Little Mafia Boy - Chapter 29: Chapter 29

{Seraphina}
Did Sera feel like a shitty human being? Yes. Was she apologetic to everyone that had to be involved? Absolutely. Was she going to turn over a new leaf all of a sudden and make amends? Not a chance.
Sera couldn't even begin to imagine going against Elisha's word. Not because she was afraid of getting hit again but because she loved him. Don't get her wrong, she loved Nico as well but it was obvious that ever since Mikhail showed up that Nico was no longer going to hold up his promise with Sera. She still loved him and wished that she didn't have to hurt Nico in this way but Elisha's word was final. Elisha had given her the freedom to choose who she wanted to be with in the beginning and ultimately Nico made the decision for her. Elisha didn't berate Sera for choosing Nico. He only welcomed her with open arms which is exactly what she needed. Elisha was what she needed. Sera knew this from the start, that only Elisha would accept her as she was.
Sera was willing to betray a number of people and even go as far as to kill anybody for both the Delacroix brothers. In fact, she had. She had lost count of the number of dead bodies she had left behind all because Elisha wasn't able to. Her hands were stained with the blood of both guilty and innocent people. Sera should have felt some kind of remorse, but she didn't. She was glad to be of use to Elisha.
Sera knew that her sense of love was twisted. There was no denying the truth. She loved Elisha and Nico both dearly. Of course, her first pick would have obviously been Nico but he hadn't wanted her in return. Nico made his decision to be with Mikhail so she also had to make hers. In a way, yes, she was extremely jealous that someone from a low income family had taken her place beside Nico but perhaps it was for the best. In her own mind, Elisha would give her everything that Nico would not dare. With Elisha, Sera had a greater chance at finding who it was that murdered her family when she was younger and she would now stand at the top of the underground world by Elisha's side. Rightfully so, where no one could take her spot. Sera could already imagine the worthless people begging at her feet for mercy and forgiveness. Family, money, power. There was nothing greater in life than those three things. Or so Elisha had carved into her mind to remember.
Now, if you asked her how she felt for Dan then she wouldn't be able to answer with confidence. She didn't hate Dan. Sera liked her just fine. Sera had even tried to keep Dan away from harms way but she had panicked and made a false judgment to bring Dan along. Sera definitely didn't want to see Dan in any physical pain. In fact, she felt a connection the evening that they had slept together. Though, her loyalty belonged to Elisha at this point. Elisha simply had more he could offer Sera. He had promised Sera that by the time the sun was setting they would be on their way to their new home. Elisha told her that he would settle his business with Nico tonight and they could start their own family the same night and she believed him. She had no reason not to. Sure, he hit her when she made stupid decisions but she had convinced herself that Elisha was doing it out of goodwill. He was teaching her right from wrong.
Sera took a deep breath in as she worked on reminding herself that she was doing the right thing. It was getting harder by the second as sera looked down at Dan's defenseless body laying in her own bed inside Dan's house.
Elisha didn't want Dan in his line of sight so that either meant Sera had to kill Dan or take her away somewhere else. Elisha had referred to Dan as nothing more than a worthless, annoying tick. Sera didn't agree with that about Dan but decided not to voice her opinion and obediently did as she was told. Clearly, Sera wasn't going to kill Dan so she had to use a little force to knock Dan out so that Dan wouldn't make a fuss about leaving Mikhail's side. Meanwhile, Elisha drove both Mikhail and Max out of the warehouse and into a small cabin in the woods. According to Elisha, everything was moving exactly as he had planned.
Sera leaned against Dan's dresser and placed down the tea she had prepared for when Dan woke up. Sera was glad that Dan's parents hadn't question her much when she showed up at their front door step with a passed out Dan. Sera had made a small white lie and told Dan's parents that Dan and her had been out drinking along with the rest of their group after the New Year's festival. Apparently, Dan's parents had actually called Dylan and he gave them a similar lie earlier. They seemed like good parents so Sera didn't want to involve them unnecessarily.
