Page 10 of Code Name: Michelangelo

“Since it’s one minute after five, can we do that?”

I laughed. “Sure.” Walking over to the desk, I waved at the security guard on duty, who was standing near the rear of the gallery. “I’m heading out.”

“Have a good evening, Ms. Ramsey.”

“How long has he been here?” Brand whispered.

“All day. I mean, they work in shifts, so maybe since lunchtime.”

“He makes me nervous.”

“Probably reminds you of a prison guard.”

“Ha, ha.” Brand held the door open, and I walked out.

“I’m not sure what you had in mind. It’s a little early for dinner,” I said.

“The tavern is always open, isn’t it? It’s still there, right?”

“Same place it’s been for over a hundred years.” I hadn’t thought I was hungry, but their ricotta cavatelli sounded good right now.

Over dinner, Brand shared what happened the day Kade showed up at the minimum-security prison where he was serving time.

“I’ll admit I was anxious when I saw him sitting at the table in the visitation room.”

“He can be intimidating,” I said, laughing. I didn’t know him well, but from what I’d seen of him with Quinn and her daughter—his first grandchild—the man seemed like a big Teddy bear.

“I left Meyersville the same day. Just like that, I was a free man. That’s part of what makes him so scary. Who has power like that? He got me pardoned. There wasn’t much time left on my sentence, but the pardon is something entirely different.”

“When was this?”

“Three days ago.”

I raised a brow. “But your hair…”

“They’re not as strict at the so-called country-club lockups.”

“It’s only been four days since I met with the FBI agents.” Had Kade really gotten Brand out the next day? Even if he had, it must’ve been coincidental, right? I shuddered. Maybe all the things Quinn told us about her dad were true, after all.

4

MICHELANGELO

“Where are you staying?” Penelope asked after I walked her to her brownstone following dinner.

“K19 sprung for a hotel. Unfortunately, it’s on Times Square.”

“Ah. Two miles, yet worlds away,” she said, looking up at the five-story structure I knew also had a lower level. The other thing I knew was, like the property on Fire Island, the town house had been handed down from her father’s parents. In this case, Harold had been bypassed, and it had gone directly to his daughter. It was a shame they hadn’t done that with the beachfront compound.

“Sometimes, I think it’s ridiculous to live in a place this big when it’s only me. I couldn’t give it up, though.”

“It’s where your grandmother taught you how to play poker.”

Pen chuckled and cocked her head. “How do you remember that?”

I took a step closer and cupped her cheek. “I remember everything, Butterfly.”

Her eyes were riveted on mine. “Do you want to come in?”

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