Page 100 of Marked By Moonlight

The man was no angel, but he was good to me and around me. And he was doing his damned best to build a better future, even if that meant playing by Gordon’s twisted rules.

Then I frowned, thinking of the mark he’d left on me, and how furious that made me. Furious but also weirdly touched, because he wanted me. Sort of.

God, what a mess.

Steeling my nerves, I looked straight at my godfather.

“What are you doing, Gordon?” I asked evenly.

“I’m doing what your father would want me to do — protecting you.”

I curled my hands into fists, recognizing another attempt to manipulate me by triggering my rawest emotions.

I gritted my teeth. “Maybe I don’t need protecting.”

He shook his head sadly. “Ah, but you do. There is so much you don’t know.”

“Maybe I know more than you think.”

His brow furrowed, and a brief flash of concern crossed his eyes. But he shook it off, one hundred percent confident I couldn’t — wouldn’t — ever uncover his ugly truths.

“I don’t doubt your expertise in some matters. But when it comes to understanding the ways of the world — and men who would take advantage of you…” He trailed off.

The world was full of patronizing older men, and the art world doubly so. But, wow. This took the cake. Did he think I lived in a château or a convent?

I was so angry, I nearly burst out with it all.I know you’ve been taking advantage of me, Gordon. I know all that money you make doesn’t come from legal means. I know the men you described to me as bodyguards are mercenaries coerced into working for you. I know you’re using me to gain Anastasia’s trust and that you’re primarily concerned with your own profits.

But somehow, I kept my big mouth shut and slid the file back to him.

“There’s nothing here I need to see.”

“Ah, but there is,” Gordon insisted.

I shook my head. “You may be an expert in your field, Gordon, but I’m an expert in mine. And when new students join my class, I form my own judgments about them. I don’t cloud that with the opinions of others.”

Gordon gave me that face that said,That might apply to a coddled school setting, but not the real world.

I could have shaken him. Schoolwasthe real world, raw and unfiltered. And kids weren’t alien species — they were humanssusceptible to the same behavioral dynamics as adults. They just weren’t as good at hiding them yet.

“Mr. Aecher has his qualities, but many, many faults,” Gordon said sadly, as if it truly pained him to see anything but the best in anyone.

“So do we all,” I hinted, keeping my eyes firmly on Gordon’s.

He frowned, then went back to principal mode. “And honestly, gallivanting off with him alone…”

Gallivanting? I nearly screamed. After spotting Szabo lurking around?

I nearly blurted as much but stopped cold. So far, I’d assumed Szabo was working alone or in cahoots with Celeste. But what if he’d been hired by Gordon?

As unlikely as that seemed, anything was possible, so I kept that to myself. All I said was, “I didn’t feel safe here.”

He snorted. “You couldn’t be safer than in a place where I can protect you.”

A place where he could also monitor my every move, I realized.

Gordon sighed tragically. “I blame myself. I made it clear to the men that I expected the highest standards of behavior, but I failed to communicate that to you.” He went back to that disappointed look that added,Frankly, I didn’t think I had to. Then he continued. “But this is business, which calls for strict codes of conduct.”

Said the man who routinely resorted to manipulation, intimidation, and blackmail.