Page 161 of Poor Little Rich Girl

George’s hands shake as she holds out the enormous bottle. I uncap the lid and dump another slosh into my bucket. Tiberius and Galen had driven off with the body, to bury it in the spot in the desert they used for all their dirty work. Antony slumps over the table, nursing my bottle of port, while I get to work cleaning the blood off the cabinets.

“You really don’t have to help.” I glare at Antony. “Don’t mind us. We’ve got this covered.”

“Good to see, Claws.”

“This isn’t coming off,” George’s voice rises as she scrubs at the blood on the cushions.

“Do you have any shaving cream?” I ask. “It lifts out the stains.”

“My mom’s boyfriend might’ve left some in her bathroom. I’ll go look.” George runs off, returning a moment later with a big can, which she proceeds to spray everywhere like some over-exuberant barber.

“Usually we torch the place,” Antony pipes up, carving off a chunk of chocolate cake and taking a big bite. He kicks the empty pizza box onto the floor. There’s a round circle of pink on his fresh bandages that concerns me, but he assures me he’s survived worse. “There’s less chance of leaving evidence. Claws here vetoed that plan.”

“Huh. Fancy that. And I was worried I’d never learn anything useful from a gym teacher.” George sprays the rest of the shaving cream over the cushions and dumps them into the laundry. “Why does he call you Claws? I’ve never heard anyone call you that before.”

I sigh. “Yes, you have.”

Antony’s chocolate-coated fingers freeze in mid-air.

“No, I—”

“George,” I lean forward and whisper, so Antony can’t hear. “I saw you at the Colosseum. I know Eli told you my real name.”

George pales even more, which I didn’t know was humanly possible since she’s already as white as a ghost. “Okay, so you saw—”

“You and Eli at the club. And I saw a guy get ripped to pieces by a lion. I’d appreciate you not saying anything to Antony, since he’ll kill us all if he knows we were there.”

I pull away. The word kill trembles in the air between us. George’s eyes are wide as the moon. “What do you mean, your real name? You’re Mackenzie Malloy. It says so on your birth certificate, which I got from city hall.”

Fuck.

She doesn’t know.

Eli didn’t tell her.

I don’t know what to make of that.

I guess she knows now.

“Eli didn’t tell you?” I toss my sponge on the floor. “Then why have the two of you been sneaking around together?”

“Eli knows I’m good at finding things,” she says. I remember what she just told me – that she’s the reason Eli’s dad is in jail – and I marvel at his capacity for forgiveness. If he can conspire with George… hope flutters in my chest. “He wants to dig up what really happened to the Malloys all those years ago.”

“So he could take that information to the police?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Eli’s… conflicted. I think he believes you’re in some kind of danger.”

My heart stutters, but I can’t think about Eli now. Not when someone’s after George. I cock my head to the side. “What did that guy mean when he demanded your tapes? By chance, has the creator of My Dad is a Gerbil discovered some dark secret you intend to broadcast to the world?”

George manages to look both sheepish and a little proud. “I was going to tell you, I swear! I just wanted to find something first so you could see that you could trust me—”

Antony snorts with derision. He’s not happy I’ve brought yet another person into the fold.

“George is ride or die.” I cock an eyebrow at her. “Isn’t she? Consider carefully before you answer.”

George wrinkles her nose, and I know she’s weighing the dead body we disposed of against everything that’s led up to it. She nods. “I’m ride or die. Please don’t let it be die.”

“Deal. Remember, you’re under my protection now, and I’m a crazy bitch.” I hold up the knife we pulled out of the guy’s neck. “Want me to cut you a slice of cake to seal the deal?”

---