“So, being a superhero is your distraction for going places you don’t like,” I said.
“One of them. It’s the answer to all of life’s questions, much like The Godfather. She says she’s bored and wants to go out to the theater. You suggest that you create your own theatrical play tonight. Something’s burning in the house? Superman to the rescue! I’m telling you, this is the key to the future.”
“If any of you ever find me in black tights,” Knight said, glaring at all of us, “you are to immediately put a bullet in my head and then burn the evidence.”
“Can we do that anyway?” Derek asked.
Knight shot him a look and then stood. “While this has been not at all entertaining, I have better shit to do.”
He went to leave just as an alarm on my phone sounded. It was for the house. I pulled up the information and my brows furrowed in concern.
“What is it?” Knight asked urgently.
I shot out of my chair and ran for the door. “Fire at my house.”
We all rushed out of the building, taking the fire pole down. It had been recently installed when we all realized that in an emergency, all the safety protocols made it impossible to get out. With an initial hand scan, all the bullet-proof plexiglass opened around the poles, allowing everyone to slide down.
I hopped in my truck, barely paying attention to who was with me as I skidded across the property to get to my wife and kids. Lucy was taking the day off today, so the kids were going to be with her.
I flung the door open to the house and immediately started coughing as thick smoke filled the air. The fire alarms were going crazy, making it impossible to hear anything else.
“Lucy!” I shouted, running through the house. I found her in the kitchen, spraying the fire extinguisher into the oven. When I saw that the flames were out, I picked her up and rushed out of the house. Derek and Knight had grabbed Rylee and Colt and were already outside. Alec was on the phone, probably talking with Cap and letting him know what was happening.
As I set Lucy down, my whole body started to shake as I thought of what might have happened. What if I hadn’t gotten there in time? Anger rushed through me, even though I wasn’t mad at her.
“What the fuck happened?”
“Excuse me?” she shot back. “You think this was my fault?”
“You had the oven open and you were spraying it with foam. Yeah, I would say this is your fucking fault.”
“Do you want to know why I had to spray foam in the oven?”
“Oh, I would love to hear this!” I said emphatically. “Another pot roast gone wrong? Oh, wait, maybe you were baking bread and it dripped out of the pan.”
She glared at me, her hands on her hips and marched back into the house.
“Where’s she going?” Alec asked.
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know, but I’ve seen that look before. It’s never a good one.”
He clapped me on the shoulder and squeezed. “We’ve all been there, man. Just ride it out. She can’t stay mad at you forever.”
Lucy came walking out of the house with an oven mitt on her hand, carrying something red. But as she got closer, I recognized what it was. I cleared my throat uncomfortably and looked away.
“Recognize this?”
“What is it?” Derek asked.
“This would be what remains of my Pyrex dish.”
“Why is it all red?” Knight asked.
“Because someone put it in the oven with the plastic lid still on!” she shouted.
“Who would do that?” Derek asked.
I felt Knight smack me upside the head and I winced. “You should have checked the oven first.”
“Really? That’s the argument you want to go with? I should have checked the oven?”
“I feel like this is a rhetorical question,” I muttered.
“Of course it is, because no idiot puts plastic in the oven!”
“Look, I didn’t know where it went, so I figured I would put it in there for storage, and then you would see it the next time you opened the oven.”
Alec snorted a laugh beside me. “You’re an idiot.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Most people check the oven first. They don’t just turn on the oven and walk away. It’s a thing.”
“It is not a thing,” Lucy snapped, “because usually when you’re done with the oven, all the dishes are removed from it. Why would I think Hmmm, I finished with all the dishes last night, but I should check the oven, just in case Hunter decided to stick something flammable in there?”
“Because I’m a guy!” I shouted. “Isn’t that reason enough for you to use some common sense?”
I heard Derek hiss and then suddenly, I was all alone with Lucy. I could see the guys retreating, taking my kids with them. I didn’t even have them for protection.
“I should have common sense?” she said in a deadly calm that sent shivers down my spine.
I swallowed hard and took a step back. “Now, let’s just be calm and rational about this. I’ll admit that sticking plastic in the oven was not the…smartest thing to do, but you have to admit, you should have checked inside first.”
Her eyes narrowed at me and she took another deadly step. “How about this? I’ll admit that I married an idiot that should know better than to put plastic in the oven, and you can clean out the plastic that dripped on the bottom of the oven, and then deep clean it for me.”
She shoved the burnt Pyrex at me and stormed back into the house. I felt like I had just gotten off really easy. There was no way that was the end of it. In fact, I was pretty sure that the only reason she didn’t take it further was because the guys weren’t too far away with our kids. Flinching from the heat of the glass dish, I dropped it on the ground and turned to the guys.
Derek was covering his mouth as he laughed, and Knight just looked bored.
“You sure told her,” Derek laughed. “Tell me again how you keep things lively in the bedroom?”
