Page 133 of Beautiful Ruins
“Asshole is another,” Gianni added.
I leaned back slightly, studying them.“So what’s this really about, Atlas?”
Atlas looked at me like I’d served him the only question that mattered.
“This could ignite another war.And I don’t want us stumbling into one because we failed to decide who we are.”
That hit deeper than the threat itself.Because that was the real question, wasn’t it?Where did our moral compass lie?
Archie was complicated.A man who’d survived too long by learning how to bend.A man who’d switched sides when it suited him… until it didn’t.
Until he’d chosen us.
Atlas kept going, “If we protect him, we send a message.We take responsibility for the fallout.We make enemies.”
“And if we don’t,” I reminded them in a low voice, “we send a different message.”
Marcello’s gaze flicked toward me.“That loyalty has an expiry date.”
“That saving us isn’t worth anything,” Gianni added, almost reluctantly.
Atlas nodded once.“Exactly.”
The room was silent.
Outside the office, the house was still.Izzy and Tone were somewhere upstairs, thinking they were safe.Thinking the worst was behind us.I wanted to keep it that way.
But peace wasn’t the absence of violence.Peace was a temporary agreement between men who hadn’t decided to start another war yet.
Atlas stepped forward slightly.“I want a vote.Uniformed decision.Whatever we choose, we stand behind it.No backtracking.”
He turned to Gianni first.The one with the most reason to hate Archie and let him die.
Gianni’s expression was unreadable for a moment.Then he huffed a laugh, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe his own words.
“Despite everything,” he began, “I actually like the guy.”
Marcello made a sound—half laugh, half disbelief.
Gianni glanced at him.“Don’t look at me like that.”
“You’re saying you like him,” Marcello pointed out.“You.The man who shot out his knees.”Marcello laughed, shaking his head.
Gianni rolled his eyes.“He was annoying.”
“He’s still annoying,” Marcello deadpanned.
“True,” Gianni conceded.“But I don’t think he deserves to die because he turned on his own to save us.”
Atlas nodded once, eyes steady.“One vote to protect.”
Marcello exhaled through his nose, shifting his weight.“I don’t trust Archie as far as I could throw him.”
“Which, given your bum shoulder, is about two feet,” Gianni noted.
Marcello shot him a look.“But… I agree.”
Gianni blinked.“You agree?”