Dan stirred in her bed and opened her eyes a tiny bit and then closed them. She mumbled something inaudible and then as quickly as she could sat up in her bed. Dan stared at Sera with clear disbelief in her eyes. Her entire face softened and a light smile broke on Dan's face and she spoke up, "Hey. I had a crazy dream about you just now.
Sera tried to smile lightheartedly but she held a pained expression. She was tempted to go along with Dan but figured there was no use hiding the truth from her any longer. Sera shook her head, "I'm afraid it wasn't a dream, Dandelion."
Dan frowned deeply, "It's... What? But I... Oh, shit." That was the moment that Dan had realized what a horrible human being Sera was and exactly what Sera had been dreading as Dan suddenly looked at Sera like she was some kind of monster.
Sera couldn't blame her, really. In the eyes of other people that's exactly what she was. She betrayed Nico who had entrusted his trust and life in her hands and she showed her gratitude by taking away the only people Nico cared about more than himself. She pretended to be friends with everyone for the sake of Elisha's love. Sera strung Dan along like some kind of puppet only to toss her away when she was finished with Dan. Sera took advantage of the people who had treated her like a friend. It was sometimes hard for even Sera to look herself in the mirror and recognize who the person looking back at her was, though, she knew that their friendship would never satisfy her.
"How are you feeling? I brought you some tea." Sera said and walked closer to Dan and placed the tea on the bedside table. "Sorry I had to use force on you but that was the easiest way I could think of to get you out of Elisha's way safely. If he thought even for a second that I had any sort of feelings for you then he wouldn't hesitate to use you against me."
"Don't... Don't touch me." Dan said and crawled as far away as she could from Sera. Dan had her back leaned closely on the wall and pulled the blanket over her knees as if the blanket itself had some kind of protection charm.
Sera sighed softly and walked back to the dresser so that Dan would relax and be comfortable, "Sorry. I get it. You probably hate me but you wouldn't understand why I had to do all of this even if I explained it to you."
"Try me." Dan said gaining a bit of confidence as she stared warily at Sera but still stuck to the wall.
Sera took out her phone and checked the time. It was ten in the morning. She wasn't sure how much time she had until Elisha would call her back to his side. She placed her phone back in her bra and looked back at Dan with a soft look, "I shouldn't have said anything. It's better that you don't know. That's the only way I can assure your safety in the end."
Dan scoffed, "I figured my safety was the last thing you would be worried about." Dan said through clenched teeth and a strained voice, "You watched me get shocked unconscious and kidnapped all of us and then had us tied up."
"You're right." Sera said with a nod, "I shouldn't have involved you so I'm formally apologizing now. So, let me do the right thing and keep you safe out of harm's way."
"I don't need you to do any of that. I just want you to be straight with me and tell me why you did it."
"Like I said, it's better that you stay in the dark. My world functions completely different to the way yours does. There's just some things that should be left unsaid, for your safety.
"You sound like a broken tape recorder." Dan said hugging her knees closer to her chest.
Sera couldn't help laugh quietly. "I do, don't I?" Sera clasped her hands tightly in front of her and kept her eyes down, "You deserve better, Dan. I'm sorry I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be. Im sorry I played with you feelings. I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously and I'm really sorry that I involved you in all this mess." Sera looked up at Dan who was more focused on the bedsheets. Sera didn't think that Dan was actually paying attention to anything she was saying. Dan had looked like someone just ran over her puppy and she found the body laying in the streets. Sera wanted to walk over and comfort her but she knew she had to keep her distance. It would only be harder for Dan when it was time for Sera to leave.
"-it real?"
"Come again?" Sera asked not having heard Dan since she was speaking in a very low tone.
"Was any of it real?" Dan asked again and picked up her big brown eyes to meet Sera's.
