I often wondered what Val missed more, his mother and father, even though they surely had been granted happy, new lives, or the way things had been for the Da Vias before Estella took charge.
“I can’t break away from the Family in this, Lea.” Val lowered his voice. “I can’t break from the Family in anything.”
I didn’t respond. We were clippers. We all served Safraella faithfully. But this wasn’t the first time I was reminded that Val and I lived in different worlds.
Yes, my mother had tried to kill me again tonight. But she’d done it to make me a better clipper. In her own, twisted way she was protecting me by making me stronger. If Val’s Family ever tried to kill him, they’d make sure he wouldn’t have an antidote.
three
“ARE YOU DONE FOR THE NIGHT?” VAL ASKED. “ARE YOU hungry?”
We headed deeper into the alley, leaving the body in the street for the cleaners to remove. When they saw the coin in his mouth, they could record which Family had been responsible and notify relatives if the body was identified.
“After a job? Always. And I’m going to need some food to help fight off the remains of the poison.”
“Get changed and I’ll meet you outside Fabricio’s.”
I sighed. “Again?”
“We could go to Luca instead.”
“Why can’t we go someplace your Family doesn’t own? It’s so risky.”
No one knew about us. No one could know about us. Not his Family. Not mine. And not any of the other Families, either, though the city of Ravenna belonged to the Da Vias and the Saldanas and none of the others would dare trespass without permission.
He shrugged. “Any restaurant would be a risk, Lea. At least at Fabricio’s or Luca we eat for free and we know the staff keep their mouths shut.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t push the point. The staff did keep quiet.
I tugged my cloak into place. “Fifteen minutes?”
He stretched his arms. “Ten.”
I laughed. So damn competitive. Of course, I couldn’t stop my muscles twitching at the challenge, even if they were still sore.
He turned, but I snagged his hand at the last second. “Val. Thank you for being here, when I needed you.”
His eyes softened behind his mask. He nodded and squeezed my fingers before releasing me.
“Wait, one last thing.”
He groaned and faced me again.
I handed him a push dagger, a small knife that fit between the knuckles. “I think this is yours.”
He stared at the dagger, and then his eyes drifted up to mine. “When the hells did you lift that from me?”
I shrugged. “When you were helping me to the ground.”
“After you’d almost died from being poisoned?”
“Yes.”
He blinked a few more times, a sure sign he was organizing his thoughts. Val and I had an ongoing competition of lifting objects from each other, unnoticed. He was much better at it than me, so when opportunities came to catch him off guard, I took them, even if it was a little unfair using my poisoning to my advantage.
Val shook his head and laughed. “All right. You’re one up on me.”
I snatched his hand and pulled him against me, his body strong and solid. I tapped his mask where his lips would be. “Never underestimate me.”
He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me against him even tighter. We were so close I could almost feel his heart beating through his leathers as they creaked, could almost smell his skin. His warmth leaked into me, and I clutched his arms to remain steady.
“I never do.” He released me and sprinted away.
The race was on.
I climbed to the roof of the bordello. If Val beat me to Fabricio’s, he’d lord it over me the whole dinner.
I raced over the rooftops of the city of Ravenna, gaining speed, sliding across tiles. If anyone saw my movement, they would attribute it to their imagination, or perhaps the wine in their skins. Or, if they were smart, they would attribute it a member of the nine Families, and they would turn away. It was said that to lay eyes upon a clipper while they were about their bloody business invited death. We didn’t go out of our way to disprove the story. Fear made our jobs easier.
I reached a single-story building, dark behind its locked door. An art dealer, and the shop did indeed sell portraits, beautiful oil paintings with thin brushstrokes.
A hidden latch on the roof of the shop opened a secret door. I dropped inside.
There were many such shops within the Ravenna city limits, all hidden storage points for the Saldana Family. There were safe houses for the Da Vias too, though I’d never seen one.
They were a closely guarded secret.