22
GIOVANNI
I stare at my reflection in the mirror a little longer than usual this morning. The bags under my eyes tell a different story to the one I think everyone believes. Sure, I’m exhausted. I didn’t get much sleep last night because despite my better judgment, I joined the security in making perimeter checks. It’s not just the guilt I feel, though. I’m weighed down by reminders of my past; Serafina is that reminder. It’s what strengthens my determination to ensure nothing happens to her. I might not be able to control everything, but there are some things I can prevent.
I already feel like shit for letting the car roll and injure her. But I knew what I was getting into when I took this job, and I’ll be damned if I let anything fucking happen to her on my watch. She’s caught up in shit none of us can control, but if there is something I can do, protecting her is what I’m going to do.
Outside the pool house, I hear voices. Though they’re distant, I can make out the owners. I slip out onto the patio, locating them in the rear courtyard. They’re surrounded by men all dressed in black combat gear. There must be about twenty men, all wearing serious, stoic looks, preparing themselves for whatever shit is flung their way. I don’t think they realize just how messy this might get, but nobody is going to tell them.
Marco paces back and forth in front of the group while Matteo stands with his arms folded, watching his brother take the reins. From the limited interactions I’ve had with the pair, I’d say Marco is the more serious twin, the one who sticks to structure and organization. Matteo seems more like a free bird, following the flow of the breeze. He has jokes and a light personality, whereas Marco sticks to what he knows. Sera is in good hands with them. They seem to know what they’re doing and I can’t fault how attentive and professional they have been so far.
“We’ll divide you into teams,” Marco shouts out. “One team will take the immediate perimeter, another will take the external perimeter, and the final team will be stationed at the gate. Nobody gets in without prior approval from Donna Bianchi herself. Any questions, you bring them to us.”
Matteo hands out pieces of paper to the crew. “The list isn’t long, so you shouldn’t have a hard time remembering it. You’ve been entrusted with this job for a reason so it goes without saying that if you let our leader down, you’ll have to face the consequences.”
“And trust me,” Luca adds, swinging his knife in his hand with a sadistic glint in his eyes. “You don’t want that.”
There’s a collective grumble as I approach, eyes darting my way. I’m the tallest out of all of us, but I understand that it’s my silent presence that garners the most attention. I get a nod from the Ferrante brothers, who start separating the men into groups, while Luca watches closely.
“You trust them?” Luca mutters to Marco.
He shakes his head. “Not one bit. But what can we do? These men would rather die for Bianchi than let her get hit by The Vultures, I know that much.”
Luca glances in my direction before addressing us all. “See that it stays that way.”
The twins nod in agreement, and then we head inside. Luca goes to take a call, while the twins crash out on the couch. They’ve been running patrols in the evenings to ensure Serafina’s guards can be trusted. They might not be a leading family, but they’re proving their allegiance and capability tenfold.
“She’s in the den,” Levi comments as he joins me in the kitchen.
I glance up at him as I make coffee. I’ve kept myself out of discussions, only waiting to be told what we’re doing, when we’re doing it. So the fact Sera is in her den is a surprise to me. Usually, she’d be getting ready to head out to one of her clubs to check in on things.
“She stays here until it’s safe,” Levi adds without looking at me.
Though I don’t say it, I know he hears how he sounds. Caging Bianchi in her home is not the right way to deal with the situation, but it is the safest. Out in the open, anyone can get a hit on her. All it takes is the right moment for someone to take the shot and I don’t want to think about who would be the one behind the trigger.
I nod to confirm I understand Levi’s order before taking the mugs down to the den. I’m not sure what I expected to find, but seeing Sera with her head in her hands, looking so defeated, makes my chest ache uncomfortably. She’s a leader, she shouldn’t be holed up here.
The room she’s in can definitely accommodate her work, but it’s below ground, where there’s no natural light. The room is dimly lit, too. Lamps staged on tables in every corner of the room are the only source of light. The slate walls are decorated with brass embellished artwork that surround a large tv screen. There’s a large sectional in the center of the room, and behind the couch, Sera is sitting at her desk.
