Page 87 of Inferno
She was going to rob the safe.
They were going to kill her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREETHE SAFE
I didn’t care about the rain on my cheeks or the wind whipping through my hair as I charged through the darkness. I didn’t think about the lightning igniting the sky or hear the thunder clap like drumfire. Houses passed in blurs, the trees streaking green beneath the street lights.
I ignored the crippling need to stop, to bend at the waist and vomit. My exertion ebbed, vibrating like needle-points in my legs as I pushed myself towards the diner, towards my mother. I was running faster than I ever had before, every step pulsing through my ribs, calling old wounds to the surface.
I skidded into the parking lot. My mother’s car was parked in the furthest corner of the lot, nestled where the street lights weren’t shining. It wasn’t exactly the perfect disguise,but she had hidden it, at least. There was no sign of the Falcones but I wasn’t dumb enough to think they weren’t there somewhere, if they weren’t already inside Gracewell’s. If I had learnt anything these past few weeks, it was to expect the unexpected.
And trust no one.
I ran towards the diner, conscious of eyes on my back. I swung open the front door under the awning, groaning at the fact that it wasn’t locked. Locking it behind me, I followed the sound of frantic rustling behind the counter and into the kitchen. My mother was flinging pots and pans out of the cupboards.
‘I told you not to come!’
She snapped her head up. She was wild-eyed, her hands still scrabbling against the wood. ‘Where’s that damn safe?’
What the hell had gotten into her?
‘No,’ I said. ‘No way. We are not taking their money. We need to get out of here.’
‘Sophie, stop,think,’ my mother urged. ‘We’ve been backed into a corner. You said it yourself, you’re bound by blood. We both know what that means. They’ll come after you either way. At least this way we’ll have a fighting chance.’
I glanced around the kitchen. It was eerily quiet, the sounds of our breathing mingling with the dripping of the tap. I could hear my own heartbeat.
‘We can’t, Mom. They’ll kill us. They’ll kill you.’ The idea swarmed behind my eyes and vibrated in my throat. ‘I can’t lose you too.’
‘They won’t catch us.’ She gestured out to the diner floor. ‘They’re not here, sweetheart. Look around you.’
‘The Falcones—’
‘The Falcones don’t care about the money.’
I faltered. I knew that was true too. They had more money than they knew what to do with. This was about Jack for them.
‘Where is the safe?’ my mother pleaded. She was panting, and the panic between us was rising. ‘I know you’re scared, I know this isn’t the right thing, but it’s the only way we can do this. Jack’s been bleeding us of money for years. We’re only taking what’s owed to us. We’re only taking enough to disappear. You’re my baby. You’re my whole world. I won’t let them take you from me.’
I looked into her watery blue eyes, at that faltering smile, and I caved. We’d never make it far enough away without that money, and we both knew it. We were here now, and the damage was done.
‘We have to be quick.’ I stuck my hand out. ‘Give me the key.’
The cabinets stretched along the back wall, above the prep area, ending just before the back door. You could fit a whole person inside. Millie and I often debated trying it, but most of them were usually locked and Ursula always got angry when we tried to climb on stuff. She almost fired Millie the time she caught us playing ‘The Floor is Lava’ in the kitchen.
I hoisted myself above the stove, balancing on the edges of the countertops as I swung open the furthest cupboard and peeled away the lino wallpaper to find the safe. It was a wide, hulking thing, with a thick brass keyhole.
‘Oh my God.’ My mother was below me. ‘It’s huge.’
‘Can you keep watch, please?’
I turned the key three times and a resounding click echoedthrough the kitchen.
Ofcoursemy father had known about the safe. I was officially unsurprised.
I heaved the door open, and cursed into the echoey din. Inside, a smaller metal safe stared back at me, a thick, circular dial dominating its face. I almost smashed my head against it. ‘You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!’
‘What is it?’ My mother’s voice sounded a long way away.
