Page 230 of Diego

He disappears behind the column, and Matteo moves immediately, using the opening to advance along the side of the outdoor kitchen. Tomasso covers him while Mario comes up behind me.

The man inside the house fires through the glass.

It explodes outward.

I duck as shards hit the stone around us. Matteo reaches the base of the terrace and fires through the broken opening. The shooter inside falls back out of sight.

“Move,” I tell him.

We take the terrace.

The first attacker is down near the column. The second is inside near the shattered doors, bleeding heavily but still trying to reach his weapon. Mario crosses the threshold and kicks the gun away before the man can get his hand around it.

The attacker looks up at him.

Mario shoots him once with no hesitation.

We enter through the broken doors.

The family area beyond is wrecked. A side table is overturned. One of the chairs has been hit by gunfire, and glass covers part of the floor. Backup lights cast everything in dim yellow strips from the ceiling and along the baseboards.

This is where Blair has been sitting for weeks. It is where I carry her food when she forgets to eat. It is where she's been taking her naps and watching the cooking shows she's become so bored with.

Now there is blood on the tile near the hallway. I do not know whose.

I refuse to stop and think about it.

“Keep moving,” Mario orders.

He is right.

We clear the kitchen and rear hallway first. Matteo checks the pantry and service entrance while Tomasso takes the adjoining passage. Mario controls the pace, keeping us close enough to support each other without putting all four of us in the same line of fire.

A shot cracks from the main hall.

Mario pulls back as a bullet hits the wall beside him.

Another follows almost immediately.

The shooter is near the front sitting area, using the corner for cover.

I know the layout.

“There’s a secondary passage through the dining area,” I tell Mario. “It comes out behind him.”

Mario points at Matteo. “Go with Diego. Tomasso and I will keep his attention here.”

Matteo and I move through the secondary passage while Mario fires toward the corner, forcing the attacker to stay tucked behind cover. We pass through the dining area and come out with a clear angle on the hallway.

The man is crouched exactly where I expected, his attention fixed on Mario.

Matteo shoots him, and the man collapses.

We rejoin Mario and Tomasso.

My radio suddenly gives a burst of static.

I stop.