Sera was a little shocked by Dan's question. That was the same question Sera had been asking herself recently. At first, it started out as an order from Elisha to get close to Mikhail and his friends. Sera was ordered to keep a close watch on them all and report back to Elisha as to who had gotten close to Nico when the time came. Dylan hardly  seemed like Nico's number one fan and Dan only seemed like an acquaintance. The only one who had really gotten close to Nico had been Mikhail so that's what she told Elisha. However, as time went on she really started to feel things for Dan as they shared many of the same likes and dislikes. The same bands Sera had been a fan of, Dan had been as well. They had many things in common but Sera couldn't determine in the end what their relationship meant to her exactly.
"It wasn't all a lie." Was the best answer Sera could come up with on the spot.
Dan didn't look convinced as she looked away, "Then why did you pull me along for the ride. Why did you allow me to fill my head with these ridiculous ideas of us together? Why did you have... sex with me?" They were all simple questions that Sera should have had the answers to but Sera didn't know what to say. She couldn't exactly say it was only because Elisha had ordered her to. Sera didn't want to hurt Dan any further and yet prolonging their conversation as they were was doing exactly that.
"I wish I had the answer you were looking for." Sera said watching Dan's every move.
Dan inched away from the wall and reached for the cup of tea Sera had brought up. Dan kept her legs on the bed making her sitting position look like how a mermaid would sit. Dan took a big gulp of the tea and set it back down roughly on the bedside table, "Why is it that you're so full of contradictions? You say you're protecting me and that you care about me but you played with my emotions. That's hardly the actions of someone who honestly cares about me."
"I know and I apologize-"
"Quit apologizing!" Dan yelled causing Sera to be shocked at Dan's outburst. "I don't want to hear you apologizing to me over and over. It makes this seem like a goodbye. I don't want that."
Sera sighed softly and rubbed the back of her neck gently. "You're really sharp, huh?" She asked and rolled her neck on her shoulders. "Then... what do you want?"
Without hesitation Dan answered, "You."
"Dan-"
"No." Dan interrupted Sera. "Why... Why can't we be together? We were happy, weren't we? We were going to last. You said so. It's not to late, Sera, we can still go back to how it was."
Dan's optimistic mind was starting to bother Sera. "Don't you get it, Danielle? I can't go back. I've long passed the point of return." Sera pushed herself off of the dresser as she figured she should just go back even if Elisha hadn't called for her. What was one more slap or punch from Elisha when she already felt like she was suffocating inside the room alongside Dan. It didn't help any that Dan's room held too many memories of them together. Feelings that Sera wouldn't intentionally allow herself to feel were being brought back. "Can we just agree that I'm a horrible person for you to be with. Like I said earlier, Danielle," Sera said using Dan's full name since she needed to create space between them. "You deserve someone who only has thoughts of you circling around in their head. Someone who can dedicate their entire life to making you happy. Can't you understand that I could never be that person for you?" Sera refused to look Dan in the eyes. "I should get going. I'll keep an eye out for Mikhail. I can at least do that much for you."
Sera kept her eyes on the ground as she walked towards Dan's bedroom door. She was walking perfectly normal and almost reached the door until she heard Dan stumble off of her bed and suddenly felt Dan grabbing onto Sera's jacket with a tight grip. "Don't go. Please." Dan begged.
Sera lifted her face and looked at the door. It was so close yet it felt so far. The temptation Sera had to lay in bed with Dan and forget the world was arising. "I- I can't. I have to go, Danielle." Sera forced herself to say.
Dan wrapped her arms around Sera's waist and placed her head against Sera's back, "I promise that I'll work to make you happy just.. Please, please don't leave." Sera heard Dan's voice fading in and out. Sera had slipped some powder inside the tea she had given Dan to make Dan fall back asleep. Sera was glad that Dan had almost drank the whole mug of tea. It was going to make her ability to leave easier and faster. Sera also believed she was doing the right thing for herself and even for Dan.
Sera was able to easily step away as Dan's grip loosened. "This is goodbye, Dandelion." She said without looking back. Sera heard Dan call out her name weakly but she didn't turn around. Sera simply walked out of the door and made her way downstairs.
As she walked downstairs Dan's mother caught Sera before she was able to walk towards the front door, "oh, honey. Leaving already? I was going to ask you to stay over. You all went drinking, right? Are you okay to go out by yourself?"
