Page 53 of Serena
My father and uncle both hunger for power. It’s because they both came from nothing, but unlike my father, Isaac has a trail of bodies in his wake, and some of those are from my hands. It’s no secret that he’s ranked at a high level in the Mafia, and he has eyes everywhere. That’s how he caught Caleb and me after our first kill. My cousin was given information that there was a hit put out on my uncle. So we went to confront the source, thinking ourselves invincible. Instead, we walked into a setup. The plan was to send my uncle a message through Caleb, but always a couple of steps ahead, we were being followed by Isaac’s men. Of course, he confronted us for being so reckless. His advice: “If you want to be a killer, you need to learn how to be a shadow. You need to know how to hide your darkness from the world, especially you, Ian.” After that, Isaac helped us hone our skills.
Sitting here, I’m trying to focus on the conversation happening between Isaac and my cousins. They’re going into business with a weapons supplier based a couple of states away. Who, last year, went through a change in management and wanted to get out of the drugs business, due to pressure from local law enforcement. My uncle wants to solidify his role as head of the business. Also, like my father, he can’t let go of the reins.
“Uncle,” I interrupt. “This deal will benefit both parties. Not only will it expand your business, but it will make you more money than a handful of your businesses combined.” I point to the document on the desk, with all the numbers. “Caleb and Iset everything up. The pieces are already in motion. So, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
He looks at his sons. “Sounds like you have it all figured out. Now that business is taken care of, I can go home and make love to my wife.”
“Fuck, Dad, we don’t need to know that,” Damon says from his seat. My uncle has a shit-eating smile. I know he makes remarks like that to get a reaction. He then turns to me.
“Ian, did you get the information you needed from Miles?”
“Yes, I did.”
I recommended Miles to Isaac a couple of years ago, and since then, he’s been my uncle's go-to for any jobs related to cyber hacking. Most recently, he’s been responsible for monitoring Byron Carson. Imagine my surprise when Miles called me a couple of days ago to inform me that Mr. Carson had been admitted into a rehabilitation center for treatment, but it wasn’t under his name, but his father’s, Arthur Carson. The only reason Miles found out is that an alert was placed on the entire Carson family.
“Ian’s as bad as you are, Dad,” Damon says, breaking me out of my thoughts. “He does the same crazy shit you do. He had Miles put call-blocking software on his girl’s phone. That way, she doesn’t get calls from certain numbers.”
I look over at Caleb, who is looking at Damon.
“You told him?”
“Well, I needed something to talk about, and you have so much excitement going on in your life.”
“Excitement?” I raise an eyebrow in confusion.
“Yes, your woman.” He looks at my uncle and cousin. “You both need to meet her. She is smart, attractive, and gives this one”—he points at me—“hell.”
I hear the other men laugh, and I’m so close to pulling out my knife and throwing it at one of them. “You need to invite her toa family dinner,” my uncle says with a laugh. “I’ll have your aunt talk to your mother.”
“I’m sure Serena will be ecstatic,” I lie and turn to my cousin. “Caleb, if you call her ‘attractive’ again, I’m going to break your jaw. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Idon’t want anything big, just a small dinner,” I beg Yuri, who’s sitting across from me. She’s visiting me for lunch to discuss my upcoming birthday dinner. She makes it a point to celebrate all our birthdays. The last birthday celebration I had with my parents was when I was nine, but my grandmother always made a big deal up until her passing.
“I promise it will be small this year.” She giggles because that’s what she said last year and the year before that.
“Is it safe to assume Ian will be coming with you?”
“I haven’t asked him. He’s been away on business, but I thought it should be something I do in person. That and I'm nervous—this is a big step for me.”
“Well, E will be there, and they’re friends. So, it’s not like he’s a stranger.” There’s a pang of guilt in my gut, but I push it away. There is no reason for me to feel guilty. I need to talk to Elias, but he returns from his trip right before my birthday dinner. He wouldn't tell Ian. Would he?
“Ser—” Yuri’s interrupted by a knock on my door. It’s Claudia, and she has a troubled expression. She opens the door enough for me to hear the reason why.
“Ms. Nerva, we have a situation.”
“Where is he?” I hear Mila shout behind Claudia.
I turn to my friend. “Do you think she knows about Ian and me?”
“That’s a bit of a stretch. I don’t see how. But is there an Ian and you?” She throws back the question, but I don’t have an answer. I’ve learned that when Ian sets his mind on something, there is no stopping him. I’ve seen it in business over the last couple of months. Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, I am thatsomething, but I can’t decide which I prefer.
“I don’t know, but what I do know is that I need to get Mila out of here.”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me with this. The last thing I need is to deal with an irate ex-whatever she is. I make my way to where the commotion is taking place.
Yuri joins me. “I'm going to warn you, she’s the biggest bitch I’ve ever met.”
I turn to my best friend. “I thought I was the biggest bitch you’ve ever met,” I whine and pout my lips.
