Inferno (Blood for Blood #2) (42 page)

‘Jack came back for me,’ I said.

His expression darkened. He ran his gaze along my frame appraisingly. ‘Did he hurt you?’

‘No, but I think I cut his eye out with your switchblade.’

His eyebrows disappeared under black unruly strands of hair. ‘Is that right?’

The reason for my visit rested between us. He knew what it was, but I knew I had to say it. I had to make it real in order to move forward. And he had to hear it.

‘I’m on my own now,’ I said quietly. The realization was a sting, and saying it aloud seemed to take all my energy with it. ‘For the first time, I’m really, truly on my own.’

Luca came a little closer, like he was trying to enclose us in a bubble where the badness couldn’t reach me. We could have been anywhere in the world just then, because I could only see him. ‘Do you want to stay here?’ he asked. ‘With us?’

This was it – the first step. I was turning away from the sun and facing my destiny. I had to say the words. I had to make them real.

Unflinching, unblinking, I said, ‘If you let me stay, I’ll help you kill them.’

He gaped at me. ‘Is that a joke?’

‘I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.’

‘Marino,’ he said, his voice twisting. ‘That’s dark.’

I held his stare, ice-blue and blazing. For the first time ever
I had a purpose edged with steel and fervour. I knew what I had to do. I had made my choice. The path
was
dark, but there was no going back.

This was my world. It had always been my world. It was time to stop fighting it and start living in it.

With drops of my uncle’s blood still staining my fingertips, I stood on the threshold to the criminal underworld, facing the Falcone underboss, and sealed my destiny.

‘I don’t want to be a Marino, Luca.’

He stepped backwards into the foyer, and I followed him inside.

‘OK,’ he said, his eyes still locked on mine. ‘Then be something else.’

We stood facing each other on top of the Falcone crest as a strange new warmth bloomed in my chest.

‘Any suggestions?’ I asked.

‘I can think of one.’

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Mom, this book is for you. Thank you for the Tooth Fairy letters, for the library visits, for the magical trips and the musicals. Thank you for dressing me up in a little velvet dress and bringing me to
Swan Lake
when I was three years old. I know you got a lot of strange looks from people for bringing a child as your date, but I remember every second of it. Thank you for always encouraging me to be creative, to follow my dreams and to embrace the zanier parts of life.

Dad, you are one of the zanier parts of my life. Thank you for being kind and intelligent, and funny and weird as hell, all at once. Thank you for teaching me how to live with humour and sensitivity, and to laugh often. I think I’ve taken all those years of your ridiculous (but impressive) accents and your (frankly worrying) preoccupation with sweets, and rolled them into these books. You really are the best dad in the world, and now it’s in print, so that means it’s true!

Colm and Conor, you are my favourites. Thank you for being so kind and supportive and fun throughout this journey. Colm, you are the voice of reason in my life, unerringly positive and generous with your time and advice, and I thank you for that. Conor, you’re hilarious and really strange, but in a good way. We both know you’re going to end up in one of my books one day, so I look forward to a time when we can toast to that (and also to you not suing me). You are the best brothers I could ever ask for: the perfect combination of humour, intelligence, kindness … and just a dash of shadiness.

To my agent, Claire Wilson, thank you for always being in
my corner, and for keeping the excitement and enthusiasm alive every step of the way. It comes as no surprise to me that you have acquired an entire coven of avid supporters. Thank you also to Lexie, and to everyone at Rogers, Coleridge & White, for championing this series and helping to spread the mafia love!

I don’t know much about covens, but I have an inkling that Claire’s Coven is one of the best out there. Thank you all for the inspiration, friendship and general brilliance, particularly my Stag Sisters Alice Oseman, Lauren James, Melinda Salisbury, Sara Barnard and the beautifully kind Alexia Casale and the hilarious Gary Meehan.

To everyone at Chicken House, I will be forever grateful to you for offering such a warm home to Sophie and her journey, and for welcoming this kooky author along with her! Barry Cunningham, you jumped right out of my college thesis and were even more magical in person. Thank you for making my dream come true! Rachel L and Kesia, the most formidable editing team, thank you for reading my first draft, discussing it, and then coming back to me with my favourite response: ‘but then, what if THIS CRAZY THING happened?!?!’ No idea is too grand or intimidating with you both on my side! And, more importantly, on Sophie’s side! Rachel H, Jazz, Laura M and Laura S, thank you a thousand times for your unwavering enthusiasm and support for these books. And for putting up with my countless emails – encompassing everything from types of font to shipping allegiances in
The Vampire Diaries
– with such patience and kindness!

