GoodKnight: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  We pulled to a stop in front of another secluded building. The door of the SUV in front of us was opened and Manchester stepped, buttoning his suit jacket as he nodded to the secret service agent. They spoke quietly for a few minutes, making me twitchy as fuck. I didn’t want to be here. I hated being around people I didn’t know, but worse, I really fucking hated not having my weapon on me.

  The door of our SUV swung open and Cap stepped out first. This whole situation felt all wrong to me. Being led into a building that I hadn’t cleared by men I didn’t know. Then going to tell a man in a powerful position what my plans were, it was like asking for a death sentence. This whole thing reflected my worst nightmares.

  We were led inside the building, which happened to look nothing like the drab exterior. This looked more like a mansion on the inside. We were led through a series of doors to the back of the building where the president of the United States sat waiting for us at a desk. He stood as we entered, walking around to the front.

  “John, thanks for meeting us,” Manchester said, taking a seat on one of the couches.

  “I take it these are the men you were telling me about.”

  “Yes, that’s Sebastian Reed, owner of Reed Security, and one of his men, Garrick Knight. He’s a former assassin.”

  What the fuck? I glared at Cap, but he just shrugged. We were here now. It wasn’t like there was any way to get out now.

  The president’s eyes shot up in surprise. “You brought me an assassin?”

  “He’s someone you might remember from your days as a senator. I’m sure you remember the whole Jensen scandal?”

  The president’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he thought and then his face snapped up to meet mine. “That’s him?”

  “The very one.”

  The president walked over to me and held out his hand. I stared at it and then looked up at him in confusion.

  “It’s called a handshake,” Cap jeered.

  I glared at him and then turned back to the president, hesitantly reaching out to shake hands. I never shook hands. It was too easy to give up your defenses. He smirked at me, almost like he knew what I was thinking, and then walked back to the desk.

  “I have to say, when Vince filled me on why you were coming, I was a little in awe. I’ve read about the murders, but I can’t say that I actually thought I would be standing in the same room as the man who committed them.”

  “They took my wife,” I cut in, not feeling at all guilty about what I had done. “I thought she was dead. There was no way I was going to let them get away with that shit.”

  He nodded slightly and took a deep breath. “Well, why don’t we get down to why we’re all here and what we’re going to do about it.”

  He took a seat across from Manchester, leaving Caldwell, Cap, and I standing.

  “Sir,” Caldwell said, stepping forward. “With all due respect, I really don’t think you should be involved in this. If anyone were to learn about this meeting or our involvement, your re-election would be ruined. You would be accused of killing your opponent to win the election.”

  “He’s right,” Vince said. “You need to tread carefully here.”

  “Bullshit,” the president swore. “Politics aside, Arrington is a domestic terrorist. He needs to be taken out. I can make some calls.”

  “I’ve already spoken with some guys that I trust implicitly. They won’t go near this,” Caldwell explained. “Arrington has too many friends, and we don’t have enough evidence against him to take him to trial. Nobody would believe that he was really involved with this plot. This was all on Agent Burke, and with him and all the other senators involved dead, there’s no one to corroborate what we know.”

  “What about phone conversations?”

  “No,” Cap shook his head. “We’ve already looked into it. Agent Dennick, who is deceased, was the closest to having any evidence on him. It was enough to let us know that he was connected, but it wouldn’t stand up in court.”

  “So, what are you thinking?” the president asked.

  “Assassination,” I spoke up. “That’s why I’m here.”

  The president eyed me for a moment, “Why do you want this guy taken out so bad? If he wasn’t the one that took your wife, what’s in it for you? Assassins don’t normally work for free.”

  “I haven’t been an assassin in years.”

  “What would you call the murder of those senators?”

  “Justifiable homicide,” I answered bluntly. I wasn’t about to sugarcoat this for the president. I knew exactly what I did, and I wasn’t making excuses for it. But I also wasn’t going to pretend like it was wrong. There were just some people that didn’t deserve to be on this earth.

  “Again, what do you get out of this?”

  “The knowledge that my family is safe. Arrington knows that Reed Security was involved in taking down this scheme. He needs to protect his name, and he’ll come after us if he’s not taken out. And if he was willing to kill millions to win an election, who knows what else he’s willing to do. Mr. President, maybe you think I was an assassin for money. I did make a lot of it, but I was doing my job to get rid of people that the courts didn’t prosecute. I was making sure that families stayed safe. And maybe that doesn’t fly with you. Maybe you want to pretend that the world is safer without people like me, that are willing to do the dirty work. But the fact is that I’ve taken out gangs and cartels. I’ve killed pedophiles and rapists. The courts may not have been able to convict them, but I made damn sure that they could never hurt anyone again. Maybe Arrington didn’t technically do anything, but I’m not about to sit around and wait for him to do it in the future.”

  The president smirked at me. “You know, you speak from the heart. You would have made a great politician.”

  “I hate politicians.”

  He burst out in laughter, clapping his hands together. “Well, I can’t fault you for that. So, what do you need to make this happen?”

