19
LUC A
A nd just like that, I’m back in the mood I started in four weeks ago. Only this time, I’m resenting Serafina for an entirely different reason. I’ll hold my hands up to the fact that I was the one to make the first move. I didn’t really think about the ramifications of my actions until our lips crashed together. But I know I can’t have her. Not in the way that kiss demanded anyway.
I can’t stop looking at her, though. She’s perfection, wrapped up in an oversized tee that is just begging me to tear it from her slim body. Yet again, I’m locked in a battle with my own common sense. She’s with Levi—to some degree. And she’s technically my boss. I can’t be thinking about her like that.
But then again, she kissed me, too.
This is exactly why I’m all twisted up. She’s bringing down my walls, brick by brick, and she doesn’t even know it. I have to switch off my emotions. I have to ignore what I want and focus on the plan. I’m basing my urges purely on the fact we’ve been in each other’s pockets for the last four weeks.
Yeah, that’s it.
We’re all sitting in the living room, Mancini commanding it as he stands before us. Levi is cozied up to Sera on the sectional, looking more than comfortable. She doesn’t even spare me a glance, which means what happened less than an hour ago was nothing to her. She’s made that abundantly clear by the way she’s all but ignored me since.
The twins are on their own couch along with Giovanni. There’s only space for me to perch on the end of the couch at this point, but I don’t really mind. It gives me the advantage to leave if I want to.
“You wanted answers,” Raf nods at our leader. “So here they are. Those men who attacked you last night weren’t Verdi’s men.”
We knew that much from the way they handled themselves. They were more concerned with running Sera’s vehicle off the road than actually shooting a target. This wasn’t Verdi’s work, at least not directly anyway. Although I’m certain they had something to do with this.
“So, who were they?” Levi asks.
Raf hesitates, glancing at Sera, her knee bouncing nervously. “They belong to a crew by the marina.”
The room lapses into silence. Thick tension fills the space, apprehension and uncertainty threatening to throw us sideways. We all know what Raf’s not saying. We are all aware of what lurks down by the bay—the shady parts anyway. They’re famously named The Vultures for the way they pick off the weak.
The marina crew take down individuals who have nothing left to give. If they think you are worth something, they’ll groom you into their gang. If not, you’re as good as dead. But all this begs the question of why?
Why Serafina Bianchi? She has nothing to do with the crew. She runs the hills and bay, while they reside at the marina and docks. We never venture that far out of the city, especially to make enemies.
“The Vultures?” Marco frowns. “This isn’t good.”
Sera sighs, combing her fingers through her bedraggled hair while she closes her eyes. She’s starting to look more and more tired. Though I know she slept soundly—because we all took turns checking—I know the situation is exhausting her. Nobody wants their first month on the job to entail death of loved ones and murder attempts .
“Why would The Vultures be after me?” she murmurs, looking between all of us. I wish we had the answer for her. The only thing that is certain right now is that we all have her back. That much, I do know.
“It doesn’t make any sense. How would they know where we were?” she averts her gaze back to Raf. “We were at a private function. Nobody without an invitation knew about it, for this exact reason!”
“Unless they’re working with the Verdis?” My thoughts spill out verbally before I can stop it.
Everyone turns to look at me. I don’t know why they all look surprised; we know the Verdis are the only ones with enough balls to try and take Sera out. They’re the only ones who hate the fact a female is leading them. This is usurping at its deadliest. Bringing in external help means this could get a lot more dangerous than we initially thought.
It makes sense, though. Use someone else to do the dirty work so you don’t look like the bad guy. It’s the perfect cover. Something the Elders will look past because they weren’t directly involved in taking the leading family down.
“Either that, or we have a mole,” Matteo suggests.
The whole room draws a collective gasp. He could very well be right, but that thought isn’t something we all take lightly. Being a part of this life means that treason is answered with death. There’s no way around it. You’ll suffer painfully, before finally being granted the mercy of death. It happened with Brady back in Sera’s club, and if it happens again, I know that Sera will have the stomach for it.
“No,” Sera shakes her head and folds her arms. “It’s not a mole. This has the Verdi’s name written all over it. The only question is how they got the biggest motorcycle gang to work with them.”
“My guess is the Verdis have something on one of them,” Raf shrugs.
“Or something they want?” I add. “Either way, we need to find out what that is. We might be able to reason with them, or help them.”
I don’t miss the scowl sent my way from Sera. The idea of reasoning with someone who attempted to kill her is probably the last thing on her mind. But if it gets Sera off their radar, she’s going to have to suck it up. The Vultures have nothing to do with us. They run the marina, they always have. The Mafia stay away from them, and vice versa. Until now.
