Chapter 37
After my morning writhing in pleasure at the mercy of Luca and Levi, I’m left with a delicious ache between my legs that refuses to go away. I try to concentrate on Raf’s briefing over the playing card and the casino night, but I’m constantly distracted by Levi and Luca. Every look they send my way has my core throbbing as I mentally relive our threesome. I wish I could say that it ended in the bedroom, but I’d be lying. We were barely in the shower for five minutes before Levi was fucking me into oblivion on the tiled floor while he sucked Luca’s dick.
The man has talent.
I didn’t think these men could get any hotter, but seeing how they treat one another as well as me is next level. I’m not into gay porn, but I’d watch the two of them a million times over and easily get off on it.
“So, what you’re saying is there’s no trace of this kind of communication being used?” Enzo clarifies.
I finally snap out of my daze long enough to understand what’s going on. Raf is breaking down everything he found out about the playing card; the Queen of Hearts. The irony isn’t lost on me. The significance of that card is more than just face value, it’s confirmation of the target on my back. Why else would someone choose that suit and that royal face?
“There’s no history of this sort of thing being used in our organization, or any for that matter. You know the old ways; matchstick boxes, signet rings. They all varied from the obvious to the more obscure, but I haven’t found a playing card ever being used.”
“It’s new, then?” I find myself asking. The first thing on the agenda has been to figure out where this playing card came from, but so far we’re falling short of finding anything of significance.
Raf replies with a quick nod. “But the fact your father has seen this emblem means something.”
I let out a sigh, rubbing my brow. After what Raf’s discovered, or rather hasn’t discovered, it’s safe to say this isn’t something we can shrug off. We can’t chalk it up to a coincidence or a random card just sitting in Verdi’s pocket. He had this on him for a reason, and the reason is me.
“Are we actually any closer to finding out what it means, then?” Luca pins Raf with the question we’ve all been thinking. It’s all well and good telling us what he hasn’t found, but I’m more interested in what he has found—which is apparently nothing of consequence.
“Actually, I did.” Raf pulls out a device from his laptop bag, which has my interest piqued. He runs it over the card, the screen behind him displaying the image that looks like something you’d see in airport security. Yellows and blues—mostly lines—cross over one another, like some kind of electrical board; a gridline of wires. And as Raf continues to move the device back and forth over the black card, I spot it.
It’s so minute, so undetectable that you’d miss it. But it’s there, it’s something.
“A chip,” Raf answers our silent question.
“A chip for what?” I frown, squinting my eyes—not like that will do me any good.
“I don’t know, but Enzo was right. It’s definitely a calling card. I’ll have to do more digging to find out what it links to. So far it’s been unhackable, so whoever made this was good. Too good.”
“Well,” Enzo chimes in, slapping his hand on Raf’s shoulder. “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
Raf smiles at the encouragement Enzo provides, but soon enough his gaze drops nervously to his laptop. Usually, the man keeps his cool, but he’s been rattled ever since Luca returned with a gunshot wound. I recognize the guilt written all over his face because he’s still blaming himself.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. The room falls silent, all focus now intently on Mancini.
“Nothing,” he mutters. “I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”
My lips curl into a dry smile as I lean back in my chair and fold my arms. “Welcome to my world,” I say to him before turning my attention to Enzo.
“What about Greco? Has anyone tried to make contact?” My gaze flits between the other men in the room. Since there’s only five of them, it doesn’t take long. The twins are still up at the hospital, keeping guard over Luisa, which I am forever grateful for. But it would be handy to have them back in the group. Those two are definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Luca clears his throat, drawing my attention to him. “I located his son, but Don Greco seems to have gone into hiding. I don’t know whether he’s heard what happened at the casino, but he’s not contactable.”
“And his son is openly available?” I scoff at the idiocy. If the son has anything to do with Greco and Verdi’s motives to take me out, he’s doing a lousy job of staying hidden. And if he was that precious to Greco as the next heir, why isn’t he protecting him?
“It seems that way,” Luca confirms. “Though, he’s not answering my calls.”
