Page 64 of The Silence Lies

Sera straightens out her suit jacket, glancing at her palms in her lap like she can hear my thoughts. “Maybe you’ll tell me one day.”

The gravity of her words pull me into a wave of guilt. People like Sera don’t trust the silence—and with good reason. She can figure people out by the words they use and the way they interact. Observing people isn’t her forte. She’s a leader, and leaders communicate. Sera doesn’t need my words, though. She thinks she does, but I’m just here for her protection, nothing more.

Though, that’s getting increasingly hard to stick to when I’m always focused on her instead of my actual job.

“Sera!”

The door slams against the wall to the den as Levi marches into the room. “There’s been a fire.”

“Where?” Sera barks, stepping around her desk.

“The Vault.”

“Cazzo,” Sera huffs, slumping into her chair. “Do we know what happened?”

The Vault is one of Sera’s clubs. It’s the same one Luciano snuck into to start a fight with Luca.

“Mancini tried to pull up the surveillance tapes but everything was wiped. He’s working on retrieving the footage right now.” Levi paces towards the desk, resting his palms on it, “You understand why I didn’t want you going there today?”

Sera scoffs. “Are you saying you knew this would happen?”

I watch the tension build between them. Levi grinds his jaw, his nostrils flaring while Sera folds her arms across her chest.

“No,” he grits out. “But anywhere you go, you could be taken out. I’m not prepared to let that happen.”

“We’re not having this discussion again!” Sera snaps. “If The Vultures have made a play again, we need to put a stop to it.”

“I say we pay the assholes a visit,” Luca chimes in from the doorway. He rests a shoulder against the wall, pocketing his hands as he observes Levi and Sera.

Sera glares at him. “And say what? Do what? Is showing up going to do more harm? Surely, if we turn up, they will go straight to the Verdis.”

She has a point; one I don’t think Levi or Luca actually considered in this situation.

I glance back at Sera. For a moment, she’s pensive, lost in her thoughts. “I assume they thought I was there?”

“It’s hard to say,” Luca answers. “But it’s likely, yes.”

“Was anyone hurt?” She looks sad as she asks the question. Any other leader wouldn’t be bothered by the blood shed for her, but not Sera. She’s compassionate right down to her core. I saw it in the way she watched Brady accept his torture. She didn’t want to do it, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. All leaders have to set an example, a tone for the way they’re going to lead their families, and Sera does it as humanely as she can. She doesn’t enjoy the moment or relish in the torture and violence. She does what she needs to in order to survive.

“Everyone got out. There are no reports of fatalities,” Levi replies softly. He’s probably sensing the same thing as me; her empathy and guilt.

As if she’s shrugging it away, Sera rolls her shoulders back. “Then we lure them out. The Vultures will know I wasn’t there and they will try again.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Levi interjects.

Luca steps forward. “You want to trap them?”

“I want answers. I want to know what the fuck is going on and I want it to stop! We can’t just go up to them and ask, can we? So, this is the next best thing.”

“That’s a stupid plan,” Levi mutters.

“Then come up with a better one!” she snaps.

Levi jolts back. The anger and frustration rolling off Bianchi is palpable. Everyone in the room can feel what she is feeling.

People could have gotten hurt today. Innocent people with families, lives worth living, could have lost everything because of this feud. Sera is right. The sooner this ends, the better.

Levi moves past me, not even glancing at me as he leaves the room. This is probably not the way he had hoped to keep Sera safe, but it makes sense. The Vultures only attacked her club because they thought she might be there. It proves that their intel isn’t great, which bodes well for Bianchi’s side.

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