Page 46 of Diego

We are standing near the entry when the alarm sounds.

It is not the shrill, panicked wail I expect from a fire alarm. Instead, a clear electronic tone chimes through the penthouse, followed by an automated voice instructing occupants to shelter in place while a fire emergency is investigated elsewhere in the building.

I stop with my hand halfway to my bag. “Shelter in place?”

Diego looks toward the ceiling speaker.

The message repeats.

Fire emergency. Shelter in place and remain inside your residence until further notice. Do not use the elevators or stairwells unless instructed by emergency personnel.

I stare at him. “Doesn’t a fire mean we should evacuate?”

He already has his phone out.

“Usually.”

He holds up one finger as the call connects, and whatever lightness was in his expression a second ago disappears. He says something immediately in Italian, fast enough that I cannot even begin to follow it, then starts listening.

I know a handful of Italian words.

None of them are useful right now.

Diego moves toward the windows while he talks. I catch something that might be a question, then another stretch of Italian that might as well be one continuous word for all I can make of it.

I watch him instead.

He does not look alarmed.

I guess it helps. A little.

He turns away from the windows and asks another question. His tone is different now, sharper, more focused, and whoever is on the other end answers for several seconds before Diego finally says something brief and ends the call.

“Well?”

“It’s a small electrical fire on a lower floor.”

I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding. “Small sounds good.”

“It is.”

“And we really have to stay here?”

“For now.”

He slips the phone back into his pocket. “The fire department is already inside. The elevators have been taken out of service, and they’re using the stairwells while they investigate. Building security is telling everyone on unaffected floors to stay inside.”

I glance toward the private elevator doors.

“So we’re stuck.”

“Temporarily.”

“How temporarily?”

“They don’t know yet.”

Of course not.