With all this back and forth of information, I’m starting to get a headache. We’re no closer to pinning Greco down or finding Gabriella, despite knowing his son’s whereabouts. We could take the offensive and kidnap the guy, try and draw Greco out, but I don’t know how effective that would even be.
“Does Luisa know anything?” I already know the answer to that question before Levi even shakes his head, though. I had hoped we could use her intel to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but at this point I know that effort is fruitless.
“She’s been lucid the whole time, but they never let her out of that room,” Levi sighs, drawing his fingers exasperatedly through his thick curls. “She doesn’t even know what day it is.”
After being here for what feels like hours, we’re no closer to a plan. I need to change tactics, get creative. I need to come up with a plan that will both help me and Giovanni. But all I’m coming up with is dead-ends. Someone here must have an idea of how to get to Greco, but the lingering silence tells me nobody has a clue. Or if they do, they’re not willing to speak up.
“How else do we get to Greco?” I sigh, rubbing my temple where the impending headache is starting.
“We lure him out,” Enzo suggests simply.
“How? If he won’t even protect his own son, then he won’t show his face full stop.” I groan inwardly, exhausted with the drama. What I wouldn’t give to just have a peaceful job, one where I don’t have to fight misogyny on a daily basis. I doubt there’s even such a thing, but a girl can dream, right?
“What does every Don enjoy?” Enzo smirks in response, quirking a mischievous brow in my direction.
I shrug, not fully understanding what he’s getting at. As far as I’m aware, sick fucks like Greco enjoy sex trafficking and drugs, two of my least favorite things in this business. Those wouldn’t even be on a list if I had my way, but this line of work was unfortunately built on taking advantage of others’ weaknesses.
“We host a party,” Enzo answers his own question with a smile.
My brows furrow. “The Vault isn’t opening for at least a month.” If I manage to find the right contractor.
“But it’s your birthday this weekend,” he graciously reminds me.
I roll my eyes, because even though we did celebrate last weekend, having all eyes on me is not my idea of fun. I’d much rather spend the day with my men, preferably naked. I can’t exactly do that while making smalltalk in a room full of associates and families.
“It would be a great decoy,” Levi offers his commentary. “A true reason to invite all the families. Greco won’t have an excuse not to attend. And if this thing,” he points to the screen still displaying the suspicious card, “is really a calling card, we can eliminate the players who are out to get you.”
“We’d need an ironclad plan,” Luca joins in. “But I agree. This could bring him out of the woodwork.”
“And if it doesn’t?” I scowl hard, hating the way the creases in my face must give away my reluctance. “What if he doesn’t show up?”
“Then we make another plan,” Enzo says, stepping towards my desk. “And another plan, and another.” He turns his attention to Giovanni standing in the furthest corner of the room, trying and failing to remain unnoticeable. “We won’t stop until we get Gabriella back.”
The sincerity and promise in his words floors me. I believe everything he says, because I have no reason not to. Enzo is going out of his way to ensure I don’t fail to deliver what I promised Giovanni. I’m not stupid enough to think there isn’t some other reason Enzo is so quick and passionate to help, but I won’t pass on his offer and support.
“Use Haze,” Levi suggests. “Host your birthday there, just La Famiglia. If Greco turns up, we have the means to trap him.”
“We need to be careful,” I warn. “I can’t have this getting back to the Elders until we have concrete evidence of who is against me.”
It’s sad that my thoughts always go back to the basically invisible council who determine leadership and define the rules of our organization. But that’s the way things are, and without them, our system would crumble. It would be left in disarray.
“We’ll get the evidence, don’t worry. We already have Verdi’s confession. We just need to confirm who else is in on this.” Enzo lifts the black card between his fingers, the morbid black emblem of a crown and leaves glistening in the light.
“This is the perfect opportunity, Sera,” Raf agrees. “Have your father send the invites, to take the heat off you.”
I nod in affirmation. Regretfully, the thought never crossed my mind that I could somehow use my weakly rekindled relationship with my father to my advantage. It sure would make more sense for him to invite the families, and none of them would be any wiser that I know about this party. I just hope that we can pull this off without a hitch.
