Ididn’t wait to make sure Sienna actually did as I said. I wanted to check out the site before the police or firefighters messed with it too much. If this was an attack by the Snake, then there might be more that we hadn’t found yet, and I couldn’t leave any stone unturned.
My father gripped my arm before I could even take two steps toward the doomed warehouse. “What are you doing?” he hissed.
“Looking for clues,” I replied, yanking myself free.
“Clues for what? For this supposed Snake?” He laughed, letting go. “You’re chasing a ghost.”
I eyed him warily. “Why do you say that? Do you know something?”
“There’s nothing to know, son.” He glared over my shoulder. Turning, I caught Mateo’s eye. “Whoever is targeting the Rosanias is doing us—you—a favor.”
“Well, I don’t see it that way.” It slipped out before I could stop it.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sal stepped in front of me, too close for comfort.
“Do you really not think that whoever is targeting the Rosanias won’t come after us next? What if whoever this is, wants to build their own empire? Did you think of that?”
My father’s face darkened, a sneer twisting across his lips. “They wouldn’t stand a chance against us.”
“The Rosania have more money, influence, and power than us. If they fall, then we would too. Don’t pretend otherwise, or you’ll doom us all.” I moved to brush past him when he stopped me.
“I won’t allow that to happen. Giovanni ran. I will not.” He glared back at me, his nails digging into my arm.
I shook him off, continuing towards the warehouse without replying. My father was fucking delusional if he thought he’d be able to stop someone that could take down the whole Rosania family. Giovanni had been smart to run, and even then, the Snake had taken him out. If the Snake could easily find Gio when he went into hiding, there was no telling what he could do. This new disaster at the docks was proof of that. The attack on the Dons at the banquet hall was proof.
After talking with the head officer on the scene, I ducked under the police tape, picking my way through the destruction. If the officers and firefighters thought it was weird that half-melted gun parts were strewn across the ground, they didn’t say it. Mateo would just pay them all off later, anyway. If they could still afford it. From what I knew of this warehouse and the looks of it, Sienna’s family had just lost hundreds of thousands.
There wasn’t much to search for, with everything mostly being destroyed. The entire building had collapsed, the burnt building already cooling beneath the spray from the fire hoses. Still, I could feel the whisper of heat along my skin as I tried to make my way through a small path through the destruction. When I didn’t find anything, I headed toward the stacks of shipping containers just behind it.
These were mostly left untouched, a maze of metal boxes where one could easily escape through. Already, I was picturing it in my mind. Whoever had done this had been able to sneak around the docks without being questioned. They probably had one of those fancy key cards Sienna’s employers had; maybe they’d even gotten an inside scoop on the security codes. But they had to come from somewhere, and I doubted they’d park in the lot with all the security cameras there. There were cameras here as well, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any blind spots.
I scanned the metal poles between the containers, eyeing the cameras I could easily spot. If the intruder had walked just right, they might have been able to avoid detection. It wouldn’t hurt to check the cameras. Still, I doubted we would find any footage of the perpetrator, just as we couldn’t identify the attacker at the banquet hall.
A flash of red caught my eye, just a blinking light attached to the shipping container closest to where the warehouse had once stood. I saw it was yet another camera, but it didn’t match the ones hanging above my head. This one was different; small enough to avoid detection yet good enough to have a clear image of the warehouse.
Anger flared in my chest. The Snake wanted to watch us, wanted to document his bold attack in broad fucking daylight. My fist crashed against the camera, knocking it to the ground before my foot came down on what was left. The sound of glass breaking was satisfying, but it couldn’t curb the temper. Whoever this fucker was, they were toying with us. And I was so done with these goddamn mental games.
Walking through the front doors of the Rosania’s building still felt weird, though I tried to ignore it. It was a lot harder to ignore the glares her soldiers would give me as I passed by. Tossing them a few charming smiles, I used the card Sienna had given me to open the elevator. The secretary at the front desk was trying way too hard not to look my way before the doors closed.
I’d asked if Sienna had made it home before sweeping past the front desk, so I knew I’d find my wife in our new apartment before I’d even opened the doors. Sienna was pacing by the windows, fingers tangled in her dark hair. I tried to ignore the mental picture of my own hands fisted around those dark curls.
“Are you done acting like my savior?” Sienna asked bitterly. Her dark eyes burned into mine.
“Is that really how you’re going to talk to me right now?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Do not fucking play with me, Dante. Whatever you’re trying to do, whatever game you’re playing, I’m done with it.” She turned to head towards the bedroom.
I couldn’t be sure if it was the stress of the disaster at the docks, of being knocked out and locked in a room, or how she thought she could talk to me like that after everything I’ve done for her, but I snapped. Covering the distance between us in three steps, I gripped her elbow, yanking her around to face me. Sienna’s mouth opened in surprise, her eyes widening.
“Are you serious right now?” I growled. “After helping you deal with all the shit going on right now, you still want to treat me this way?”
Her mouth snapped shut before opening again. But I wasn’t going to fucking hear it.
“You don’t get to have an attitude with me. I’m your husband, and I deserve some god damned respect.”
“Respect?” She laughed, dark amusement flitting across her face. “You don’t deserve shit. Everything you have now, you only have because of me.”
That little bitch.