The Reed Security Relationship Manual: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  I did as she said, and breathed a sigh of relief when the truck kept going straight.

  “See? He wasn’t following us. You almost got us sentenced to life imprisonment all because you’re paranoid,” Ivy huffed.

  “Can you blame me? I mean, with what happened with Kate, and the way the guys always act like someone’s out to kill us, it’s amazing that any of us have the ability to behave normally.”

  Raegan reached under the seat and pulled out her gun. “Relax. We’ve got this. If anything happens, the guys have ensured that we all have protection. Besides, we have our trackers in. If we were to be kidnapped, they would find us. Plus, we all have our alert buttons.”

  I took a deep breath and nodded with a laugh. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have freaked out.” Glancing over at the gun in Raegan’s lap, I winced. “Maybe you should put that away, though.”

  “Why? I’ll just keep it out for protection.”

  “Because you’re more likely to shoot us than whoever’s after us,” Ivy retorted. “Let’s face it, you’re one of the worst shots.”

  “Hey, I’ve become a lot better over the past year!”

  “Yeah, that’s why Jackson keeps taking you to the shooting range and making sure you’re far away from everyone else. Guess what? It’s not because he wants to play hide the gun.”

  I bit my lip, trying to hide my amusement from Raegan. I felt bad for her.

  “Well, while your men keep trying to protect you, Sinner’s been encouraging me to practice more often. He bought me a new gun for my birthday,” Cara grinned.

  “You’re just playing up the whole anxiety thing so he’ll let you blow stuff up,” Claire pouted. “I long to blow something up.”

  “I long?” I asked.

  “You know, in Pride and Prejudice when Lydia says I long for a ball.” She grinned, laughing to herself. “It’s just such a quotable book. No, no. The green one. Or, Oh, hang, Kitty! What has she to do with it! It’s like The Godfather for women. All life’s answers are wrapped up in that one book. Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed.”

  She laughed to herself while the rest of us stared at her. “I’m pretty sure some of those are just in the movie.”

  “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. The movie was just as good. Well, the five hour BBC version was. The other one was shit.” She sighed dreamily. “What I wouldn’t give to have Mr. Darcy take me on a carriage ride through the country. We’d stop at Pemberly and stroll through the grounds, seeing where he ripped off his clothes and dove into the pond.”

  “Yeah, again, I’m pretty sure that was just in the movie.”

  “Hey, it’s Colin Firth. When you see him in the movie, do actually wonder if his lines were in Jane Austen’s original work or if it was in the movie?”

  “Guys, I hate to break up this Pride and Prejudice orgasmic event,” Cara said, “but we have company again.”

  I looked in the rearview mirror, noticing the black truck was back, just turning onto the road behind us. “No way. What are the chances that he just happened to follow us in a roundabout way?”

  Raegan racked the slide of her gun, rolling down her window. “I’m ready.”

  “Okay, we need a plan,” I said, my heart rate kicking up.

  “We’ve got this,” Ivy said. “Remember the drug dealers? We handled them, no problem.”

  “I wouldn’t say no problem. We killed several people, blew up several cars, and I lost my top! Blake was furious with me.”

  “Well, maybe you’d like to pull over and have a conversation with him,” Ivy suggested. “I’m sure if we just explained to him that we didn’t want another battle, he would just stop following us.”

  I watched in the rearview mirror as Claire climbed over the backseat, followed by a very pregnant Cara. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting prepared,” Cara frowned. “I call dibs on the grenade launcher.”

  “You got to use the grenade launcher last time,” Claire pouted.

  “Yeah, give one of us a turn,” Raegan snapped.

  “Okay, I’d just like to call a vote right now that Raegan doesn’t get a weapon,” I said. All other hands in the vehicle rose and Raegan glared at us.

  “You know, in case you’ve all forgotten, I shot out the tires on a car, while hanging out of ours! I’d say I deserve the opportunity to use the grenade launcher.”

  Ivy sighed. “I hate to say this, but maybe she has a point.”

  “Seriously?” I asked. “You want to give her the launcher?”