"No need to worry, ma'am. I was the designated driver for the night. I didn't drink. I watched over the younger ones." Sera lied easily. Dan's parents weren't ones to worry about her drinking though she was underage. Dan had told Sera before that she was allowed to drink in the safety of her own home or with someone who is responsible and older. They never went drinking though. Hell, Dan was lucky to even have been let go alive and with minimal injuries.
"Well, okay. Listen, We're having a party next month for Dans father's birthday. You'll come, won't you? Dan is always much more happy around you. It'll be nice to have one extra person at the table with us." Dan's mom said with a cheerful voice.
"I don't know if I'll be able to make it... I might have other plans next month. Going out of town, probably."Sera tried to get out of it but Dan's mother frowned deeply.
"Really? That's a bummer." Dan's mom held onto Sera's hands tightly without warning. "It's no secret my little Danielle has been crushing on you. Now, I'm not against her being with a girl I just want you to promise me you'll treat her right. Can you do that for me? She's eighteen now so she can make her own decisions so I trust that you, being older, will have a positive affect on her. Guide her well?"
Sera had to keep her expression as kind as she could when she really just wanted to apologize over and over to Dan's mom. "Of course." Sera ended up saying with a smile that felt like it was suffocating her. "Danielle's well being is always my priority, ma'am."
"Good." Dan's mom said looking relieved to hear Sera say what she did. Though it wasn't all a lie, Sera felt sick to her stomach deceiving good people like Dan's family. "Please come back anytime. I'll talk to Dan into inviting you over to dinner next time. Maybe we can all go out to a nice restaurant before you leave?" She offered with good intent.
Sera nodded, "Okay, yeah. That would be great." Sera slipped her hand out of Dan's mothers in fear to get her dirty with Her own blood stained hands. No matter how many times Sera would wash her hands, it never took away the blood of the people she's killed. Sera didn't feel like she deserved people like Dan and her family. If she stayed with them any longer then they would get dirty with her sins. "I'll be leaving now, ma'am. Have a good day. Oh, look after Dan, alright? She looked a bit sick afterall."
"She's usually good at holding her liquor. She must have felt comfortable around you enough to let herself go." Dan's mom said only adding salt to Sera's wounds. "Goodbye, dear. Get home safely."
"Of course. Thank you for everything. Goodbye." Sera said taking a few seconds to take in her appearance. Sera saw Dan in her mother as they had the same brown hair and face shape. Sera smiled once more and left, closing the door gently behind her. Once she was outside, she took in a deep breath.
I'm doing what's right. This is for my happiness with Elisha. I'm doing what's right. Sera kept repeating over and over in her mind. She walked away from the front door and once she was at the front gate she looked up at Dan's bedroom window. There was no movement whatsoever. Sera wondered if Dan's mother had gone inside Dan's room yet to find her lying on the ground. She wondered if Dan's mother would blame Sera or think she just passed out on the floor from being 'hungover'.
Being by the front gate, Sera stepped out and slipped a key inside the mailbox for Dan to find at a later date. She didn't want to leave it inside Dan's room since it was kind of messy and there was a possibility of the key getting lost within her stuff. The key led to one last present from Sera to Dan.
Her last goodbye.
* * *
Someone had been following Sera's car for a good thirty minutes. As soon as she found out, Sera started driving around town. She wouldn't make the mistake of leading whoever was following her straight to Elisha. The repercussions for that very well could be fatal and she didn't want to die. At least, not yet. Not when she had so many regrets and responsibilities left in the world.
Sera glanced through the rearview mirror but couldn't get a glimpse of who they were through the tinted glass. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she contemplated calling Elisha. She quickly dismissed that idea considering she had burned her phone and the only phone she had now was a temporary cell phone from the convenance store. Besides, she figured she could easily handle whoever they were.
Really, it could have been only Nico or a Mafia family looking to get revenge for their kid being killed. As Sera began to think that it was a bigger possibility of being a Mafia family, she remembered the last few moments of the people she had to kill. They didn't do anything wrong to her personally, but apparently they were people who betrayed Elisha's trust. Either way, they were led astray and their mistake got them killed.
