Page 31 of Code Name: Admiral

She raised a brow.

“He’s looking after you too, Alice,” he added.

When she reached for my hand, I held hers tight. “I guess I wasn’t as much of a lone wolf as I thought.”

“We spent two days looking for you, sweetheart, and couldn’t find you. That says a lot,” said Tank.

She turned from me to him and nodded. “I am good.” From my angle, I saw the hint of her smile. “So, um, can I talk to him?”

“Tex?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Now?”

She looked at the clock like I had. “I doubt he’s asleep, but if he is, I’ll leave a message.”

I looked over at Tank.

“Use this,” he offered, pulling out a satphone. “It’s clean.”

Alice took the phone, then looked between him and me again.

I stood, and Tank followed me out onto the balcony, giving her privacy for the call. The air was crisp, and the lake looked like a sheet of black ice stretching into darkness. Every so often, security lights dotted the shoreline where our teams maintained their watch positions.

“The Castellanos won’t stop,” Tank said quietly. “Not until they find her.”

“I know.” I watched my breath form clouds in the cold air. “But neither will we.”

“Sir…” Tank hesitated. “This thing with you and her—it’s more than professional concern, isn’t it?”

“Would it be a problem if it was?” I asked without looking at him.

“No, sir. We just want to know what we’re really fighting for here.”

“We?”

Before he could answer, I heard Alice’s voice rise in alarm. I was through the door before the sound fully registered, Tank right behind me. She stood by the fireplace, the phone clutched to her ear, her face pale.

“What is it?” I asked.

She lowered it slowly. “Tex says there’s a mole in the FBI. Someone high up. That’s how the Castellanos knew about Sarah’s investigation.” Her eyes, filled with a mixture of fear and determination, met mine. “He says they’re not just coming for me; they’re coming for you too. Because of Bobby.”

That they were coming for me didn’t scare me. We’d be ready. However, the implications of everything else it meant hit me like ice water. If there was a mole in the bureau, nowhere was truly safe. Not even here. I moved to the window, scanning the tree line out of habit. The security lights still burned in a steady rhythm, but suddenly, they felt less like protection and more like beacons announcing our location.

“We need to move,” Tank said, already on his comms. “I’ll have the team ready in ten.”

“Wherever we go, they’ll find us. We need to play offense, not defense,” said Alice, walking over to me. Her green eyes looked fierce in the firelight. “Sarah died trying to bring them down. Let’s finish what she started.” I studied her. Purpose replaced her grief, and I agreed. Running would only delay the inevitable. We had to lead the charge in fighting back.

“You’re right. We’ll stay put for now and reevaluate as needed, and, Tank,” I said, not taking my eyes off her. “Get me everything we have on the Castellanos. Every scrap of intel, every surveillance photo, every wiretap transcript. And get Grit on the line. If there’s a mole in the bureau, he needs to know.”

I picked up on the man’s hesitation.

“I don’t care that it’s zero dark forty. Get him up.”

“It isn’t that.”

“If you have something to say, get on with it.”

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