  “Well, it’s only fair. She did risk her life for us last time.”

  “She fell out the door because she grabbed the handle,” I said incredulously.

  “I think I should get to use it,” Claire piped up. Looking around at our stares, she shrugged. “What? Last time, I was stuck as the driver.”

  “Does anyone else see the problem here?” I asked.

  “With what?” Cara asked, loading a gun and handing it up to Ivy.

  “Um…the fact that the last time the five of us were in a car together, we nearly ended up dead. We’re lucky the guys thought we were making up some elaborate story. They’ll never let us go anywhere together again.”

  “You know, we really should take two cars,” Raegan said thoughtfully. “That way we’d have more firepower on our side, not to mention, one of us could drive the bad guys off the road.”

  “Sure, we’ll just bring that idea up when we get home,” Ivy snapped. “Hey, guys. So, we ran into some trouble today, but we totally took care of it. On a side note, I think we should take two vehicles next time so we have double the trouble.”

  “Yeah, I’m not seeing that conversation going well,” I grimaced.

  “What do you think this guy wants?” Raegan asked, checking her side mirror again. “He’s not gaining on us. He’s just following us. Maybe we should just leave it and see what happens.”

  “Sure, let’s just not react and then get killed,” Ivy snapped. “Then we can hear the guys complain for the next year about how we can’t protect ourselves. Ladies, if we don’t do this, they’ll never think we can take care of ourselves.”

  “I think you’re forgetting that if we die, we won’t have to hear them complain,” Claire pointed out. “I’m just saying…”

  “Look, let’s get closer to Reed Security. We can draw him in to our home territory,” I said logically. “Then, if we need backup, it’s there.”

  “Unless he wants us to lead him back to Reed Security,” Cara pointed out. “Maybe that’s the whole point of this. Maybe they’re looking for the weakest link to get in, and we’re the weakest link.”

  Claire snorted. “I beg to differ. If anyone is the weakest link, it’s Isa. She doesn’t like playing with guns, and let’s face it, even Vittoria is better at killing than she is.”

  Ignoring her, I looked up ahead for a good spot to take action. “Okay, see the ditch up ahead where the grass is high?” They all nodded. “That’s where we do this. Cara, you’re on the launcher. Claire, you have the guns. Ivy, you have grenades ready for Cara.”

  “What about me?” Raegan asked.

  I glanced over at her, wincing. “Sit there and look pretty. Oh, and try really hard not to fire that gun at me.”

  “You guys really underuse me,” she grumbled.

  “I say we start with guns and see if he backs off,” Claire said with a nod.

  “You just want to make sure you have some fun.” Cara accused.

  Claire stared at her in feigned shock. “I’m just looking out for you. I would hate to have to explain to Sinner that you were injured using a grenade launcher just weeks before you’re supposed to have the baby.”

  “Hey, this is my last shot at having any fun before this kid comes,” Cara argued. “Let me have some fun.”

  “Stop arguing and fucking shoot!” I shouted.

  I spun the wheel, swinging the car around as Claire pointed her gun out the window and started firing at the truck behind us
. Dildos started flying around the SUV, one smacking me in the face. The truck swerved hard to the right, avoiding any bullets, but instead of backing off like we had hoped, he kept right up with us and appeared to be trying to gain and overtake us.

  “Shit!” Cara shouted. “He’s coming up fast!”

  “Use the launcher!” Ivy shouted, grabbing her own gun.

  “Raegan,” I shouted, “hit the damn alert button! I’m going to draw him in.”

  “You’re gonna do what?” she shrieked. “We’re trying to get away, not bring him closer!”

  I slowed the SUV, drawing him into our sights. “I have to give Cara the best chance possible.”

  “I’m ready, and he’s coming up fast. Prepare to punch it,” she shouted.

  The truck was almost right on us. It was now or never. Fingers crossed, Cara took aim and fired the grenade right through the goddamn windshield. The truck tapped us, sending us spinning out of control. We all screamed as the car hit the gravel on the side of the road and careened into the deep ditch. I barely had time to throw my hands up before we smashed into the ditch and the airbags deployed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Rocco

  “Okay,” I said as some of the guys gathered in the conference room with me. “How are we doing with the relationship manual?”

