Page 107 of The Silence Lies

“Spared?” she snaps.

Levi’s hands shoot up in surrender, barely able to conceal his fear that he might get punched by Sera again. “I know it won’t be the same, but we can do something together.”

I’m still confused. I don’t know what Enzo had to do with her birthday, but it’s something she doesn’t want to share with anyone else. Maybe it’s her way of remaining close to the one thing she lost? Or maybe it’s a way to keep her focused and remind herself of what she needs to do?

“We could definitely all do with blowing off a bit of steam, especially once all this shit is done.” Luca sides with Levi, tossing Sera a wink that starts to make her blush.

I’ve rarely seen Sera get heated about something so minor. Birthdays are birthdays, though the more I think about what Levi just said, I understand the weight of guilt preventing her from being happy.

Happy.

I’m pretty sure this morning, while she was crying out Luca’s name, that she was happy. There was no way I couldn’t hear her as I passed the stairway to the den. She might have closed the door for privacy, but her cries of pleasure weren’t as concealed as she thought. Whatever Luca was doing to her certainly had her sated by the time she reappeared with a blissful grin on her face.

“The answer is no!” She glares at Levi. He seems to be the one at fault right now and I should feel sorry for him. However, he doesn’t seem in the least bit deterred by her anger. “We already talked about this. Anyway, we’re going off topic. What did you want to discuss?”

Luca’s attention is back onto serious matters. He shifts in his place on the couch adjacent to Sera. “Firstly,” he says, clearing his throat and casting a wary glance at me. “The mole situation.”

“We have a mole situation?” Levi questions in surprise.

“Possibly,” Sera murmurs, but that’s all she’ll give away at this point.

Suddenly, the room feels a little hotter, a little more intense. All three are glaring at each other, and I’m pretty certain my presence might be the reason they are holding off on saying anything else. It’s smart, but I’m definitely not the one leaking secrets to anybody.

Luca nods, continuing his list of problems, which only now seems to be two other things. He leans forward, elbows resting on his knees as he looks at his leader directly. “Secondly, we weren’t alone the other night at the warehouse, Sera. Someone else was there.”

Sera’s brows furrow with confusion. I’m having a hard time keeping a stoic expression when my thoughts start running with Luca’s words. What does he mean ‘someone else was there’?

“We don’t know why or what they wanted but—“

“We were about to attack and bam, men were dropping around us like flies!” Levi cuts in, spreading his arms for dramatic effect.

Sera shakes her head. “I’m still not following. Somebody else attacked the compound?”

“More like somebody was helping us to.” Luca sits back. He seems more relaxed now that the information is out. Sera isn’t pissed, but intrigued, and rightly so.

It doesn’t add up, but then again, does anything lately?

“We were taking men out, but someone else was looking out for us.” Luca smooths his hand over his slicked-back blonde hair, a scowl forming on his face.

“Do you think this has something to do with the mole?”

“What mole?!” Levi exclaims, seemingly not managing to keep up.

Sera turns to Levi. I can see how hard she’s trying to keep her cool, but her frustration only has her clenching her fists. “Somebody told my father about the agreement with the Vultures.”

Levi whistles loudly, “Shit.”

“Exactly.”

“Anyway,” Luca huffs. “I doubt they’re the same person. Someone ratting you out to your father doesn’t have your best interests in mind. Someone taking out the guards at the warehouse while we retrieved the girl is probably someone we can trust.”

Sera looks exasperated now. No matter how hard she tries, she never had a good poker face. “So why don’t they show themselves? We can become allies.”

“People hide for different reasons, Bianchi.” Levi shrugs his shoulders. “Not everything is as black and white as we would like to think.”

Sera sighs, slumping back on the couch. “So we have a mole and a mystery ally?” She slides her fingers through her hair, the look of defeat warring with her determination.

“There’s one more thing,” Luca adds, earning a questioning look from Sera. She already looks pissed, I don’t think she can take much more bad news. “The girl, she insinuated that there were more like her. I don’t think she was just leverage to use against The Vultures.”

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