Page 40 of My Sunfall

I finally manage a clipped, “Not gonna happen.”

D doesn’t blink. “See that it doesn’t.”

I am fucking done with their grousing. “So what is so important that you need me here in person?”

Without a word, D slides the open folder toward me and I leaf through the content. There are surveillance shots, pictures and daily log sheets of our docks.

“We’ve been chasing ghosts. They’ve kept quiet again for months. Every time we think we’re closing in, the ring vanishes. But now?” He taps one of the photos with his finger. “They’re moving again, someone slipped, or something shifted. Something’s happening in our city, and it’s bigger than the scraps we’ve seen before.”

I study the pictures, my jaw tightening. They show cargo ships, shipping manifests, shadowy figures captured by the dock’s surveillance cameras. “What are they doing?”

“Nothing too obvious for now, but they’re getting bolder. They are running their shipments through our city, probably thinking that we are getting careless. And Teo’s got ahold of more active exchanges.”

Teo nods. “We intercepted communications on the darknet implying that they are preparing to make a move. But we’ve not been able to determine what or where, and of course, we couldn’t trace the trail back to whoever posted it.”

“Fuck.” I exhale. “What’re our options?”

D leans back with a heavy sigh. “For now, we wait. That’s why we need you here, you read the streets better than anyone.”

I smirk with a chuckle, though inside the gears are already turning. “So you miss me.”

Teo scoffs. “Don’t flatter yourself, you’re just better at catching the undercurrents of this city. You sense when something’s off before we do.”

He’s not wrong. That’s why I’m D’s second. I’m a people reader, I can sense and predict the currents shifting before anyone catches on, while he’s the strategist and Teo’s the blade. Our dynamic has proven deadly and effective through the years. And now, I’ve upset the equilibrium by staying away. A sharp pang of guilt slices through me, but I ruthlessly push it down. I’ve given my whole life to the famiglia, it had shaped me, made me the man I am. But now I need to be just me, not the second, not a Mafia man, only Lucas. And the famiglia is damn well going to give me this.

I clear my throat. “I know I’ve been slacking.” I give my two brothers a look, I hope conveys my emotions. I need them to understand that this is something I’m doing for me. “Give me time, a couple weeks, a month tops. Have my back on this one.” My throat constricts from the weight of what I’m about to say. “If you can’t, then fuck it, get someone else for the job.”

They both inhale audibly.

“You’re our brother,” D says quietly. “There’s no way in hell we’ll willingly let you go.”

A weight lifts from my shoulders.

“But,” he goes on. “If you feel like this is too much and you need a break, you must tell us. Lives are on the line.”

I nod. “Understood.” Then, needing to lift the mood. “Now tell me everything I need to know before I drive back to that backwater hole people rot in.”

“More like drive back to the woman who’s got you acting like a goddamn lovesick teenager.” Teo smirks.

“Fuck off, dickhead,” I mutter, but this time, we all chuckle quietly.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chiara

The floor tilts for a fraction of a second and the letter flutters out of my hand. As if taunting me, the bold red letters are turned up, mocking me from the floor.

Eviction notice, effective immediately.

I had finished my shift and found the notice waiting for me on the door.

I’m being evicted. I stand frozen for a moment, mind blank from shock.

No, this can’t be right!

I grab the letter and my bag from where it fell on the floor, and I’m out of the door in a heartbeat. Seconds later, I’m in my car, speeding to the east part of town where Edna lives in her small cottage.

Another car is parked in her driveway, and I think I am going to scream. The black matte SUV is standing there, mocking me with its air of ruthless dominance. A chilling thought crosses my mind. What if he hurt my landlady to force her into evicting me? My car has barely skidded to a stop and I am already out the door and running to the front door. I ring the bell and wait, not sure if I should push the door open and rush in. But luckily it opens, and Edna gives me a delighted smile. She looks well and alive, and I start to breathe again.