Page 51 of Mafiosa
‘Mamma doesn’t get her hands dirty if she can help it,’ Nic supplied. He was still examining his gun. His lips were puckered in concentration, his brows pulled together.
‘A lot of the girls don’t get their hands dirty,’ said Gino. ‘That’s what makes you so cool, Soph.’
Something fluttered inside me. Oh, God. Was I really this starved of praise and acceptance that this was making me smile? The answer: yes. ‘Thanks, Gino.’
‘Yeah, that’s what makes youdifferent,’ leered Dom. ‘Your extreme readiness to shoot people.’
I balled my fists. He just couldn’t help himself.
Felice was staring at me. Before he could interrogate Dom over that stupid comment, Valentino arrived. The wheels of his chair were almost soundless on the smooth floor, but Luca was with him, and their conversation, low and in Italian, preceded them.
‘Good,’ said Valentino, eyeing the delivery. ‘So the exchange went well?’ he asked Nic.
Nic disengaged from the guns and puffed his chest up. ‘And we have the Di Salvos’ support in New York too.’
‘Well done.’
Nic nodded, pride straightening his spine. ‘No problem.’
I stole a glance at Luca. He was staring at the automatic machine gun in my lap. To say he was frowning would be a colossal understatement.
‘Shouldn’t you be at school?’ he asked me.
‘I’m just waiting for Dom,’ I said.
Dom was rotating two guns in either hand and humming under his breath. They looked exactly the same to me. ‘I’m nearly ready,’ he said, without looking up. ‘Just have to make one last decision… or can I just have both?’ He looked at Valentino hopefully.
‘Obviously not,’ said Valentino.
Luca muttered something to Valentino and then pulled his car keys from his pocket. ‘I’ll take you, Sophie,’ he said. ‘Come on.’
‘Don’t you want to pick your gun, Luca?’ said Nic. ‘Before all the good ones go.’
Luca was halfway to the door. He didn’t bother turning around to answer. ‘A gun is a gun, Nicolò, not a trophy. Justget them out of the way before the others come downstairs. I don’t want Sal and Aldo seeing them.’
Dom started laughing. ‘Geez, I can’t wait for Christmas so you can suck the joy out of that too.’
Luca raised two fingers over his head, and then disappeared into the driveway. I put my gun down and shrugged my bag on to follow him outside.
‘Good luck going to school under that black cloud,’ said Dom sarcastically. ‘At least we’ll all get a break from him.’
‘Grow up.’ Valentino slapped the back of Dom’s head. ‘Just because he doesn’t want to play with guns like they’re toys.’
‘Blatant favouritism,’ Dom muttered.
Nic caught me by my hand, tugging my attention back to him. ‘I’ll save this one for you. Jack won’t know what hit him, Soph.’ He smiled up at me.
I smiled back. ‘Thanks.’
His fingers were pressing into my palm, jolting warmth up my arm. ‘How high is that friend-zone fence now?’
Frustration careened over my gratitude. ‘One hundred feet high, and covered in barbed wire, Nic.’
Dom, who had clearly been listening in, snorted. ‘Keep climbing, bro, and die trying to get over it.’
Nic slammed the butt of his gun into Dom’s arm, and I left them behind me, bickering.
In the driveway, I slid into the front seat of the car and dropped my bag in front of me so I could put my seatbelt on. ‘Thanks for babysitting me,’ I said. ‘I think Dom is finally getting fed up of being my driver.’
