Page 56 of The Eagle's Vault

“Were they in St. Peter’s Square this morning?” We’d seen so many people, but which ones could they have been? “Cleaners? The proposal guy? Tourists?”

“No way,” Malcolm dismissed immediately. “We had eyes on the entire square.”

Rav stayed silent for a beat, then quietly agreed. “It’s possible.”

But if they were at St. Peter’s Square, why not take the notebook then? There were only the four of us this morning, plus Edoardo. They could have dumped Martina anywhere. Maybe they were monitoring him some other way.

The next moments were a blur. The kidnappers shoved Martina. Her scream pierced the night as she plummeted into the river.

I sprang into action, the raw instinct to save her overriding everything else. Her hands were tied. She wouldn’t be able to swim. But Rav was faster than me, his hand planted squarely on my chest, stopping me in my tracks.

“Martina!” Edoardo was at the edge, desperately attempting to reach her. The kidnappers were already vanishing into the night. Martina’s terrified yells echoed over the water, the sound cutting through me.

“I need to save her!” I pushed against Rav’s hand but didn’t turn it into a fight I’d lose.

“Not until they’re gone.” Rav sounded as calm as stone, but I knew him well enough to hear his concern. Our safety came first. I knew that was the cardinal rule. But dammit, she was panicking. Edoardo wouldn’t be able to get her out.

“Go!” Rav’s hand lifted, releasing me.

I was off. Sprinting toward the stairs, taking them two, three at a time, my mind spinning with worry. How deep was the Tiber? Head first or feet first?

I knew the river saw traffic, but the depth of a boat’s keel? I had to go feet first. Safe.

Edoardo glanced up, but his reaction barely registered. If there was any justice in this world, his face had been filled with regret.

I hit the water, the cold jolt almost a relief. I grabbed Martina, who writhed in my arms. Years as a lifeguard told me it could be shock and I should let her go limp so she didn’t take me down with her. Instead, I gasped, “Stop fighting me, Martina.”

Maybe it was the use of her name, but her panic ebbed enough I got a hand on the edge. With every ounce of strength I had, I shoved her upward, her hands finding purchase in Edoardo’s waiting arms.

As I pushed, I lost my grip, and the river swallowed me once again. Rav should have been the one in this river. He was the rescue diver, the man with a plan. But no point in wallowing. I’d done what I had to. Martina was safe.

I surfaced and pushed against the slick stone, hoisting myself up, Edoardo completely ignoring me. No help offered.

“Nice one, Declan!” Emmett’s congratulatory cheer over the miraculously still-intact earpiece was a small comfort.

Edoardo and his wife were sobbing, huddled together on the stones.

“Grazie, grazie mille.” Edoardo repeated his cries over and over, the Italian words carrying across the night air. He was broken, the devastation clear.

“Yeah, yeah, save it.” I shook the water off, the cold clinging to me. My anger surged, and I delivered my news. “For the record, Giovanni Ferraro’s man came after us.”

Edoardo’s eyes widened. Good. “Mi dispiace, Declan.”

“That security guard you trusted? You might want to reconsider that.” My words were harsh, biting. “Unless, of course, this was your plan all along. Get us to steal the notebook, and then let us take the fall.”

“This…” He rocked back and forth with his wife, tears coating his face. “This was not what I wanted.”

“Well, it’s not exactly what I wanted, either.” I shook the water from my hands. The night was hardly cold, but now that I was drenched, all I wanted was a warm shower. “Now tell me, who was it?”

“I don’t know,” sobbed Martina.

“What do you know about Fenix?”

“Nothing, Declan!” Edoardo reached for my hand, but I flung it away from him. “I swear I don’t know who and I don’t know why, except for the notebook.”

Useless. Edoardo’s information, my anger, and coming to watch this spectacle. Not useless. At least I got Martina out, and we knew who took the photos of Scarlett.

That thug had been at the party, so he’d taken them.

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