“Before you ask, I have no choice.”
I raise a brow as I approach her, placing the mug of coffee on her desk.
She lifts her head, brows furrowing as she glances between me and the mug before her. “I don’t remember telling you how I take my coffee.”
I go to take the mug back, but she reaches for it with a smile, muttering a thanks on the way. It’s not often she actually speaks to me. Aside from her visiting me yesterday to tell me to suck my shit up because she has to as well, we haven’t actually been alone together much.
Sera rubs her forehead, wincing when she makes contact with the bandage. It’s starting to look like it needs replacing. She’s itching it like it needs to come off, too, but those fuckers aren’t easy. It was a nasty gash on her temple, so the doctor probably used the good stuff.
“ Figlio di puttana ,” she hisses, scratching at the edge of bandage again. She pushes off her chair, rushing to the mirror on the wall to pick at the material. The more I watch her, the more flustered she gets until she’s growling at her reflection.
I step in before she hurts herself, guiding her to the edge of the desk. She perches on it while I work on getting rid of the dressing.
Sera calms beneath me, her shoulders relaxing from my touch. “You know,” she says to me with a smile, “the silence is getting old now.”
I pause, moving my hands away to get a good look at her. From what I remember, she liked the silence—preferred it, even.
“Don’t you get bored of it? Don’t you like to talk to people?”
No.
Talking gets you killed in this line of work and I rely heavily on my reputation. I built it from the ground up, working for various organizations, questionable criminals that would make my life hell if I talked. Now, I’m in a position where my silence gets me everywhere, and I’d like to keep it that way.
I shake my head, but I’m still under her scrutiny. She tilts her own, giving me more access to the bandage, though I wish I could run my fingers over her smooth skin. My thoughts run with that image for a second or two, imagining what she would taste like under my tongue.
“I’m assuming you’re like this for a reason?”
I snap out of my thought, nodding in agreement before she has the chance to question me on what I was thinking.
“Secrets?” she mumbles.
I nod again, peeling the last edge of the bandage off. The cut on her head is healing nicely. I’m no professional but I don’t see anything crawling out of it, so that’ s a good sign.
Sera narrows her gaze on me, the silence between us thick and cracking under its weight. “What secrets do you have, Giovanni?” she smirks. “I wonder if Mancini can suss you out?”
He probably could. I’ve never made an attempt to cover my tracks or hide my history. Everyone who wants to know could easily find out my background, but that’s not what people like Alfredo Bianchi want. They trust me implicitly because of my reputation. It doesn’t matter what lurks in my past because I have proven time and time again that I am reliable—apart from the other night.
There is a part of me that wishes I could open up to her. I could tell her so many things; like how she is stronger than she believes, that she has what it takes to carry her family name because she’s so effortless in the way she composes herself. She handles shit like a pro, and no man can be matched against her compassion and sincerity.
It’s all pipe dreams though. I can’t tell her anything for fear of opening the gaping wound of sadness festering away within. I can’t divulge any secret of mine, let alone another’s, because it won’t just get me killed.
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.
“I’ll put a plan together with Raf,” Luca nods toward Sera.
“Great. Let me know what that is when you do.”
As awkward as this feels, Luca nods at her like the obedient soldier he is and leaves.
I’m starting to see Sera in a whole new light now. I guess that’s what near death experiences do to people, and she has been in two. If I could console her, I would. But there is nothing I can do that will change the situation. Levi and Luca need to come up with a plan, and Sera needs to stop the Verdis and The Vultures before more people get hurt.
It’s a heavy burden I’m all too familiar with, and for once, I’m glad it’s not me making the decisions.
Sera runs her hands through her long hair, letting it cover her face as she drops her head forward into her hands. And just like that, Sera looks even more stressed than when I entered.