Felice remained where he was, smirking and sipping. I half wished Nic’s fork had missed Dom and embedded itself in his uncle’s face instead. How could no one see how much of a snake this guy was?
‘Relax,’ said Dom, sitting back down. ‘I was just saying.’
‘Sophie didn’t invite Luca,’ said Nic. ‘He went to keep an eye on her.’
‘And good thing too,’ said Gino. ‘Otherwise she’d be toast.’
‘Luca would be toast,’ Nic clarified. ‘It was Sophie who disarmed Zola.’
‘But didn’t choose to kill her,’ Felice finally weighed in.
I didn’t break his stare. ‘The circumstances were too complicated, Felice.’
‘Is that right?’
Elena turned around again, her voice weaving with the crackle of grease on the frying pan. ‘Did you have something to say, Felice? Perhaps you should be direct about it.’
Felice offered her his shark grin. ‘I was merely pointing out that regardless of who subdued Zola Marino, Luca or Persephone should have killed her while they had the chance. That woman will have been released on bail by now, and we all know she’s a loose cannon. Showing up to a high school dance full of innocent teenagers and discharging her gun can certainly attest to that.’ He sat back in his chair, his fingers drumming a steady beat on the table. When no one said anything, he repeated himself. ‘Luca should have handled it.’
Elena pointed her knife at Felice, swirling it around in the air as she circled his head. ‘You think he should have shot Zola and been taken away in handcuffs for it, and locked up for the rest of his life?’
Felice shrugged. ‘Who’s to say what would have happened?’
‘Common sense,’ Nic answered. ‘The police were everywhere. Jack and Donata didn’t even stick around, and she’s their family. Luca would have been dragged to prison for it.’
‘Making one less active member of this family,’ said Dom tightly.
‘And one less person in your way to the top,’ I added.
Felice’s eyes widened just a fraction.
The others fell silent.
‘Careful,’ he said, baring his teeth at me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
TRUCE
I was sitting in the library, my feet on the coffee table, when Luca swung the door open and let himself in. All the others had gone out for the afternoon, so I hadn’t expected to see him any time soon.
‘Hey.’ I set my phone down, pausing the intense gif-only conversation I was having with Millie. I tried to sit up, but my movements were more laboured than usual and it took twice as long.
‘Hi,’ he said, looking me up and down, his gaze lingering on my bandaged shoulder even though it was covered by an oversized hoodie.
‘Stop checking me out, Luca. I’m not looking my best.’
He leant against the arm of the chair beside me and his aftershave rolled over me. I tried not to be sucked into memories of secret moments and stolen kisses. ‘How are you?’ he asked.
‘Oh, you know, not dead,’ I said, looking up at him. ‘So that’s something at least.’
He didn’t laugh. His usually bright eyes were wired with red, the skin under them rimmed in dark circles. His hair was messy and swept away from his face, and the grey sweater he wore was creased around the neck. And yet, despite everything, he still looked like he had just tumbled out of a GUESS commercial.
‘Not funny,’ he said, decidedly. ‘Not funny at all.’
I straightened up, released a sigh. ‘Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since last night.’ You know, since we nearly died together in that corridor.
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Talking with Valentino. Coming up with a way to end all of this for good.’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked.
‘I’ve been in the city all morning, trying to get a message to the Marinos. We’re scheduling a peace talk for next week.’
‘A peace talk? What are you, two warring countries?’
‘We may as well be,’ Luca said seriously. ‘We’re going to call a truce.’
‘A truce?’ I repeated. ‘Just like that, it’s decided? I thought you and Valentino were just discussing that possibility.’
‘We were discussing it,’ Luca said, nonplussed. ‘And now we’re done discussing it. The decision has been made.’
I blinked at him, incredulity filling me up. ‘Without the rest of us?’
He tilted his head. ‘It was our decision to make.’
I got to my feet. ‘You’re kidding, right? I can’t believe you did this behind my back.’
‘Behind your back?’ Frustration curled his lip, brought out a hint of the feral Luca I had seen many times before. ‘I thought you’d be relieved about this.’
‘You thought I’d be relieved that the day after Donata Marino opened fire on me at my high school dance you’re extending an olive branch to her? Are you out of your mind?’
Luca got to his feet too. ‘Are you?’
I shook my head. ‘I can’t believe you’re giving up like this.’
When he spoke, his voice was deadly calm. ‘You almost died last night, Sophie. I almost had to watch you die.’
I took a step towards him, propelling all my anger and frustration into the space between us. ‘But I didn’t die, Luca. That’s the point. I’m still here, and they’re a man down. Now we have the upper hand.’