Page 226 of Caterina
Teresa is beside me instantly. “What?”
I point at the screen because I cannot speak.
Her expression grows grave, and she puts a hand on my shoulder.
For a second, the angle shifts, showing movement in the hedges to Adrian’s right.
My heart jumps into my throat.
“Adrian,” I whisper, uselessly.
Nico appears on another feed, moving fast along the east side, keeping low with his weapon up. He is headed toward the service road.
That must mean they have a plan.
A few moments later, Vito appears on the front hall feed, moving through the entry with his weapon raised. He checks the closet near the door, then disappears inside it.
Teresa takes one step toward the monitor, her breath catching.
“What is he doing?” she asks.
Before anyone can answer, Vito backs out, dragging someone with him.
I recognize Andrew, Adrian’s right-hand man, barely upright now, one arm slung over Vito’s shoulder, blood on his shirt.
“He’s alive,” I say. “I think.”
The words come out ragged.
Teresa exhales shakily. “Okay. Good. That’s good.”
Vito gets Andrew behind the curve of the front staircase, out of the direct line from the entry. He says something to him, then presses a bundle of fabric harder against his wound.
Another feed returns, and we all turn to it.
The rear patio shows a woman from Adrian’s team—the one who brought the flowers in—crouched behind the stone wall, firing toward the tree line. One of Nick’s security team moves in behind her, dragging another injured person by the straps of his vest.
They are still alive and fighting. Relief goes through me.
I look back at Adrian’s feed, and all that relief flees in an instant.
I lean closer. “No.”
Teresa grips my arm. “What?”
Then she sees it too. A shadow moving near the west path, moving up behind him slowly.
He doesn’t hear them.
Damn it, he’s not turning around.
I watch helplessly as the shadow sneaks up on him, as Adrian’s head comes up, and he turns.
A moment too late.
The man hits him hard and sends him to the ground.
“Caterina, what are you doing?” comes my sister’s voice.
