GoodKnight: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “You don’t do all the same things, right?” I was imagining Freckles and how horny she got when she was pregnant.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I mean, pregnant women have urges and needs. You’re not fulfilling those needs, right?”

  “You’re disgusting,” Alec sneered.

  “Hey, I had to ask. You’re the one that has a man going through a pregnancy with your woman.”

  “It’s not like I planned this,” Alec growled.

  Craig moaned again, rubbing at his back this time. “Alec, I’m telling you, this is the one.”

  Alec sighed and pulled out his phone. “Florrie, how are you, baby?” He nodded as she spoke and then slapped Craig upside the head. “Alright, we’ll see you soon.” He shut off his phone and glared at Craig. “You’re such an idiot. She’s fine.”

  Craig shook his head. “Then why does it hurt so bad?”

  “Jesus, this is as bad as walking in on you guys waxing each other,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “Chance!”

  We all spun as Morgan came running toward us, her eyes lit up as she threw herself in Chance’s arms. Everyone was gathering around with all the excitement happening.

  “What’s going on?” Chance asked.

  “I’m pregnant!”

  “What?” He set her down slowly and backed away, his hands right out in front of her belly like she was going to pop out the kid any minute.

  “You’re…and it’s…are you okay? I mean, should I call the doctor? No, I don’t need the doctor. Hunter!” He looked around in panic and then back to Morgan. “Do you need to sit down? No, don’t sit. Sitting too long when you’re pregnant is bad.”

  “Chance-”

  “What about your feet? Do they hurt? Do you need a foot massage?” She didn’t even have a chance to answer before he rambled on again. “Do you feel okay? Do you need to throw up?”

  “I am feeling a little nauseous, now that you mention it,” Craig said, holding his stomach.

  “You have a sympathetic pregnancy with Florrie, not every woman that walks by that’s pregnant,” Alec said, slapping him upside the head again.

  “Ow! Damnit, I’m in delicate condition right now. Is this how you’re going to treat me after the baby’s born?”

  “You’re not having a fucking baby,” Alec argued.

  “Would you two shut the fuck up?” Chance shouted. “My wife is having a baby!”

  “Not yet,” Morgan corrected.

  “This can’t be good for you to be on your feet this long. Where the fuck is Hunter?” He glanced around again and then picked Morgan up bridal style. “Fuck it.” He took off running to look for Hunter, Morgan shaking her head at him.

  “Well, as long as we’re doing this shit,” Storm said, stepping forward with Jessica. “I’ve been thinking a lot about uh…” He cleared his throat and then looked at Jessica. “You know, life is short.” He squinted and then tilted his head to the side. “Or long…depending on who you’re with.”

  Jessica looked around and then leaned into Storm’s side. “What are you getting at?”

  “Uh…you know, just that you want to choose the right person to be by your side for your long… or short life…”

  I stared at the train wreck in front of me, wondering how to make it stop. I knew he wanted to propose to her. He had talked to me about it a few days ago, but this was nothing like we talked about.

  “Storm…maybe you want to move things along,” I said.

  “Right. So, you know, we’ve been together for a while and you know I really like you…”

  My eyes slid closed and I shook my head. He was totally fucking this up. In the distance, I could see Freckles and Sinner handing off the babies. They looked like they were plotting something. I moved past Storm and walked up to Freckles.

  “What’s going on, Freckles?”

  “What? Oh, nothing. Everything’s fine.”

  “You’re pawning off our kids.”

  “I am not. I just…needed some time. Sinner was just going to show me something.”

  “Where?”

  “Where what?”

  “Don’t fuck with me, Freckles. Where is he taking you?”

  “Hmm? Oh, that! Yeah, we’re just going for a drive.”

  “With a gun on you?”

  Sinner started to walk away, but I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “Where were you going with my wife?”

  “Now, Cap. You know how Maggie is. I was just going along to help out.”

  “Help out with what?”

  He sighed and glanced over my shoulder, his eyes going wide. I spun around, but didn’t see anything. I turned back and Maggie and Sinner were gone, running toward his truck. My phone rang, and then so did all the other guys’. I pulled it out and answered, barely hearing Cash on the other end.

  I plugged one ear so I could hear. “Cash, what’s going on?”

  The sound of gunfire was loud in the background as he shouted orders to someone. “Sebastian! We’re coming in hot! That fucking client you gave me in New York? He’s a fucking weapons dealer. I’ve got half the cartels barreling down on my ass!”

  “How far out are you?”

  “An hour,” he shouted. “Gear up and get your ass out here. We can’t hold them off too much longer.”

  I had a niggling feeling in the back of my mind, but I was afraid to ask. “Does my wife know about this?”

  “Yeah, she called this morning about the guy, something about a connection to a story.”

  I shook my head. Well, that explained Freckles and Sinner taking off. “We’re gearing up now,” I said, hanging up the phone. I spun around and Cazzo practically tossed one of my kids at me. Then Alec was doing the same. I juggled the babies as everyone else took off for the company SUVs. Turning, I found Vanessa and Cara and plopped the kids down in their arms before racing to catch up with the other guys.

  “You’re not coming,” Alec argued with Florrie.

  “Bullshit! I’ve been on the sidelines for the past nine months. I’m not missing this.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Craig panted. “This baby is coming.”

  “The baby is not coming,” Florrie snapped.

