Inferno (Page 70)

I stared at Nic. He was shouting at his brother, his eyes flashing with rage, his chest heaving violently. No one around the table seemed remotely surprised. God. Who was this boy? This was so much bigger than me and him now. This wasn’t about his heart – this was about his soul. Maybe the nagging voice in my head was right, maybe he was beyond saving. Maybe they all were. I felt a sudden, crushing sadness inside me. It took every ounce of strength to stay on my feet, to keep my mouth shut.

‘Settle,’ said Valentino, gesturing at Nic, who was still yelling at Gino in Italian. ‘Nic was following a direct order. Gino, you’re steering this off course.’

Of course, Valentino had ordered the carving and the water burial. And still he presided like an angel over the gathering: clean, clear, beautiful … deadly. He really was the worst of them all. A puppetmaster: all head, no heart.

Luca’s voice soared above the rising commotion. ‘We have the upper hand thanks to Sophie. I think it best to remove her and her mother from Cedar Hill.’

‘We’ll hide them,’ interjected Nic. ‘And give her father protection from Franco Marino in prison.’

‘Her father?’ screeched Elena. ‘Have you gone mad, Nicoli? What nonsense.’

‘It’s Jack we want,’ said Paulie.

Elena’s chair screeched backwards. She stood now too, leaning across the table. ‘Who are we to trust a Gracewell after everything they’ve done? Who are we to trust the words my own sister has said to her? Donata has never spoken plainly in her life. Everything is a trick with her.’

‘Sophie is not Donata,’ said Paulie, calmly.

‘She speaks for her.’ Elena curled her lip. ‘Do you forget your brothers so easily, Paulie?’

Paulie clapped his palms off the table but his voice remained deceptively careful. ‘Do not use my brothers against me, Elena. I know very well what we have lost.’

An old man with liver-spotted skin and a large bulbous nose was clinking the side of his glass with the end of a switchblade. ‘Silenzio!’ he called out in a heavy, rolling accent. ‘Calmatevi, tutti voi.’

Valentino raised his hands and quiet descended. Elena and Luca sat down.

‘Ignacio,’ Valentino said. ‘You have the floor.’

The old man dipped his head in gratitude. He pulled back and looked at each of the members as he spoke. ‘When my brother Gianluca was alive, he would not allow Councils to descend into such chaos. We have a clear-cut decision to make. The fate of this girl’s safety, whoever she may be, has been entrusted to this family. What is the point of squabbling like bambini? Let someone speak for her virtues and then let us decide like adults. I will not sit here and be subjected to such childish disorder.’

‘Wise words,’ said Tommaso. ‘Sophie Gracewell seeks to align herself with this family and gain Sanctuary. Who will speak for her?’

Valentino shifted in his chair, pulling out an envelope and handing it to Felice. Without taking out the paper inside it, Felice peeked in. He glanced back at Valentino, his expression grim.

Nic stood up. He held a steady stance, his hands folded in front of him so that he loomed over the rest of the Falcones like a soldier standing guard. ‘I’ll speak for her, since I know her the best.’

‘And ’cause you’re doing her!’ shouted Dom, his words peeling into raucous laughter. Gino shook with childish titters and I felt my face grow hot.

‘Vaffanculo!’ hissed Luca. ‘Have some respect!’

‘Let the truth reign,’ Dom returned with a sneer. ‘He wants to make her his comare!’

I didn’t know what a comare was, but I could tell by the blazing anger in Nic’s expression that it was meant to be offensive. I felt the overwhelming urge to launch across the table and punch Dom’s stupid face in.

‘Smettila!’ said Nic. ‘Or I’ll come over there and stuff my fist down your throat.’

‘Speak!’ said Ignacio. He pursed his lips and the resulting frown was so severe I felt a trickle of fear creep down my spine.

Valentino gestured towards Nic, rolling his hand in a circle. ‘Go on,’ he said dispassionately. He was staring at me again. I could almost see the cogs turning in his head. I looked at my hands. If he was going to say it, he should just say it, and stop lording it over me like this.

Luca’s mouth was set in a hard line, his penetrating gaze fixed towards the side of Nic’s face as he spoke.

‘We know of Donata’s movements, but Jack Gracewell is still hard to pin down. He might not come back to Cedar Hill at all now he has the Marinos to do his bidding. If it comes to tracking him down, Sophie is the best tool we have. We’d be fools to set her loose while she has so much to offer.’

‘And, don’t forget, you’re doing her!’ Dom catcalled. This time Luca leapt out of his seat and lunged towards him, grabbing his shirt collar and tightening it around his neck.

‘Luca,’ cautioned Valentino, a frown drawing his eyebrows together. ‘What are you doing?’

Dom’s face was turning purple. ‘Calmati,’ he wheezed. ‘What’s it got to do with you anyway?’

‘Act your age, idiota di merda.’ Luca pushed him away and fell back into his chair with a sharp curse.

‘Nic, are you done?’ asked Valentino.

Nic was looking unsure of himself. That made two of us. Did he mean all that stuff about using me and exploiting my allegiance? Or was he saying what he knew they wanted to hear? He was so nebulous, his family’s mission twined so tightly in his core that it was difficult to separate the two.