GoodKnight: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “So,” the doctor cleared his throat. “Any takers?”

  Sinner and I exchanged a look and then we both stood, gripping each other’s hands in a tight man clasp. “Together?” Sinner asked.

  I rolled my eyes at him. “You know, I never wanted to be part of these male bonding moments.”

  “Awe, come on, Cap. This is what makes the bond of brotherhood so strong. Those that snip together, stay together.”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Burg

  I walked into the supermarket with Chris and Jules. This was so fucking weird. But Cap had ordered us to go do the shopping for an impromptu barbecue we were having in honor of Blake and Parker. They were leaving for Montana tomorrow, so this was the last chance for everyone to say goodbye.

  “I still don’t see why the women couldn’t come pick up the groceries,” I grumbled. “We look fucking ridiculous, three grown men shopping together.”

  “You know, every once in a while, you do things just to be nice,” Chris grumbled. “Is it really that hard to go shopping for your woman?”

  “It’s not about that. It’s the principle behind the whole thing.”

  “I’m with Burg. This is just fucking weird. I mean, they probably think we’re like a threesome or something.”

  “Burg’s used to people thinking he’s weird,” Chris grinned, grabbing a shopping cart and heading for the produce section. I grabbed a second cart and pushed it toward the meat department.

  “Whatever. I’m not shopping with you. I’ll grab the meat.”

  Jules stood in the aisle between the two of us. “Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do then?”

  “Get the buns,” Chris shouted over his shoulder.

  “What kind of buns? And where are they? I don’t remember how to do this shit!”

  I snorted at his excuse. He always used that when he didn’t want to do something. Too bad we all knew that he rarely didn’t remember something. I moved over to the meat case and started stacking in packages of hamburger and steaks. I was picking out some seasoned chicken when I heard the voice I hoped I would never hear again.

  “Oh my gosh. Blake?”

  I slowly turned around, my heart pounding in my chest. I swallowed hard as I looked at the woman who hadn’t changed at all over the past ten years. “Belinda.”

  She grinned at me and batted her eyes. “I can’t believe it’s you. It’s been so long.”

  “Uh…yeah. What…what have you been up to?”

  “Oh, you know. I’ve just been searching for Mr. Right. I thought that was you, but you ran out on me.” She moved forward and placed her hand on my chest, rubbing it lightly. I glanced down at the manly hand and swallowed hard. I didn’t know how to get out of this shit.

  “Uh…”

  “Burg,” Chris said, grinning as he walked up. “Who’s this?”

  My face flamed and my eyes went wide. There was no fucking way that I wanted him to know who she was. I already got enough shit from these guys.

  “I’m Belinda.”

  “Belinda? I don’t recall you ever mentioning a Belinda before,” Chris grinned.

  “Oh, we only knew each other for a short time. Well, one night actually, but he ran out on me.”

  “Really,” Chris said. “And why would he do that?”

  I cleared my throat uncomfortably. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for discussing trannies in front of trannies.

  “Uh, Belinda and I met one night about ten years ago. It uh…didn’t work out between us.”

  “Why?” Chris asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I leaned over to whisper to him.

  “She’s the tranny.”

  Chris burst out in laughter, then covered it quickly. “Holy shit. That’s fucking hilarious.”

  “It’s really not.”

  “What’s hilarious?” Belinda asked.

  “Yeah, what’s hilarious?” Jules asked.

  I groaned and rubbed my hand over my face. I needed to get the fuck out of here. “Nothing. We were just leaving.”

  “But we didn’t get everything,” Jules said, his arms full of buns.

  “We have enough shit,” I said, taking shit from his hands and dumping them in my cart.

  “Now, is that any way to treat an old friend that you haven’t seen in years?” Chris asked.

  “I was hoping we could catch up a little. You know, get reacquainted,” she said, batting her eyes at me.

  “Dude, are you cheating on Emma? That’s not cool,” Jules said, slapping me upside the head.

