Page 97 of The Silence Lies

Thankfully, Levi interrupts the brief silence. “How did it go with the Vultures?”

That’s the question I’ve been wondering myself. She asked me to meet her here after her visit this morning. I had hoped it was to comb over the finer details of this throuple we’ve found ourselves in, but I was sorely disappointed when I found only Matteo out here, dismantling his gun over and over like a bad habit. I’ve kept my questions to myself, but since Sera’s here, I want to know what’s happening with the Vultures and the Verdis.

Sera perches on Levi’s knee, lacing her fingers with his. It’s cute, in a teenager kind of way. I can see the appeal when it comes to Levi. Sera needs some sweetness to counter the evil she endured when she was younger. Maybe Levi has played into that part, or he’s just that way inclined. Either way, she revels in the attention.

“Good,” Sera answers. “Zeke thanks you for getting his little girl back. And since I delivered on my promise…” she turns to me and leans forward to squeeze my hand; “with your help of course… he’s willing to help us.”

“Help us how?” I quiz. “They still have the Verdis on their backs, and that’s if they haven’t already discovered their only piece of leverage has been stolen back.”

Sera sighs. Clearly I’ve asked the wrong question because she looks offended. “As far as the Verdis know, we have the girl.” She pulls out her phone, tapping the screen before handing it to me. “I took a fake photo of her when she got here last night. I made it look like we have her so if the Verdis question the Vultures, it’ll look like they had nothing to do with this.”

Levi shakes his head. “That’s just going to put an even bigger target on your back.”

“Is it? Luciano doesn’t care about the girl.” Sera snatches the phone back from me. “He was only using her so the Vultures would do his dirty work. With this plan, he’ll still think the Vultures are helping them when really, they’ll be helping us.”

Levi tosses me a skeptical look. “A double cross?”

A smile widens Sera’s lips, her eyes bright with pride.

Okay, I have to give it to her. That’s a smart plan. I’m betting she didn’t have this planned weeks ago, but who cares. If it’s going to get the Verdis off her back and us closer to our end goal, I’m all for it.

“I like it,” Levi states.

“Clever,” I remark. But there still begs the other question: are The Vultures loyal or just returning a favor? “So how exactly are the Vultures helping us? They have the girl. There’s no incentive for them.”

Sera leans forward, the authority and wisdom in her voice painting her as a different person. “Loyalty is an incentive. A promise is an incentive. Those patrols they’ve been doing around my businesses were to scare me, to make me run. Now that I’ve proved my loyalty, they’re my protection.”

Sera looks smug as fuck as she stands up, power rolling off her shoulders like she was made for this role. “So while we’re out ruining the Verdi’s little empire, we have extra eyes on the streets and manpower in our pockets.”

Tugging her hand to his lips, Levi kisses it, looking up at her with admiration. He’s got that puppy dog look down alright, and Sera seems to be lapping it up.

“Did you come up with this plan all on your own?” Levi asks.

Sera shrugs. “Mancini might have had something to do with it. I still don’t like the guy, but he has some good ideas.”

Her eyes move to mine. I know how much she doesn’t like Mancini. It was my fault, after all, to bring him here. If I’d known how dark their history was, I wouldn’t have bothered. And I’m kind of pissed that Mancini didn’t mention their past to me at all before I did.

“Luca?” Sera calls out.

“I’m sorry about bringing him in,” the words tumble freely.

“Don’t worry about it.” Sera smiles, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Some things are better left in the past. We all make mistakes.”

“Some bigger than others,” I mutter.

But the weight of my guilt must outweigh any worry she might have because she doesn’t even bat an eyelid. Raf and Sera must be on better terms than last week because she’s not pissed when he pokes his head out from the back door to announce his arrival.

“I have bigger things to worry about than him right now,” Sera smirks. “I need to check on my clubs since I’ve been off the grid for the past week.”

“Need some company?” I ask.

She beams back at me with the widest smile, like I just made her day. “Let’s go then.”

Levi

“Fold,” I huff, slamming my cards down on the table.

“What do you mean fold?” Sera snaps. She leans forward, lifting my cards to reveal two pairs and a king. She hisses through her teeth sympathetically when she realizes I’m not faking this time. All night she’s been accusing me of letting her win, but between Luca and I, I’m the one losing.

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