Oh, super.
“Deal. No lies. Just evasive not-answers.” Eli turns into Harrington Road. “Take me along the back road.”
“Why not the front gates?” Tension hunches Eli’s shoulders.
I glare at him. “That counts as asking.”
Eli throws up his hands. “Why won’t you tell us anything?”
“Jesus.” I grab the wheel before the car spins out of control. “You’re too pretty and I’m too amazing to die in a car crash, okay?”
Eli takes the wheel again, drumming his fingers against the leather. “The other two I get. Gabe is Gabe and Noah hated your guts until yesterday. But we’ve been friends since we were five years old, Mackenzie. We’ve been through hell together, and I’ve always proven myself to you. Why can’t you talk to me?”
I fix him with my Ice Queen glare. It’s all I have to hold Eli’s gaze; that’s how intense his eyes are right now. “Did it ever occur to you thatmaybeI’m trying to protectyourass for a change?”
“Or maybe you’re just trying to protect yourself.” Eli’s gaze drops to the locket at my throat. He swallows and tears his eyes away. “Even though he’s not here, your father’s still coming between us.”
He pulls over in front of the woods at the rear of my house, out of view of the other mansions on the hill. I give him one final glare as I slide out, but he pulls away before I can get the final word in. The Porsche roars around the corner and out of sight. I remain fixed in place, still watching the road, part of me expecting him to come back. My chest heaves. Finally, I pull myself together and duck into the trees, letting myself in through the maintenance door.
“Meow.” Queen Boudica leaps from hood to hood across the rows of ghost cars. She skids to a stop just as I reach the top of the metal stairs, and lets out a howl of anguish.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry I left you for so long.” I scoop her into my arms. She settles into her scarf position, her whole body rumbling with pleasure at my return.
“She’ll tell you a story of woe, but I swear I fed her according to your detailed instructions.” A shadow emerges from beside the garage door. My heart clenches before he steps into the light and I recognize Tiberius. I’m not used to seeing people inside the house. It’s unsettling, but I’m glad he’s been here. “And we played at least three rounds of hide and seek.”
The idea of this hulking cage fighter crouching behind the sofa while my tiny, scrappy kitten stalks him fills me with mirth. “Thanks for cat-sitting, Tiberius.”
“My pleasure. Anything for Antony’s family. Antony dragged me out of the gutter, turned me into a fighter, gave me a family. Dude’s like a father to me.” Tiberius claps me on the shoulder, and I nearly go flying. “Don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me,Mackenzie.”
I nod. I don’t like trusting this guy. But if Antony says he’s solid, then I trust Antony.
Tiberius opens his jacket to show me the holster and large knife strapped against his tight body. “Antony said you wouldn’t want anyone else in the house, but we’ve got men watching the perimeter 24/7. No one’s coming near this place without us knowing about it.”
I nod. “You saw the guy who dropped me off in the Porsche?”
“Sure did. He giving you trouble?” Tiberius grins, cracking his knuckles. “Name your torture, and it shall be done.”
“No. He’s safe. If you see him around, don’t shoot him full of bullets.” I pause. “Or the other two, either. I’ll send Antony photographs.”
Tiberius grins that maniacal grin of his. “As you wish. If you change your mind…”
As soon as I hear the maintenance door click shut behind him, I take Queen Boudica to my room and snuggle down in bed with her. She falls asleep instantly, her tiny face pushed up against my cheek. I call Antony to tell him about Brutus, then I pick up my diary and read it from cover to cover again, my fingers tracing the hearts doodled around Noah’s name.
The girl who wrote this diary was so taken with Noah’s dangerous eyes, she didn’t see the golden boy right in front of her. Now, that same girl had three impossible boys who tugged her in all directions, and all she wanted to do was save them all. But saving them meant pushing them away, and just the thought of it made my heart ache.
If Brutus is after me, this can only end in blood. I had to make sure it’s his blood and no one else’s.
I have more to lose than ever.
But Mackenzie Malloy doesn’t go down without a fight.
36
Mackenzie
Ilook forward to school on Monday with a mix of trepidation and excitement. On Sunday, Tiberius calls to tell me a package has arrived for me. I go to the front gate to collect it from him and find a brand new iPhone inside, with a note from Eli and his, Gabriel’s, and Noah’s numbers already programmed in.
Eli and Gabriel blow up my phone all weekend. Eli sends videos of his cat, Gizmo – a black-and-white tuxedo mix who loves sleeping in boxes – and Gabriel sends me links to bands and albums he loves. I make a playlist of Gabriel’s recommendations and listen to it while trying not to swoon.