  “He’s not cheating on her,” Chris laughed. “At least, not with a woman.”

  “Oh, I had the surgery a few years back,” Belinda grinned. “I was hoping I would run into you again someday. That night we shared-”

  “Okay,” I shouted, cutting her off. “Well, it was nice to meet up with you again, but as you can see, we have to get going.”

  I shoved the shopping cart away, but Chris put his hand on it to stop me. “You’re not going to invite her to come? After all, it’s been years since you’ve seen her. I’m sure Emma would love to meet the man you almost fucked ten years ago.”

  Jules’s eyes went wide and he pointed at Belinda. “She’s him? I mean, he’s her? The man you thought was a woman? Holy shit. You’ve got to bring her.”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” Chris nodded. “You should definitely come.”

  “He’s not coming.”

  “She,” Jules corrected. “And you should,” he said, turning to Belinda. “The Reed Security property. We’re having a cookout today.”

  “No, she’s not coming.”

  “I’d love to come!”

  “No. This is such a bad idea.”

  “Should I bring anything?”

  “Just yourself, sweetheart,” Chris drawled. “As long as you don’t mind that everyone knows about your history with Burg.”

  She waved him off and smiled. “I’m not ashamed of who I am.”

  “Great, then we’ll see you there,” Chris grinned as she walked away. I slapped my hand to my forehead and groaned. This was going to be so fucking bad.

  Chris slapped me on the back. “You know, if we’re lucky, we’ll all get a reenactment.”

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Jackson

  I was in the bathroom at Ice’s house, washing up after changing the filter on his truck. He was “too busy” and had to get shit done to help Lindsey out. It was a bullshit excuse so he didn’t have to do it. I didn’t really care though. It wasn’t like I had anything else to do. I turned to dry off my hands, but didn’t see a towel hanging from the bar. I opened the closet door and pulled out a towel, a jar catching my eye as I dried off my hands. I picked up the jar, reading that it was wax.

  My eyes flew open and I lifted off the bed, spinning to face her. Jules was standing next to me with a white strip that had my hair stuck to it and Hunter and Ice were sitting in chairs laughing. Raegan was on the bed next to me, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

  “What the fuck is going on? Are you waxing my ass?”

  “Hey, I just wanted payback,” Jules grinned.

  “For what?”

  “Well, Chris and Ice did it to me. I figured it was only right that I get a turn.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “But I wasn’t there!”

  I grinned as I tossed the jar of wax in the air and caught it. It was time for payback, and I had a great target in mind. I walked out of the bathroom, searching for Hunter, Ice, or Jules. Any of them would do.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Gabe asked, walking over to me.

  I glanced down at the jar and grinned. “Wax.”

  He winced slightly. “You know, I don’t think today is the day to bring that shit out.”

  “I’m taking my revenge.”

  “For what?”

  I had a plan of revenge that was years in the making, but I never had an opportunity to enact it until now. “Do you remember when I was shot and
Hunter, Ice, and Jules helped Raegan wax me?” He nodded. “It took weeks for the itching to stop, and whenever Raegan left out her home waxing kit, I got a little twitchy. I felt like she was doing it just to freak me out.”

  “Man, that was years ago. Let it go.”

  “Could you let that go?”

  He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you need?”

  I pulled him over to the corner of the house where no one could overhear us. “I want you to get Hunter, Ice, and Jules in here and sedate them for me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they were the three that helped Raegan wax me when I was passed out. So, all three of them are going to pay for what they did to me.”

  “Dude, that’s harsh.”

  “Do I look like I give a fuck? One of my eyebrows still isn’t growing in the right way, and my beard has a spot missing where there was once a lot of hair. And don’t even get me started on what it did to my leg hair.”

  “Alright, alright. Geez, I never thought a guy could be so fucking sensitive about leg hair.”

  “Who’s sensitive about leg hair?” Lindsey asked as she walked over to join us.

