Page 210 of Diego

His man may be missing, but he respects that.

Antonio closes the folders we no longer need and gathers the relevant papers into one stack. Nico checks his weapon beneath his coat, then looks toward Giovanni.

“We ready?”

Giovanni stands.

“Yes.”

Research is over. Now we move.

I take out my phone before we leave and check it again.

One message from Blair.

No news from Donna and Lorenzo yet.

Despite everything around me, my lips curve.

How about you? Any news from you?

Her reply comes almost immediately.

My day of sitting on the couch and looking at files really wore me out.

I resist the urge to smile more widely in present company.

We'll see what I can do about that when I get home.

I shake my head, put the phone away, and follow the others toward the hangar doors, imagining the possibilities.

Outside, engines are already starting.

Giovanni rides with Ricardo. Antonio goes with Dante and Tomasso. Nico joins Matteo, leaving me in my own car with one of our people behind me.

I push all thoughts of Blair aside and follow the others into the night.

Chapter Thirty Eight

Blair

The house feels very different with two toddlers in it.

Leonardo has claimed the stretch of rug between the sofa and the coffee table, where Victoria has emptied part of the bag she brought into a small collection of toys, snacks, wipes, and the kind of miscellaneous toddler equipment that seems to multiply every time I look away. Cecilia has stationed herself near Julia’s knees with a stuffed rabbit tucked under one arm and a small cup in both hands.

Emilia brings out plates for us and something simpler for the kids, which turns into its own production almost immediately. Leonardo wants the crackers from Cecilia’s plate despite having the exact same crackers on his own. Cecilia makes a sound of protest, and Julia reaches over without looking, slides the cup farther from the edge of the table, and hands her a piece of fruit.

Cecilia had not pointed. She had not said anything I understood. Julia simply knew.

“What did she want?” I ask.

Julia glances at me. “The strawberries.”

“How did you get strawberries out of that?”

“She makes a different sound when she wants something she can see.”

I look at Cecilia, who is now perfectly content with half a strawberry in one hand. “That seems like a very advanced language.”