Page 224 of Diego

My phone sits useless in my hand.

I try Diego again anyway.

Nothing. The call does not even connect.

I stare at his name for another second before putting the phone down on the counter.

He knew.

He called me right before everything outside the property died, and whatever he had to tell me was important enough that he called while he was dealing with his own situation.

A hard metallic bang comes through the speakers from the front-gate feed.

Leonardo jerks against Victoria again.

On the monitor, one of the SUVs has moved forward until its bumper nearly touches the gate.

“They’re not going to ram it,” I say. “Are they?”

Nobody answers.

The SUV reverses.

Farther.

Farther still.

“Oh, shit.”

It accelerates. The vehicle slams into the gate. Even down here, I hear the impact through the structure above us.

The gate shudders on the screen but stays closed. The SUV backs away with damage across the front.

Victoria lets out a breath. “Good.”

The driver tries again.

The second impact bends part of the metal inward but does not break the lock or pull the gate free from the stone pillars.

“They’re going to destroy the car before they get through that,” Julia says.

One of the security people shakes his head. “They don’t care about the car.”

The SUV reverses a third time.

Before it can accelerate again, the gate camera catches movement from the other side. One of Diego’s security people approaches from behind the inner barrier, weapon raised but staying far enough back that the stone pillar gives him cover.

The attackers see him.

The SUV stops.

A second man moves out from behind the vehicle with a gun.

Gunfire cracks through the exterior microphone.

Victoria turns instinctively away from the monitor and covers the back of Leonardo’s head. Julia does the same with Cecilia, and Emilia moves closer to them.

I cannot look away.