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I can practically hear Livvie rolling her eyes. “Tell that to Daddy. Hold on.”
I hear scrambling and footsteps and a door clicking shut. The noise disappears. Livvie flicks the call to a video screen. Her face is in shadow, sandwiched between chef whites and cleaning equipment. “I’m hiding in a closet now.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“Let me check.” There’s rustling on the other end, followed by the creak of a door. Livvie returns to the phone a moment later. “We’re secure. I’m intrigued to have a call from you after my father tried to marry me off to your boyfriend.”
“Your father is a piece of work,” I growl. The audacity of his trying to steal Eli out from beneath me sends a fresh wave of fury through my veins. And the fact that it could actually work in our favor makes it grate all the more.
“Tell me about it.” Livvie’s tone is bitter. I can’t say I blame her. For all the effort Nero’s put into choosing his ideal heir, he can’t see what’s right in front of him. “So what’s up?”
“Hold on. I’m making this a three-way call.”
I punch a couple of buttons, and in a few moments, Cali’s face appears in the third window. There’s a dribble of blood over her eye that I’m guessing isn’t hers.
“I’m busy,” she snaps, panning the camera around so I get a view of a man trussed up from the ceiling, soaked in blood. “This better be worth it, August.”
“It is.” I grin. “You said you might know where my sister is hiding?”
“I said I can find out.” She twists the knife in her hand. “But it will cost you.”
“I’ll pay whatever you ask.”
“Your sister?” Livvie asks. “You don’t have a sister. Claudia, what’s going on?”
“You want to show Nero how ruthless you can be?” I lean forward. “I have a proposal for you.”
Eli
We don’t mention the treasure again. It hangs over Malloy Manor like a bad smell, tainting every conversation, scratching at the back of my throat when I kiss Claudia goodbye. She’s not even going to school anymore, instead spending hours in her office, on the phone, poring over the shipping data Noah and David compiled for her.
I fly out to Cambridge to visit Harvard and tour the law school. I wish Claudia could’ve come with me and seen the university – all those ivy-covered buildings and secluded courtyards, the ancient manuscripts on display at the Houghton library. I think it might’ve changed her mind.
The tour itself is a complete disaster. I meet with one of the freshman advisors and he asks me what I’m looking forward to most about Harvard and all I can think about is a lion tearing out a man’s organs while a crowd roars for blood.
I fly home in a daze. I’ve still got a meeting at Yale next week, but is that enough time to sort my shit out? What’s going to change in a week? Am I miraculously not going to be in love with a crime boss? Am I suddenly going to feel like I can brush off everything I’ve seen in the last year like it’s nothing and step into the life of varsity track and fraternity stunts I was destined for?
I push open the garage door of Malloy Manor, stinking of anxiety and airline food. As well as the now-familiar waft of animal shit, I catch something delicious in the air, something that warms my heart.
I pass by the dining room on the way to the kitchen and find the table set for the whole family. Claudia stands at the stove, a frilly apron around her waist and Gizmo circling her feet. Queen Boudica has a much better plan, hiding behind the black coffee machine and swiping a paw at the mixing bowl as soon as Claws turns toward me.
Gizmo bounds over, happy to see me. She pounces into my arms, and I bury my face in her soft fur. Cats always know exactly what they want. Sometimes I wish I could be like them.
“What’s going on here?” I come up behind Claudia and wrap my arms around her tiny waist, nuzzling her neck. Gizmo squirms between us.
“I cooked,” Claudia says, a little testily. “I can cook, you know. A little bit. Don’t get used to it. But I thought we could have a little celebration tonight, for you.”
“For me?”
“Harvard. Yale. Berkeley. You worked so hard, Eli.” She lifts the spoon to her mouth and tastes the sauce. “I know it’s hard letting go of our old lives and our old dreams. We’re building something amazing here, but what’s that dumb phrase Ms. Drysdale says sometimes? Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
She’s talking as if it’s obvious I won’t study at Harvard, as if I won’t accept any of my college positions at all. As if a nice meal and a congratulations cake make up for what I’ll be missing. She’s probably right. I probably will turn them all down to stay here in Emerald Beach with her, but it grates on me that she expects it, that she’s not talking to me about it the way we’ve always discussed everything.
But I don’t want to start a fight. Not tonight, not when we found the treasure and my head is full of cobwebs tangled together. So I kiss her forehead and wander away, hugging Gizmo close to my heart.
Later, Claudia calls us to dinner and we all gather around the table. The only person who isn’t there is Antony, who’s been working every spare minute trying to get the fights off the streets and back into the club. I exchange a glance with Noah. Gabriel downs his drink in two seconds flat and reaches for mine, a sure sign that he’s certain something’s up. Claudia dishes up creamy tagliatelle with salmon, telling us the story of how her father used to prepare this dish for her whenever she felt sick. It smells like garlic and happiness, but when I take a bite all I taste is cardboard.
“I have some news to share with you all. I’ve found a buyer,” Claws says. “It’s done.”