“By fighting,” I shot back. “The more you argue, the more you make up.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not getting makeup sex,” Alec said, staring at the house. “See, make up sex only works when the woman fucks up. No guy ever burnt his woman’s Tupperware and then got laid for it.”
My brows furrowed. “No, that’s not right.”
“Tell me one time that you’ve ever fucked up and gotten head out of the deal,” Derek said.
I thought about it, straining to come up with a single time, but it just wasn’t coming to me.
“How about the time that you invited her to move in with you and then you freaked out?” Derek asked. “Did she fuck you then? No, she moved out and refused to see you.”
“Or how about when you beat up her date outside the restaurant?” Alec said helpfully.
“Hey, that guy was attacking her.”
“Yeah, and she wasn’t too grateful for the interference,” he nodded. “Because you were following her like a stalker,” he said, nodding over at Knight.
“I’ll tell you when it worked,” Knight stepped forward. “You fucked up when you didn’t ask her to move in with you after she was attacked. But you slept outside her apartment every night for two weeks. I remember, because I was there every fucking night with you. And when she found out, guess who came running back into your arms? Lucy, that’s who. And why did she do that? Because you fucking stalked her,” he said, shooting a glare at Alec. “When it’s done right, you’ll get all the makeup sex you could ever want.”
Derek cleared his throat and clapped his hands together. “Well, I guess the lesson learned here today is that stalking, when done right, will get you blow jobs. Sex is always more fun when you have a fantasy life. And last, but not least, don’t put plastic in an oven. Have I covered everything?” he asked, looking at all of us. “Alright, let’s go get this manual written.”
I glanced down at the Pyrex on the ground and then back at the house. The guys were all headed back to the trucks when I
shouted. “What the hell am I supposed to do about the dish?”
Chapter Six
Maggie
I could barely hear my own thoughts over the roar of the ladies. They were mad…no, that wasn’t accurate. They were pissed! I couldn’t blame them. Our husbands were turning into lunatics, and my husband was at the heart of it all. They needed to be stopped. They needed to be put in their place.
“Quiet!” I shouted, finally getting everyone to settle down.
Taking a deep breath, I looked around the underground bunker. We were safe here. We had enacted the safety protocols, locking us in here. And thanks to Sebastian, I had enabled the sound-proofing. It was really meant to be used so that no one could listen in on us if we were ever under attack. Well, I considered us under attack right now.
“Alright, I know you’re all upset right now, but we have to be calm and rational about this.”
“Calm?” Lindsey asked. “You want me to be calm? My husband is in there right now telling everyone that our whole relationship is an accident!”
I stared her down, holding out my hands to try and calm her. She had the same volcanic temper that I had at times, so I knew exactly what I was dealing with. “Lindsey, you and I both know that John loves you very much, and there was nothing accidental about your relationship. He’s just like every other man, he can’t actually admit that he wanted you all along. It would damage his ego, or his pride, or something.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath. “I know. I just…sometimes I really want to kick him in the balls for being such a dick. Why is it always on the woman to be the sane, rational one?”
Jessica snorted. “At least John isn’t too afraid to ask you to marry him. I still can’t believe that Storm fucked up that proposal.”
“Ladies, I know we all have our grievances with our husbands—“ I started, but was interrupted by Kate.
“Yeah, I don’t want to hear how bad you all have it. Until you have the level of security I have with Hudson, I don’t want to hear any complaints out of you.”
Brooke stood, crossing her arms over her chest. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been the victim of your husband’s experiments. At least you’ve never been gassed, electrocuted, or spied on by everyone at Reed Security!”
“You don’t think I’ve been spied on?” Kate laughed. “Did you know that after he brought me home, he not only inserted a tracking device in my leg, he also put in three backups, just in case I was ever kidnapped again and they tore out the first one. He drops me off at work every single day. He’s hired his old buddy Ty to follow me around like a puppy—“
“The guy that saved your life?” I asked. “The one that hid you?”
She nodded. “Exactly. It turns out, he doesn’t like practicing criminal law, and he’d much rather be working for Knight and getting a taste of the action when he can, than to go back to his life. So, he’s following me around. Everywhere! He sits in my lobby and glares at all my patients. I’m surprised half of them haven’t left by now!”
“You guys think that’s bad?” Claire asked. “Ever since we had a kid, Derek won’t play our games as often. He says they’re ‘too dangerous’.”
Everyone in the room glared at her. I cleared my throat, shaking my head slightly at her. “I don’t think now’s the time to bring that up,” I whispered. “Bigger problems and all.”
She nodded. “Right, well, it’s a big problem for me.”
I understood. These guys took protection to the next level. We were all dying to get out and make something explode. A few of us were allowed off the property with little protection, but we all had to be armed any time we left, which I couldn’t say that any of us minded.
“Can we get back to the bigger problem here?” Brooke asked. “I’d like to know how we’re going to get them to back off.”
