She knew what happened with Alessandra. “Sera, you need to understand—”
“I do understand. I know you. You’re a mafia man. And you always will be. You represent the exact thing I’m trying to get away from.”
“That’s not all I am,” I confessed. “I’m also a man. A man who doesn’t want to lose you.”
“I know.”
A trickle of cold sweat slithered down my spine as I bent to softly kiss her lips.
CHAPTER17
Serafina
The following morning, Enzo brought me into Luca’s office. The underboss sat behind his desk, papers spread out before him. He looked up when we entered, then stood, buttoning his jacket as he did so. He wore a tailored black suit, as did Enzo, only his shirt was white and he wore no tie.
“Please, come in,” he told us. “Enzo, close the door behind you. Sit.” He gestured to the couch in front of his desk, removing a large book from one of the cushions and setting it on the glass coffee table. As I approached, I saw that it looked to be an English Literature textbook. One of Veda’s, I gathered.
I sat down closest to the desk where the book had been, and Enzo unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat beside me. Luca did the same, taking the chair across from us. I tried not to appear nervous, but to be honest, I couldn’t help it. I was putting my life in the hands of these two men.
Luca’s eyes ran over the scraped side of my face, already looking better than it had last night thanks to the ointment Enzo had carefully applied before we got into bed, and sent Enzo a questioning look.
“It wasn’t intentional.”
His answer seemed to satisfy him. “I was wondering if you would help me,” Luca said to me.
“That depends,” I told him. “What do you need help with?”
His blue eyes were calculating. “Your father, of course.”
I glanced at Enzo, but his attention was on his boss.
Luca sat back in the chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. “What can you tell me about your father, Sera?”
My guard shot up immediately, more out of habit than any real need to protect my father. I shrugged. “What do you want to know? And I’ll let you know if I can tell you or not.”
His gaze assessed me and left me feeling cold. “I suggest you decide quickly where your loyalty lies. With your father, who, by your own words, cares very little for you, or with the man who cared about you enough that he risked his own life to save you from a life of forced prostitution. And therefore, by extension, me.”
He was right. And I owed my father nothing. “My father is a mafia man,” I told him. “He wants what every mafia man wants: Money. Power. Control.” Again, I glanced at Enzo. I couldn’t help myself. He was so calm beside me, one arm over the back of the couch where I sat but not touching me. He gave me a nod of encouragement, and I turned back to Luca. “He wants to control all of Texas. And then the world.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he responded. “What else can you tell me? What do you know about his activities in Dallas?”
“Specifically?”
“Yes.”
“Not very much,” I told him. “I’m sorry. Surprisingly enough, I wasn’t included in those conversations.” The sarcasm was thick in my voice.
Again, his blue eyes studied me, and I had the feeling he was delving directly into my mind to catch me in any lies. “There was nothing you overheard? Nothing at all you can give me?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. I swear I would tell you if I did. Mostly because you terrify me, to be completely honest.” Enzo’s hand squeezed my shoulder. I took a bracing breath. “But I was confined to my room the majority of the time when I was home. My father was very careful around me when it came to his schemes. I don’t think he trusted me.” I let out a sharp laugh. “Probably the smartest thing he ever did.”
Luca released a sigh and leaned forward in his chair, bracing his elbows on his knees, his expression thoughtful.
Enzo touched my jaw with his fingertips. “Are you absolutely certain there’s nothing you know that could be useful to us in striking a deal with your father?”
“I know his favorite thing is money. And power. Give him either of those if you need him to do something for you and he might agree to your deal if he doesn’t have a better offer. He might put up a fight about it to try to get more out of you, but he’ll agree in the end.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking,” Luca said. “What we need is something we can threaten him with. Threats always work better than promises at keeping someone in line.”
