She took a deep breath and let herself float away, trying to escape the sudden suffocating feeling that gripped her. She’d been plagued with panic attacks since she’d woken up in the hospital. Elijah had managed to keep most of the nightmares at bay, but sometimes, during the day, she suddenly couldn’t breathe. Mostly that happened when she let herself think about Paolo and what he might be doing.

The more time passed without anyone laying eyes on Paolo, the more worried she grew. She knew he wouldn’t let things lie. She turned her head toward her left, looking over the high wall toward the rolling hills where the trees were. She knew Drake’s men patrolled regularly through the trees and brush, and that they were all leopard and able to use their leopard senses.

She hadn’t let her leopard out since she was injured. Her ribs and lacerations needed to heal first, but the little female was growing restless and Elijah had indicated several times that his male was becoming irritable and hard to control. She hadn’t asked the doctor how shifting would affect the baby. Maybe that was a good question to ask Emma. She certainly would know.

She started to turn her head when she caught sight of one of Elijah’s personal bodyguards, Joaquin, running across the yard in the distance, a gun in his hand. Elijah and Drake burst from the house, shouting at Jake to get under cover and for the women to get out of the pool.

“Dios, Siena, move it, now,” Elijah shouted, running toward her.

Emma and Catarina were close to the house and both bailed out of their inner tubes. Drake reached an arm down for both of them and hauled them out of the waist-deep river, curved his arms around their waists and ran with them toward the house, Jake closing in behind with the two children.

Siena was on the far side of the pool. She leapt off the inner tube and dragged herself up onto the cement. Elijah’s arm went around her and he lifted her right off her feet and ran with her away from the house and toward the protection of the wall. Several gunshots rang out, the sound echoing across the water. Something spat at the cement, and she saw three trails of silver in the water.

Elijah wrapped his arm around her head, shoving her to the ground and covering her body with his. “Stay down, baby.”

“It’s Paolo, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think so. The team’s got this. Joshua spotted someone creeping up on the house. Paolo wouldn’t be so stupid. He knows Drake is your security. I think this is Cordeau’s man,” Elijah said grimly. “His name is Robert Gaton. He’s trying to stake his claim and tie up loose ends.”