“Right, so, I’m not sure if all of you have heard, but Rocco is really pushing this relationship manual. Now, Becky has been doing a little spying of her own—“
“Which I would like to point out goes against everything I stand for,” she piped up. “I would never, ever spy on these guys, but they’re getting out of control. Even Coop is acting just as crazy as the rest of the guys, and I needed a break.”
“With them pushing this manual, they’re really upping their game.”
“I don’t get it,” Ivy spoke up. “How exactly do they think that this manual is going to do anything?”
“It’s not,” I confirmed. “But it makes them feel like they have some control. It’s like Robin Hood and his merry men.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s disturbing to say the least, but the manual isn’t nearly as important as the rulebook that they’re trying to slip inside and get us all to sign.”
Whispers broke out amongst the ladies, all of them outraged that the men would try and pull this. I wasn’t actually surprised. It was just par for the course as far as I was concerned.
“Ladies, you forget that we hold just as much power as they do,” I shouted over the constant chatter. When they all looked back at me and I had their full attention, I continued. “If they want a rulebook, we’ll sign their stupid rulebook, but we’ll be prepared to fight back with one of our own. It needs to be equal in strength, knowledge, and above all…harmful to them if they don’t abide by our rules. Ladies, this is the strongest test we’ll ever face.” I walked around the room, looking at each of them as I passed. “This is not only a fight for our freedom, but a fight against the demands they set every day and the power they try to hold over us. We need to be smarter, stronger, and wittier than they are, and as long as we do that, they will never truly hold any power over us. We will be the strongest, fiercest women they’ve ever gone up against, and they’ll rue the day they messed with us!”
The ladies all stood, shoving their fists in the air as we cheered each other on. We may have the craziest men in the world, but we were pretty well versed in crazy also. If they wanted a fight, we would bring it to their doorstep!
Chapter Seven
Chance
I was training in the workout center when Gabe and Jackson entered, both of them looking pissed at me. I ignored them and kept hitting the bag, pretending that neither of them were there. I had a rough night last night. Nightmares still plagued me from time to time, but they were worse since Morgan became pregnant. I knew it was because everything was changing. She was just weeks from delivering, and my dreams no longer circled around what happened on that damn island, but now on the baby that was about to be born. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to protect him.
We were having a son, and I had to make sure that when he came into this world, I didn’t let the shit happen with him that happened with Morgan and Payton. So, I didn’t need their petty issues right now. I needed to beat the shit out of this bag and work out the dregs of my nightmare.
“Hey, we’re supposed to be working on this relationship manual,” Gabe said, walking up to me.
“Go ahead. I’m not doing that shit.”
“And why the hell not?” Jackson asked.
I stopped swinging and turned to face them. Sweat poured down my face and my breathing was heavy. I snatched the towel off the bench and sat down. “Do you really think I’m the guy to give relationship advice? Look at me? I’m the guy that had his wife leave him while he was overseas. And then I fucked up with Morgan way more than I care to admit.”
“But she married you,” Jackson said cheerily, like he was trying to lift me up.
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “I hijacked our wedding so that we could catch Adams. Her wedding dress was ruined, and we were married around dead bodies. Yeah, I’m a real charmer.”
“Okay,” Gabe nodded, “so, if we did a chapter for you, it would be How to keep your woman after you’ve royally fucked up.”
“Yeah, thanks, that sounds like something every man should read.”
“It is,” Gabe insisted. “Okay, maybe our problems are slightly different, but in the end, we all fuck up. Just loo
k at me, I invited Vittoria for a sleepover at my house, and Isa still married me.”
I shook my head. “You guys don’t get it. I’m slipping through by the skin of my teeth with her.”
“You have to ease up,” Jackson said. “She loves you. Everyone can see it.”
“She may love me, but I’m fucking up left and right. Last night, she started crying over meal replacement shakes I got her.”
“Why would she cry over that?”
“She told me that after the baby was born, she wanted to try these shakes to help her lose weight. So, I went ahead and ordered them for her, thinking she would see it as me being helpful.”
Gabe winced. “You never get involved when it comes to weight-loss and women. There’s no way you can win that one. If you tell her she’s skinny, she thinks you’re lying. And if you tell her that her jeans are too tight, it’s like you’re telling her she’s fat.”
“Yeah,” Jackson nodded. “I fell into that trap with Raegan. She put on this pair of jeans and asked me if they were too tight on her. I was smart and told her I wasn’t falling for her trap. And she turned to me with these sad eyes and told me that she needed my honest opinion, that if she didn’t look good in something, she needed me to tell her before she went out in public. So, I looked her up and down-“
Gabe hissed in a breath. “Wrong move.”
“No shit,” Jackson spat. “And I said, the jeans looked a little tight on her. Maybe she should lose a few pounds or buy a bigger size.” He blew out a harsh breath, shaking his head. “It was like the pit of hell opened and the flames were shooting out at me. From that moment on, I have never had a conversation with her about her weight.”
“So, what do you say then?” I asked curiously.
“Nothing.”
The Reed Security Relationship Manual: A Reed Security Romance Page 4