Page 74 of The Silence Lies

It’s not a threat at all. It’s a goddamn warning.

“No,” Sera sighs, standing to her full height and dusting her pant suit down with her palm. “Luciano doesn’t know who he is messing with.”

“It’s not just Luciano anymore. And if they find out you were here, and we didn’t take you out, we’re both dead.”

“Then don’t tell them,” she retorts.

“He has my daughter!” Zeke slams his hand onto the bar top, immediately making Sera flinch.

My first reaction is to draw my weapon out, but it’s almost like Sera senses it. She raises her hand in the air, a signal to prevent me from reacting.

“It’s you or her!” he sneers. Though his anger is palpable, he remains seated. It’s probably taking everything in him not to take out Sera right here. I’ve heard stories about the gang, mostly unsavory. He’s hesitating.

But why?

Sera casts me a wary look, one that I know too well. She’s about to broker an agreement with one of the most ruthless gangs in the city and she’s looking to me for confirmation. If it means having the Vultures off our backs and on our side, I’m all for it.

I give her the nod, telling her I have her back on this one. It’s funny how you can convey messages with just a look, but I guess being around one another for so long makes these conversations a little easier.

“Let’s help each other then,” Sera suggests.

Zeke raises a brow. He doesn’t turn to his brothers for support or confirmation like Sera does. It’s by no means a power move, I can tell that much. If someone has lost something as significant to them like a daughter, they’d do anything. And in this instance, he doesn’t need to wonder if his men have his back. They’ve been willing to die with a bullet in them for the sake of intervening with Mafia business.

“What do you propose?” he asks.

“A truce?” Sera shrugs. “Under the surface, of course. You help us, and we’ll help you.”

The room lapses into silence, a sense of foreboding settling over me. For a minute, Zeke looks like he’s considering Sera’s proposal. This is a definite power move, though Sera isn’t deterred by it at all.

Finally, the man finishes his beer, the bottle resting between both hands as he strokes the watery droplets away. The tension in the room is like ice about to break. One wrong word or move, and this goes to shit.

We all wait with bated breath as Zeke eventually looks back at Sera, nodding. “I’m listening.”

Luca

“You know this is a bad idea, right?”

Sera glares at me from the passenger seat. Once again, I’ve found myself whipping so fast from complacent to frustrated that I’m just asking for an injury. It’s like one second I’m pulled into Sera’s orbit, reveling in this connection we have, and the next, I’m on a collision course set for destruction. I don’t know at what point I thought this was going to be easy. Sera is already ‘something’ with Levi—whatever that ‘something’ is, I’m not sure I want to get in the way.

On the other hand, Sera has made it very clear that she wants both of us. It’s unconventional, sure, and I can’t say it’s something I’m easily agreeable to. But Sera just needs a little nudge. I’m not so sure if that’s possible right now, though.

“You know you can just keep your mouth shut, right?” she quips.

I smirk back. I do enjoy the fiery attitude. It’s definitely a dick stirrer.

I navigate my Maserati up the driveway to Sera’s home, all the while glancing back at my furious leader. She has been silent the whole ride up, which is understandable since I made it clear before we stepped foot into the Vulture’s bar that this was a mistake. I should have known that once Sera sets her mind to something, there’s no room for negotiation.

Shutting the engine off, I expect Sera to tell me to leave. To my surprise, she pushes out of the car without a word and marches away from me.

“Sera!” I huff out, following her inside. “You must see where I’m coming from. The Vultures have been stalking you and your businesses. They tried to take you out for fuck’s sake!”

“Do you seriously think I have forgotten?” Sera snaps, spinning around so fast she almost collides with me. “I still have a goddamn bandage on my arm from their bullet!”

“Then why did you offer a truce?”

“I’m not doing this with you, Luca.” Her tired eyes find mine. I never got to see the photo she held, but I did see how she reacted to it. Whatever she saw can’t have been good, but I’m under no illusions that it’s completely innocent. The Vultures could have had this all planned out with the Verdis. There’s no end to what that family can do and with the right tools, they could easily have doctored a photo.

The whole conversation between Sera and the gang leader doesn’t sit right with me. Call me a skeptic, but a guy like that should have fought a hell of a lot harder before giving in to the Verdi’s demands.

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