Page 10 of Code Name: Grit

“They hate each other,” she responded without looking at him.

“More than they love power and control?” he continued.

I liked Atticus. He was a good enough guy, but he was way out of his league shoving hypotheticals in Lumi’s direction.

I found myself looking forward to what she’d say next.

When she ignored him, I conceded it was the best possible response. Especially after the Bills comment.

What impressed me the most was that Lumi pulled every bit of the information she’d just shared out of her head. No phones, no computers, no tablets. And she delivered it with such confidence that none of us would question a word of it. Thecrazy part was how much that turned me on. When I glanced over at Atticus and saw the totally mesmerized look on his face, I wanted to rip his eyes out.

“What was that?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“It sounded like you growled.”

“All this, uh, gets to me.”

Her head cocked. “Don’t do that. It’s weird.”

My eyes met Tank’s, which was a big mistake. I could tell by the way his shoulders shook that he was silently laughing his ass off.

Lumi released an audible sigh and turned to leave. “I’ll see if I can find someone willing to take this seriously.” She muttered something else I couldn’t hear as she walked away.

“What was that?” I asked, following her out of the command center.

“I said, ‘not a single one of you, with the exception of Alessandro, knows what it’s like to wake up every morning wondering if it would be the day any one of the families I mentioned would find you—us—and kill the people most important to you. The ones you don’t know how to live without.’”

She was wrong, but that would be a story for another time, when it was just her and me. I’d held it inside so long; I wasn’t sure I could even speak of it. However, telling her about the love I’d lost seemed like the right thing to do—someday.

For a moment, the face of the only woman I’d ever loved flashed in my memory. Her blonde hair, quick smile, and fierce intelligence were quickly replaced by the image of our apartment door ajar, then the overturned furniture and the trail of blood leading to our bedroom. I pushed the images away before they consumed me.

“I hit a nerve.”

My eyes met hers. “You don’t miss anything, do you?”

She shrugged one shoulder.

“If you have something to say, I can tell you, I want to hear it.”

She raised her chin. “I don’t miss anything when it comes to you.”

Thankfully, she walked away before I could respond since I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. More, I was having a hard time breathing. How in the hell was I going to lead this mission when just a few words from her left me speechless?

“Admiral’s secured an SUV that will be waiting at the Brooklyn heliport,” Tank said, approaching with a satellite phone. “Atticus confirmed the advance team will have everything you need in place by the time you get to the hotel.”

“Good. Make sure everyone understands I don’t want any unnecessary travel back and forth. We need to maintain surveillance continuity.”

“Roger that,” said Tank, following my line of sight over to where Lumi stood. “You ready for this, boss?”

“Fuck, no,” was the most honest answer I could give him.

4

LUMI

In my world, survival depended on noticing what others missed—the timing of a guard’s rounds, the hidden meaning in a casual word, the subtle changes that signaled approaching danger.