Sera sighed impatiently as she realized that she wasn't going to just be able to shake the people following her off her trail. They weren't even trying to hide the fact that they were following her. Either that or they were just really bad at driving. She started driving towards an empty parking lot towards the back of town where only homeless people would be at. If she had to kill anyone Sera was certain no one would believe the drug addicts on the streets anyways.
She found a good spot and parked her car. She looked back to see the car park behind her on the other side of the lot. She reached for her gun and made sure it was loaded. She took off of safety and opened her door cautiously and let the car door shut beside her. She stood tall to give off the message that she wasn't afraid of them. "Who are you?" She asked from across as she pointed her gun at someone's head through the window.
Sera squinted her eyes at someone from the back seat came out. "That's the last time you ever drive with me in the car, Junky. You gave us away" it was a guy with wavy brown hair tied with in a pony tail. It was clear that he hadn't shave in a few weeks as his facial hair was clearly visible from where she stood.
Another person from the drivers seat came out. Sera didn't recognize who he was. He had a deep frown on his face as he appeared to be sulking. He was well kept if Sera compared him to the first male she saw who visually compared him to a caveman. "I drive amazing." The driver said and Sera immediately picked a slight accent from his voice. It wouldn't have been noticeable to her if she hadn't been study the male from the moment he walked out.
"You were up her ass the entire damn way here! You swerved like a damn madman on the road. I felt like I was on a damn rollercoaster ride!"
"Your excessive use of damn was not necessary but I would like to add that I drive perfect and I did not drive like a so called 'madman' and I did not drive up her ass. Considering I only like the male ass, you would never find me in a women's behind... Okay, there was that one time but-"
"Junky, stop changing the point of conversation! Yes, you were basically dry humping her ass!"
"We are still talking about cars here, right, Lion?"
"Duh!! If she had stopped hard enough you would have rear ended her! So much for following after her in secret. I'm making a mental note." The so-called Lion said and pointed at his head, "Never let Junky drive the same car I'm riding in if I treasure my life."
"You can not blame me for that! Blame my abuelo. He's the one that taught me how to drive. Also, a bit overdramatic, no?"
"I think I need to have a long chat with you grandpa."
"He's dead."
"Then I'll visit him in the afterlife, teach him how to drive like a proper human, and then I'll have him teach you all over again. Then I'll make sure to send you both to the afterlife."
"Kind of defeats the whole purpose of teaching me to drive if you're just going to kill me. Also, why go through the trouble of teaching him to drive when you can just teach me?"
"because you have the brain capacity of a fish and I don't have the patience to teach you anything."
Sera watched the two banter back and forth and then coughed to get their attention seeing as they seemed to have forgotten she had a gun pointed at them. "You're not with the Mafia, are you?" She asked as she didn't know who the two were. Sera knew most faces of the Mafia families. It was assigned to her by Elisha as one of her many jobs for him.
"Well, no and yes." The driver said as he leaned on his own car. They didn't even look fazed that she had a gun pointed at them. "I mean, to say with has a double meaning in this situation that you should be aware of." Junky said with a small grin, "We're not with the Mafia in the sense that we're not members of the underground, Technically, but we have someone from the Mafia with us. See?"
"Who-" Sera began until yet another person opened the passenger side of the car. Sera nearly dropped her gun in her spot and got on her knees but she didn't. She held her position and pointed the gun at the guy staring at her with clear disappointment in his eyes. Nico Delacroix in the flesh and he looked like a complete mess. He looked like he had slept for hours and his skin looked pale with worry and fatigue.
"Sera." Nico said through a strained voice as if he couldn't believe she was standing before him pointing a gun at his head.
"Ahhh. Thought I told you to stay in the car?" The long haired male said in mock enjoyment. "I knew you wouldn't listen." Lion sighed and then turned to Sera, "Look here, missy. We don't have time for all this catch-up bullshit. Tell us where Elisha is keeping Max and Mikhail and I could probably get your time in jail lessened by a couple months."
