Page 4 of The Silence Lies

My suit is doused in dark red, my father’s words haunting me. Red blood pours from behind Enzo, and we’re lying in it. We’re surrounded by the heavy flow of a wound I can’t see, of what I can’t stop.

“Enzo!” I cry, cupping my best friend’s face. “Enzo!”

He reaches up to my face, one heavily bloodied hand smearing across my cheek, but I don’t care.

“Sei tutto per me,” he whispers.

“No!” I wail. “You don’t get to say that to me!”

A whisper of smile graces his lips, just for a moment. It’s a sliver of time that grants me just one more look into the eyes of my best friend. One more glance at the little boy who grew up to be the man who protected me from harm. One more absorbent gaze at the guy who became everything to me and I never told him.

Then, his hand drops and his eyes close. And all I’m left with is blood. His blood.

Serafina

I stare out from my office that overlooks the city below me; at the vast expanse of blocks and buildings that make up Iris Bay, California. Far down, towards the edge of the city, the water that makes up the bay glistens under the morning sun, and what I wouldn’t give to slide my toes through the sand and revel in the heat. It’s not the same as the beaches in Sicily, but they’re just as beautiful.

I’m instantly brought back to the moments where Enzo and I would race down to the beach, dive between the waves and laugh like idiots. Every weekend since we were kids, we would pack up snacks and head down there, the ritual never changing as we grew up.

Now, everything has changed.

I have a family to lead, a business to run and so many jobs to do.

“Are you sure we can’t go to the funeral?”

I turn my head to meet Levi’s gaze. He’s Enzo’s cousin and my new second in command. By no means has he replaced my best friend, but I need someone equally as fierce and protective, someone I trust just as much as I did Enzo.

After what went down at my grandfather’s in Sicily, three weeks ago, I’m not taking any chances on my safety or Levi’s. A feud has started between the families. There’s a vendetta against the Verdis and I’m counting down the days until I can finally get my revenge.

“I’m not going, Levi.” I close my eyes and fight the tears that threaten to escape. “I won’t stop you from going, you know that. You need to pay your respects to your cousin.”

“Enzo would have…” Levi says, clearing his throat and I wince at my dead best friend’s name. “He would have wanted you there.”

“He would also be alive if it weren’t for me, so don’t—”

Levi marches forward and cups my cheeks between his palms. “Look at me.”

I meet his dark eyes and swallow hard. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the similarities Enzo and Levi share. The way their hair flops in front of their face when they tower over me, the way their lips thin and jaw clenches when they’re fighting to say what’s really on their mind. The only differences are Levi’s curly hair and Enzo’s tattoos.

“You need this closure. You deserve to say goodbye, too.”

Gripping his wrists, I pull away from his touch. It’s cold and hurtful, but I need the space. “I don’t deserve anything, Levi.”

“Don’t do that, Sera.”

I turn away, opting to look out of the glass window instead of at my second in command.

“He died protecting you, and I have no doubt he would have done it again if he had the choice.”

But he didn’t have a choice, I feel like saying. However, the words get stuck in my throat.

I’ve done nothing but relive that moment. The blood. All I see is his soft smile, the way he stroked my tears away and told me the truth, right before he slipped away in my arms. I’ll never forget the moment his body was taken from me by the paramedics, and the news that later confirmed he had died. Everywhere I turn, I’m reminded of what I lost. Not just my best friend, but two leading families.

“It’s not safe,” I mumble.

I feel Levi wrap his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. It’s comforting and warm, an easiness settling between us as he murmurs, “You need to sleep.”

“You know it’s not that easy,” I say, shrugging out of his embrace. It’s not just the nightmares of Enzo’s death that haunt me, it’s the lingering uncertainty. I have enemies now. They’ve made themselves known. I haven’t slept because I’m on edge all of the time, and that would be normal in any other circumstance, especially in my position, but things are more volatile now.

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