Page 7 of The Silence Lies

I hear the ruffle of movement in the background, the unmistakable sound of a woman beside him. I might not have been in touch since his father’s death, but I’ve been keeping tabs, and I know he has been drowning himself in boobs and booze. I should be more of a friend to him, after all, we both lost someone that day.

“Donna Bianchi has a proposal.”

Luca scoffs down the phone, clearly still too drunk to hear me out. “She’s calling herself that?”

“Fontana,” I warn. Grieving or not, he still has to respect the structure of this organization.

“Does she want to put a target on my back, too?”

“Luca, you know that’s not what happened.”

We all know what went down that day. The Verdis didn’t like the idea of answering to a woman, and with the toxic history between Luciano Verdi and Serafina, it’s no wonder they planned an attack.

The only problem is they didn’t anticipate the amount of men who were backing the Bianchi family. We lost some good men, my cousin most importantly. I still miss the fucker, but I know he would want me to stick by Sera and make sure she is safe. It’s exactly what I intend to do.

There’s a heavy beat of silence down the phone. I don’t know whether to start speaking or hold my tongue just a little while longer.

“Fine,” Luca snaps, and I feel relief wash over me. “Where is she?”

“Luca, you have to deal with me.” It’s only precaution, and my job. I can’t let Luca near Sera right now, not until I know he’s really on our side. “If you want to help us get back at the Verdis, then you know where to find us.”

Luca sighs down the phone, and I can tell he’s contemplating his options. He’d be stupid not to. But the thing is, we’re not the enemies here. We’re the ally, and we need him just as much as he needs us.

“What do you have planned?”

“Nothing yet, we need to get as many families on board before we start talking logistics.” I don’t mention that we need weapons and money because since the Verdi’s attack, we lost all of our connections.

“Right,” Luca sounds less reluctant now. “Leave that with me, I’m sure I can get the Ferrante brothers and the Rocco family on our side.”

“The Ferrante brothers?”

He clears his throat, “Sure, why not?”

“If you have connections to the Ferrantes, why didn’t you mention it before?” The brothers are the leading suppliers of guns this side of the states. With their support, the Verdis would have no choice but to back down.

“You know I don’t actually report to you,” Luca jabs. “Do you want my help or not?”

“I’ll be in—”

“It’s the funeral today, right?”

My chest constricts at the reminder. “Yes,” is all I can say past the lump in my throat.

“Are you going?” he quizzes.

“We’re…” I inhale deeply. “No. Serafina can’t bring herself to go, plus she’s right, it’s not safe.”

We’re taking extra precautions at the moment. While she’s plotting revenge on the family who stole her day, I’m ensuring that nobody takes advantage of her vulnerability and decides to attack. I wouldn’t put it past the Verdis to do such a thing. They tried once, they’ll try again.

“She blames herself?” Luca sighs down the phone, though I know he’s not asking but merely confirming the obvious. Only a cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t feel the way she does.

“Good,” Luca answers my silence, but then the hatred seems to drain from his words. “I still remember you stealing your old man’s watch, immediately after he told you not to go into his study.”

“What’s your point Fontana?” I huff. The bastard is dead and I never want to think about him again. The fact he’s dragging up old memories makes me think Fontana isn’t as serious about aligning as I first thought.

“My point is, Levi Marchese does whatever the fuck he wants. You want to pay respects to your cousin? Fucking do it. Nobody is going to attack her at a funeral, besides, we all know how close Sera and Enzo were. Hell, I’d be surprised if they weren’t secretly in love with each other.”

If only he knew.

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