It flings open, bouncing against the wall with aCRACKthat sounds like a gunshot. My heart leaps in my chest, but I don’t rush into the room the way Noah and Tiberius do. A queen takes her time.
I take a moment to glance around me at the room. With the double-height ceiling, stiff furniture, and decorative frieze of romanticized battle scenes, this looks less like a room in a house and more like the stateroom of a Roman palace. A fire blazes from a stone hearth – as if this is the middle of winter in Seattle or something and not fucking California. The flickering light illuminates a portrait that takes up nearly the whole wall – a young man who looks remarkably like Noah. Except for the eyes – they’re a beautiful deep blue, like the water of Emerald Beach on a calm, clear day, and there are no secrets inside them. Only kindness.
Felix Marlowe.
I don’t have time to appreciate the artwork. Noah’s father is on his feet, yelling and reaching for the light. Tiberius grabs his hand and slams it against the table, smashing the Tiffany lampshade and raining shards of glass across the Persian rug. Senator Marlowe grunts as he tries to kick his captor, but his legs are tangled in a blanket he had over his knees and it only takes a few moments for Tiberius to subdue him completely.
Tiberius hauls the senator from the floor and slams him into the wingback chair, pointing the gun at his head. “Don’t move a muscle,” he says, flicking the safety off with a cocky grin. “Unless you want your brains to decorate that fresco.”
“Who the fuck are you? What is this—” The senator’s eyes flick to Noah. I see they’re the same dark shade, although where Noah’s have depth and fire, John Marlowe’s are the kind of dark that is cold and heartless. “Son, what is this nonsense?”
I nod to Noah, who flicks on the unbroken lampshade on the opposite side of the fireplace, aiming the bulb at me as I step onto the edge of the rug.He’s been taking lessons from Gabriel on how to make a dramatic entrance.
“Hello, Senator.”
John Marlowe doesn’t flinch as he recognizes me. I’ll give him credit – he has a near-perfect poker face. But he doesn’t know that I’ve been schooled in how Marlowe men maintain control. He sweeps a hand through his hair, and there’s a slight wobble on the edge of his mouth. He’s not shitting himself yet, but he’s not far away.
“What is this?” He glares at Noah. “Do you know who this girl is?”
Noah moves to stand beside me. He looks down at his father with an expression of complete disdain – I know he’s mirroring the way the senator has looked at him for so many years, and I want to slap John Marlowe for it. Noah is amazing, and he should have never been made to feel small while Felix was treated like a god even in death.
He’ll never feel small again. Not after tonight.
“Noah, what’s the meaning of this?”
Noah says nothing. He lets his dad take in the scene – Tiberius beside the fire, his scarred face wreathed in flame, his finger tapping the trigger. Noah facing him with defiance burning in his eyes, his fingers entwined with his enemy, Mackenzie Malloy. Senator Malloy flicks his finger beneath the arm of the chair, jabbing a panic button. Little does he know that Noah disabled the alarm. No one is coming to help him.
“What the fuck is this?” Senator Marlowe addresses the question to me. Spits it out like bile.
“You’ve been trying to have me killed, Senator.” I cluck my tongue. “Naughty boy. You should know by now that Mackenzie Malloy can’t die. I’m like a ghost haunting your ass.”
He tries to launch himself off the chair, but Tiberius shoves him back down. Senator Marlowe seems to accept this. He crosses his legs and picks up the whisky glass from the table beside him, dangling it from his fingers. I see the decanter is nearly drained. “And if I did? It would be only fair. You killed my son.”
“Really?” I twirl a strand of blonde hair around my finger. “That’s the story you’re going with? A thirteen-year-old girl suggests to Noah that her father might have something to help his brother, an idea planted in her head by her own father all so that he has a scapegoat if it goes wrong. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, you and Howard Malloy had a very different arrangement.”
That gets a reaction. The senator’s jaw tightens. His eyes flick to the door. He’s starting to wonder what’s taking his security team so long.
Noah’s fingers tighten in mine. Still, he doesn’t speak. But that’s okay – I have swallowed enough venom for both of us. “You see, I know a few things about you, too, Senator Marlowe. I know that you came to my father as one of his elite clients – Howard Malloy might’ve made his name in cheap supplements made from supposedly ancient wisdom, but his real fortune came from mixing performance enhancers to order. Drugs to make athletes stronger, faster, better, and that couldn’t be detected in a drug test. A ticket to stardom that only the super-rich could afford.”
“This is absurd. Noah, I don’t know what lies this demon girl has fed you, but you can’t believe I would endanger Felix’s career by doing something illegal. You need to stop this—”
“Oh, Senator Marlowe, don’t you worry – Noah and I did our research. We know that supplements made from antler velvetarelegal. No, what I know is that you paid my father a large sum of money to source a massive shipment from New Zealand so he could use the velvet in far higher concentrations than normal. The lab testing showed incredible results but warned of dangerous side effects. You ignored those warnings. You were determined your son would be on the Olympic team no matter what.”
“Being a good father, wanting the best for my children, this warrants you entering my home and putting a gun to my head?” The senator’s eyes flick to the door again.
Noah snorts. It’s the first sound he’s made since we entered the room. I dare a glance over at him, and I can see how tense his muscles are, how the corner of his mouth twitches. His eyes flick to Tiberius’ gun, and I can see the lust for violence burning in them.
Noah has imagined this moment for a long time. I bet he never thought Mackenzie Malloy would be at his side. And she is, in a weird way. The Senator believes Mackenzie is the one behind this because of what he did to her, and I stand her for her revenge, too.
“Without waiting for further clinical trials, you gave the supplement to your teenage son. Felix’s undiagnosed hormone condition reacted to the concentration of growth hormone in the antler velvet. Your son – Noah’s brother – died a terrifying, painful death. You were so determined to make him the best that you killed him, and then you decided to blame a thirteen-year-old girl for your actions so your surviving son would have someone to hate, so that no one would fault you for what you did next.”
The senator laughs – a barking sound that has no mirth to it. His finger stabs at the panic button again. “I’d like to see your proof. All you have is a wild story with no basis in fact.”
“That’s exactly what I have.” I hold up a paper. “I have all the evidence right here. It’s interesting this never came out in the court case. In fact, it’s interesting there even was a court case at all.”
“Mom wanted the trial.” Noah’s eyes flicker to Felix’s portrait, and he squares his shoulders. I wonder what it must feel like to stand here with his father at gunpoint, feeling as though his saint of a brother watches from on high. Noah advances on his father, leaning over him. Tiberius holds out the gun, and Noah watches the barrel as it aims at his father’s cheek. “You tried to convince her to drop it, but she was so distraught that you had to give in. I’m guessing you and Malloy had some kind of agreement. You’d sue Malloy, but he hid the evidence of your involvement and the initial laboratory reports so no one knew who funded the supplements or just how deadly they were. Just a mistake – a terrible, preventable tragedy. You get to appear the concerned father in front of voters, and the court case acts as one giant advertisement for Malloy’s services.”
“Only, Daddy gets greedy when he realizes he holds in his hands these documents that can destroy your career,” I add. “He decides he’s going to blackmail you. Are we close?”
