Page 13 of Code Name: Admiral

Good. On my way.

I checked myself in the mirror one last time before walking out the door. I’d given more thought than I should’ve to what I had on. While my standard suit and tie wouldn’t have been an option regardless, everything else I had to choose from certainly wouldn’t match anything someone Alice might find attractive would wear. My hair alone probably screamed law enforcement or military, both of which were most likely the antithesis of the kind of men she was interested in.

I stepped out of the elevator, through the building’s main door, and onto the sidewalk, but stopped short in the middle of the crowd, apologizing to the people who skirted around me. After making my way off to the side, I looked up at what little blue sky showed through the mix of skyscrapers and clouds.Men she’d be interested in?As if that would ever be me. Why was I even thinking about it? Because she had the most beautiful green eyes I’d ever seen? Or because I longed to run my fingers through her silky red hair with what I now thought of as her signature pink streaks? I remembered exactly how her slim, white T-shirt had hugged her curves, narrowing at the waist before disappearing where she’d tucked it into her jeans. I even found the brown leather belt she wore sexy as fuck. I shook my head, not that it made the mental picture I had of her go away.

It was a fifteen-minute walk from my building to Alice’s. Admittedly, hers appeared much nicer than mine. Then again, I hadn’t been earning a six-figure income since I was a teenager.

“Which floor is she on?” I asked Tank through the comms that I’d turned on when I was still a few blocks away.

“Fifteenth,” he responded.

I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked up, willing her to respond to me again, saying she was ready to meet. “Castellano’s crew still here?”

“Affirmative. We picked up on two earlier. That’s grown to six confirmed.”

Fuck,I thought rather than said out loud like I had earlier. I opened the secure app Alice and I were communicating through and prepared to send another message. While what I wrote was too lengthy, I feared shortening it wouldn’t convey the urgency, so I recorded a voice memo.

“Alice, my name is Pershing Kane, and I’m with the FBI. However, I’m not here as a federal agent right now. The Castellano crime family is tailing you. It is not safe for you to leave your apartment. I’m here. Let me help you.” I uploaded the recording and hit send, staring at the screen, willing her to respond. After more than a minute, I stuffed the phone in my pocket.

I shielded my eyes again and looked up, counting the floors as I did. When I saw movement near a window on her floor, I raised my opposite hand shoulder-height, but lowered it when I felt my cell vibrate.

Meet me in the alley on the left side of the building,read the message.Come alone.

Need backup to relocate you safely,I responded.

Come alone.

Okay.I didn’t like it, but I had a feeling if I didn’t do as she asked, I’d never get this chance again. “Cover me as far as the alley on the west side of the building. No one else enters the alleyway,” I said to Tank.

“Copy that, boss,” he responded.

I’d expected an argument from him and was happy not to have gotten one. I waited until there was a gap in traffic and crossed the street, blending with the sidewalk crowd again onceI had. I went beyond the place where I should’ve turned, then circled back, falling in with the crowd going in the opposite direction. This time, I ducked between the buildings, making sure none of my guys or Castellano’s followed.

Alice was waiting for me a few feet away, holding a gun aimed in my direction. I raised both hands as I approached the dark area where I’d bet she didn’t think I’d see her.

“I won’t hurt you, Alice. I’m here to help.”

“Keep your hands where I can see them,” Alice commanded, keeping her firearm trained on me. “Remove your jacket and drop it on the ground.”

I complied, moving slowly and deliberately. The jacket hit the pavement with a soft thud.

“Now turn around, hands behind your head, fingers interlocked.”

Her movements were nearly silent as I felt her approach.

“I’m going to check for weapons,” she said. “Move, and this ends badly.”

Her free hand patted me down, retrieving my sidearm from my shoulder holster and a backup piece from my ankle. She stepped back, keeping both her gun and one of mine trained on me.

“Turn around slowly.”

I faced her again. In the dim light of the alley, her green eyes were sharp and calculating. She’d clearly had training of some kind. Most likely private security.

“There’s a service entrance twenty feet behind me,” she said. “We’re going to walk to it together. You’ll stay three steps ahead of me. Your hands stay on your head. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“If you have a team watching, now’s the time to tell them to stand down. Do it so I can hear you.”

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