"They're fine," I reassured her, and she sighed in relief. "Somebody set the gym on fire, Carina. I'm so sorry." The words tumbled out, less graceful than I wanted. No padding, no preparation, and I watched the ground fall out from under her as she blinked up at me.
"What?" she whispered.
"It's still burning. The fire department is there, trying to put it out, but it's not looking good." She jumped up from the bed, grabbing sweatpants out of the dresser where she'd finally moved her clothes. Not even caring that she had shorts on underneath them, she tugged a hoodie over her head while I watched. "There's nothing we can do, Sadie," I said, trying to convince her to stay home even though I knew it would be pointless.
"I have to go, Enzo," she whispered, her voice broken as she stared at me. I moved to draw her into my arms and comfort her the only way I knew how, but she stepped back with a shake of her head. "Rebel, you should stay," Sadie said, and the dog instantly settled herself back down.
"She should come. I want her with you wherever you go," I said. One glance at her, and Rebel jumped up from her lounge on the bed to race downstairs. Sadie followed, her head hanging.
She didn't cry or show any emotion other than a vague sense of emptiness.
I knew it would come.
30 Sadie
The fire lit up the entire street, glowing like a beacon as flames crept out the windows. With my heart in my throat as Enzo pulled up at the end of the block where the police had set up a barricade, I left Enzo to grab Rebel's leash and made my way to the uniforms standing there. "That's my gym!" I announced when one blocked my path.
Enzo came up behind me, Rebel's leash in his hand as they caught up. The officers took one look at him and nodded. "Mr. Vescovi."
"Thanks," Enzo said, taking my hand and tugging me through the street. The smoke that rose from the building was black, melding into the night sky as everything faded away.
The gym.
My apartment.
Everything I owned except for a bag of clothes Enzo had packed for me.
Gone.
Tears stung my eyes, whether from emotion or the smoke, who the fuck knew. Matteo stood off to the side, surrounded by Simon and the other man from the night at my apartment, berating the Fire Chief as he stood and argued back at him. The front doors were blown open wide as firefighters hosed the building down all over the place. This would crush my father.
"My Dad's title belt is in there," I said in horror, ripping my hand out of Enzo's grip and making my way for the doors. It wasn’t a conscious thought so much as the instinctive need to protect just one thing that meant the world to him.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Enzo asked, snatching me back and glowering at me. "You can't go in there!"
"Somebody has to get it! That is his crowning achievement in life, Enzo," I shouted, trying to pull out of his hold.
"It's fucking gone!" he yelled. "There is nothing left to save in there, Sadie! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he yelled, tugging me back to the line where Matteo stood. Keeping a firm hold on me, we watched as the building burned. A tremendous bang came from the interior as the building shook. "What was that?" Enzo asked, keeping me firmly by his side while looking at the fire chief.
"Support beam collapse," he said, shaking his head. "Ain't no doubt this was no accident, Bellandi. You guys any closer to putting this bastard down like the dog he is before he destroys the city?"
Matteo glowered at the man before he sighed and hung his head. "I let Liam talk me into giving him the chance to walk away. I fucking knew better, but I respect the damn man. Now Tiernan’s as good as dead as soon as we can find him." The Chief walked away, leaving Matteo standing with the two of us as the building burned in the distance. I couldn't take my eyes off the flames, watching as my life burned away. Rebel nudged my hand even though it was stilled against my thigh. There was nothing left. No anxiety. No compulsions. Only the overwhelming grief that everything was gone.
What was the point in any of it?
"You said something about Ryker's present on the phone. How do you know this was about that?" Enzo asked. Matteo nodded his head, and we walked around the corner of the building to where my apartment stairs were. Written in red, smeared across the brick shell still standing, the words "Bellandi Whore" stared back at me. "Fuck," Enzo groaned. “I want to know who did it. A name, and when Ryker finds him you give him to me.”
Ignoring the rare cruelty in Enzo’s words because I didn't feel strong enough to handle the implications of what he might do, I focused on the only thing that I could in that moment. The one part that was still in my control. "My Dad will see that," I muttered. It suddenly seemed important that he not see his only daughter referred to as a whore in an arson attack on his business. Like words would matter in the face of something so horrific and violent.
"We'll get it washed off as soon as they get the fire out. There are no windows on this side, so they've been focusing the water elsewhere. That's probably why they painted it here. They wanted to make sure we'd see it, but we’ll clean it up," Matteo reassured me. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, he tugged me into his
