‘Right,’ she muttered in agreement. ‘I wonder how long that would last.’
We showered quickly, first Millie then me. We towel-dried our hair and got dressed. I squeezed into a pair of black jeans and a T-shirt that was a size too small for me. The tennis shoes were too small, too, but I crammed my feet into them until the ends of my toes curled and chafed.
We unlocked the door and emerged to the distant sound of screaming.
Luca was sitting on the ground, his knees pulled up against his chest. He shot to his feet. ‘Are you ready?’ Clipped tone, shoulders tense.
‘What the hell is going on?’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ He slipped behind us and ushered us downstairs, his hand against my back, pushing, insistent, as we descended the marble stairs. Nic was lingering by the open door, his gaze flickering back and forth to the other end of the foyer. Luca guided us towards the entrance and the darkness beyond it. We were being herded.
Another shriek reverberated in the air. It was louder down here – it was coming from somewhere at the back of the house. It had to be Sara, but it all felt so devastatingly familiar, like I was listening to a distant memory of myself, screaming just as she was, begging for my life.
What Sara said at Eden was right. She was me, and not in a good way.
I rounded on the Falcones. ‘So this is what you do? You bring defenceless girls here and torture them?’
I moved backwards, towards the screams, but Nic pulled me into him, clamping me to his side. ‘Sophie, don’t,’ he urged, keeping his voice low. ‘We’re taking you home.’
Millie tugged at my arm. ‘Can we just go home, Sophie?’ She was crying again, the last dregs of her mascara smudging beneath her eyes. God, she was ruined, and it was my fault. She wouldn’t sleep again for a long time. But how could she walk away so easily? How could she stomach the guilt of leaving someone behind like that? She didn’t know what was happening. She didn’t know what was in store for Sara. But I did. Sara didn’t deserve this. She was good.
‘We can’t just leave her here!’ My teeth were chattering again. When did it get so cold? The dampness in my hair was chilling me.
Luca was stony-faced, but his jaw was tight. Nic was calm, feet planted firmly beside me, ready for the exit strategy, ready to deposit the potential snitches far away from the crime currently taking place.
Another ear-splitting shriek rang out.
I shook Nic off and pushed by Luca. He tried to block me but I shoved him away. He stumbled, caught off guard, and without formulating any semblance of a plan, I started sprinting towards the noise.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
REVENGE
I weaved towards the back of the house. It was like a sinister treasure hunt: follow the desperate wails. But Nic and Luca were both faster than me and I didn’t know the layout of the mansion. Luca caught me halfway through the kitchen. He circled me, blocking my way through.
Behind him, the kitchen continued through an archway, widening into a glass conservatory that jutted on to the garden patio. Felice’s beehives dotted the lawns beyond. I could see movement – people – and when the next scream rang out it felt unbearably close.
‘Move,’ I said.
Luca started to push me backwards. ‘This isn’t your concern, Sophie.’
Sara screamed again.
I gritted my teeth. ‘I said move.’
‘What exactly are you planning to do?’ asked Luca, playing for time, moving to the side slightly so that my view was blocked. ‘You know you can’t get involved in family business.’
‘I’ll call the police, Luca. Don’t think I won’t.’
He grimaced. ‘You know where that would get you.’
I did know. In the ground. ‘How could you let this happen again?’
Nic took a step towards me, blocking out Luca. He was obviously going to try and reason with me. He made his voice go soft, a whisper of intimacy, a moment shared between us. ‘Sophie, you both need to get back to safety and forget about all this. We should have brought you somewhere else, I know that now, but it’s too late to change it.’
His eyes were dark like molten chocolate. Lips, slightly parted, breathed warm air into the space between us. Nic had gotten the Eden card from me by acting like this. Two could play that game.
I looked at my feet, biting my lip in false reflection. ‘I don’t know …’ I murmured.
His shoulders dipped and he relaxed his stance. I pivoted around him, shooting for the double doors. I skidded into the conservatory. Outside, a sensor light was bathing the garden in harsh white light. I was just close enough to catch a glimpse of Sara Marino’s purple hair when she screamed again.