23
LUCA
A few days have passed since Sera’s club was set on fire. It’s salvageable, but it’s still not safe right now to go anywhere near The Vault. It’s a shame because that place was up and coming and a great source of income for Sera. Right now, though, we need to focus on other things.
I’ve spent the better part of the past two days trying to work out the best plan. Unfortunately, I know Sera, so any plan that doesn’t include her is practically null and void. That’s not to say I’m happy with this plan, but it’s the only one I could come up with that would keep Sera relatively safe, while we draw The Vultures out.
I shift nervously in my seat. We’re all in Sera’s den, settled on the large sectional sofa which takes up the majority of the room. I kind of like it down here. It’s dark, private, and in a weird way, calming.
“So what do you have for me?” Sera asks, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. Right now, she looks so casual despite the suit she’s wearing, like we aren’t about to trap some ruthless motorcycle gang members.
I take a deep breath, glancing at Raf. It was just as much his plan as it was mine. Levi was a little more reserved about—okay, that’s a lie. He fucking hated the idea. The only plan he could come up with was to use a decoy. He couldn’t see how that would be an issue until I stated that The Vultures would know it wasn’t Sera.
“Raf has been watching The Vulture’s movements. They’ve been sniffing around your clubs.”
“Any damage?” she asks, darting her attention to Mancini.
“None,” he confirms. “I think they’re waiting for you to come out of hiding.”
“I’m not fucking hiding!” she snaps.
Raf ignores her outburst like the rest of us, typing something on his laptop. “The fire at The Vault was a warning,” he explains. The TV ahead of us sparks to life, and footage begins to play silently. “I couldn’t scrape all the footage, but I managed to get some of it back. This is one of the camera’s recordings.”
We all watch the scene play out on screen. Patrons dart about the room, probably screaming with fear if there were sound. It’s chaos on the dance floor as everyone tries to escape the masked men entering the premises.
Sera sucks in a breath as the area clears. A masked man appears on screen, saluting the camera before turning around and heading onto the light-up floor. He draws something out of a hoodie, his features completely obscured by the darkness now. Only the lights that flash from the dance floor grant us sight of what’s going on.
The man waves his arm. We can’t make out what he’s doing until his body moves to the side and he salutes at the camera again.
RUN BIANCHI RUN
The paint covers the dance floor, shitty graffiti that might only be temporary, but the words are certain; a threat.
There’s nothing more to look at other than the silent picture of the words filling the screen before it goes black. Sera stands and shuts off the TV. We know what happens after that and I sense watching your pride and joy become engulfed in flames isn’t exactly something to revel in.
“Have the fire marshalls said when we can go back in?”
Levi shakes his head. “Not yet. They need to test the structure. If the damage is just superficial, we’ll be good, but they need to test it first.”
Sera turns her attention to me next, her brown eyes searing into me. There’s a mixture of fear and determination swimming in her chocolate irises. A fierce need to prove every fucker wrong; that she is capable of leading.
“What’s the plan?”
I swallow heavily, already regretting the words that are about to come out of my mouth. We’ll do everything we can to make sure she’s safe, but I still hate bringing her into this. Most people in her position would let their soldiers do all the work, but this isn’t the usual situation. These are extraordinary circumstances where families are joining forces to protect one person.
“We do what you suggested.”
“Just for the record,” Levi cuts in. “I don’t agree with this plan.”
Sera glares at her second in command. “Then it’s a good thing I’m the one deciding, isn’t it?”
Ouch.
“Fontana,” she says, gesturing for me to continue.
“We lure them out. They’ve been hanging around Haze a lot. I figure it’s because it’s got so many weak points that it’s the easiest target.”
“Remind me to get that fixed,” she mutters to Levi.
“We’re going to head down to Haze, act like you have a meeting or something.”
“And what if they take us out before we get there?” she questions.
Levi reaches for Sera’s hand, giving it a squeeze. I observe the interaction, immediately wishing I hadn’t because all I feel is jealousy and confusion. It’s a twisted emotion, unraveling the longer I watch Sera and Levi look at each other.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he assures her.
“You won’t be there,” I answer. “Well, you won’t be in the vehicle they’ll be chasing.”
“We’ve thought of everything,” Raf adds .
“You’ll be riding with me,” I say. “Anyone who has been watching you will expect you to be with Giovanni. So we’re setting up a larger protection detail. We need to make it look like it’s you in the SUV. Hopefully, they take the bait and follow. If they do, we’ll be waiting for them at Haze.”
Sera doesn’t look too convinced about the plan, but the idea of her not being included in this isn’t something she will consider. It’s this or nothing.
“And what if they’re already at the club? You said they were scoping the place out, right?”
Raf nods in response, tapping on his laptop again. “They do hourly runs. If we time it right, we’ll miss each other. I’ve got eyes on the club and the surrounding area. I’ll give you a heads up if they show their faces.”
“That still doesn’t answer the question about them trying to take out the convoy. I don’t want any of you getting hurt.”
“We won’t,” Levi replies with conviction. “We’re prepared this time.”
And by prepared, he means the Ferrante brothers have installed a myriad of weapons and ammunition that could probably take down an army.
“Fine,” she huffs. “When do we leave?”
“If we’re all in agreement with the plan, ten minutes.” I check my watch to be sure. If we time it correctly, we’ll be able to get to Haze unscathed like Raf said.
