Page 197 of Caterina
Same with Mara; straight to voicemail.
I want to go check on my people.
Every instinct says move. Find the breach. Find who took them offline. Confirm if they are down, jammed, compromised, dead.
But Caterina is here.
So are Lucia and her children. Vito, Teresa, Cristiano. Nico, Erica, Emma. Nick and the girls and Gabriel.
I cannot leave the room.
Not with this many principals. Not with children. Not with the communications dark. Not with an unknown threat possibly already inside the perimeter.
I stand in place, phone in my hand, while Nick listens to his own call.
His eyes meet mine. I already know.
The children sense the change even if they do not understand it. Sofia looks from her father to me. Charlotte stops swinging her feet. Emma grips a piece of bread in one fist and blinks up at Erica.
My gun is already out and low at my side, hidden against my leg as much as possible from the children’s line of sight.
When Caterina notices it, her face goes pale.
“Adrian,” she says quietly. “What’s going on?”
“No time.”
Her eyes flash. “What does that mean?”
“It means we move now.”
I look at Vito and Nico. Both are already alert, bodies angled toward their families, hands close to weapons.
Good, but not enough.
I have a plan for this house.
Of course I have a contingency plan.
I made it the first night I stayed here and put it into action in the weeks following. The plan was not made for this many people.
It will have to accommodate.
“Lucia,” I command. “Take Gabriel. Sofia and Charlotte stay between you and Nick.”
Nick is already moving, one hand on Charlotte’s shoulder, the other reaching for Sofia.
“Teresa, Cristiano. Erica, Emma. Move together. No spacing.”
Vito is at Teresa’s side now. Nico is already lifting Emma from the high chair while Erica rises carefully, one hand on her stomach.
Caterina stands, eyes locked on me. “Tell me what is happening.”
“Basement. Now.”
“What?”
“Now,” I snap.
