Page 14 of Silver Sinner
I pause, hand on the car door and turn to face him. "What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything. I'm asking you if I should put Layla on my list."
His list. A small list of very important people I hold dear. Come to think of it, I think Moses and my tailor might be the only people on that list. Before I can answer, my phone buzzes rapidly in my pocket, derailing the conversation.
"Hello?"
"Pierce." The raspy tones of my brother, Adrian, pour across the line and the urgency in his voice immediately makes my stomach tense.
"What's happened?"
"We lost a fucking tanker. Caught in a storm, I think. Turned over in the ocean. We lost it."
I lock eyes with Moses. "All of it?"
"Yup. There's still some to be salvaged, but at this point, it's attracting too much attention. Even if we can get some of the containers back onto a ship, by the time we even get another out there it'll be too late. We gotta write it off."
"Fuck!"
Moses' brows tighten together. "What happened?"
"We lost Dahlia."
"Shit." Moses drags a hand down his face.
"Alright, Adrian. Keep me updated on the recovery."
"Will do." He ends the call with a click, and my heart sinks.
The cartel were already pissed at the delay. This just made things a thousand times worse.
"Right. Fuck. Let's go." I jerk my head and open the car door, then pause and catch Moses' gaze. "Put a shadow on Layla's apartment. I'm not taking any chances."
"Got it."
5
LAYLA
"Amy!" Leaning through the kitchen door, I call for my best friend. "Breakfast!"
Silence is my answer, then the rapid thumping of approaching feet. Maddie streaks around the corner with her curls flying and a wide smile on her adorable face.
"Mommy!"
"Hi darling, what happened to the barrette in your hair?"
Maddie eagerly pushes past me into the kitchen. "Pop-Tarts?"
"No, honey, not Pop-Tarts for breakfast. Cereal."
"I don't want cereal."
"Well, you're not having Pop-Tarts. Maddie, where's your hair barrette?"
She stares up at me with wide green eyes and shrugs. "Dunno."
"You don't know."
