Page 123 of The Sound in Silence

As he tugs my bikini bottoms aside and thrusts into me, I’ve never been more thankful for the single text message I sent to Nico that day, weeks ago, when he and Aurora were fighting over whether bringing Erico to Montreal to support taking down De Falco would be wise or not.

Me

I’ll do it. I’m volunteering myself. You need someone to marry him, and I’ll be that one.

From that message, I gained a husband.

My happily-ever-after.

Might not be perfect. Might still have challenges.

But it’s mine. Erico is mine.

Best of all: Erico helped me uncover a piece of myself that was lost.

And reminded me how to make noise.

Erico

“Thank you, Nico. I’ll keep you updated, of course.”

“When you find her, my only request is you keep her in New York for a while. Until I know she can be trusted, I don’t want her around my family. It took a lot for me to see her sister isn’t my enemy either, but with Yasmine wrapped up in the Seven, who knows what mind control shit they’ve done to her.”

“Too easy,” I reply. “Ariella will want to see her either way, and I can keep her with us until we decide how safe she is to go home.”

“Thanks, Rossi. Damn,” he grumbles, low enough I wonder if it’s even for me, “I thought this De Falco bullshit was over, but it doesn’t end. Honestly, actually, thank you. Rozelyn was asking me to go find her, but it’s precarious between the Seven and us right now, so asking for favours right away isn’t the smartest. With your plan, a lot of those concerns are negated.”

My plan would only have theFamigliacome under fire if we were discovered. But we won’t be because Caladin knows what he’s doing.

Speaking of…his head pops into my doorway, so I mumble a goodbye to Nico, mention I’m finalizing the plans, and hang up right as Caladin crosses my office, dropping into one of the chairs. He hoists his legs up, crossed at the ankles, and plops them on my desk, much to my glaring annoyance.

“Finalizing what plan?” He nods toward my phone, indicating the final words I said to Nico.

“I have another person for you to find.”

He groans, rolling his head to the back of the chair. “Fuck, man, who now?”

I slide over an image I printed earlier from Nico’s email. It’s of a woman, probably around Ariella’s age, if I had to guess. She’s sitting outside on the edge of a water fountain, staring at the ground in front of her. Long black hair is tied back in a braid and her skin is a deep tan, totally opposite from the pictures I’ve seen of her sister.

“Her.”

He whistles, his mouth turned down appreciatively. “Damn. But you already have one gorgeous woman on your arm. Really need another?”

“Smartass. Her name is Yasmine De Falco.”

His brows dive and he taps the picture, right over her face. “De Falco. Like the guy behind Ariella’s mother’s death.”

“The very one. That’s his daughter.”

“Okay?”

“Ariella had a connection with her. When all the shit went down with the Corsettis, De Falco left Yasmine in White Rock, British Columbia, with his people. Her sister is dating the Corsetti enforcer. Both she and Ariella are worried about her.”

“His people,” he repeats, eyes narrowing. “Who’s De Falco’s people?”

Everything Nico told me on the phone, I relay to him. Everything about the Seven, an extremely powerful society within Canada, and the academy Yasmine’s trapped inside.

At the end, Caladin whistles again and tosses the picture at me. “No.”

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