Page 74 of Silver Sinner

Immediately, my heart lurches but before I can panic, paper crinkles under my palm as I sit up.

A letter?

Layla,

I fear your first thought when waking without me is that I have left because of our discussion, which is why I chose to write you this rather than leaving a text. I have not left early because of anything you have told me. I have some work things to attend to and I will be back for dinner together tonight. I'll cook.

I have one request. Don't leave the apartment today under any circumstances.

Please.

Yours,

Pierce

My heart soars and I clutch the letter to my chest, kicking my feet slightly under the blanket as I sink back into the cushions. He really is an amazing man. Everything about him ticks every box I could ever have, and the more I think about it, the less I care about what his truth could be.

I love him. And I'm pretty sure he loves me.

Nothing else matters.

28

PIERCE

"Boss!" Moses hurries up the stone steps leading to my apartment building. "Sorry I'm late."

Dragging him from his duties this late at night doesn't feel great, nor does slipping away from Layla like I'm some kind of scumbag, but this kind of revelation can't wait. It's taken all my control not to crash down Pavel's door with how furious I'm feeling, and the sight of Moses does little to quell that rage.

Everything's starting to make sense.

"Do you remember Hearth?"

Moses frowns and his eyes dart back and forth as if he's searching through his memories. "The brothel, right? Burned down two, no, three years ago?"

"Do you remember who owns it?"

"That cunt, the Badger."

Trik. He owns the brothel Layla used to work at.

"Why?" Moses lifts his gaze.

"It was a dark time, you remember.” We lost a lot of good people either as customers or trying to save people from the blaze. There was barely an organization untouched by that disaster, while Trik didn't seem to care. It's hard to imagine that man caring about anything.

"Boss, what's going on?"

"Layla used to work there. That's where she spent those years she fell off the radar. She used to work for Trik."

His eyes widen. "And you think something about that is why he visited her?"

"What other explanation is there?"

A deep curl forms between his brow and he shrugs one shoulder. "I'm sure there are a few, but if she told you this much then why not just ask her?"

An unseasonably cold wind rushes past us, catching on the end of my jacket and seeping chilled fingers past my cufflinks. It's such a simple suggestion, and the ease of it irritates me for a moment. "I can't."

"Pierce." Moses closes the last few steps between us. "You clearly care for her and she obviously cares for and trusts you. Surely she would give you an answer if you asked."