Page 86 of The Silence Lies

“How many?” Marco asks.

A sigh comes over the earpiece before Raf finally gives the answer we’ve been dreading. “About thirty men.”

“Shit,” Matteo mutters. “That’s double what they had last time!”

“Guess we’ll have to be careful then.” Levi snaps a magazine into his weapon.

“Do not engage, Marchese!” Sera snaps over the comms. “This is recon, remember?”

Levi rolls his eyes. As much as I hate to admit it, I know exactly what Levi is thinking. I suspect we are all thinking the same thing. We’re here now, so we might as well get the girl out if we can.

“Let’s go,” Marco orders. “The sun is coming down.”

After disembarking and ensuring everyone is ready, we start to hike the half mile to the top of the hill. Levi falls behind with Matteo, the silence pierced by the sounds of our footfalls on the ground.

While Raf watches us from the skies back at Sera’s place, we’re at ground level. There was no way we were going to let Sera come out with us. Luckily, we didn’t have to fight her on it. She was more than happy to stay at home and let us get to work. It’s one less thing for me to worry about because I still don’t like this idea.

Levi’s outburst was the last thing I expected. Sure, I knew he would have some reservations about what Bianchi wants, but I didn’t think he would call her out on it. The guy has some balls to say the shit he did and get away with it. That’s what pisses me off the most. Sera is our leader, and she let him talk to her like she was nothing more than the shit on his shoe. Guys like him don’t deserve Bianchi when they’re acting like that, but that’s not for me to decide.

“They must be moving shit,” Marco says from behind me.

Dirt and dust kick up from ahead, a couple of Greco’s men skidding in the loose earth.

“Do you think so?” I ask.

“Yeah. It makes sense. Why have that many men? They must be getting nervous by now. They’ve made a couple of attempts on Bianchi’s life and she hasn’t retaliated yet. They’ll be expecting something, especially if the Vultures haven’t been reporting back to the Verdis.”

Cazzo. He’s right. After the meeting with the Vultures, they agreed to keep the Verdis at bay. That was under the assumption that we could get the leader’s daughter back. But if Marco is right and they’re getting nervous, they’ll be wanting to move assets.

“We’d better pick up the pace,” I say, pulling myself up a steep area by a hanging branch.

The good thing about the Valley is that the coverage conceals us as well as providing us with access to different routes. You can climb trees, hide in the bushes, even swim in the river at the bottom.

“You remember when we used to come up here as kids?” Marco asks. While the shadows of the trees cover most of him, there’s still the sliver of light from the sun on the hills, slipping through the canopy. I never thought Marco was the type to reminisce, but I can see why his memories bring him back to when we were children.

“Yeah,” I reply, stepping over a tree trunk. “My father hated us being up here.”

“That’s because we didn’t have shit to protect us,” he laughs. “Now, we have a fucking crew.”

I look behind us to where Matteo and Levi are climbing up. A couple of Greco’s men follow behind while a couple more are out ahead of us taking the lead. I’ve always imagined leading a crew. I always envisaged having my father by my side while I took over. It’s hard coming to terms with the fact he’s gone. Even after almost two months, it doesn’t hurt any less, but it has been easier to forget.

“And we’re back in the one place my father told me never to come to,” I say, shaking my head.

“Yeah,” Marco sighs. “I haven’t been up here in years.”

“Same,” Matteo huffs as he joins us on a ridge. The sun is almost down now, the peak of moonlight cresting behind us. “I wonder if that tree swing is still down by the river?”

“I don’t think now is the time to find out,” Levi comments, storming past us.

Rolling my eyes, I nudge Matteo to keep going. We’re almost at the top, but it’s getting steeper now. It’s harder to dig our feet into the dirt, and it’s so dry that the ground is crumbling beneath us. The only thing to keep us upright now as we hike are the tree branches that offer their support.

We all climb, huffing and puffing until we reach a break in the trees that overlooks the large field that surrounds the compound. It’s hard to make out much other than the movement from guards, their flashlights illuminating their path around the perimeter.

“Fontana, you take two men with you to the west side,” Marco orders. “Marchese, you take the north side. Me and Matty will take the west. Stay in the dark, stay on comms.”

In unison, we all nod, turning on our heels. My pulse beats loud and clear in my ears, and I know what I have to do.

“Luca, don’t do anything stupid,” Sera joins the call, her warning tone failing to stop me.

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