Sadie slept peacefully upstairs, and I checked in on her every couple hours to make sure the events of the day didn't give her nightmares. Too bogged down in the work that came my way after a major security breach, I'd never made it to bed. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing as I dropped my elbows to the table.
Thoughts of all the nine-to-five jobs calling my name came at me in heavy droves. Knowing that Sadie and I were being targeted by Murphy specifically, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about walking away. Taking her and getting out of the city until things settled down. But neither of us would ever leave our friends or our family, and that was one thing I would never ask of her.
My cell vibrated with the call I'd waited for, Seb's voice filling my home office next to my bedroom. "Yeah?" I asked, exhaustion making my voice sound quieter than normal.
“Did you find the woman yet?” he asked, the music of the night club still thumping low in the background as he hid upstairs.
"Not yet. I'll let you know what I see when I do, but for now just proceed with caution. After Sean was in the Underground, and now this? They have to be targeting Bellandi businesses for something. Let Yavin know to keep vigilant.”
"I tried to give him another man. He said to get fucked or send him to Aoife if we have them to spare," Seb laughed. "Sometimes I forget how much I like that little shit."
"He's a little something," I grunted, still furious with him for letting Sadie be put in danger under his watch. "I'll call you in the morning."
"Good. Get some sleep," Seb said, ending the call. The time on the phone displayed three in the morning, and I glanced over at the computer. The security footage still rolled, and I paused it in spite of my desire to find the exact moment someone slipped through the unguarded door. The only reason I'd go to bed was because I couldn't protect Sadie if I was dead on my feet the next day.
Shutting my laptop and standing to stretch, I grimaced when my phone rang once again. "What?" I answered. "Did you forget to tell me you love me?" I asked.
"Is Sadie sleeping?" Matteo's voice said on the other end of the line. I stilled, wondering why he'd be calling me in the middle of the night.
"Yeah."
"Good. Make sure she stays that way. Take her fucking phone away and do not let her watch the news. When you go to bring her to the gym in the morning, take her to the Estate instead. Don't tell her where you're going, just get her there," he said. Sirens rang in the background on the other end of the line. "She's going to need Ivory."
"What the fuck, Matteo?" I growled. "Is her family safe?"
"They're fine. Nobody was hurt, but it seems Murphy didn't take well to Ryker's present. We expected him to lash out against us when he found his man hanging from the ceiling fan in his fucking house. Not Sadie, the stupid fuck," Matteo sighed. "She's going to flip her shit."
"Matteo!" Annoyance colored my tone as panic set in. Everyone was fine.
The gym.
"It's on fire. I've got the fire department here and they're doing everything they can, but it's bad. They threw Molotov cocktails through the windows. We'll be lucky if there's anything left but the husk at the rate it's burning," he explained.
The vision of Sadie's face when she’d find out the next day assaulted my vision. Filled with the way she'd crumple as everything she'd worked for her entire life burned to the ground. "I have to tell her, Matteo," I said, holding firm against his wishes as I grabbed my shoes and boots and shoved my feet into them.
"She cannot be here right now," Matteo disagreed. "There's nothing she can do except watch it burn."
"Then she'll watch it burn, but I won't keep this from her," I argued.
"And if it's a ploy to lure her out? What then?"
I stilled, considering the words. "Then she'll have all of us right there to protect her. That place is everything to her. She deserves to know."
Matteo sighed. "Fine." The line went dead as he hung up, leaving me standing in my office and scrubbing a hand over my face as I prepared myself for what might be one of the hardest conversations of my life. It was just a building, logically I knew that.
But it was a building Sadie had grown up in. It was a building she'd dedicated her life to.
It was so much more than that for her. It was her blood, sweat, and tears.
Easing my phone into my pocket, I hit the lights off and left the office. Making my way through the house, I glanced at Rebel's empty bed. The damn dog insisted on sleeping with Sadie, and after the day before, I was only happy for it. Guarding her while she slept. Protecting her in a way I couldn't.
The bottom stair creaked as my weight touched it, and I slowly ascended the steps one at a time. Sadie's form was curled up on her side, the blankets tangled around her waist like always as I studied her for a moment. She looked so peaceful, and I hated the knowledge that I was about to ruin it.
Stepping into the room, Rebel's head was already raised and alert the moment I'd peeked inside. Sadie never woke, not even as I sat on the mattress next to her. It wasn't until my hand touched her face that her eyes opened slowly and she smiled up at me softly. "Is it morning?" she asked, her brow furrowing as she looked around the dark room.
"No, Baby Girl. It's not morning," I murmured, my heart pounding in my chest. "Matteo just called."
She sat up quickly, clutching the blanket to
