claudia flicks her gaze to Tiberius. “You’ll take care of it? We can’t have her death traced back to us.”
He nods.
What about Odette’s family? I want to ask. What about the people who care for her? Don’t they deserve closure? Doesn’t she deserve a proper funeral where all her friends weep over her grave?
But this is about our family. Claws is trying to keep us all safe.
“And the tunnel?” Antony sounds resigned.
“Contains the bodies of Howard and Ainsley Malloy,” I say when Claws doesn’t speak. I don’t like the intensity of Antony’s stare. I remember the comfort of his hands around my shoulders in gym class, where he taught me how to throw a punch, how to break bones. He’s looking at me now the same way he looked at Alec LeMarque while I kicked him. I know he’s just trying to protect Claudia, but it makes me nervous. “They were beaten to death and hidden in those coffins so they couldn’t be found. I think driving their car away and the phone call to the maid was to make the world believe they left, when really they’ve been here all along.”
“We need to find my sister,” Claws says. “This has gone on long enough. She’s somewhere in this city, and she’s got a murder wish. I’ll talk to Constantine. He’ll give me someone who’ll help us get rid of her—”
“We can’t bring anyone else in on this,” Antony says. “Not without revealing your secrets.”
“Then do your fucking job,” she screams at him, her whole body trembling. “Find her. Take her out. No fucking around. I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t want to see her. I want someone to bring me her fucking heart on a silver platter.”
I know she’s shaken by how close we all came to death. But I’ve never seen her go off at Antony. Never. And judging by the look on his face, he’s never seen it, either.
“Fine,” he barks. “I’ll get right on that, Imperator.”
He stalks out of the room. The door slams again, and Gizmo dives under the sofa.
Grim silence hangs in the air. Claws glares at Antony’s indentation in the couch cushions. I can see the cogs turning in her brain. I expect her to go after him, but instead, she turns to Noah. “We need to locate the end of that tunnel and block it the fuck off. This house has to be a fortress or it’s useless to us.”
Eli turns to Noah, his hand sliding over Claudia’s clenched fist. “I saw some climbing equipment downstairs. I think we can rig a ladder to get into that hole and follow it out.”
“Get it done. If you need me, I’ll be in my office.” Claws shrugs off his hand and starts for the door. “I have an empire to run. I don’t have time to deal with this shit.”
“Birthday girl, what should I do?” Gabe calls out.
She glares at him. “Sober up.”
The door slams again. Gabriel winces, as though her words were a physical punch.
“You can help me,” I say, holding up the vials. “I’m going to talk to Galen. I want him to test these. I’m curious how Mackenzie managed to overpower her father. Remember how Brutus was high on Grey Death? Well, what if we find out they were given the same drug…”
I trail off as Gabe shakes his head. “I’ll just get in your way. I know nothing about chemistry and forensics and all that bollocks. But before you go, I have a present for you.”
“It’s Claws’ birthday, not mine.”
“I know.” He whips a brochure from the pocket of his designer jeans and drops it in my lap. “But Gabriel Fallen can spread the love.”
I stare down at the brochure. It’s about a scholarship program that helps kids all over the world study abroad in Britain. I stare at the name. “The Blackwich Foundation?”
“My father’s charity.” Gabe grins. “The old man may be a piece of work, but he knows how to bury his assets. Only super-genius overachieving nerds get these scholarships, so I immediately thought of you.”
As I scan the list of qualifying institutions, I think of another brochure I keep hidden in my science textbook. Blackfriars University. One of the most prestigious and unusual arts programs in the world, housed in an old Catholic monastery in northern Britain. All my life, I’ve longed to be anywhere but Emerald Beach. All my memories of this place are shit – my dad dying, Walter Hart’s court case, the years of bullying and torture at school, Alec LeMarque and what he did—
My whole plan was to finish school with the grades I needed to get the fuck out of this town. But now there’s no way I can even think about leaving Claws. Not when our family is still in danger. Not with Mackenzie Malloy running amok. Not while strange men are breaking into my house and spraying blood and brain matter across my mom’s vegan kitchen.
I don’t see this turf war ending any time soon. Claws needs me. I’ve never been needed before.
But then I look up at Gabriel. Beneath the haze pooling in his dark eyes is the gleam of understanding. We’ve lived completely different lives – he grew up in a literal castle with parents who made him hide who he was, while I’m the daughter of a vegan food truck owner and a B-movie director who always encouraged me to wear my weirdness on my sleeve. He’s a multi-gazillionaire, and whatever money my father left us got spent fighting Walter Hart in court. He’s a talented musician, and I made a podcast about my father’s ashes. We’re not the same, and yet… and yet.
We both know what it feels like to be trapped.
To be caged in on all sides with no way out.