Once everyone has confirmed their role in this plan, Raf and I pack up. Giovanni is already heading towards the convoy where five more vehicles await. It’s the perfect plan. We’ll definitely draw attention with this display and it’ll look like Sera has more protection. It’s a fucking trojan horse; drawing attention in the best negative way, so that I can get Sera to the club unseen.
Sera appears at the side of the car, Levi murmuring something to her before he joins Giovanni in the SUV. She slides into the passenger seat, her gaze focused ahead of her. Her fingers drum a little beat on the door handle, something that tells me she’s a little nervous about this plan .
“He’s going to be okay,” I assure her, watching them drive out of the courtyard. We still have ten minutes to wait. We need to leave enough time between them and us so as to avoid being tailed.
Sera’s finger-drumming stops. She shifts in her seat. “I know. I’m still allowed to worry,” she frowns. “I worry about all of you.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, Donna Bianchi.”
Sera winces at the formality. Little does she know it’s the only way I can maintain some semblance of distance from her. “Don’t do that,” she warns.
“Do what?”
Her brown eyes send daggers my way. Even past the anger I can see the hurt in them. I can’t say I like the thought of her upset, let alone me being the cause of it, but ever since that kiss, my head has been in a tailspin.
“Don’t pretend like nothing happened.”
“I already told you, it was a mistake.”
“Nobody kisses like that and calls it a mistake,” she murmurs, looking at me pointedly.
Fuck, she has a point. I’m so torn between wanting her and wanting to hate her that I can’t even argue with her.
My jaw ticks the longer I look at her, contemplation and uncertainty washing through me. It’s a familiar cocktail I’ve become used to in Sera’s presence, unsure whether what I’m feeling is because of my grief or loneliness. Maybe it’s entirely something else.
Sera looks at me expectantly. Her big brown eyes lure me into the softness of her features.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I sigh, rubbing a hand through my hair.
“The truth?” she ripostes. “Something has changed, Luca. You were right about that. But you can’t deny that it felt good.”
Silence falls between us. I let her words sink in to the point where they have me anchored in my seat. It did feel good. Just being around her makes me feel different; not just good. But how do I forget the reason I am here in the first place? How do I move past the resentment building in me and focus on being more than just Bianchi’s soldier?
I can’t.
“Why did you run?”
Confusing anger roils through me, waves of irritation crash against my reasoning. “I’m not doing this,” I grind out, reaching for the key in the ignition.
“Luca!” Her hand rests on mine.
My chest heaves as indecision wars inside. I have every reason to ignore her and start up this car. There’s nothing stopping me but the gentle touch of her hand; the softness of her voice.
“What are you so scared of?”
I turn my head and catch uncertainty in her gaze. No matter what, I can’t answer her. I don’t have the answer she wants and I can’t decide if she’s worth resenting or losing. She didn’t seem so bothered before, and the last few days have been a reprieve for me. Being focused on my job has kept me ignorant from the emotions I’ve been trying to bury. They only creep up in Sera’s presence, so distance was the best option. Perhaps I was too hasty, though. I left her before we could even talk about that kiss, about how it made me… feel.
“Luca,” she says softly, gripping my hand.
I look back at her, her brown eyes pleading with me silently. Time seems to stand still. I don’t have the answers for her—none that would make sense anyway—but I know exactly how I feel.
In a matter of seconds, I’ve gone from rage to lust, and I give in to the latter. I slam my lips onto Sera’s. She whimpers at the contact before relaxing in my arms. I’d forgotten how good kissing Sera really was. It’s intoxicating. Everything about her is magnetic, tantalizing. I kiss her with bruising force, reveling in the way Sera reacts to me.
She grips my suit jacket, pulling me closer. All at once, everything I had considered to be a negative thing, is now all I can think about. Sera is just as desperate as I am for closeness. Everything about this moment feels too right to pull away from.
Sera opens her mouth, her tongue twining with mine. The kiss is electric, sparks heating up the kiss .
“What the fuck!?” I jolt back, touching my lip.
Sera smirks mischievously, her eyes lingering on where she just bit me. She’s still close to me, her fist bunched in my jacket to maintain our proximity.
“That’s for being a jerk,” she teases.
I feel the familiar irritation return, shame clawing at me. But before I have time to react to the thoughts swimming through my mind, the ones telling me I fell for Sera’s shit, she leans forwards and kisses me again.
It’s soft, caressing and gentle. I feel a sense of calm and elation flow through the kiss, making me breathless. The kiss is powerfully confusing. I’m drawn to her, I always have been, but I sense the resentment I had built up has blinded me to this; to what feels right. This .
“What was that for?” I ask when she pulls away.
“Because I want you to know our first kiss wasn’t a mistake to me, and neither was this one. I feel like that’s something you need to hear.”
Cazzo. Am I that transparent?
“Now,” Sera says, sitting back in her seat and drawing my attention back to her. “Don’t we have somewhere to be?” she quizzes with a raised brow.
I take in her appearance. Her cheeks are rosy, flushed with heat that travels to her plump lips. If that kiss had that effect on me, I can only imagine how she feels.
Instead of questioning it any further, I relish the moment of silence, clicking her belt into place and pecking her cheek. I can address my confused thoughts later. Right now, we have some assholes to capture.