“I’ll keep digging, see what I can find.” Raf gives a certain nod to the group. I’m glad he’s on our side. Without him, we wouldn’t have the same resources. Sera might not be too happy about the situation but she can’t deny that we need him.
Sera casts a suspicious glare at Mancini. She’s so tense that you could snap her like an elastic band. Whatever happened between them has clearly not been forgotten, and it makes me wonder what actually happened to get to this point. I know Mancini was good friends with Luciano Verdi growing up. But he’s far from that now. I don’t know what changed, but it was enough for him to want to help me when I asked.
Raf sighs, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. He’s taking on a no-nonsense approach, though I know he’s unsure about how Sera is going to handle all of this. She hasn’t said much up to now, but I can practically hear the cogs turning. She’s like a storm waiting to pass. The growls of thunder are her words and the lightning is her sword-like stare. It would only take a matter of minutes and the wrong words for Sera to cause chaos.
“I know you don’t trust me, Donna Bianchi.”
“You’re right,” she snaps. “I don’t.”
Raf accepts her words with a graceful nod. “I’ve given you no reason to, but I’m on your side, I promise. My loyalty is to the Bianchi family and I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll do whatever I can to help you get revenge for Enzo.”
Sera glances at me. Though she’s trying to remain angry, I see the shiver of guilt wreak havoc on her at the mere mention of her best friend. For the first time I see resignation flare in her eyes, acceptance lacing her words as she asks me, “Do you trust him?”
“Enough to bring him here. I wouldn’t jeopardize your safety like that.” I can say those words whole-heartedly because I mean them. I might be confused and pissed off at the situation I’ve found myself in. Craving a woman who is not only taken, but my boss, just spells trouble.
“I’d like to put what happened behind us,” Raf says, standing to his full height.
Sera shifts nervously, like the mere mention of the past makes her uncomfortable. I’m aware of what went down between her and Luciano. Pretty much everyone knew he was an abusive, manipulative asshole with an ego to boot. Poor Sera got the brunt of it, too. But that’s as much as I know. I’m not sure where Raf fits in all this.
“I’m not promising you shit until you prove your loyalty.” Her words are stern and abrasive. If she wanted to cause damage with them, she probably could.
Raf takes her words on the chin. Like a good soldier, he falls in line and nods. “I understand.”
“Find out what you can. We’ll meet up in a couple of days. Is that enough time?”
“More than enough.”
“Good,” Sera says, standing up straight. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to make some calls. Greco’s son is supposed to be sending men to us and I want to make sure he doesn’t rescind his offer.”
The room falls silent as we watch Bianchi leave. A part of me leaves with her, like her presence gives me some kind of assurance. It’s a comfort I’m not entirely familiar with, but then again, nothing about what I’m feeling is familiar.
When we finally hear her bedroom door close, Levi is the first to speak.
“You’ve got some work cut out for you.”
“I know,” Raf answers solemnly.
“What exactly happened between you two?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Levi huffs. “He did nothing.”
I frown. Suddenly, the tension is back. Both Raf and Levi are staring daggers into one another.
“He sat back and watched Luciano ruin Bianchi.”
“That’s not what happened!” Raf growls .
“It’s pretty much the story, though. Right?” Levi clenches his fists, no so subtly.
“I was young,” Raf says, turning to me. Not that he needs to explain himself, but it doesn’t hurt. “I was na?ve. I didn’t know any better and I thought that was…” he takes a deep breath. “I thought that was their relationship. I didn’t want to get involved?—“
“Even when she came to you and asked for help?”
Cazzo. I didn’t know their interaction went this deep. Judging by the anger rolling off the twins in waves, I’d say they weren’t aware of this either. I thought it was just some shallow buried hatred from Sera because of his association with the Verdis, but no. Sera has every reason to not trust Raf for that.
“My loyalties were to Luciano and his family.” Raf says the words, but I can tell he’s disgusted with himself. “As soon as I saw who they really were, as soon as I saw everything, I took a step back.”
“Everything?” Levi quizzes, jerking a brow up.
“The Verdis were into some shady shit. They still are. Once I saw that side of their business, I didn’t want any part of it. And I sure as shit don’t want anything to happen to Bianchi.”
That I feel in my core. Raf has always been an honest man. Sure, we’re all into shady shit to some degree, but Raf has morals. Most of us do. So whatever business he didn’t want to be a part of, must have been darker than we all consider. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past the Verdis to be like Greco and his disgusting business choices.
“I’m only standing by this because of him,” Levi states, throwing a thumb in my direction. “I trust Fontana’s judgment, so if he’s bringing you to our side I’ll forgive your past discretions. Though, I can’t say the same for Serafina. I’ll do what I can to placate her, but it won’t be easy.”
“I know,” Raf says sheepishly.
“Don’t make me regret it, Mancini.”
“I won’t.”