"You're working with cops?" Sera asked in disbelief as she kept her eyes on Nico.
"Don't be an idiot. They're detectives. Not much better, I admit, but you left me with zero options after you kidnapped everybody." Nico walked over with his hands in the air to show Sera he didn't have any weapons on him. He walked the to back of the car where the other two were leaning on the car. "You don't have a say in anything I do anymore. Not after you stabbed me in the back."
Sera flinched and tried to cover it up with a slight scoff, "All you did was order me around like a dog. Sit. Stay. Do this. Do that. Your hunch wasn't far off though so I'll give you extra points for that. I ended up siding with Elisha"
"Oh~? I treated you like a dog, did I?" Nico sang out as Sera's statement got his attention. "and how is Eli treating you any differently? Enlighten me."
Sera glared across at Nico, forgetting that they weren't alone. "Elisha knows what's best for the both of us. He's looking out for our future together."
Nico was staring at Sera like he couldn't believe what she was saying, "I never once treated you like a mutt. I cared for you, Sera. I never put my hands on you. Eli knows best? That a load of bullshit."
"He does it out of love."
"Eli is using you." Nico said without sugar coating his words that only worked on making Sera angry, "Eli doesn't love, Sera, he only thinks of himself. He's using you as a stepping stone to reach his goal. He lives to make my life miserable-"
"Quit being so full of yourself, Nico." Sera said keeping her gun pointed at Nico, but her hands were shaking. "You like to play the victim but have you ever thought about the fact that you made Elisha's life miserable first. Your arrival to the estate marked Elisha's downfall."
"You make it sound like it was planned." Nico said with disgust in his tone, "if I had any other place to go to back then, I would have gone there instead of my father's stupid estate. Being a child didn't exactly give me the freedom to rent out an apartment under my name. After my mother's death I had no choice but to live with my Mafia father. I had to make my own place as a new edition to the family. Otherwise, I would have been thrown away. You should know better than anyone what it's like to be left alone in this cruel world. I had to either make my own place or get eaten alive in this industry. The Mafia isn't a place any kid should ever have to join at such a young age."
"Okay. Can we all calm down here? You're all worse than my family drunk during a reunion." The brown-skinned one that had been referred to as Junky said." Junky walked forward with his hands in the air towards Sera. "Let's talk civilly, shall we, love?"
She immediately pointed the gun at junky and said with authority, "Stop walking. I don't have the time to talk to any of you. Though, I can't have pesky mosquitoes following me around either. I really didn't want to do this but I have no other option if you're going to continue to follow me." Sera cocked her hand gun and placed her finger on the trigger, ready to shoot them all, except Nico of course. She didn't have it in her to physically cause him harm.
"Shit! Ciro!" Lion said full of alarm and lunged forward to try to pull Junky out of the way.
"Sera! Stop that!" Nico said with wide eyes.
Time felt like it had started to slow down for Sera. She watched Junky with wide eyes as he faced with a sudden death encounter. Lion was trying to tackled Junky down as fast as he could but he couldn't exactly outrun a gun. Nico in the back had pushed himself off the car and instead of running to Junky, Nico was running to Sera. Despite their efforts, there was no way Sera was going to allow them to find Elisha and ruin everything they had accomplished thus far. The multiple people she had killed would not be in vain.
Sudden tires screeching on the floor, Sera suddenly yelped out in surprise as her own gun was shot out of hands. Her gun was thrown off and started to skid on the parking lot pavement. She looked to her right and saw a dark-skinned women holding a gun at Sera as the women was standing through the cars sunroof.
"Oh my God, Tea. I could break my rule of No Women and just kiss you right now." Junky said and fell to his knees on the ground in relief. "My whole life flashed before my eyes in three point four seconds exactly... I haven't done much I'm proud of, okay? Don't judge my life choices."
Lion rolled his eyes and smacked the back of Junky's head as he walked toward's Sera's gun and picked it up. He unloaded the gun by dropping the bullets on the floor and tossed it away, "Nice timing, Tea."
