The warehouse was still burning when I got there, fires licking the night air like the devil's own greeting. Fire trucks surrounded the building, but the firefighters were concentrating on containment issues rather than preserving the warehouse's integrity. This building was already gone.
"Boss." It was my chief security, Vincent, waiting for me at the boundary. "No injuries. Ten minutes before the explosion, the night crew evacuated. Someone phoned in a gas leakage alert."
That stopped me cold. "Someone warned them?"
"It was an anonymous phone call in a female voice."
Not the Torrinos' usual style. They preferred their messages in blood and screaming. But I barely had time to absorb that fact when I noticed Marco standing by his Mercedes, his eyes fixed upon the flames with a look far too close to satisfaction on his face.
"Quite a show," he remarked when I came near. "Father's going to be angry. That's three million in inventory alone."
"You don't seem particularly worried."
Marco lit a cigarette; the flame illuminated his angular face for a second. "Should I be? Tornados happen in this business. The weak are eliminated. The strong adapt."
"This wasn't a fucking tornado." I grabbed him by his collar and slammed him into the vehicle. "What do you know?"
"Easy, cousin." His grin did not falter even with my clenched fist by his throat. "I know what everyone knows – you've been distracted of late. Playing house with your banker while the enemy closes in. The Torrinos sensed weakness, and they attacked."
I released him with disgust. "The Torrinos did this?"
"Who else? There's word on the street that they're unhappy about our expansion into their territory. This is them confirming that they're in a position to strike back." He finished adjusting his suit. "Maybe they wouldn't have been so aggressive if our future Don wasn't spending his nights in Brooklyn rather than tending to business."
The implication hit like a physical blow. My relationship with Katherine had painted a target on my back, and by extension, on the family's assets.
"I want verification," I said, reaching for my phone. "Get our contacts within the Torrino organization. I want to know who authorized this."
"Already working on it." Marco rubbed the ashes off his cigarette. "But Tony? Maybe your dad was right. Maybe that girl is more trouble than she's worth."
I got out of there before I did something I'd regret. There were seven missed calls from Thomas and three from Katherine. I called hers first.
"Tony? Oh my God, are you all right?"
The genuine fear in her tone tightened something in my chest. "I'm fine. Are you still at my place?"
"Yes. I locked the door just as you said. I have been watching the news—"
"Good. Hold your ground. I am having further security dispatched to the building. Do not let anyone inside the door."
"Tony, what's wrong? Do you know who is behind this?"
I wished I could tell her about the Torrinos, about Marco's barely veiled hatred, about the brewing war with her caught in the middle. But the words were stuck in my throat.
"I'll let you know when I return. Just... stay safe, OK?" After I hung up the phone, I stood there staring at the building in flames and weighing my options. Do I push Katherine away from me to save her? Or draw her closer and hope I could protect her.
My father's answer would be the obvious choice. Get rid of her before she becomes collateral damage.
But the memory of the feel of the touch of her lips on mine, the manner in which she had stared at me like I was more than just my last name, wasn't – I couldn't. Wouldn't do it.
"Mr. Marvin?" Vincent came over with a tablet. "Fire marshal says the explosion was definitely intentional. Several ignition points, just like a professional job."
"Hmmm... a Torrino family signature?"
"That's the point." Vincent's face was troubled. "The ignition devices – they're ours. Same equipment that we employ for our own... operations."
My blood ran cold. "What are you saying?"
"I'm telling you someone utilized our own materials to blow up our own warehouse." He checked the security footage on the tablet. "The cameras were disabled beginning at 9PM. But the backup system was able to record this."
The grainy footage revealed a man in a dark suit slipping through a side door, moving with familiar efficiency. Too familiar. The build, the stride – I'd seen it a thousand times.
"Zoom in on the time stamp."
Vincent obliged. 9:47PM, the same time I'd been kissing Katherine in my penthouse, lost in the moment and unaware.
The figure glanced for a moment in the direction of a camera that they had overlooked, and even by the poor quality, I recognized enough detail for my stomach to drop.
"It's not possible," I muttered.
"Sir?"
"Get me everything from our internal security feeds. All of the entries, all the key card swipes, all the damn parking validations." I was already heading for the car. "And Vincent? No one mentions this. Not to Marco, not to my dad. Not to anyone."
"Understood. But boss, if this is what I think it is—"
"It is." I glanced back at the burning warehouse once more. "We have a traitor in the family."
And they had attacked tonight in particular because they knew I'd be preoccupied. Because they knew about Katherine. That meant the individual or group responsible for the fire outbreak wasn't merely trying to bully the Torrinos. They were sending one to me.