Page 89 of The Silence Lies

A scarlet spray suddenly coats Levi before his attacker drops. In the pale moonlight, I see the sickening smile of satisfaction spreading across Levi’s lips. He nods at me subtly, acknowledgment and respect flowing between us.

But it wasn’t me.

I tap my ear, gesturing for Levi to speak up. Our leader needs to hear he’s ok.

“I’m here, beautiful.”

Sera lets out a sigh of relief. I don’t know what she can see, but I’m certain she’s watching with bated breath. She’ll be kicking herself for not being out here, but we just can’t risk it. After what happened the night of the wedding, I know she can handle herself. Her safety is too important though, and the last thing we all need is to keep an eye on her as well as each other tonight.

Eventually, the gunfire grinds to a halt. I look around to see the final numbers; Two of the four guards we brought with us, Levi and myself. Not bad considering we were outnumbered.

“Where are the twins?” I ask.

“Here!”

I spin around to find Matteo carrying the girl towards us. She’s curled in his arms, covering her face, but we know who she is. She can’t be more than seventeen years old, with white blonde hair and dirt marring her pale skin. The poor girl looks like she hasn’t slept or eaten in weeks. She’s also sporting a black eye, which makes my blood boil, but that’s a problem for another day. Tonight, these assholes got what they deserved.

“It’s all clear,” Marco announces, standing in the doorway of the compound. “Nothing but crates.

“They were moving us,” the girl says from behind us.

“Us?” I ask.

The tiny girl shivers. I see the fear coiling her body, the shudder of terror keeping her from saying anything else. She looks at Matteo, her eyes softening while her arms wrap tighter around his neck. “I was the last one.”

“Bianchi?” I say over the comms. “We’ve got her. The compound is clear.”

Another sigh brushes through the earpiece. “Good,” she says calmly.

“What do you want us to do with the warehouse?” Levi asks.

The tone that comes through the ear piece is resolute and void of emotion. “Send them a message.”

Levi

Smoke fills the skies, a dirty haze sitting thick in the air as we all watch the warehouse swarm with flames. Spits of embers light up the sky, the wispy ribbons laced with drugs and dirty money engulfing us. It’s only a matter of time before this place explodes, and we need to get out of here before that happens. Lucky for us, we’re in the depths of the Valley where the only souls to come by would be none-the-wiser passers-by.

Luca stands stoically, eyes wandering the tree line. I know exactly what he’s looking for. Our mystery sniper.

Whoever was out here with us tonight wasn’t here to take the girl. Whatever they wanted, it wasn’t us. Apparently, we had the same motives, but that only begs the question of who they are.

“We need to tell Bianchi about this,” Marco says. “Whoever was here, whether they meant to or not, they were helping us.”

Luca nods in agreement, but I can sense his reluctance. “I’ll tell her. She might know who it was.”

After a beat of silence, we all agree it’s time to head back. With the warehouse burning to the ground behind us, we all turn, satisfied with what we have accomplished. We’ve got the girl, and we’ve retaliated in the most personal form. Once the Verdis hear about this compound, they’ll be sure to up the ante on taking out Bianchi. But we’re ready. We’re prepared for that. Now that we have Zeke’s daughter, we can start forming alliances with them.

As we head back down the hill to where the convoy is parked, my mind wanders to Sera. I know how much it’s hurting her that we haven’t spoken. I’ve done nothing but hurt her with my silence. But I just can’t seem to wrap my head around everything. I’ve tried for the last few days to understand, to figure out what Luca has that I don’t. He’s got the brooding personality down to the letter, he’s good looking—hell, I’d fuck him if I was that way inclined.

But it’s Sera I want.

“Hey!” Matteo claps me on the back as we navigate our way through the thick forest. He’s no longer holding the girl. He gave her to one of Greco’s guards even though she refused at first.

She looks too weak to walk, though. I don’t know how long the Verdis had the girl, but she looks like she’s seen better days. We can’t risk anything else happening to her, so she had no choice but to accept our help.

I grab a branch as we descend the loose terrain. This part of the Valley is dense with trees and foliage, but is also dry and unstable. It’s probably why the Verdis chose this area in the first place. Hidden out of sight, inconspicuous because there are so many alike—even if they’re miles apart. It’s the perfect place to hide something you don’t want found.

“You still in a mood over the ‘sharing Bianchi’ thing?”

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