The women they had addressed as Tea grinned and got out of the car. "You didn't think we were going to let you three idiots do this alone, did you? Erin helped us track your car from back at base."
"Always reliable, boss." Lion said, mockingly.
"We would have had to plan a funeral if we arrived a second later. It was hard to catch up with Junky's crazy driving." Yet another man came out of the new car. "Would have been wise to keep your mouth shut, Ciro." Sera's jaw nearly dropped as she recognized him as Nico's driver. She had actually been the one to hire him on Elisha's and Naomi's orders after George suddenly retired. Sera was confused as she wasn't sure if that meant that Elisha had known that Frederik was a detective all along. She knew that Elisha was always multiple steps ahead of everybody else but she was hurt that Elisha hadn't confided in her.
Junky laughed nervously, "Don't approach crazy girls with guns. Got it."
Sera sighed softly, taking the time to recollect herself, and put her hands over her chest and looked at Nico, "I hope you realize I won't tell you anything, Nico. Yeah, I worked for you once upon a time but that's no longer our circumstance. Torture me, threaten to kill me. Do what you'll like. I won't talk."
Nico walked confidentially now that Sera was the one they had a gun pointed to. "I'm not Eli. I won't do anything like that. I just want Mikhail and Max back. I heard you let Dan go. You did the right thing. There's still some good in your heart Sera. I truly believe that. Eli plays with your emotions and gets into your head. I don't blame you, not even for one second for everything you've done. I'll find Eli whether you want me to or not and I'll get justice for all the crap he's put us through. I'll set you free, Sera."
"Great speech. Not really the time or place to get all emotional though." Lion said and walked towards Sera's car.
"Hey, what are you doing! Don't just look through my car-" Sera stopped moving immediately once she felt the gun pressing on the left side of her back. One gun shot would surely pierce her heart and kill her in her spot.
"You are now our bait. Stand still, don't make unnecessary noises with your mouth, and we'll get along just fine." Tea said as she calmly and put handcuffs on her wrists with one hand as the guns was still on Sera's back.
She stopped talking as she was instructed to do. She watched as Nico and Lion went through her car and searched every crook and cranny for anything that would lead them to Elisha. She looked towards Junky to see Frederik helping him off the floor. For just a second, Sera thought that although these people had weird names they were the kind of people she wanted Nico to be around. They all had a good atmosphere around them, not like everyone else in the mafia. The Mafia reeked of blood and sins where as sera thought these people were different.
"What now? We take her back and hope she talks?" Junky asked.
"Doesn't sound effective." Frederik said.
"I say you all let me take a few swings." Tea offered, "You guys can't hit her but I sure can. Just a few good punches should get her talking."
"You're forgetting she was apart of the Delacroix." Nico said sitting in the driver seat with the car door wide open. He had been looking for something they could use as a clue but Sera was positive they wouldn't find anything. "We're very loyal as hell. We're trained to take torture methods for days. Mind over matter."
"Seems your brother took that saying a little too literal, huh?" Junky said trying to crack a joke.
Tea ignored Junky and asked Nico, "So, what do you suggest we do with her?"
"We'll take her back with us obviously. Eli is a control freak. He probably knows she's here with us already. Im hoping he still has a use for Sera and will come get her."
"That's all theoretical though, right?" Lion asked as he walked around so he would be closer to everyone.
"Well, yeah. It's our best shot right now-" Everyone stopped talking and listened as a phone ringing was heard. Ah, shit! Sera was thinking as her burner phone was ringing inside her bra. "Is that Eli?" Nico asked raising an eyebrow.
"If anyone touches my boobs I'll yell for  help." Sera said watching the guys carefully.
"Touching stranger isn't my thing. Junky, you do it." Lion told Junky
"Women are not my forte. Winter, attack." Junky ordered Frederik.
"I'm not reaching into her bra to dig for treasure."
"You're all little bitches, aren't you?" Tea said and without hesitation dove into Sera's shirt for the phone. "Scream and I won't hesitate to put a bullet through your back." Sera didn't scream but tried to back away from Tea's touch. Tea didn't struggle to find the phone and tossed it over to Nico.
