Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 591(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Probably just another manipulation attempt by her sister.
But I couldn’t say that and risk the possibility Antonia really was injured.
I placed my hands on her upper shoulders. “You have my word, I am going to handle all of this, but first I need you—”
She frowned and pointed. “What is that?”
I followed her gaze over my shoulder.
There was a thick, black plume of smoke rising over the horizon.
Cavalieri Winery was on fire.
CHAPTER 45
BARONE
“We need to set up a defensible perimeter!” I shouted to the boys as we all ran hell for leather toward the blaze.
A dense copse of trees between the villa and the winery facilities were engulfed in flames.
Thick smoke and ash carried on the wind, burning my eyes and increasing the danger of the fire spreading through flying embers.
With my arm shielding my face from the blast of heat as we approached, I yelled out, “Assessment.”
Enzo coughed then called out, “We’ve already moved half the barrels into the wine caves where they’ll be safe, but we still have about five hundred barrels racked.”
The rack room was the first building in the blaze's path. Five hundred barrels was over twelve thousand cases of wine at risk. That was about a hundred and fifty thousand bottles, half this year’s inventory. We couldn’t let that happen.
While the barrels themselves would be able to withstand a degree of heat, the physical wooden racks they were stored on would not. If they were compromised, the barrels could crash to the stone floor and break open.
I covered my mouth with the crook of my arm. “Vines?”
Cesare spoke through his shirt which he had lifted to cover his face. “They’ll withstand the worst of the heat blast because of the water content, but it’s the drip hoses I’m worried about. Thank God we replaced the north and west quadrants with steel pipes, but if the wind shifts and the lower southeast acres get hit, we’re done for.”
Fuck. Centuries' worth of vine growth.
The Cavalieri legacy.
It all could be wiped out in an instant if the older irrigation pipes ignited. The plastic would melt onto the vines, killing them.
Then there were the stables, bottling facility, and other buildings to worry about, not to mention the main villa and Cesare’s home.
With my forearm, I wiped the soot from my eyes. “All right. We all know what to do.”
Sebastian Diamanti threw off his suit jacket. “Where do you need me?”
“I need to dig a ditch between the fire and the winery buildings.”
He nodded. “Done.”
As he raced toward my men, he held out his arm, snatching the handle of a shovel from one of them as he shouted orders and gathered a team.
Benedict gestured to Alfonso. “We need to move the horses out of the stable and clear the sheep to a lower pasture.”
Instead of using a masticator to mulch and to control erosion, we used sheep to clear all the brush and grass from between the vines. There were about three hundred head that had just been let out into the northern acreage.
Enzo gestured to the winery buildings. “There isn’t enough heat to trigger the sprinkler systems. I’m going to go do it manually. If we soak the barrels and racks that will give us extra time.”
I patted him on the shoulder to show my agreement before sprinting toward Amara and Liliana who were struggling to drag a coil of canvas hose across the yard. Leaning down, I hefted the coil onto my shoulder and ran to the water pipes.
Dropping the cumbersome hose in the dirt, I yanked on the open end, unfurling it. “Hook it up nice and tight, dolcezza, then get back to safety.”
As I ordered her, I realized Milana and Bianca were struggling with the second hose coil. My head pivoted in a semicircle, but all my men were occupied with digging a defense perimeter or hooking any exposed vegetation piles to pull them away from the inferno.
Just then, one of our Range Rovers roared into the courtyard.
Before the vehicle had even come to a full stop, Matteo had thrown open the driver’s side door and jumped out. Seeing Bianca and a heavily pregnant Milana wrestling with the hose, he ran over to them.
He lowered his knees and hefted the coil onto his shoulder before racing for the other water pipe. “Girls, get back! Get back!” he ordered as he ran.
By now Gabriella had appeared. Wrapping her hand around Bianca’s forearm, she yelled, “We’ll turn on Matteo’s water.” She then pointed to Milana. “Take the Range Rover and drive to the gate to direct the villagers.”
Smart woman.
The villagers would have seen the smoke by now and would be coming in droves to help. We needed someone at the gate to control the situation. Plus it got Milana and her unborn baby as far away as possible from the toxic fumes and heat blast. With Cesare occupied securing the lower fields with another defensive perimeter, he would expect us to watch out for his girl.