Page 43 of The Silence Lies

“Thank you.” A wave of relief crashes through me. For the sake of my position and what I stand for, I keep it together, remaining calm and composed. There are still formalities to adhere to and since I’m at a wedding, and the highest ranking member of the Mafia, I have a reputation to uphold.

Still, Greco accepts it with grace.

“And thank you for the wedding invitation, it really was a lovely ceremony,” I say with a smile. Pulling out a pre-written check from my purse, I place it on the table. It has always been the custom for the leading family to offer a monetary gesture, and to say I’ve been generous is an understatement. “My gift to the bride and groom.”

I turn before Greco even considers saying thank you, and head for the door. As soon as it opens, I feel three sets of eyes burning into me with impatient expectation. Levi looks pissed. Luca looks like he’s about to put bullets in the guards’ heads. And Giovanni… well, he’s still his stoic self, only I can sense the agitation he’s been battling. Being by my side is his job, and for a whole ten minutes the man was unable to fulfill his duty.

To some degree, I feel a little guilty for putting the guy through it. I know he’s there for my safety, but some things need to be dealt with alone, and I’m sure if Greco was aware that more people knew about his secret, the less effective my threat would have been.

I step past the brooding men and start my walk down the corridor.

“Let’s get out of here, boys. Our work is done.”

Luca

Sera looks badass as she walks—no, saunters— away from us.

We’re all left dumbfounded.

We were expecting threats, raised voices, a brawl. In fact, I was hoping for the latter so I had an excuse to put a bullet through someone’s head. The fact we were only met with silence and the odd murmuring from the other side of the closed door left us all a little uncertain. I was all ready to go in, guns blazing to save Bianchi. It seems she didn’t need rescuing at all.

Our leader is finally finding her place and that brings a smile to my face.

With a subtle turn of her head, Sera waits for us to catch up. Giovanni is already ahead of us, his long strides eating up the distance with ease. It’s probably to stop Levi from kicking his ass, but you can’t fault the guy’s tenacity.

As soon as we’re outside, Serafina takes a deep breath. “I can’t believe it worked,” she gasps, clutching her chest.

“He’s agreed to help?” I ask.

“I gave him no choice. He pushed back, but as soon as I mentioned his little secret, he was putty in my hands.”

Pride surges through my chest. Not just from this plan working but for Serafina holding her own. I know she likes her independence, but it was tense for a second back there. We were all anticipating having to storm inside and put a bullet through Greco’s head. By the looks of Bianchi, though, he didn’t touch her.

Levi pulls her into his side. For a moment, you wouldn’t have thought Sera was our leader. She’s clutching Levi by his jacket, smiling up at him like he’s all she needs. He’s looking down at her with the same admiration, his lips tilted up in a suggestive smirk.

I feel like I shouldn’t be a part of whatever is going on, but I can’t seem to forget the moment Sera and I had earlier on the dance floor. There was definitely some attraction, however imperceptible. I’m more than familiar with the way women flirt, and despite the subtlety, Serafina was definitely flirting.

I’m still not sure how I feel about the shift in dynamics between us. I only joined her so I could get my revenge. Admittedly, it was because I had wanted to make her pay, too. But that thought went flying out of the window so quickly I didn’t get a chance to reconsider my options. Before I knew it, I was falling under Bianchi’s spell. Just like Enzo and Levi, I’ve been charmed by our leader.

It remains to be seen whether that spell is a curse.

“Guess we should thank Fontana,” Levi beams at me, snapping me from my thoughts. “It was his idea after all.”

Sera slips away from his side, approaching me with confident prowess. She reaches up, cupping my cheek, all while her brown gaze never leaves mine. “Thank you.”

The familiar shift of attraction floats between us. I’ve felt it all evening, and I have no doubt that she feels it too. As much as I want to blame her for losing my father, I can’t. The more time I spend with Bianchi, the more difficult it is to see her in any other way than the gorgeous woman in the sparkly dress.

I’ve watched her all night, absorbed her energy, and smiled at her charismatic laugh. She’s breaking down my damn walls and there is nothing I can do to stop it. She commands a room, and she’s unaware of it. Her presence demands something more than just attention. It calls to me and I’ve never felt like that before.

“You coming?”

I’m yanked out of my trance as Levi calls me down the steps. The Ferrante brothers are already in their car, waiting for us. I get a salute from Marco as I pass them, heading to the front of the convoy. I think we’re all eager in some way to get out of here. Tonight went far too smoothly.

With the dark night looming, we hit the main road out of the valley. In no time, we’re heading back to the bay with the prospect of a successful meeting now in the back of our minds. The windows are open, the summer breeze whipping as Levi presses his foot down. Even the scent of the sea grows stronger the closer we get—and we’ve still got miles to go.

“You two seem to be getting along better,” Levi smirks beside me.

“There’s no point holding a grudge, right?” Weak excuse at best.

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