This book is as much about friendship as it is about love. I
wouldn’t have had the confidence to start writing or the drive to keep going without the incredible friends in my life – my ‘Millies’, and the best platonic romances I’ve ever had! Jess, thank you for being both sister and friend to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life – I wouldn’t get tagged in all those raccoon videos, but I know I’d be a lot less happier than I am. Katie, twenty years and you’re still not rid of me yet! Ha! Thank you for being the kind of friend who calls me up just so I can listen to you cry and scream while you try to kill a daddy-long-legs in your room. I treasure that trauma, almost as much as I treasure you. Susan, you are hilarious – a real burst of colour and joy. What would I do without those voice messages where you just meow at me over and over again? Don’t ever change. EVER. Becky, expert sailor, ballroom dancer, runner, yoga-doer-person, and probably something else random by the time this gets published, I’m so glad we had that ‘sister-sister’ moment at summer camp all those years ago. You bring so much adventure and positivity to my life. Sheila, there is so much I could write here about our friendship, but a lot that I probably shouldn’t … What can I say? I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious. I’ll never forget the day we locked eyes over that science table, and I thought to myself, ‘That girl looks like a pixie,’ and directly following that, ‘She’s hilarious. I’m going to force her to be my friend.’

Aidan, I know YA books about crime and romance are far from your usual interest in hard-hitting sports biographies of random people I’ve never heard of, but I really appreciate you embracing these books and for investing in the characters. It makes me happy to know they are now all committed
to your (disconcertingly) infallible memory. I know you’re a hotshot solicitor now, but you’ll always be a sweet kid to me. Steph, when you turned upside down and balanced on your head to convey the word ‘bat’, you taught me the true value of Extreme Charades. Wherever you are in the world, and whatever new thing you are accomplishing, you always make me immeasurably proud. Thanks for ‘Lego-head’! And thanks in advance for the castle you’re going to design for me. Please consider this a binding contract. Katie O’B and Becca, thank you both for being so supportive and excited from the very beginning of this whole process, for spreading the love and for being a part of every step. Aoife, I love the scope and excitement levels of our chats – dragons, fantasy, films, imagined lands and general mutual fan-girling. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you and your immense talent. Louise, I know our livers are mortal enemies, but you are the most wonderful friend. I can’t wait to retire to our castle together, where we will live reclusively and obnoxiously.

To Sam and Mims, thank you for the mad (and very tasteful) adventures. From discovering dinosaur tracks and the world’s largest pecan, to hot-air balloon rides, remote cabins and Friendsville, there’s no two people I’d rather get trapped in an elevator in the middle of the night in Nashville with than you. I’ll always treasure our bond, and those eighty-six elk that joined us on our travels.

Sinead, thank you for helping me shape this book, for really understanding the characters and for discussing their journeys at length with me. There’s really no better combination than Nutella waffles and murder-chat! Thanks for letting
me pick your brain. Over and over and over again. Long may it continue.

I would write a book-length of acknowledgements if I could. Thank you to all of my friends, and friends of friends, and friends of family, here and abroad, who have supported this series since it came out, sent pictures, updates, reactions and messages of goodwill. I am so sincerely fortunate to have you all in my life. And to my family, my amazing aunts and uncles and cousins (and second cousins and third cousins), you really are some of the best and coolest people I know, and I feel very proud (and very smug) to be able to say I am related to such an incredible group of people.

When I was at Dominican College, Taylor’s Hill, I was incredibly fortunate to have two brilliant English teachers. Thank you to Miriam Maher and Geoff Drea, for showing me how to embrace the power of stories, and the importance of creativity. I didn’t know how lucky I was to have you as my teachers when I was at school, but I know now, and I thank my lucky stars for it.

Gerry Morrissey, fire fighter extraordinaire, esteemed Hazelwood resident and owner of the cutest dogs I’ve ever seen, thank you, firstly, for selflessly devoting your time to such a brave and important profession, and secondly, for talking me through the intricacies and details of fires, and not tiring of my many many many questions.

Finally, to the bloggers, booksellers and readers who embraced
Vendetta
, here at home and abroad, I owe you all an ever-growing debt of gratitude. Thank you for shouting about it online and offline, for spreading the love and keeping it alive during the wait for
Inferno
, and for all that you do
for the love of reading and the general awesomeness of books. I love being part of such a wonderful, passionate culture.

Page 1: Lola Ridge from the poem ‘Secrets’ from
Sun-Up and Other Poems
(Kessinger Publishing, 2004)

The publisher has made reasonable effort to contact the copyright-holders for permission, and apologizes for any errors or omissions, which will be rectified at the earliest opportunity.

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