  “I need an insider on his security detail. I need to be able to get a sniper in and out without detection. And I need it for his rally in two weeks.”

  “Is that all?”

  “No. I have one more favor to ask.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Kate

  “Presidential candidate Nathan Arrington died last night from his injuries at Northwest Memorial Hospital. Mr. Arrington was running against President Hayes in the upcoming election. He was a favorite amongst many, which is leaving conspiracies swirling about whether or not the president had any involvement in his shooting.

  Arrington was shot while on stage at his rally yesterday. No details have been released yet about the shooter or where the shots were fired. We’re hoping for more details at the press conference this afternoon.”

  I shut off the TV as the newscaster went into further details about what had happened. I had already heard it a million times. It had been the only thing on the news since he was shot. I was guessing that Chance was the one that took the actual shot. He was called out of here two weeks ago, and hadn’t returned since. And since he was the sniper, it made sense that he did it.

  His shot was good, hitting him right in the head. The video footage was horrific, and you could tell that Arrington had died immediately, but it wasn’t immediately reported that he was dead. Now we were all waiting around for any scrap of information. I was worried that Hudson hadn’t contacted me yet. I thought that as soon as the job was done that he would call, but the phone hadn’t rung once.

  What if they caught him? What if none of them made it out of this? I couldn’t stand the stress anymore. I needed to know that he was okay. If anything happened to him, it would be all my fault. I was the one that had convinced him that he needed to go after Arrington. He had wanted to walk away, afraid that I would get hurt again.

  I stood and paced my room, only walking for about five minutes before I got tired and had to sit down. I was nowhere near back to one hundred percent. The virus may not have ki
lled me, but it really took its toll on my body. I still slept for long periods of time, and I would occasionally get severe headaches that took me down. I hadn’t mentioned them to anyone yet. I was afraid they would rush me off to the doctor, and I just couldn’t deal with that right now. No matter how much my energy was zapped, I just rested when I needed to and carried on with my day.

  Hunter came in to check on me frequently, but I had started kicking him out, claiming that I just needed some sleep. Frankly, I was a little pissed that he was keeping watch over me. That was Hudson’s job. I didn’t need anyone else hovering.

  The door opened and Hunter walked in again. I tried my best not to be irritated with him. “They’re back.”

  “What?”

  He grinned. “Did you think I was here to check on you again?”

  I jumped off the bed, immediately regretting it when I felt dizzy. Hunter was there, grabbing at me to steady me. “Maybe I should carry you up there.”

  “Is that really how you want Hudson to see you?”

  “You’re right. I don’t feel like getting shot today. How about you just hold onto me.”

  We made our way upstairs, moving slower than I wanted. When the elevator doors opened and I saw him for the first time in weeks, my heart felt like it skipped a beat. He stood there in the sun, the rays reflecting off his black hair with that pissed off look that was always on his face.

  He was back. I ran out to the parking lot, throwing myself into Hudson’s arms. I held him tight to me, tears filling my eyes. He was really back. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see him again. After he left here and I didn’t hear from him, I began to think that something really bad had happened. But when we heard about Arrington on the news, I had hope again.

  I worried every day that he would never come back to me. I worried that he had been caught and was already in prison, with no way to contact me. But the thing that scared me the most was that they had been killed. Since Sebastian was radio silent also, my imagination was going wild.

  “It’s okay,” he murmured, running his hand up and down my back. “I’m right here.”

  I didn’t want to remind him of his promise to leave. He had told me too many times already that he had to leave. I wasn’t sure why I thought this time would be any different, but I wasn’t about to remind him of what he told me.

  “I didn’t know if you were okay. I thought maybe something had happened. None of us have heard a thing from you.”

  “We had to stay radio silent. I couldn’t risk anyone being able to pinpoint where we were. We shut off all our phones and didn’t contact anyone. It was just the way it had to be.”

  I knew that, I really did, but knowing it and going through it were two different things. I unwrapped my arms from around him, wobbling slightly as he let me go. His hand shot out to steady me, his face pinched in concern.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just too much excitement.” I gave a brief smile and turned to go back inside, but he stopped me with a hand on my waist.

  “Don’t fucking lie to me. What’s wrong?”

  “Hudson, nothing’s wrong. I’m just not at one hundred percent yet.”

  “You almost fell over.”

  “I’m just tired.”

  “I’ve been gone for two weeks. You should be better by now.”

  I jerked out of his hold. “I am better. I’m tired. I think I’m allowed that after being infected with a deadly virus.”

  “That’s my point, Kate. You should be in the hospital being monitored.”

  “I’m not going back to the hospital. I just need some time to get back on my feet.”

  His jaw clenched in anger and he bent over, scooping me up in his arms.

  “Hudson! What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you get inside without passing out.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him carry me inside. I was terrified that he was going to leave again, so I had to hang on to these moments while I could. He carried me into the bedroom in the panic room, kicking the door behind him. When he lowered me onto the bed, I interlocked my fingers, preventing him from pulling away from me.

