“How’d you know?” Livvie hisses. “That’s a big secret. Donotlet on that you know. The duke’s connections are what makes the business so lucrative. Grey Death isn’t for the plebs; it’s not a street drug. That product goes straight to the most elite clients.”
I roll my eyes. “The duke is Gabriel’s father.”
“Your lover’s other lover? The bad boy musician one?” Livvie licks her lips. “How intriguing. So Claudia knows, then?”
I nod.
“Well, I wouldn’t let on about that if I were you. The duke is using the current instability in the Triumvirate as an excuse to drive up his prices. Nero has clients waiting on product, and without the profit from the skin deal, the duke is withholding his next shipment. He says he has another buyer who’s willing to make him a better deal.”
I bet that other buyer is Claudia.
I guess this is how things work in this world. The duke may not need Claudia and Gabe’s heir, but he’s not above taking her deal if it works out better for him. He’s hedging his bets in Emerald Beach, stringing both Nero and Claws along while he sees how this whole thing shakes out.
“If Nero loses Grey Death on top of the skin trade, it puts all his plans in jeopardy.” Livvie downs her Old Fashioned in one gulp and slams the glass on the table. “I hope your girl knows what she’s doing. A lion is at its most dangerous when backed into a corner.”
My head spinning, I leave Livvie to manage the dancers, and head upstairs to get some of the accounts done. I’m learning an awful lot about moving illegal money around different holding companies and offshore accounts, hiding Nero’s fortune from the Feds. It’s like a game, staying one step ahead of the authorities. I’ve been showing Noah some of the tricks so he can start squirreling away Claudia’s illicit profits. She doesn’t have much yet, nothing like Nero’s resources, but so much of his money is tied up in deals. He doesn’t have much available cash to settle with the likes of the duke—
“Eli.”
A familiar voice calls me from the bottom of the stairs. My chest soars at the musical sound. She brightens the entire space just by opening her mouth.
“Claudia?” I rush down to her, sweeping her into my arms. She’s wearing a short blue sundress, despite the cool weather. It matches her eyes, making those pools of blue appear even deeper and colder than usual. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you had a meeting with Nero today.”
I can’t talk about what I know, not in the open like this where Nero’s security system will hear every word, but I try to convey with my eyes that she’s in danger, that I need to get her away from here.
“I don’t have business with Nero,” she smiles, tossing her golden hair over her shoulder. Something about her smile is a little off, and I wonder if she already knows about Nero’s issues with the duke, if this is a calculated move.You’re supposed to talk to us about what’s happening.“I came to see you. I have something to ask you. Is there somewhere private where we can talk?”
“Um…” I can’t exactly take her down to the basement – someone will notice that on the cameras and report to Nero. It has to be somewhere they’d expect me to take my Imperator. I have an idea. I lead her up the secret elevator to the private rooms, and hold open the door to a plush suite. Claudia enters, her eyes widening as she takes in the BDSM gear scattered around the opulent bedroom.
“Eli Hart, you’ve been hiding your kinky side.”
I pick up a remote from the end of the bed and turn up the sound system. Claudia tries to push me into the St. Andrew’s cross, but I yank her down onto the bed, laying beside her and cupping her cheek to mine. I expect to feel the fizz of our attraction as our skin touches, and that giddy adolescent flutter in my chest I get every time I’m near her. But all I feel is a sick churning in my stomach. “If we talk softly, they won’t be able to hear us on the tape,” I whisper, trying to distract myself from this strange vibe. “What did you want to ask?”
Something’s gone wrong, I just know it.
“Oh, silly, it’s nothing so clandestine as all this.” She trails her fingers along my arms, the tips of her nails raising goosebumps on my skin. Something… something’s not right. It’s not a new threat. It’s something abouther, but I can’t put my finger on what. “The Valentine’s dance is coming up, and I wanted to ask if you’d be my date.”
I blink.Valentine’s dance? Does she mean the one at school?
“Why?” I draw my arm away. My skin feels like it’s been scraped raw. “I mean, sure. Of course, I’ll be your date. But you shouldn’t have comehereto ask me. Nero’s on the warpath. It’s all to do with Gabe’s father, but I can’t talk about it—”
She cuts me off with a fierce kiss. The minute her lips brush mine, a wave of repulsion rockets through my body. I know exactly what’s wrong.
I’m not kissing Claudia.
Her eyes remain open, that icy stare locked on me. She watches for a sign that I’ve seen through her disguise. Even though it makes bile rise in my throat, I kiss her back, giving her just enough to make her believe I’m taken in, that I’m just a guy hopelessly in love kissing his girlfriend.
She tastes like violets and bubblegum.
The gun digs into my thigh. My heart hammers in my chest. Can I reach my hand down and grab it without her noticing? What will Nero do if I blow her brains out in his luxury guest suite? If I kill herhere, this girl who looks exactly like my Imperator, how will we prevent Nero from figuring out the truth?
Mackenzie’s tongue wraps around mine, like a witch trying to suck my soul out through my mouth. I swallow the urge to gag, and press hard against her as I angle my torso backward, trying to surreptitiously slide my hand down between us without her noticing.
Can I even do it? Can I look into my girlfriend’s eyes as I decorate the wall with her brain matter?
I loved you once, I want to scream into her open, moaning mouth.I would have gone to the ends of the earth for you, if only you’d asked. And now I have to kill you. You’re too much of an unknown to be allowed to live.
Just as my fingers brush the holster, she pulls back. The hunger in her eyes makes it clear she wants to kick things up a notch. She’s weighing up the chance to bounce up and down on my cock versus the likelihood that I’ll catch on to her deception.
