I eyed the key. ‘No way.’

‘Yes way,’ she said. ‘It’s the only way.’

‘We can’t take their money!’ I hissed. ‘Are you crazy?’

‘Yes! I’m crazy with worry and this is the only way out. Let’s take it and get the head start we need.’

I shook my head. ‘Dad would never—’

‘Your father isn’t here!’

We huddled around that key, scrolling through all the ways tonight could blow up in our faces. The underworld was moving around us. We had to go. Eat or be eaten.

‘It’s too dangerous,’ I whispered. ‘The Falcones are watching the diner. They’ll kill us.’

‘No, they won’t. They won’t suspect us. They’re looking for Jack, remember?’

‘You didn’t see them.’ I thought of the horror in Nic’s eyes. The moment he had looked at me like I had betrayed him. ‘You don’t know what they’re capable of.’

She stuffed it in her pocket. ‘I know the stakes, Sophie. We’ve got a little time. Donata thinks you’re on side, remember? She said she’d come here first to brief you. And she hasn’t yet. “Soon” is not tonight.’

‘I’ll go, then. You keep watch and I’ll go in.’

She shook her head. ‘You’re not a thief, Sophie.’

‘Neither are you!’

‘This is my job. I’m supposed to protect you. I’m supposed to keep you safe.’

I had a sudden flash of Sara Marino trying to claw the blood out of her arms at Eden.

There’s this blood in us.

‘No. I’m the Marino, remember?’

She shut her eyes tight. ‘You’re not going in there, Sophie.’

‘Fine,’ I huffed. ‘Then neither are you.’

‘Sweetheart …’

‘It’s way too dangerous. Let’s just get in the car and go. Leave the money where it is. We’ll find another way.’

There was a heavy silence. She chewed her lip, thinking. And then, at last, her shoulders dipped and she said, ‘Pack a bag. We’ll discuss it when we’re in the car.’

I left the pieces of my father’s past, the broken secret he had kept from me, and went into my bedroom and threw my whole life into a suitcase.

I was fishing a pair of shorts out from underneath my bed when the front door slammed. My heart slammed too.

My mother had reversed out of the driveway by the time I got downstairs. She sped away from me, leaving me screaming at the back of her car as the first drops of rain began to fall, heralding the storm.

She was going to rob the safe.

They were going to kill her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

THE 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 ignite 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 on 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.’