"Or it could be someone new. Someone we don't even know about yet."
"That's worse."
"I know."
I think about Aurora upstairs, working on my books, integrating herself into my operation. Making herself more valuable and more vulnerable with every hour she spends here.
"We need to end this," I say. "The uncertainty. The not knowing who's coming after us or from where."
"How do you propose we do that?"
"By taking the fight to them. All of them. Anyone who thinks I'm weak right now because of the Luca situation needs to learn otherwise."
"That's aggressive."
"It needs to be. We show strength, we eliminate the threat, we make it clear that Aurora is under my protection and anyone who touches her dies." I meet Viktor's eyes. "No more defense. We go on offense."
"What about Luca?"
"What about him?"
"He might be behind the warehouse fire. If we start a war with everyone else, and he's not involved, we're making more enemies than we need to."
He's right. I need to know if Luca's behind this before I start burning down the city.
"Get me eyes on Luca," I order. "I want to know where he is, what he's doing, who he's talking to. If he's planning something, I want to know before it happens."
"And if he is behind it?"
Then I have to decide between my oldest friend and the woman carrying my child.
Not much of a choice, really.
"Then we deal with it," I say. "But carefully. Luca's dangerous. If he's turned enemy, we can't underestimate him."
Viktor nods and gets to work.
I spend the rest of the evening in my office, making calls, positioning pieces, and preparing for whatever comes next.
Around midnight, Aurora appears in the doorway.
"You're still working," she observes.
"So are you, apparently."
"Couldn't sleep." She comes in, sits in the chair across from me. "I heard about the phone call. The unknown caller."
"Viktor told you?"
"He mentioned it. Said someone's watching us."
"They are. But we don't know who yet."
She's quiet for a moment. "This is because of me, isn't it? Because I'm here."
"This is because I have enemies who see opportunity in chaos. You're not the cause. You're just the excuse they're using."
"That's a distinction without a difference."
