Page 60 of Chasing Caine
I bit down on my bottom lip to suppress the chuckle. Watching them from my hiding spot, I fell a little harder for her again. She used every part of her body while she spoke with him, slow eye movements, the seductive smile, extending a hip, tucking a loose hair which didn’t even exist behind her ear.
“Athena’s the Greek goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, yes. Minerva’s the Roman version.”
“That’s fascinating!” She placed a hand on his arm.
Heavy, rapid footfalls caught my attention. I looked out through the fallen section of wall and saw the caps of two Carabinieri officers speeding toward the building. I charged around the corner, through the garden. Umberto’s head whipped around to see me, eyes and mouth wide, then back to Samantha.
I hurdled the short wall around the garden, while a grin flashed across Samantha’s face. Her hand on his arm slid to his wrist and she slammed her other forearm into the back of his elbow.
He howled and jerked forward, dropping his equipment, one leg flailing out beside him. She followed through her movement, like an action hero, but when she took a step, her foot landed on his case. Samantha’s leg crumpled underneath her and she screamed.
“Samantha!” I yelled, trying to cross the distance faster.
He hadn’t flailed. He’d kicked the case to trip her. And I was not fast enough. I’d paused too long admiring her.
She went down hard, losing her grip on him, pain contorting her face. Knee, side, hands, then head slammed into the ground.
Umberto tore off for the eastern entrance, the approaching footfalls obviously coming from the west.
I came to a sliding halt next to her, picking up her head. “Are you al—”
One hand shot up and she shoved me as she hollered, “Go get him!”
I caught myself before tumbling over, scanning the length of her. No cuts or scrapes, no evident blood. “But you—”
“Go! I’m fine!”
The officers arrived through the atrium, and I launched to my feet after Umberto. If he turned right out of the exit, he’d be back onto Via di Nola and the thin crowds. No matter how many people were there, it would be difficult to hide, given his full-body protective attire. Not to mention he’d be heading for a gate.
No, he would have taken a left, hoping to get up the embankment at the north of the site. Then out through the fields or the trees. He wouldn’t have swiped in through the front gate. What if he had a vehicle parked nearby? A perfect escape?
He was probably already gone.
Chapter 21
Samantha
CarabiniereDeRosaanda female officer dashed in as Antonio vanished through the eastern door.
When I tripped on the case, the pain had exploded through my ankle, up my calf, overwhelming every sense, and I didn’t see which way Umberto went. If he’d gone north, up through the fields, it would be hard to catch him. But Antonio was in peak physical condition and was a runner. Hopefully that put the odds further into our favor.
The officers came to a halt in front of me and I waved them after Antonio. “Dr. Ferraro went after the thief. That way!”
De Rosa sped off, but his partner stayed put.
I got up slowly on my knees, planted my good foot, and began to rise. But pain ricocheted from the side of my head, through my entire body, and I bit back a cry.
“Stay down.” The officer’s voice was calm, but firm.
I was now a suspect until I proved otherwise.
More shouting voices and hurried feet came from some direction. We were surrounded by full walls, crumbling half walls, the metal roof over part of the Casa—sound bounced around, stabbing into my brain.
Please, let it be Antonio with Umberto in hand.
I gestured at the black case, the cutting tool discarded next to it. “I don’t know if he had more tools in there or if it was for transport. But I suspect—”
Elliot burst through the atrium door, Carabinieri TPC officer Bruno Gallo hot on his heels. “Did you catch them?”