All Chapters of THE DON IN MY BED : Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

Sera's POV"You're lying," I said, before Dante Rivers could finish his first sentence. He did not flinch. He lifted his cold coffee, studied it for a moment, and set it back down as if the cup had disappointed him.We sat in the corner booth of a quiet café on the edge of the old district. Rain ticked against the window, and the espresso machine hissed behind the counter. Somewhere near the door, a spoon clinked against a saucer, rude and ordinary, as though nothing in the world had just shifted.An hour earlier, my phone had lit up with a single message. I need to see you. Alone. Please do not tell Vivienne.I should have ignored it. I almost did. But in six years of family dinners, my sister's husband had never asked me for anything, so I came. I told myself it was about a surprise for Vivienne's anniversary. A gift, maybe. A small favor.That morning, Grant had kissed my forehead on his way out, smelling of that new cologne, and told me not to wait up. I had waved from the doorway

Sera's POVGrant was humming when I got home.He stood at the kitchen counter in his grey coat, pouring himself a whiskey with the calm of someone who had nothing on his conscience. "There she is," he said, and kissed my cheek.His lips were warm. I smiled anyway, because I had decided on the drive home that I would."Hi, honey," I said.The word tasted like ash. I set my bag down carefully, because my hands wanted to break something."You look tired," he said."Long day.""I have a supplier meeting tonight. The Don's people want the new numbers by morning." He checked his watch, already halfway out the door in his mind. "Might run late. Don't wait up."Supplier meeting. I nearly laughed. "That's fine," I said. "I'm having dinner with an old friend.""Mm. Have fun," he said. He did not ask who. He did not ask where. Fourteen months, and he had stopped looking at me long ago.Then my phone buzzed on the counter. Dante.I snatched it up and stepped into the hallway, turning my back to t

Sera's POV"Nothing," I said, and the lie tasted worse than the wine. Dante set his phone face down on the tablecloth, gently, the way someone sets down a weapon he no longer needs."You read it," he said.It was not a question. I stared at the candle flame, at the wine, at anything but him."I read three words," I said. "On a screen that wasn't mine.""And?""And I'm deciding whether I want to know what they mean."For a moment he said nothing. Then he smiled, small and almost sad. "That is the first sensible thing anyone has said to me this week," he said."Dante," I said."Not here," he said, glancing at the waiters, who had suddenly become very busy folding napkins. "Walk with me."The street outside glistened after the brief rain. Streetlamps spilled gold across the wet pavement. The black sedan waited at the curb, and the driver opened the door without a word.The car pulled away. Neither of us spoke for two full blocks."The owner bowed to you," I said finally. "The man above G

Sera's POVVivienne texted at nine, asking if I could come over for coffee. Her message used three exclamation marks and a heart, the same bright tone she had used on the morning I found the folder.I went.She met me at the door in a cashmere sweater and bare feet, her hair pinned up in a way that looked careless and had taken twenty minutes."Sera." She hugged me, quick and warm, and I let her. "I've been so worried.""About what?""About you." She drew back and studied my face. "Mum says you've been strange.""Mum says a lot of things."Vivienne laughed, light and musical, and poured coffee from a silver pot into two cups painted with tiny blue birds.I sat at the island. She sat across from me, her elbows on the marble, her chin on her hands like a girl at a slumber party."So," she said. "Dante.""What about him?""Grant says you had dinner together. At Lucca's. Dressed up." She pushed a biscuit toward me. "Sera, Dante doesn't go to restaurants. He doesn't go anywhere. He comes h