  “I have this angle I’ve been working on,” Ice said. “I call it When is the right time to tell her you love her?”

  “Because you know so much about that?” Burg snorted.

  “At least I didn’t fall in love with Lindsey in five minutes. Relationships take time,” he shot back.

  “I say, you say it when you know,” Craig grinned, leaning back in his seat. “Look at me? As soon as I knew Reese was the one, I didn’t give up until I was sure she knew I loved her.”

  Hunter shook his head in disgust. “You stalked her. That’s not the same thing as not giving up.”

  “I don’t think you’re one to criticize,” Craig shot back. “I may have ‘stalked’ Reese, but I wasn’t nearly as bad as you.”

  I rolled my eyes, tossing a file folder down on the table. “Craig, I’m not even sure that Knight was worse than you. You sold Reese’s house without telling her. You tricked her into marrying you.”

  “Yeah, and look at where we are now,” he said, as if we were all stupid. “I’m telling you, women like to know that you’re serious, so you tell them as soon as you know.”

  “Hey, this is my chapter, since you all shot down the accidental fucking,” Ice grumbled. “It’s about realizing who you are as a person with your woman, and then taking it to the next level.”

  “Right,” Burg laughed. “Ice, you’re the prime example of a man that’s in love and can’t admit it. You denied that you loved her, stayed away from her just so you didn’t have to give in to your feelings, and made the whole thing more difficult on yourself. And then, when you did realize that you were in love, you passed out. Yeah, I’d say you’re the perfect one to give advice on falling in love.”

  “Alright, so maybe I made some mistakes along the way, but that’s all the more reason that I should get to have some say in this. I know I’ve fucked up, and I can admit it. Whereas Craig just bashed his woman over the head until she finally gave in. Reese had barely known you for a week when you professed your undying love to her.”

  “Some would say that he knew what he wanted and he took the risk,” Burg said.

  “Yeah, but Reese didn’t feel the same way. In fact, they hadn’t even gone on a date yet. He was Knight, only he wasn’t dark and smoldering. He was irritating and clumsy,” Ice said. “He bought her a damn wreath.”

  “I kind of liked the wreath,” I cut in. “It was definitely different. You have to give him points for originality.”

  “Like how he was going to have her arrested for assault?” Hunter asked.

  “Hey, at least I didn’t suggest that I break into her house to make her feel unsafe so she would call me,” Craig shot back. “I was trying to make her feel more safe by installing a security system.”

  “Didn’t you break into her house and climb into bed with her?” Burg asked.

  “Hey, we were married,” Craig snapped.

  “Against her will,” I added. “And I believe at that point, she had already told you to fuck off.” I shook my head. “You know, the strange part is that most women are just dying for a man to finally admit that he’s in love. They want it so badly that after just a few weeks of dating, they’re hearing wedding bells. But in Craig’s case, he actually did fall madly in love with her and chose to jump in head first. And she accused him of being insane! So, really, you’re fucked either way. You tell a woman too soon, and she thinks you’re rushing it. But if you don’t tell her soon enough, she thinks you’re emotionally unavailable.”

  “Well, I didn’t have any problems,” Burg shrugged. “Emma and I were on the same page from the start. We both knew that what we had was special, and we went for it.”

  “Oh God,” Hunter groaned. “Now we have to hear about their perfect love.”

  “Burg’s right,” I sighed. “Here’s an example of a confident man that knew exactly what he wanted, and he took it.” He shot a look at Craig. “In the appropriate amount of time.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Blake and Emma were dancing around their feelings for each other, both of them telling their friends how much they loved each other,” Ice said. “It was nauseating. And what made it so perfect was that they were on the same page, despite having not told each other.”

  Hunter shook his head. “You’re lucky you weren’t here yet to watch it unfold.”

  “You’re just jealous because Lucy literally ran away from you,” Burg shot back. “You couldn’t even share a drawer.”

