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They won’t stop her.
Gabe’s words thrum against my skull. If you want to escape Emerald Beach and the Triumvirate, your window is closing fast.
Claudia leans over and draws the flat of the blade across Daphne’s naked skin. Daphne’s eyes shudder closed. Claudia hums to herself as she winds Daphne’s long, perfect hair around her wrist, pulling it taut until fresh tears stream from Daphne’s eyes.
“Your father owes money to people I know,” Claudia says.
“Newsflash, you psycho,” Daphne hisses. “Tell me something I don’t know. He owes a lot of people money. Why do you think he… he offed himself.”
“Still lying, I see.” Claudia yanks Daphne’s hair, tipping her head back and stretching her long neck. Daphne whimpers as Claudia swipes above her fist. Clumps of Daphne’s hair tumble to the floor. “All we want is a location so we can go and collect on his debts. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Now, answer the question, or the next swipe will take one of your pretty little fingers.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Daphne spits.
“Wouldn’t I?” Claudia grabs her wrist, flattening her hand against the edge of the cross. Daphne’s jaw works as she stubbornly and stupidly remains silent. She still thinks Claudia is bluffing.
Claudia swings her arm. A half-circle of blood splatters the wall.
Daphne screams.
And screams.
And screams.
A bloody finger joins the clumps of hair on the rug.
The tiny food I ate rises up inside me and ends up in a pile on the floor.
“Shit.” Claudia tosses the knife to Noah. “Take over. I need to get George out of here.”
She grabs my arm and yanks me from the room. I close my eyes, but I can still see that half-circle of blood. My stomach gasps and twists, but there’s nothing left to come up.
In the hallway, Claws shoves me into one of the velvet armchairs. She kneels at my feet, taking my hands into hers. “What’s going on with you?”
“I didn’t know…” I shudder as the blood forms a half-circle across her face. I survived Galen’s brutal autopsy and watching Claudia bury her knife into that boy’s head. Brutal killings are easy for me now. I feel weirdly comfortable around death and gore. But this is a girl I’ve known since grade school, and now her finger is lying on the rug. And as soon as Claws is done with her, she’s going to lose her dad.
“You’re the one who gave me the information about her father.” Claudia’s fingers stroke my cheek. “You had to know what might happen.”
“But her dad…”
“George, I know you don’t believe in an eye for an eye. And that’s exactly why you need me. If anyone, anyone, ever tries to hurt you, I’ll do worse than cutting off their fingers, got it? You never have to feel afraid or alone again.”
I nod, drawing her words inside me and holding them against the gaping hole in my chest.
Claws continues, “But you also don’t have to become me. One bloodthirsty mafia queen is enough for any friendship. You don’t have to tough it out because of some sense of loyalty. We’re ride or die, got it?”
I nod, still not trusting myself to speak.
Claudia glances back at the door to room fourteen. Daphne’s scream mingles with the other moans and cries – just another of Nero’s clientele at the mercy of a lover. Only this time, it’s Noah Marlowe kissing a blade to tender flesh. I know Claudia wants to join her lover, wants to wield the knife herself and feel the moment of triumph when Daphne caves.
“Come on.” She drags me to my feet, punching the button for the elevator. The doors swing open and she pulls me inside. “Let’s see if we can’t find you some of those tiny profiteroles.”
“I do like profiteroles,” I murmur, leaning my head on her shoulder as the elevator doors close on us. Claudia kisses my forehead. We’re ride or die.
I think of Gabriel’s scholarship brochure burning a hole in my bookbag.
How can I desert this girl? How can I leave the best friend that’s ever happened to me?
The elevator doors open, and the guard holds the door open for us to re-enter the party.
