The picture in my hand showed Katherine laughing with her brother in Central Park, oblivious to the predator watching their every move. My knuckles were white from clenching the print so hard that it was beginning to crease.
"When was this taken?" My voice was deadly quiet.
Vincent shifted uncomfortably. "That was three days ago, boss. We discovered it on the front seat of her car this morning, along with the vandalism."
Three days. She'd been stalked for three fucking days, and I hadn't known. Hadn't protected her. The anger that erupted in me was primal.
"Get me everyone. Now!" I crunched the photo in my fist. "I want a full security detail on Katherine 24/7. Another team for her brother. I want to know every person who gets within fifty feet near them."
"Already done. I took the initiative to direct the teams the minute we discovered the damage."
"Good." I pulled out my phone to make another call. "And I need background checks on everyone who works at Premier Financial. Someone knows where she parks the car, where she arrives, her routine."
After Vincent left, I stood at my office window, overlooking the city, trying to keep the anger simmering inside my chest at bay. This was my fault. I'd dragged Katherine into my world, kissed her, made her mine, and now she was paying the price.
My father's words reverberated in my mind: Love makes you weak. It makes you vulnerable.
Maybe he was right. Because right now, the idea of someone hurting Katherine made me want to burn this entire city to the ground.
The door to my office slammed open, and Thomas Marvin entered with Marco close behind him. My father was furious.
"We need to talk. Now!"
"I'm busy"
"You're done being busy with everything except this family." Thomas slammed a folder on my desk. "The Torrinos didn't just blow our warehouse. They've declared Katherine Blaire fair game. They're after her to get through you."
My blood ran cold. "How do you know that?"
"Because they sent me this." He pulled out his phone to show me a text: Your son's weakness will be his downfall. Tell him to cut her loose or we'll do it for him.
Marco leaned against the wall, arms crossed, with that infuriating smirk on his face. "Told you she was a liability."
"Shut your f***king mouth," I snarled.
"Or what?" Marco pushed himself off the wall. "You'll hit me?" He laughed. "Go ahead, cousin. Show everyone how emotional you've become. How that piece of ass has you making stupid decisions."
I had him by the throat and slammed him against the wall before my father could stop me. "Call her that again and you're dead. Family or not."
"Enough!" Thomas' voice cracked like a whip. "Both of you, stand down."
I released Marco, who rubbed his throat but kept that damn smile on his face. "See what I mean, Uncle? He's already out of control".
"I said enough." Thomas positioned himself between us. "Anthony, please sit down. We must discuss this rationally."
"There's nothing to discuss." I straightened my jacket, attempting to compose myself. "Katherine is under my protection. Anyone who lays one hand on her has to answer to me."
"That's the problem." My father's tone was gentle, which was somehow even worse than his anger. "You're thinking with your heart, not your head. The Torrinos understand that. And they're going to take advantage of her to bring you down."
"Then I'll destroy them first."
"With what? Anger? Emotion?" Thomas shook his head. "Son, I understand what you're feeling-"
"Do you?" The question was edged with annoyance. "Well, from where I stand, you've spent thirty years ensuring you've never experienced anything. Is that exactly what you want for me?"
Something flickered in his eyes – pain, or remorse maybe. Then it was gone. "I want you alive," he went on. "I want this family to stay together, and at the moment, you are jeopardizing both because you refuse to let go of a woman you've known less than a month."
"She's not just any woman."
"I know." His voice softened. "That's what makes her dangerous."
Marco cleared his throat. "I have a suggestion."
"I don't want to hear it," I said immediately.
"You're gonna anyway." He walked to my desk, pulling out something on his phone. "The Torrinos need you vulnerable. So, let's give them what they want. We can use Katherine to lure them out, to take out the threat once and for all."
The words hover in the room like a death sentence. I looked at Marco, really looked at him, and saw something in his eyes that made my stomach turn. He was no longer just thinking strategically. He was enjoying the moment.
"You want me to use Katherine as bait," I spoke slowly, ensuring that I understood clearly. "You want me to put Katherine in danger on purpose."
"It's the smart move-"
I grabbed him by his expensive tie and pulled him close enough to see fear flicker across his face. "Listen very carefully to what I am telling you, you piece of shit, because if you so much as think about getting her involved in any of your schemes, I will ensure you disappear, you hear me."
"Tony-" My father began.
"No." I pushed Marco back. "I'm done pretending Marco has the best interests of this family in mind. He has been undermining me since we were kids, and I've had enough."
Marco adjusted his tie, his face grim. "One day, cousin, you're going to understand I was only trying to help you. And by then, it will be too late."
He left, leaving an oppressive silence in his wake.
"You're making enemies," my father said quietly. "In your own family."
"Perhaps it is time to choose a new family, then." The words came out before I could stop them, and Thomas' face paled.
"You don't mean that."
"Don't I?" I moved to my desk and pulled up the security footage from Katherine's garage. "She was attacked in her car this morning. Left a picture of herself with her brother. Threatened someone who is the only family she has left in the world. You're asking to leave her in that condition?"
"I'm asking you to think strategically-"
"I'm done thinking strategically!" The words erupted from my mouth. "You want to know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking that for thirty years, I've done everything you've asked. I've been the perfect son, the perfect heir, the perfect soldier in your war. And for what? So I can end up alone and bitter like you?"
"Watch yourself," Thomas' jaw clenched.
"No, you watch yourself." I stood, meeting his gaze directly. "Because I'm choosing Katherine. And if that makes me weak in your eyes, then I guess I'm weak. At least I'll have something to live for beyond fear and power."
For an instant, we just looked at each other. Then my father did something I'd never seen him do before. His shoulders slumped, and he looked suddenly old.
"Your mother would have liked her," he said softly. "Katherine. She would have appreciated her strength."
The words hit me harder than any argument would have. "Dad-"
"But that doesn't change the facts." He pulled himself together, the moment of vulnerability fleeting. "The Torrinos know about her. This means that everyone in our world will soon know. She's a target now, Anthony. And I can't protect you both."
"Then protect her," I said without hesitation. "I can take care of myself."
He studied me for an extended moment before nodding slowly in understanding. "I'll make some calls. But Tony? This decision. There is no going back from it. You claim her, and she is in it for life, no matter what that life may be."
He left, and I was left sitting in my office, staring at the picture of Katherine and Elliot, committing it to memory. The way she laughed. The hand on her brother's shoulder. The pure innocence on their faces.
I was going to tell her everything tonight. The truth about the peril, about the traitor in my organization, about what it meant to be with me. And after that, I was going to leave it to her to decide.
My phone vibrated with an incoming email. Unknown sender. The subject was "You should see this."
I opened it, and my blood ran cold.
Pictures. Lots of them. Katherine at work. Katherine in her apartment. Katherine grocery shopping. Katherine at the gym. Time stamps from the past couple of weeks, before we even went out to dinner together for the first time.
Someone had been watching her right from the start.
And finally, the last picture shocked me: Katherine entering my apartment building at 7:47 PM last night.
Accompanying the photo was a message: She went willingly into the lion's den. What a pity that she won't walk out.
I reached for my keys, called Vincent to see where Katherine was, and pushed every speed limit on the way to Premier Financial in record time.
Because whoever was sending these pictures wasn't making threats.
They were announcing their move, and Katherine was already in play.