  He glared at me, but I didn’t flinch. He didn’t scare me. Hudson would never hurt me. I pressed my lips to his, urging him to open for me. I could feel his struggle at first. He didn’t want to give in, but then his body started to soften and he crawled on top of me, nudging my legs open with his knee. His hand skimmed up my body under my shirt until he was palming my breast. He groaned into my mouth as he pressed his growing erection against my core. I could feel his need, but I didn’t want to push him too much. He had to come to me.

  He pulled back slightly, staring into my eyes for a moment. I felt like I could see my soul in those dark eyes. My whole life was wrapped up in him, just waiting for him to return to me.

  “Kate…”

  “I need you,” I said, almost pleadingly. “I need you tonight.”

  He nodded slightly, his lips brushing against mine again. Then his fingers were brushing against my skin, sliding down into my panties. I was so wet for him, needing him more than I ever had before. Slowly, he slid his finger down into my wet folds. His touch was light and teasing, like he was trying to draw this out for me. When he circled my clit, I gasped and practically shot off the bed. My body ached for his touch, and it had been too long since I’d felt him like this.

  His lips skimmed mine and then trailed across my jaw and over to the sensitive flesh behind my ear. He licked and kissed as his fingers started teasing me harder and faster. I was gasping and panting, thrusting my hips up against his hand to heighten the sensation. I needed him inside me. Two fingers pushed inside me and his palm cupped my pussy. He pressed against my clit with the heel of his hand until I was shouting out his name. He swallowed my cries with his kiss. My whole body was shaking, wrapped up so tight that I felt like I would come apart again if he touched me even once more.

  The way he looked at me with so much love made tears prick my eyes. I silently begged him to stay, praying that I was enough for him, that he would decide he needed me more than his need to run away.

  I grabbed onto his jeans and unbuttoned them, sliding the zipper down until his cock popped out. I could feel his cum seeping from the tip. His breathing was harsh as he shoved down his pants and then stripped me of mine. And then he was spreading my legs wide and shoving inside me in one hard thrust. I gasped and pulled him closer to me. I felt so tight. I knew it had been a while, but this was like nothing I had felt in a long time. Probably since…

  My eyes flew open and met his. He stopped and stared down at me, his fingers brushing across my cheek. “Did I hurt you?”

  I shook my head slowly. “No, keep going.”

  He looked like he would stop, so I pulled him back inside me and ground my hips against his. Every thrust, every kiss was passionate and needy. He slid in and out of me as he cupped the back of my neck and kissed me, his tongue sliding in rhythm with mine. He pressed kisses to my cheek and down to my neck. His pants grew frantic as his hips pistoned against mine.

  “I love you so much, Kate.”

  “Promise me you’ll never leave me,” I asked, but he didn’t answer. His body jerked against mine and then he was shoving himself deep inside me as he came. I wanted to ask him again to stay. I wanted to tell him what I suspected. But I was tired now and sleep was taking over. I would have to talk to him in the morning.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Knight

  I lined up the shot at the rally. I was only there as backup for Chance. I didn’t think he would need my assistance, but this was our only opportunity to take out the senator, and I wasn’t letting it slip through my fingers. I wasn’t a sniper like him, but I had done my fair share of assassinations from a distance. I could hold my own.

  “Chance, do you have the shot?” I asked over coms.

  “I’ve got it.”

  That was all I needed to hear. I watched through my scope,
waiting for the minute that he fell. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. It was an unknown number, so I ignored it, but when it buzzed repeatedly, I answered it.

  “Yeah?”

  “I wouldn’t pull that trigger if I were you.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Someone who knows who you are. I’m warning you, if you pull that trigger, your family is dead. I’m looking at them right now. Your wife is very beautiful.”

  My heart pounded in my chest. They were supposed to be in the panic room. How did anyone find them? “You listen to me,” I growled.

  “No, you listen to me. You pull that trigger and I’ll kill all of them. You have ten seconds to make up your mind and then they’re all dead.”

  I didn’t know if this was real or not, but I couldn’t take the chance. I had to stop this. “Chance, don’t-”

  I heard the crack of the gun and quickly looked through my scope. Arrington fell to the ground and blood gushed from his head. Time stood still as I heard the man on the phone start swearing. “I told you not to do it. Now you’re going to pay.”

  Shots fired through the phone. Screams from Kate filled my mind. I dropped my phone, staring down at it in horror. What had I done? When was I going to learn that I was no good for them?

  I jerked upright in bed, sweat pouring down my face. My heart was racing out of control and my whole body was shaking in terror. I was in the panic room. It had been a dream. I looked down at Kate, who was sleeping peacefully. She was safe.

  I laid back down and stared at the ceiling. I ran my hand down my face, wiping at the sweat that was still pouring out. That dream had been way too fucking close to reality. I reached over and grabbed Kate’s hand, squeezing it in mine. I couldn’t calm down. I couldn’t stop the terror that was running through me. I was fucking terrified and I knew it wouldn’t stop. It would never end as long as I was in her life. I was toxic for her. I knew it deep down inside. There was nothing that I could ever do to keep her safe. Except walk away.