AllFreeNovel
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Trust. It’s new for me, but I kind of like it – this clenching in my chest, this wild abandon of jumping into the void and feeling someone catch you. This resignation that even if your evil sister decides this is the exact moment she puts a bullet through your skull, at least you have been loved and held by the best people, and your family will make sure she never hurts anyone ever again.
I start to dip, but strong hands grab me and set me down on my feet. Gabe’s here with me, all sparkling eyes and disgustingly self-satisfied grin. For the first time since I’ve known him, he looks honestly, properly alive, every atom of him in brilliant glow.
“I guess I can write songs again,” he cries.
I wish more than anything that Gabe could have this moment for himself. He’s fucking earned it. But his safety is more important. “Gabe, Mackenzie’s here.”
His smile freezes. His fingers clamp around mine. “Where?”
Our heads turn at the same time to a commotion behind us. At the rear of the room, where the crowd is thinner and spaced out, people have moved to the side so club security can drag away Noah. He kicks and yells, throwing a wild punch that knocks a burly guard to the floor. Blood spurts from the guy’s nose, and I recognize him as one of my own soldiers.
Shit. What happened? Where’s Mackenzie?
Gabriel holds my hand and shoves his way through the crowd, breezing past fans who tear at his clothing, desperate for a piece of him. His skin is sheened in sweat. He’s alive. I have to keep him that way.
I reach Noah just as three of them get hold of him and start dragging him toward the exit. “What are you doing? Put him down this instant.”
My men glare at me. I recognize one as Po, my man at the docks, a man who’s proven himself resourceful and trustworthy. Until now. He frowns at me. “Fuck. How did you get back in here?”
I don’t understand his question until I see another guard advance toward me, gun glinting in his hand. I grab Po’s collar and shake him. “What are you playing at? I’m Claudia. You know, your fucking Imperator. Noah was after Mackenzie.”
Bo’s frown wavers as he looks me up and down. “Don’t try to fool us. You’re Mackenzie, the one we’re supposed to take out if she shows up. You’ve been working with this guy – he lunged at Claudia, tried to kill her—”
“I told you, that was Mackenzie,” Noah yells. He manages to pull one arm free and slams his fist into Po’s face. Po’s features crumble and he staggers back, cursing as blood pisses from his nose. I step between them before things get even more violent, and roll up my arm to show them the August mark tattooed on my skin.
“How can you not recognize your own Imperator?” I know we’re identical twins, but they’re not supposed to know that. They were supposed to be on the lookout for a girl who looks a lot like me. Panic bubbles in my chest as I realize how much time we’ve wasted already. Gabriel could’ve been shot, and my sister is still running free in this club somewhere and they’re getting in my face?
Po’s eyes bug out of his head. “How do we know you didn’t just get that tattooed? Antony told us Claudia August was wearing a red dress.”
I glance down at my beautiful deep emerald green dress. Fuck, Antony’s eyes. In the dim light, he must’ve mistaken the color of my dress for red. And Mackenzie was wearing a red dress. I remember the flash of it under the lights. They must’ve seen Noah fly at her and assumed he was attacking me, and sprung into action like the good soldiers they are.
Po’s eyes bug out of my head. He must’ve seen something in me – some mannerism that he knows I use, probably the way my eyes glaze over with ice before I wring his fucking neck – because his whole body trembles. “I’m so sorry, Imperator,” Po cries. All three men drop their hold on Noah. “I truly thought the other girl was you. I thought you were in danger. She doesn’t just resemble you, it’s as if she’s a carbon copy. I promise I’ll—”
“There’s no time,” I snap, helping Noah straighten his suit. “Which way did Mackenzie go?”
Po points a shaking finger toward the bathrooms. I sprint over and slam the door, Noah and Gabe hot on my heels.
Tiberius stands in the hallway, tree-trunk arms folded across his barrel chest. He blocks the entire hallway to the bathroom and fire exit. No way could anyone get past him. So where the fuck is Mackenzie?
Noah looks up, checking the ceiling. He won’t fall for Cali’s trick ever again. No Mackenzie dangling from the fluorescent light.
“I’m Claudia.” I hold up my arm to show Tiberius the tattoo.
“I know.” His face collapses into a frown. “She got away.”
“How?”
Tiberius scratches his head. The scar tugs at his skin, making him look like a fucked-up circus clown. “It was my fault. I was guarding this exit when the message came through. Mackenzie was up on stage. Antony’s team was moving to intercept her. Noah attacked Claudia, and then everything on the comms went wild. Next thing, she struts down this corridor, red dress hugging that ass, casual as you like. ‘Antony has Mackenzie cornered inside,’ she says, giving me a smack on the lips as she saunters to the fire exit. ‘He told me to leave by this exit and Noah will bring the car around.’ She looks and sounds exactly like you. It was only after I let her out that Po sent through the message that Mackenzie was in the red dress.”
“Fuck!” I tear at my hair. My sister was right under our noses and we let her get away. “How did this happen? So much for having this club locked down tighter than a nun’s cunt. How did she get in past security?”
“She had a ticket. She looks like you. No one would have asked questions.” Antony appears in the doorway. I lunge at him, ready to throttle him for making such a stupid fucking mistake, but he sags against the wall, his eyes round, haunted. I’ve never seen my cousin like this before, so… defeated.
He hates weakness. And tonight, he was our weakness. And his mistake almost got Gabriel killed.
No. It wasn’t Antony who tried to open fire in the middle of a crowded club. It was my sister. She’s the one to blame. She’s the one we need to take down.
I collapse against the wall, my heart thudding in my chest. This was another insanely close call. Mackenzie was here. I literally looked her in the eyes as she held up that gun. She tricked her way into this club; she even tricked Tiberius.
