Noah’s lips turn up into a smile. He throws his uninjured arm around me, and the three of us head back toward the locomotive bars. Nervous now, the women step back as we pass. My gaze flicks across their faces, searching for something I can use when I confront my cousin with this – my father’s old allies, the people with weaknesses he taught me to exploit—
Wait a second.
It can’t be.
I stop in my tracks. Noah curses as he trips over me. Gabriel tugs my arm, but I don’t move.
I’m frozen.
I can’t stop staring at a couple jogging toward the exit.
They turned away so quickly, I’m positive they didn’t see me. I had only a fleeting glimpse of their faces, but as I take in the shape of their bodies and their distinctive gaits, I’m sure of what I saw.
It’s George and Eli.
Shit. Shit shitshit.
My head buzzes. George and Eli. How did they find this place? How did they get in? They’re wearing ridiculous outfits I’m guessing came from George’s thrift store.
They saw Noah fight.
They saw a man torn apart by a lion.
They saw Nero lording it from the VIP lounge.
They saw Antony basking in the adoration of the criminal underworld.
They saw me. They saw me with my old family.
They know enough to go to the police for real this time. But that would as good as signing their own death warrants. My mind reels as I consider my options if I have a hope of saving them before they do something stupid.
If George came here tonight, she knows everything about me. She knows who I am. I thought Eli would keep my secret, but I guess I’m wrong.
But I might be able to use her. I can’t get Eli to listen to me, and we’re running out of time. But maybe if I go to George, I’ll be able to bring them both around before they do something stupid like doing the right thing.
35
Claudia
Thanksgiving is a week away, and all I can think about is Eli. Antony knows I called his Thanksgiving bluff, but after everything we saw at the Colosseum I feel like there’s a ticking clock on Eli’s life. Why is Nero determined to get close to his family? How can I get him to trust me again so I can protect him?
He’s pretty much never in school now, and when Noah went to his house to ask about him, Nero appeared at the door and said his stepson was at his girlfriend’s house.
His girlfriend.
I have one last shot at protecting Eli and George from their own goodness. It means letting go of any hope that Eli might be mine again. He was never mine in the first place – he always belonged to Mackenzie. And now he belongs to George, and I’d make damn sure they have the rest of their lives to be nauseatingly good and kind and beautiful together.
She’s better for him than I could ever hope to be.
It doesn’t matter that knowing they’re together feels like a lion tearing my heart out of my chest. They’re both family now, and I’ll fight to protect them, no matter the cost. After all, that’s the motto of family.Et in morte fidelitas– even in death, loyalty remains.
Speaking of family… I haven’t confronted Antony with what I know. He’s held that secret close to his chest for a reason, and I intend to do the same. It’s hard being around him, knowing that every time he leaves the house to return to Tartarus Oaks, he’s moving away from the future we plotted together. With every secretive phone call he takes, I feel our home disintegrating around me.
But I’m the one who swung the hammer first by bringing the guys in.
Maybe he’s not the only one prepared to wear a crown of thorns.
I need to make a decisive move. I text George and tell her we’re hanging out tonight, just us girls, and I won’t take no for an answer.