“Fine,” I relent with a tired sigh. “Let’s plan a party.”
The remainder of the week is filled up with coordinating music, decorations, and a guest list. Usually, I’d have some external organizer plan it, but since we’re trying to keep the element of surprise, we’re doing the planning all in-house.
Levi has been working with my father on a guest list, only divulging the important details and nothing about angling for the chance to grab Greco and make him talk. The less he knows the better.
Enzo and Raf are working on security measures. Since we’re pretty much vulnerable for any attack, we need to make sure that nobody—who doesn’t need to—gets hurt. That’s easier said than done in this line of work, but I refuse to have innocent people harmed. The Verdis might not care who they take down in the midst of their attacks, but I certainly don’t want blood on my hands—more than necessary, that is.
Wandering through the quiet house, I run through the plan in my head. It’s not without its flaws, we all know that. We just need an excuse to be out in the open, purposefully vulnerable. It’s the only thing that seems to work when it comes to the damn target on my back. Nobody can get me here at home, so I need to put myself in that spotlight.
We’ve invited all the families I would have if it was truly a celebration. Details are going out to ensure they have protection, as well as highly vetted security working the place. The Vultures are on standby, but only because I couldn’t have them prowling the place. It would look too conspicuous, especially when the plan is to get Greco to come to me.
There’s no certainty that this plan will even work, and the more I think about it, the more I wonder if we need to rethink things. Is this really the only way to get to Greco?
My footsteps take me through the house, until I find myself in the doorway to Luca’s room—which has now been adopted as Luca and Levi’s room. It’s kind of cute that they’ve given themselves their own bedroom, somewhere safe for them. I’m glad I can give them some level of privacy, somewhere they can be themselves without anyone else’s input. It doesn’t even strike jealousy in me because deep down, I recognize what they feel for one another.
Smiling to myself, I step into the room, finding Luca lounging on the bed with his laptop. As soon as I enter, he lifts his gaze, eyes lighting up instantly.
“Just the person I was hoping to see,” he beams up at me, closing his laptop and shoving it to the end of the bed. He grabs my hand and drags me onto his lap, but I don’t miss the wince on his face when my weight lands on his thigh.
Shifting my body until I’m certain I’m not causing him any pain, I slide my palms over his shoulders. “Do you need anything?”
He nods softly, hand trailing up my spine underneath my silk blouse until it circles the nape of my neck. Slowly, he tugs me to his lips, and then he delivers a kiss that steals my soul. It’s deep, breath-taking. It leaves my body tingling for more while heat crawls through my body, desire pooling between my legs. Memories of what we did a few days ago still echoes in my mind. I remember the way he shattered with Levi’s name on his lips, the way Levi swallowed every last drop of his release while fucking me until my knees were raw and sore on the shower tiles.
My chest heaves with excitement, anticipation lacing our desperate kiss. His hands slide up my ribcage, taking my shirt up with his touch. In a matter of seconds, I’m half naked on top of Luca, his mouth suctioned to my breast. I arch my back, begging for more, and Luca uses the opportunity to roll us over.
“It’s been a while since I tasted you,” he rasps against my lips, fingers dipping into the waistband of my jeans.
Anticipation has me licking my lips, my arousal soaking my panties. I’d be a damn liar if I said I hadn’t missed the attention Luca delivered. I want all my men in equal measure, but with his injury I’ve been wary. Now, it seems like Luca isn’t the slightest bit bothered about the fact he was shot a week ago— instead, he gets to work popping the button of my jeans off and peeling them down my legs until I’m just wearing a pair of lacy panties.
He looks up at me with lust narrowing his crystal blue eyes. Long eyelashes flutter shut as he leans down and runs his nose over the flimsy piece of material covering my throbbing pussy, and it takes all my strength not to grab his hair and demand he do what he’s silently promising.
He’s practically edging me with the slightest touch, making me embarrassingly desperate. My whole body is quivering impatiently, but this is what Luca does best; he keeps the control so you don’t have to.
And I’m totally here for it.