Page 27 of Code Name: Grit

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from Tank.

“Grit,” I answered, my eyes still locked with Lumi’s.

“We’ve got movement,” he reported. “Three SUVs approaching the south entrance. Belcastro security configuration.”

“Copy that. Keep us updated.”

I ended the call. “It’s starting.”

Lumi nodded. “Then, let’s make sure we don’t miss anything.”

We spentthe next two hours monitoring communications and coordinating with the K19 team as the Belcastros secured the area of the terminal where the balance of the shipments were scheduled to arrive. The operation unfolded—guards positioned at key points, security systems reconfigured, terminal personnel replaced with their own people.

By midnight, the containers were offloaded and the contents transported to a warehouse confirmed to be owned by a Belcastro holding company.

“What happens next?” Lumi asked.

“Despite the evidence, it’s too early to make any arrests. Coupled with the corruption reaching high into the FBI, we need to ensure we build a case that can’t be compromised. Plus, this is just one income stream. Waiting means we have a better chance of bringing their entire operation down.”

I was still monitoring surveillance feeds when Lumi disappeared into the bedroom. When she hadn’t returned after several minutes, I went looking for her. I found her out cold, stillfully clothed and clutching her tablet. Before covering her with a blanket, I took off her shoes.

Unable to resist, I leaned down, brushing her forehead with my lips.

“Grit?” she murmured, barely opening her eyes.

“Who else would it be?”

She gave a slight smile, then turned to her side, falling back to sleep within seconds.

Rather than lie beside her, I sat in a chair, keeping watch as she slept and wondering when it was exactly that I’d fallen in love with her.

8

LUMI

Iwoke momentarily disoriented to find myself on the bed, still dressed in what I’d worn yesterday. Events from the night before rushed back—the Belcastro operation at the terminal, the weapons shipment, falling asleep mid surveillance. I must have been more exhausted than I’d realized.

Someone had covered me with a blanket and removed my shoes. Grit, obviously. The thought of him taking care of me while I slept sent an unexpected warmth through me.

That warmth was quickly replaced by the nagging certainty that something about the Belcastro operations wasn’t adding up. Their expansion had seemed aggressive at first glance, but reviewing the surveillance data over the past week, I’d noticed they were actually pulling back from certain territories rather than pushing forward. It was subtle enough that it looked like strategic repositioning, but the overall footprint was shrinking, not growing.

I sat up, stretching muscles stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. The suite was quiet, but the scent of fresh coffee told me Grit was already awake. I found him at the small table by thewindow, laptop open, three empty cups testifying to how long he’d been working.

“You should have woken me,” I said, pouring myself coffee from the pot he’d made.

His eyes met mine, the dark circles beneath them suggesting he’d barely slept. “You needed the rest.”

“Did you sleep at all?” I asked, noting the tension in his shoulders.

He shrugged. “A couple hours. Too much to process.”

I nodded in understanding.

“The shipment information has been fully documented,” he said, gesturing to his laptop. “Admiral and the team back at the command center are working hard to find out what they’re going to do with the contraband they intercepted last night.”

I settled into the chair opposite him, sipping my coffee as I pulled up the digital map on my tablet. While the Belcastros had maintained a more modest presence for decades, confining themselves to long-held territories, they were now stepping up in a way I couldn’t have predicted. When Cassio’s father—my grandfather, I supposed—passed away two years ago and he became don, nothing much changed. It was only since the Castellano family was cut off at the knees with Vincent’s indictment that the Belcastros seemed to shift into high gear.

But how were they funding their growth? Had it been slower, I wouldn’t have questioned it. But in order to expand the way they were, they had to have gotten a significant influx of capital.

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