Claudia pushes open the doors to the dining room. The long table has been set for seven, with silver candlesticks, gold-rimmed plates, and glittering crystal. Antony, Noah, and George are already seated, discussing Noah’s upcoming fight at the Colosseum. An individual hat shaped like a turkey sits at every place.
“George made these. Aren’t they ridiculous?” Claudia picks one up and puts it on her head.
Antony’s hat slides over his right eye. Somehow, the dude manages to make a paper turkey look sinister. I say a silent prayer of thanks that he’s on our side of this war, because he’s one scary motherfucker.
I slide into the seat beside Claudia and stare around the room. This is everything Malloy Manor never was – warm and content, filled with light and laughter. Gizmo leaps off Claudia’s shoulder and darts to the sideboard, where Queen Boudica is already devouring a stack of shredded turkey portioned into an elaborate silver cat bowl.
Around the table, this is family. We might not be related by blood, but our bonds run even deeper than that.
“Good. Captain America has finally arrived.” Gabriel wanders in and sets down two large platters of roast turkey with stuffing and vegetables.
Okay, maybe family has some drawbacks. I frown at Gabriel as I stab a roast potato. “Don’t call me that.”
Gabriel shrugs as he pours himself a sparkling grape juice. “Sorry, it’s what Antony calls you, and it’s kind of stuck. If it makes you feel better, I’m Pretty Boy.”
“He called you the Emo King the other day,” Claudia says between mouthfuls.
“Why, I’m hurt.” Gabriel pretends to wipe away a tear. “That you could misunderstand the deep, raw, beauty of my music cuts me to the quick. I’ll have you know I’m pure punk rock. I sing in the key of Anarch-E.”
Everyone groans. Gabriel grins at me as he passes around the food. “Where were you, anyway? You were supposed to be here a few hours ago to help me drag Noah out of the kitchen.”
I roll my eyes as I slide a pile of turkey and stuffing onto my plate. “It took me longer to get my stuff than I thought. Nero caught me as I was heading out the door. He’s bugging me about working for him again.”
“Why’s a crime boss so interested in you?” Noah asks. “He has to know about your father’s connection to Brutus. I bet he thinks you know where Brutus is.”
“Idoknow where Brutus is – the parts of him that didn’t burn are in an unmarked grave behind my father’s crumbling homestead.” The words taste bitter on my tongue. I put down my fork and push my plate away. I’ve lost my appetite.
Claudia sets down her utensils and studies my face.
“Take the job,” she says.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Nero’s up to something. If you work for him, we’ll have eyes inside the Lucian operation. That’s valuable. What does he want you to do?”
“Office admin stuff. He said something about working with animals.”
“That’s perfect for you, then.”
Antony wipes his mouth with a napkin. “I need to see Nero in December. It could be useful to have you on the inside, especially since he seems determined to win you over. Now that we know Walter Hart was selling body parts to Brutus, it makes sense that Nero might want to be part of your family.”
“Does it?”
“Nero has his own skeletons in the closet he needs to disappear. He might think you have your father’s connections. This could work out very well for us. Thank you, Captain America, for finally turning out to be useful.” Antony’s lips tug up into a smile, but I can’t help but feel it hides a threat. “You came over to the dark side in the nick of time. I was about to have your throat slit in your sleep.”
“He’s kidding,” Claudia whispers.
I’m not so sure that he is.
Antony and Claudia exchange looks across the table, an entire conversation conveyed between them in glances and eye movements. I stare down at my food, my stomach churning.
Claudia has said over and over again that everything she’s done has been so she and Antony can escape her legacy. With Brutus dead, she’s one step closer to being free.
So why does she want me to burrow deeper into the criminal world?
How deep can we go before we can’t escape?
7
