tense silence. I see the clues to Claudia’s existence hidden in plain sight – packages of Pop-Tarts and cheap cereal bars lined up on the counter, seasoning and sauce packets stolen from school, cans of beans and minestrone soup stacked in the walk-in. Food Mackenzie Malloy never would have touched. Queen Boudica’s food, however, is an expensive organic brand. Gabriel makes a face when he bites into his cereal bar, and goes to dump the rest in the trash. Wordlessly, Claudia grabs it from his hand and finishes it. I guess when you’re paying property taxes on a Harrington Hills mansion on a waitress’ wage you get used to saving food.
I remember seeing her with her plate piled high in the dining hall – unusual for a girl at a school where everyone is obsessed with looks and health food. Yet another piece of the mystery of Mackenzie Malloy that falls into place, even if it leaves more questions in her wake.
I thought I had the measure of this girl, but Claudia August defies explanation.
Antony enters, pulling on his suit jacket. “I need to get back to Tartarus Oaks and start digging around.” He swipes a cereal bar on his way out.
No, you don’t, I want to say. I know my father is behind this. I know because those bullets weren’t just meant for Claudia. I’m worth more to him dead than alive.
I don’t say a thing. Claudia’s cousin makes me uneasy. There’s a hardness in his eyes when he looks at me and Gabriel, like we’re here specifically to fuck up his plans.
And there’s another reason.
He hasn’t recognized me, but I knew his face the moment he stormed into Malloy Manor. He hasn’t put it together yet because I was so careful, but I don’t know how long I have until he figures it out.
I don’t know what will happen when he does.
Claudia’s not the only one with a secret that can get her killed.
I watch her kiss her cousin’s cheek. Her fingers slide over his lapels, touching the edge of the gun he keeps there. She stiffens. I wonder if she knows just how powerful Antony is in this city, just what exactly he does for the family business.
After Antony leaves, Claudia goes to her room to brush her teeth, and Gabriel wanders back to the ballroom. I stack the dishwasher, then head deeper into the house to find Claudia. She doesn’t answer when I knock on her door, but Queen Boudica tears past me down the hallway and somersaults around a corner. I follow her.
As I wander the hallway, I pass photographs of the Malloys. There’s an age gap between thirteen-year-old Mackenzie frowning in her family portrait and the girl I fucked in a panic room, but they really do look similar. That same slight nose, heart-shaped face, and intense ice eyes. The same hair that looks like strands of spun gold, although Claudia could be dying hers. The same defiance burning behind their eyes.
“Meow.” Queen Boudica drops to the floor at the door to Howard Malloy’s study, rolling over to expose her stomach. I bend down and rub her gingerly, unsure if she’ll continue to purr with happiness or if she’ll attack my hand. Something bounces on the rug beside me.
A pair of fluffy balls on a string, tied to a stick. A cat toy – an appropriate one if you consider that the girl has spent the last few weeks jerking a string around our balls so all three of us would dance for her amusement.
“She likes if you wave that around,” Mackenzie calls from behind the desk.
Not Mackenzie. Claudia. I rub my temple. They really do look a lot alike, at least based on my memories of Mackenzie. This is one serious mindfuck. I stand up and wiggle the balls around. Queen Boudica launches herself from the floor and somersaults through the air to grab them. She rolls onto her back and attacks the balls with claws and teeth.
“This is a very suggestive toy.” My own balls twinge with secondhand anxiety as the cat sinks her claws deeper. Claudia nods, but her attention is focused on her battered old phone with the sparkly case – the one I remember Mackenzie using in second grade. Claudia must’ve found it in Mackenzie’s room. I’m surprised she’s managed to keep an iPhone running for so many years, although judging by the way she bangs it on the desk and swears at it, she’s losing the battle.