Page 104 of The Bratva King

“Mr. Sokolov, I don’t know what happened. My kitchen does not make mistakes.”

“Show me.”

He leads me to the back section, near the industrial stoves, where a large pot sits on one of the burners.

“Someone left grease on high heat,” he says. “It caught fire. Triggered the sprinklers.”

“Who was working this station?”

“That’s the thing.” He runs a hand through his wet hair. “Nobody. This section wasn’t even being used today. We were focused on prep for the VIP dinner tonight. That was happening on the other side.”

That stupid feeling again. The one that, unfortunately, is never wrong.

“How long does it take for grease to catch fire on high heat?”

“Depends on the amount and temperature. Maybe ten, fifteen minutes?”

“And nobody noticed a pot sitting here for fifteen minutes?”

He shakes his head. “We were busy. Everyone was focused on banquet prep.”

“I’m going to pull the security footage.”

“We’re shut down,” he says. “I have to have the health department inspect everything.”

“Fuck!”

I leave the kitchen. The fire department is moving through the building. The customers have been cleared out. Most of the staff is gone. Gabby is gone, probably with the rest of the staff.

I find Pasha in the hallway, coordinating with the fire marshal. He sees my face and steps away from the conversation.

“What?” he asks quietly.

“Sabotage.”

His jaw tightens. “You’re sure?”

“Pot of grease on high heat in a section nobody was using. Nobody saw it. Nobody noticed until it was too late.”

“The Italians.”

I take a breath. “Get me the security footage. I want to know who was in that kitchen. And I want to know how they got in.”

“Pulling names now.”

The fire marshal approaches. “Mr. Sokolov, we’ll need to do a full inspection before you can reopen this section.”

“How long?”

“Forty-eight hours minimum.”

More money. More complications.

Death by a thousand cuts.

“Do what you need to do,” I tell him.

I head up to my office and sit down. I hate when things don’t go according to plan. I’m fucking sick of them testing me.