Elsa broke from him, padded toward the kitchen. “I’ll make coffee,” she called, over her shoulder.
“I’m gonna take off and get a jump on the media,” Sin said. “So, we’re going with house explosion, but what about ALPHA’s Rescue team at the scene?”
“Rebel’s got it covered,” Carrera explained.
Sin’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. “Dakota’s headed to the explosion site.”
After Sin left, Luciano asked Carrera, “Can you do something for me?”
“Name it,” Carrera replied.
“Simone and Frederica are best friends,” Luciano said. “She needs to hear about this from you and Slash.”
Carrera squeezed Luciano’s shoulder. “You got it. We’ll tell her today.”
“Let’s go check in with therealboss,” Luciano said.
The cousins walked into the kitchen.
“Why are you here, Lulu?” Elsa asked. “What’s going on?”
Luciano shifted his attention from his grandmother to Carrera, then back to Elsa. “Why can’t I have coffee with my family?”
“In the middle of the night?” Elsa swatted his arm. “Please be safe.”
“When has playing it safe ever gotten me anywhere?” he asked.
Carrera’s phone rang. He answered, took if off speaker. After a brief conversation, he hung up. “ALPHA missions have been suspended until further notice.”
“Like I said, he won’t see me coming,” Luciano bit out. “But he’ll know I’m there when I play my hand.”
SIMONE
At six-thirty in the morning,Simone stopped peddling her stationary bike, closed the training app, and stepped off. She completed a few reps with her hand weights before making herway upstairs. After a quick shower, she dressed in yoga pants and an oversized shirt.
She’d take the morning to familiarize herself with the new cases Carrera had dropped into her ALPHA inbox, then spend the afternoon tailing her existing clients. She had three reports to finalize that evening before she uploaded her findings into the portal for Carrera to review.
I gotta text Slash about target practice.
She pulled the box of cereal from her cupboard, pausing to eye the box of mini cakes stashed on the counter.
Don’t do it.
Ignoring her warning, she opened the lid and stared at the desserts.
“Not for breakfast.”
Guilt whizzed through her and she closed the lid.What kind of a friend am I? Fred brought these to share and I’m thinking about scarfing them down. Shame on you Simone Redding.
She poured cereal into a bowl, dropped in a handful of almonds and a heaping spoonful of raw sunflower seeds, added some blueberries, then milk. With her bowl in hand, she ate at her small kitchen island.
She had a lot of work to do on her newest targets before she could start tailing them. Most were LEOs, several were military. Two were being considered for Secret Service, a few for the Bureau, one for ALPHA. Rebel was considering an ALPHA Op for his BLACK OPS rescue team. A civilian being was being considered for a presidential appointment. After logging into ALPHA, she reviewed their files, requested background checks on them, and started mapping out a strategy. Some of the gigs were short—two weeks—while others were a month or longer. The next two hours were a blur of work.
At just before nine, her phone rang. It was Slash.
“Hey, babe,” Simone answered. “Are you calling about target practice?”
“Carrera and I are in your neighborhood. Any chance you’re home?”
