Page 12 of Mafiosa
He bent his head to my height, his elbows propped across the desk. ‘Nicolò will show you the way forward. He knows the path and he walks it, undaunted. Gianluca will shut your eyes until it’s too late, and you will, I guarantee, meet the same fate as your mother.’
I sucked in a breath, all dregs of humour evaporating in that instant. ‘My mother is not some cautionary tale, and she’s definitely not a weapon you can use against me.’
He raised a hand, halting the venom on my tongue. ‘The fact remains that we are now all you have, Persephone. If you want to be part of this family andremainpart of this family, you must choose to whom you are going to listen.Thatis going to make all the difference. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘I understand,’ I said, if only to end the conversation. ‘Luca won’t help me survive in this world.’
Felice’s grey eyes darkened, his lips twisting into a slow smile. ‘But Nicolò will.’
CHAPTER SIXPRACTICE
As I tracked across Felice’s back garden, the barn rose to meet me – it was tall and broad, and made of concrete. Fall had come and with it the air had grown crisper. There was a biting chill in the wind now, and the trees on Felice’s land were turning vibrant shades of orange and yellow. It was pretty, almost like a picture, this assassin’s palace. In another time, I might have felt at ease here. I might have grown to love it.
I stalled behind the barn, hidden from the windows of the house, and wrapped my arms around myself. My winter coat was still back in Cedar Hill, stuffed somewhere inside my wardrobe. A million miles away.
I watched my breath fog in the air and tried to imagine how cold it would be here in the middle of December. Ablanket of snow and ice – and inside, crackling fires in every hearth to chase away the chill. December brought thoughts of Christmas. Of stockings and candy canes and turkey dinners. Of presents and eggnog and family. Would we all survive until then? How black would my soul be by Christmas morning?
I heard his breath on the wind before he caught up with me. He fell out of his jog and offered me a surprisingly warm smile considering I had harassed him out of bed at such an indecent time. ‘Good morning!’ he said, beaming at me in all that Colgate splendour.
Of course Nic had had the good sense to wear a winter coat. His hair was messy – ungelled, and flopping across his forehead. He pushed it back. He looked peaky – half warm and half pale, probably from being wrenched out of bed at such an ungodly hour.
‘You’re late.’ I tapped at an imaginary watch. ‘I said seven a.m. sharp.’
‘I’m not a morning person,’ he said, his grin turning sheepish.
‘Is that why your smile is starting to twitch?’
‘I just downed two double espressos,’ he confided. ‘I think my face is vibrating.’
‘Well, you could never tell.’ I smiled at him. ‘Thanks for coming.’
He shrugged, but my smile had brought on his own, and I made a mental note to be very careful about how this meeting progressed. It was business, not pleasure.
Nic cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck around, warming up. ‘So, why do we have to be so secretive about thisagain? Valentinowillbe happy.’ He had asked me the same thing last night when I ambushed him in the middle of brushing his teeth.
‘I told you I don’t want anyone to know until I know what I’m doing.’
Translation:I don’t want Luca to know.
Even if Luca intended to risk everything to break the promise I made to his twin, I certainly didn’t.
‘You sure that’s it?’ Nic edged a little closer, his grin turning wolfish. ‘Or is there something else going on here that I don’t know about? Because you don’t have to make up excuses to spend time with me, you know. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be…’
‘Nic…’ I pressed my palm against his chest and pushed him back gently. ‘We talked about this.’
‘So, let’s talk about it again, now that things have changed.’
‘Nothing’s changed,’ I said gently. ‘We’re not good for each other.’
A frown rippled along his forehead. ‘For the record, I disagree,’ he said. ‘I think we are good for each other.’
My smile turned awkward, but I kept my tone light. ‘To be in a relationship with someone, both parties kind of need to agree that they’re good for each other, Nic… it can’t just be you. It’s not enough.’
Nic shrugged. ‘Take as much time as you need, Sophie. I’ll change your mind eventually.’ His determination puffed him up, made him seem taller.
‘You’re always so sure of everything,’ I said, half-chastising him.
‘That’s because I always get what I want,’ he said, confidently.