Nico caught it in his hand easily and pressed the phone to his ear, "Eli... I figured you'd already know by now. Tell me this, did you hurt Mikhail? I got your tasteless gift this morning. Can't say I'm a fan." Sera flinched as she recalled the necklace Elisha had smeared in Mikhail's blood. Nico stopped talking to hear Elisha's respond. Everyone else kept silent. Sera wondered, and secretly hoped, that Elisha was bargaining to get her back. "Huh! Why-... Fine." Nico said with a troubled facial expression and handed the phone to Lion.
Lion grabbed the phone with a lazy motion and said "Hello?... Wow, you've done your research, huh? You sure dug around quite deep to bring up my past. I now see why Nico likes to place you on an imaginary throne." Nico groaned but looked at lion attentively. Suddenly Lion's facial expression turned grim. The humor he once had in his mocking smile was gone. Sera knew that Elisha was threatening him and the look on Nico's face told her he was thinking the same. "I'll make you regret saying those words to me if you dare touch Damien, you hear me?" At the mention of some Damien, everyone except Nico and Sera visibly flinched. "Stupid son of a- Yes, I'm livid. I won't hesitate to kill you once I get my hands on you. You better start saying your goodbyes, boy. Yeah, we'll see who gets the last laugh." Lion tossed the phone back to Nico and Nico began talking to Elisha immediately.
Sera was too focused watching Lion's sudden transformation to pay much attention to Nico's conversation. She could only imagine this Damien guy was someone really important to Lion. A friend, an ex, a fiancé, a boyfriend, father, relative. The list could go on forever.
"Is Damien alright?" Tea asked
"Don't know yet. He's a Crazy bastard." Lion mumbled referring to Elisha "keys." He demanded with his hand out towards Junky.
Junky reached into his pocket and dropped them in Lion's open palm, "Do you need backup?"
"No. Take Sera back to our building. Don't let her escape. I'll go take care of it. I'll keep you updated." He said and ran quickly towards the car that they arrived in. He turned on the car and was pulling out of the parking lot fast. Before Sera understood what happened, Lion was long gone.
"Damien?" Sera asked curiously.
"His four year old son." Junky said with a worried expression. Sera couldn't stop the shock showing on her face. Bringing in a little defenseless kid was definitely pushing boundaries but she was too far in to pull out now.
Sera turned to Nico just as he hung up the phone and pushed it into his pocket. "He said it's too early for us to show up. He'll call us when he's ready. Eli also said that only Sera and I are to go unarmed. If he sees even one person who isn't us, he'll shoot Mikhail and Max." Nico was angry, obviously.
"So? We just wait like sitting ducks?" Junky asked.
"I might be able to track the signal once we get back." Frederik said, "Those phones are tricky though so I can't say for certain."
"Worth a shot." Tea said. "I'll drive back with Nico and Sera. You two take Frederik's car back."
"Got it." Junky said and both him and Frederik walked to the car.
Tea gave the gun to Nico, "I trust you know how to hold one and won't hesitate to use it if necessary?"
"I'm not in the Mafia for shits and giggles." Nico said taking the gun from Tea and grabbed Sera's arm. He waited for Tea to open the back door and he shoved Sera inside and sat beside her, the gun in Nico's hand pointed at her. Tea got in the drivers seat and started following behind the other two.
Sera felt uncomfortable having Nico point a gun at her. It was hard enough to look Nico in the eyes after all. Of course, she knew it had to be done. Otherwise Sera would find a way out of the handcuffs and try to get out of the car. She wasn't exactly ecstatic about being taken somewhere by the very person she betrayed. Sera looked out the window and thought of the multiple things running through Elisha's head. Did Elisha know about the private detectives all along? Why had he kept it from her? What good did it do to threaten Lion's kid? Had he done so done so for her sake?
She didn't know and didn't think she would ever find out. Elisha's like that. She told herself. He's an enigma.