Page 196 of Caterina
I pull my phone from my pocket and send a message to Andrew, who is lead for my people tonight.
Status.
I set the phone beside my plate.
Conversation moves on around me. Nico is telling Lucia something about Emma trying to climb onto a coffee table. Charlotte is asking Nick if Gabriel can have more bread. Teresa says something quietly to Vito that makes his expression soften. Caterina squeezes my forearm once before letting go.
My phone remains dark.
Thirty seconds. Forty.
One minute.
Andrew does not take a full minute to answer a direct status request while on an active protection detail.
I pick up the phone again.
Status. Confirm.
Nothing.
The first cold trickle slides into my bloodstream.
I send a message to Mara, positioned at the rear access.
Report.
No response.
The room continues around me, warm and bright and full of children’s voices, clinking silverware, low laughter, the smell of food and flowers.
My world narrows to the phone in my hand.
I tap Andrew’s number and lift the phone to my ear as I push back from the table.
It goes straight to voicemail.
Conversation begins to thin as people notice me standing.
Caterina looks up first. Her expression shifts immediately.
“What is it?”
I do not answer her yet.
I call Mara.
I look at Nick.
“Get in touch with your security. Now.”
My voice cuts through the room.
No one mistakes the tone.
Nick’s face changes instantly. The husband and father vanish behind the man who runs an empire and understands threat response. He has his phone out before I finish the sentence.
Vito and Nico stand automatically, alert.