  “This guy,” Gabe jerked his thumb in my direction. “He’s still upset about the whole waxing incident.”

  “Hey, I’m totally with you. I still haven’t forgiven John for letting me walk down the aisle with my fake eyebrows all messed up. I can’t even put out wedding pictures because it looks so bad.”

  “See? She understands the pain and humiliation.”

  Gabe rolled his eyes at me. “Stop being such a baby. Fine, I’ll take care of it.”

  “Take care of what?” Lindsey asked excitedly. “Are you going to wax someone? Can I be there?”

  I glanced at Gabe, not sure if I could trust her on this. I was going to do it to her husband after all. Then again, Lindsey and Ice fought all the time. She would most likely be on my side.

  “I was going to do it to Hunter, Ice, and Jules.”

  Her eyes went wide and bright and she started jumping up and down excitedly. “I am so helping you with that. But instead of doing all of them, let’s just get John.”

  “Are you sure about this? Won’t he be kind of pissed at you?”

  “John’s always pissed at me. It’ll make for another great night of accidental fucking.”

  “I’m not waxing his dick,” I warned her.

  She grinned wickedly at me. “Just leave that to me.”

  “What are we doing here? I was just about to eat,” Ice grumbled as he walked inside the house.

  “Fuck if I know,” Hunter said. “I was just told that we were needed inside.”

  I chuckled from my spot behind the door. This was going to be so good. I gave a thumbs up to Gabe and he nodded, stepping out of the dining room to meet Hunter and Ice.

  “Hey, guys.”

  “What’s this about?” Ice asked. I nodded again to Gabe, and he and Hunter grabbed Ice by the arms and started dragging him over to the dining room table. “What the fuck is going on?” Ice shouted.

  I walked toward him carrying the wax and his eyes widened. “This is payback.”

  Ice shook his head wildly. “I didn’t wax you!”

  “You were in the room.”

  “So was Hunter.”

  Gabe and Hunter tossed him onto the table, Hunter holding him down by his shoulders as I set up my waxing station. Gabe moved to his legs as Ice kicked out wildly, trying to get away. Ice’s eyes never left the bowl of wax as I pulled on my latex gloves and started stirring the wax.

  “I swear to God, I’ll fucking shoot you when we get out of this.”

  “You know what? Totally worth it for you to feel the pain and agony that I felt.”

  “You were passed out,” he shouted.

  “Yeah, sorry to tell you that you’re going to be awake for this.”

  He shook his head wildly, his eyes shooting to Hunter’s pleadingly. “Don’t let him do this.”

  “Sorry, man. It’s either you or me, and I only let professionals wax me.”

  “Gabe,” Ice pleaded. “If they can do it to me, they can do it to you.”

  “Yeah, but better they get you first.”

  I stuck the stick down in the wax and pulled it out with a maniacal grin. This was going to be so awesome. “Don’t be such a pussy. I thought you were the Iceman?”

  His face turned to stone as he looked at me. He could pretend all he wanted. I knew he was terrified. I slathered the first bit of wax on him and watched as he tensed. Then I put the strip down on his leg and patted it gently. “Don’t worry,” I grinned. “I’ll be gentle.”

  His eyes shot to mine in a glare right before I yanked the strip off his leg, taking all his leg hair with it. A scream tore from his throat and I could swear I saw a few tears in his eyes.

  “Lindsey!” he shouted as she walked in the room. “You gotta help me. They’re gonna wax me.”

  Lindsey smiled at him right before she pulled out her own pair of gloves. “Oh, I know, and I’m going to do the manscaping.”

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Cap

  Everyone was gathering around for the barbecue that we planned to say goodbye to Parker and Blake. They were heading off to Montana tomorrow, and we all wanted to wish them well. The last few weeks had really tested all of us, and now that everything had died down, we were all looking for some relaxation. I pulled out my phone and sent a few texts, checking on the surprises that I had in store for today. Everything was running on time and things were going to be great.

