Page 71 of Silver Sinner

"Alright," Adrian sighs. "I'll see what I can do." He stands and grunts softly, then his expression warms. "You good?"

"Yeah."

"You sure? You and that woman are still…" He pops his shoulder up with a click of his tongue and smirks.

"I will kill you," I snap. "Get out of here."

"I'm not hearing a no."

"With my bare hands! Out!"

Adrian leaves with a burst of loud laughter, leaving me to my search. He means well. Given my uncertain dating history over these past years, I know he's happy that I've taken an interest in someone, even if that interest led me to flee two meetings to be at her side. He'd be the same if he felt how I was feeling.

I return to my computer, but the sea of brothels all over the city is daunting. Layla could have worked at any one of them and it would take far too long to check them all. Even with all my people and my power, if she worked under someone like me, then that information would be impossible to get.

Unless I ask her.

Searching like this suddenly feels childish, and I pull away from my computer. Amy went behind her back and made assumptions, dangerous ones. I can't do the same to her, not like this. Asking her directly has to be the way to go if I want this to go right. So, after texting Moses to let him know where I'll be, I have a driver take me to Layla's apartment with a stop off at a florist for a beautiful bouquet and a matching bottle of wine.

Then, a little after eight, I climb the stairs to her apartment with the wine under one arm and the flowers in the other. If things go as well as I hope… maybe I'll tell her the truth. It feels like time.

Take a deep breath, I knock on her door and then send her a quick text so she knows it's me. The text has barely been delivered when footsteps hurry to the other side of the door and Layla pulls it open with a warm, delighted smile.

"Pierce! Come in, come in!"

27

LAYLA

"You brought me flowers?" Pierce on my doorstep is like the sun creeping out from behind a cloud, and I can't keep the smile from my face as he hands over the bouquet.

"I picked the flowers that reminded me most of your eyes," he replies. "Although it's perhaps my shame that I don’t know your favorite."

Bringing the soft petals to my nose, I breathe in a mix of soft florals while ushering him in and closing the door. The fragrant sweetness lifts my spirits even more as I slide the locks into place. Ever since Trik's text, which I've so far ignored, every noise makes me jump in case he decides to drop round again. Thankfully, Pierce is aware enough to text me at the same time and I'll forever be grateful.

"I don't think I have a favorite flower. Is that weird?"

"Not at all," Pierce says with a smile. "To some, it's second nature and to others, it's not something they think about."

"Do you have one?" I lead him through to the kitchen where he places the wine bottle on the counter and takes the flowers from me.

"Not a type, exactly, but I like anything that's brightly colored. One beautiful bouquet I saw once was a collection of daisies that had been set in inked water so that they soaked up each different color. To me, that was beautiful."

"It sounds like it."

Pierce moves to the sink and pulls a small penknife from his pocket, which he uses to cut the ends off the flowers while I rummage around the cupboards for a vase.

"Can I ask you something?" I glance over my shoulder and watch with a slightly dry mouth as he shrugs off his suit jacket and rolls his sleeves up to save them from the water.

"Of course."

"Did you contact Maddie's school when we were staying with you?"

Pierce finishes deftly cutting the stems and turns to me. "I did. Was that an overstep?"

"Did you contact my work as well?"

"Yes."