  “It was a big change,” Hunter snapped. “One minute we were just fucking, and the next we were sharing a house.”

  “At your suggestion,” Burg grinned.

  “Can we get back to the manual?” Ice asked. “I think you’re all forgetting that we need to have actual ideas to write down.”

  I opened my laptop and wrote out Ice’s heading, When is the right time to tell her you love her. “Alright, let’s write it down.”

  “Well, first, you don’t tell her until you’re sure she reciprocates your feelings,” Ice said, nodding at all of us.

  “Maybe even wait until she says it first,” Hunter suggested.

  “You’d be waiting a while,” Burg snorted. “No woman is going to tell you first.”

  “Not true,” I said. “Look at Tacos. He couldn’t get Molly off his ass.”

  “And look how well that went,” Ice retorted. “I’m telling you, man or woman, you should never be the first to say you love the other person. It just never turns out well.”

  “But no woman in her right mind,” Burg stressed, “would tell a man she loves him first. Molly is a different story. We all know she’s a little…out there. But women know that saying I love you first is a relationship killer. Just look at Hunter.”

  “Hey, Lucy didn’t say it first,” Hunter shot back.

  “No, but you did freak out over a drawer,” Burg grinned. “Imagine what would have happened if she’d told you she loved you.”

  “I don’t have to think about it, because it didn’t happen. All I did was take my time to be sure, which every sane man should do.”

  “And you should talk it out with friends first,” Ice added. “You don’t want to pass out in front of her as you tell her.”

  “And you shouldn’t write a damn rulebook about what your relationship should be like,” Burg said.

  “That is exactly what we’re doing,” I stressed.

  “Yeah, and look at how well that worked out for you last time,” Craig chortled.

  “Hey, I had my rules for a reason.”

  “Yeah, because you knew you would fall in love,” Ice said dreamily.

  “You know—“

  A loud alarm sounded in the buildin
g. We all tensed for just a second before we jumped into action. I quickly swiped at my phone, checking to see what the alert was. “Car accident,” I shouted, racing for the pole.

  With a quick hand scan, I was sliding down the pole and racing toward my truck in the garage.

  “Who’s car is it?” Ice shouted from behind me.

  I grimaced as I looked down at the information on the screen. “It’s Emma’s.”

  Burg’s face drained of color, but then he was hopping in the passenger side, pulling out his own phone. “Her heart is racing.” He must have pulled up the tracking info, which also held their vitals, not that the women knew that.

  I put the truck in drive and spun the wheels getting out of there. A few other trucks joined me, driving just as crazy as I was to get to the scene of the accident. It seemed to take forever to get there, but then in the distance, I saw the flames.

  “Call the fire department,” I said grimly. I really hoped that it wasn’t Emma’s SUV on fire.

  “Up ahead,” Burg shouted. “Do you see that?”

  I nodded, unable to speak. Emma’s SUV was in the ditch, the whole front end smashed in, and there was a second vehicle in the field, engulfed in flames.

  “Holy shit,” I muttered. “What happened?”

  I screeched to a stop just behind Emma’s car. Burg was already out and rushing to her. I was right behind him, along with Ice, Craig, and Hunter.

  “Move aside,” I told Burg. It didn’t matter that his woman was in the car. I was the medic, and I needed to assess the situation. I saw Hunter run around to the other side out of the corner of my eye. Leaning inside, I looked at Emma, whose eyes were closed. She had a small cut over her forehead, but I couldn’t see any other injuries at the moment. Her pulse was strong beneath my fingers.

  “Neck brace,” I shouted over my shoulder as I turned, only to come face to face with Burg. He was chalk white, staring into the SUV. I turned to him, holding my hands out. “She’s alive, okay?”

  “She’s…” He swallowed hard, and I could tell he was just barely holding on. “Craig,” I snapped, getting his attention. He immediately ran over to Burg, just to keep him calm while I worked. Cap had shown up at some point and handed me a collar. Slipping it around her neck, I made sure she was stabilized while Hunter called it in.