Page 112 of Scarred Ruin

I shifted my attention to the charred bodies that had been covered by sheets. Normally, I would handle any destructive situation internally. There’d been no opportunity to do so before the police and the fire department had arrived.

Which had stalled my need for retaliation, which in turn meant the people responsible had managed to get away.

Their act of arson had been planned, using the guise of the ship being loaded to disguise their presence. The workers all wore the same thing, cargo pants and a logoed shirt and could easily be recreated. Also given the nature of the business, new people wouldn’t necessarily be questioned.

Once again, I’d been caught unprepared.

The captain nodded and walked away, taking his crew with him. With forensics on scene, they would continue stripping away time that could be better served.

I turned my attention away, fighting both rage and an unsettling realization that if I couldn’t perform a serious act of retaliation within twenty-four hours, my reputation would be driven straight into hell.

After glancing toward the docking bay, I headed down the dock. I needed fresh air and time to think. If there’d been any saving grace it was that those responsible hadn’t managed to get on board. And they’d tried.

I stood by the water’s edge, peering down into the darkened depths.

The presence behind me was to be expected. At least Sergei continued allowing me some silence.

“Anastasia loved the water. Did you know she was terrified of fire? Any kind. She hated the fireplace and replaced all the real candles in the house with flameless ones. I finally asked her why, only to learn her house had been burned down when she was a young girl. She lost her beloved hamster.”

“I didn’t know that, Pakhan.”

“We fucking need to find these assholes, Sergei. I assume there were no identifying marks on the dead men being held in the ship.”

“No. They appeared as our workers.”

“And you’re certain they are not.”

“They are not in our database and I’m having our hackers check facial recognition software to see what we can find.”

I laughed bitterly as I rubbed my jaw. “You won’t find anything.” I finally turned to face him. “We know nothing. Not a goddamn thing.”

He nodded. The night had worn on him as well. What had started out as a fun evening of surprising the woman I… cared very much about had once again caused me to let my guard down.

It would never happen again.

“No, I am incorrect. We know one thing. We have a traitor.”

“Maybe,” he offered. “But you know there was a manifest for the cargo ship.”

“Then someone knows something. Check with those at the dock and find out if questions were asked. I don’t give a fuck this is now Christmas Eve. This will be taken care of.”

“Yes, sir.”

His phone rang and I instantly bristled as I’d done when Sergei had called before.

“Mario.” After a few seconds, he smiled. “Why don’t you bring him to the ship where we’ll be waiting.” He ended the call and was grinning from ear to ear.

“What is it?”

“Maybe your wish to Santa Claus is about to come true. Get this. Mario knows the guy.”

* * *

Wham!

I took a deep breath and raked my hands through my unruly hair. I’d broken out in a sweat, my shirt soaked while the stench of piss and sea salt permeated the confined space.

“Get him up,” I snarled and immediately two of my soldiers jerked him to his feet. His name was Dante and from what I understood, he was loyal to the Cosa Nostra.