“Not if you both die tonight,” Luca said.

His face was twisted into a mask of pure desperation.

The rain outside seemed to grow louder, wind rattling the glass panes.

“Santo,” Luca ordered. “Kill them. Both of them.”

Santo looked at the gun in his hand, then at Luca.

“In the house?” Santo asked. “The noise will bring the guards from the gate.”

“Use the silencer,” Luca screamed. “Do it now!”

Santo reached into his coat pocket for the black metal attachment.

My heart pounded against my ribs.

I looked at the door.

The hallway was dark and quiet.

But then, I heard it.

It was a faint, scraping sound from further down the hall.

It sounded like a pair of feet dragging slowly across the floorboards.

Dr. Voss had told me Alexander needed hours to recover.

But Alexander was a man of immense strength.

I remembered the way his hand had gripped mine in the bedroom.

I remembered the heat of his fever starting to break.

Could he be awake?

Santo finished screwing the silencer onto the barrel of his gun.