Page 52 of The Silence Lies

Levi

I hear her before I see her. Her voice is sharp and pleading. “Luca!”

He storms down the stairs, barely glancing at me before he heads towards the kitchen. He’s got that look about him, like he’s just had his favorite toy stolen from him. He seems like the type of guy to get pissy about some trivial shit like that.

Serafina pads after him, each step creaking beneath her. She’s determined, I’ll give her that, but she’s not as fast as Luca. She must still be in pain because I’ve seen her move a lot faster than that for a lot less.

She freezes when she sees me, lingering on the bottom step while her hand white-knuckles the bannister. Like a deer caught in headlights, her eyes widen and a sweet blush stains her cheeks.

“Everything okay?” I ask, glancing at the door that Luca just stormed through.

Sera rubs her forehead, looking hesitant. She slides her gaze toward the kitchen, her shoulders dropping slightly with defeat. “I don’t know,” she confesses.

I pat the space beside me on the couch and she complies, sliding in next to me. I’ve never been the cuddling type. I’m usually the guy who gets bored easily, so I never make an effort to be more than a fuck, but with Sera I want to be more. I want more with her because she deserves it. She’s a queen, the world is at her feet and she needs to see that. I’m more than happy to be the one to give that to her.

Wrapping my arm over her shoulder, she shifts closer. “Want to talk about it?”

I sense even more hesitation when her eyes land on mine. Clearly whatever happened upstairs she doesn’t want to talk about it. Unfortunately for her, I’m not so easily dissuaded.

“Luca upset you?” I hazard a guess.

“More like it was the other way around,” she mutters.

My brows furrow as I take her in. Her busted lip looks worse than it did last night. If she’s in pain, she isn’t showing it, but her turmoil is as loud as thunder crackling overhead.

“I’m sure he’ll get over it.” I press a kiss to her temple, the good side. It’s something that feels natural to me and I think she feels it too. I glance down at her form, smirking. “Hungry?”

Sera doesn’t answer me verbally, but her stomach does. “I didn’t realize how much until now.”

“Well,” I say, standing up and holding a hand out for her. “It’s a good thing we got a chef in the kitchen.”

She frowns. I know exactly what’s running through her head, but if I told her who was really in the kitchen, she’d have my head on a platter.

Without hesitation, Sera takes my hand and stands, moving towards the smell of bacon and eggs, and perfectly ground coffee. She freezes as soon as she sees him and I can practically hear her jaw grinding.

“Levi,” she growls. “Why is Mancini in my kitchen?”

Raf turns with a smile, setting a pan of eggs down on the table. “Your second in command asked us to come by,” he answers, gesturing to me.

Now, I know it was a bad move on my part. Sera and Raf don’t quite see eye to eye for one reason and one alone. Raf and Luciano used to be close, best-friends in fact. Her reservations for him are well-deserved. She doesn’t trust him, never has, and I don’t blame her. Though Raf has never sided with the Verdis on anything, we’ve all had the same thought cross our mind. He could be a mole.

“Us?” Sera snarks.

Raf points with a spatula to Marco and Matteo coming in from the back yard. Last night the Ferrante brothers were running perimeter checks around Sera’s home, checking the security features. I asked them to stay because it was already late and it would be pointless for them to head home, only to come back here today for a debrief.

I’m also ashamed to say I haven’t really enforced safety measures like I should have so having them around is an extra pair of hands if shit were to go down again. I have installed surveillance cameras, stationed guards at the front gate and perimeter, but that’s as far as her security goes. There’s only one way in and out of this place, and I probably need to strategize a contingency plan if we’re suddenly infiltrated.

Sera’s eyes bounce from one body to the next. We’re all here, everyone that supports her, everyone who is willing to put their lives on the line for her. Everyone except Giovanni.

I can see the realization sink in when Sera does a full sweep of the room. Her bodyguard disappeared last night. He didn’t go far—just to the pool house—but I guess he needed the space.

The shootout took us all by surprise, even though we should have suspected it. From the short interaction between Giovanni and Sera, I’d say he’s beating himself up over the events of last night. Though I’m actually surprised how little she was hurt. I’ve seen lesser crashes cause more damage than theirs. The fact Sera is only sporting a busted lip and gash on her head still astounds me. We all saw how far her car traveled—it practically flew through the air.

“Are we going to discuss last night?” Sera asks the room.

“Food first, debrief later,” Raf orders, setting the final plates of food onto the table. Even though Sera’s in charge, Raf is taking on the dad role, making sure we do things right. He has the most experience out of all of us here, which means I won’t ignore his advice, no matter how much it kills Sera. We need him.

I take a seat at the table, admiring the buffet before us. The man has made us a feast, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘breakfast for champions’. I’m surprised Sera even had everything in her cupboards, considering we’re always eating out or getting takeaway.

---