  All the kids were running around and almost everyone was here. There were a few people missing, but they would get here eventually. All in all, this was turning out to be a pretty great day.

  A loud noise from the front of the property drew my attention. I took out my phone and pulled up the video feed from the road leading up to the property. My eyes bugged out of my head as I watched a fucking tank pull up to the gates of the Reed Security property.

  “What the fuck is that noise?” Chance asked, walking up beside me.

  “There’s a fucking tank at the gates.”

  “Yeah,” he snorted. “Good one, Cap.”

  “I’m serious.” I took off at a run, needing to see this for myself. Who the fuck would be coming on our property in a tank? Rocco and Storm joined Chance and I as we raced around to the front gates, all of us pulling our weapons. The gates opened and I pulled out my phone, dialing the front gate.

  “Close the fucking gate!” I shouted, but the gates continued to open. I dialed Becky and Rob immediately. “Switch the drones to attack mode. There’s a fucking tank entering the property.”

  “I see it. Switching to attack mode now,” Rob answered. “I’m turning on the machine guns now.”

  I hung up and started shouting out orders. “Chance and Storm, get on the guns. Rocco, grab the SUV and prepare to fire. I’m sending Cazzo your way.”

  I dialed Cazzo quickly, hoping that he was close enough to help.

  “Yeah?”

  “Cazzo, we’ve got a tank entering the property. Get your ass to the parking garage. Rocco’s grabbing the SUV!”

  “Fuck, I’m on my way.”

  The tank picked up speed, heading right for me. The main gun started swiveling like it was preparing to fire at a target. I turned to the women and children that had gathered behind us and ran toward them. “Incoming! Take cover!”

  A loud explosion sounded behind me and I dove for cover, not close enough to protect anyone. Everyone hit the deck, hiding behind anyone that we could. When nothing crashed around me, I got up and started running toward the women and children. A loud whoop sounded and I glanced over my shoulder to see who was calling out. I skidded to a stop when I saw Craig shouting from the hatch of the tank. Shaking my head, I stalked over to him, pissed as hell that he pulled that shit.

  “You should have seen yourself, Cap,” he laughed. “Run! Take cover!”

  “What the fuck w
ere you thinking bringing a fucking tank onto the property without clearing it with us first!”

  “Hey, it wasn’t my idea,” he said indignantly. He pushed himself up out of the hatch and Alec’s head popped up. I should have fucking known. He already owned a Napoleon canon. It wasn’t that far of a stretch to think he would go buy a tank to go with it.

  “Where the fuck did you get this?”

  “It was on sale. I couldn’t pass it up.”

  “Did you clear this with Florrie?” I asked. Surely she wouldn’t be okay with this with a new baby on the way.

  “Why would I have to do that?” Alec asked.

  “Maybe because you’re about to have a kid.”

  “It’s not like I’m planning on parking the tank in the house, Cap.”

  “Yeah, but the added expense…”

  “Oh, that? Shit, I got this for a steal.”

  “I’m not sure she’s going to see it that way.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said stiffly. “I don’t answer to her.”

  Craig snorted beside Alec then winced. “Ooh. That one hurt.”

  “What hurt?”

  Craig ran his hand over his belly, shaking his head. “I think Florrie’s going into labor.”

  Alec rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

  “I’m telling you, man. This time is the real deal.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, not sure what the fuck was going on.

  Alec shook his head, “Craig’s been having a sympathetic pregnancy along with Florrie since she found out she was pregnant. He’s told me three times this week that Florrie’s about to have her baby, that he can feel the contractions coming stronger every time. He hasn’t been right yet.”

  “This time is different.”

  “That’s what you said the last time, asshole. Besides, I’m not even sure I believe any of this crap. I think you’re just trying to get another foot rub out of me.”

  “You gave him a foot rub?” These men were so fucking weird.

  “Hey, Florrie made me. She said that if Craig was going through this with her, then I had to do the same things for him that I would do for her.”