  “The contractions say otherwise,” Craig continued panting.

  “Would you shut up?” Alec snapped.

  “You’re not seriously letting her come, are you?” I asked.

  “Did you argue with Maggie when she was pregnant and had a gun?”

  He hauled Florrie up into an SUV while Craig took the back. Storm was still trying to explain his shitstorm to Jessica. I grabbed him by the neck and started dragging him off.

  “Uh…we’ll talk later. Just hold that thought!” he shouted at Jessica.

  “What thought?” Jessica called out.

  “You really fucked that up,” I said, jumping into my SUV.

  “No shit. Next time I’ll just have someone else do the talking for me.”

  “How romantic.”

  “I’m pretty sure that nothing about my relationship with Jessica could be classified as romantic.”

  “Bright hopes for the future then.”

  I put the SUV in drive, but slammed on the breaks when I saw Derek dressed as Superman, running out of his house and carrying his clothes. Claire was dressed as Wonder Woman, chasing him down to give him his shoes. I stopped in front of him as he hopped in the back seat and slammed the door.

  “Did you save the girl?”

  “Nah, he grinned. “She was saving me.”

  I almost threw up in my mouth. “Thank God I get to go shoot someone.”

  Chapter Sixty

  Lola

  “I’m just saying, I could have driven myself,” James said from the back seat. “I’m not a teenager anymore. It’s fucking weird showing up to a party with my parents.”

  “It’s not weird,” Ryan corrected. “Besides, we had to leave my truck at Reed Security because of the car seats.�
��

  “Well, if you hadn’t dropped the kids off first, I would have had your truck,” James argued.

  “Boys, relax. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  My phone went off and I pulled it out, immediately getting the alert for help requested. Everyone at Reed Security was heading out to help OPS. I spun the wheel, taking the side road that I was about to pass. Ryan’s hand shot out and he grabbed the oh shit handle to steady himself.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Change of plans. Emergency situation.”

  “What emergency?”

  “OPS needs assistance.”

  “With, like, a flat tire or something?” Ryan asked hopefully.

  “Afraid not. James, lift up the seat and get out my guns.”

  “On it,” he answered, doing as I said. I saw Ryan staring at me out of the corner of my eye.

  “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll still make the party.”

  “I’m not worried about the fucking party. I’m worried about the fact that you’re taking me to a dangerous situation. You know I don’t do well with guns and violence.”

  “I know, but you can stay in the truck. James and I have this.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “You are not taking James into a gunfight.”

  “All ready, Lola. How are we doing this?”

  “You’re not doing this,” Ryan answered. “Lola’s dropping us on the side of the road and we’ll walk to Reed Security.”

  “That’s not a good idea. It’s the cartels. I’m pretty sure they’d just kill you if they saw you on the side of the road.”

  “It’ll be fine, Dad. It’s just like paintball, but with real bullets.”

  I tuned them out as they started arguing about paintball versus a gunfight. I started grabbing my holsters as James handed them over the seat. Ryan started strapping them to my thighs as I drove. I slipped in my earpiece and dialed Cap’s number.

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re on our way.”

  “We?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got James and Ryan with me.”

  “Ryan, really? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “Hey, he’s very good at paintball.”

  “This is not paintball.”

  “It’s sort of like paintball,” I responded. “Besides, we’re already on our way. There’s no turning back now.”

  “There’s plenty of time to turn back,” Ryan shouted.

  “We’ll see you there, Cap. We’re coming up on them now. I can see them coming at us.”

  I hung up and put my guns in the holsters. “You ready, James?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m not,” Ryan said. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  “Suck it up, buttercup. The fight will be over before you know it.”

  He groaned next to me, plunking his head down against the window.

  “Who’s that?” James asked, pointing off to the right. There was another SUV barreling toward the vehicles up ahead. I instantly recognized the machine gun that came out the top of the SUV and Sinner’s dark hair. I chuckled to myself. Of course he was first on the scene.

  “That’s Sinner.”

  “Is that Maggie?” he asked.

  “We’re about to find out in just a few seconds.”

  I blared the horn, hoping Sinner saw us in time.

  “Why are you alerting them we’re coming?” Ryan asked. “Shouldn’t this be a stealth attack?”

  “I’m signaling Sinner. I don’t want him to blow us up.”

  “What?”

  “Relax,” I said, leaning over to give his knee a squeeze. “I’m sure he knows it’s us.”

  “I’m glad you’re so confident.”

  “Hold on,” I shouted as we headed right for the line of SUVs coming our way. I recognized OPS immediately and waved as we passed, pulling my gun out as I rolled down the window while I steered with my knee.

  “Hold the fucking steering wheel!” Ryan shouted.

  “Do you want to drive?”

  “Yes!”

  “Alright!” I let go of the wheel and fired off shots as Ryan scrambled to grab the wheel.

  “I wasn’t serious!”

  “James, the windows are bullet-resistant. Aim for the tires!”

  James started firing at the same time I did. I could hear Ryan panicking next to me as he tried to control the vehicle. Bullets pinged off the windshield and Ryan screamed. “This is nothing like paintball!”

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Alec

  Craig groaned from the backseat and it was beginning to worry me. The past few times that he had false labor pains, they ended pretty quickly. This time, they were lasting a lot longer. I glanced over at Florrie and saw her face pinched in pain.

  “Florrie, what the fuck is going on?”

  “Okay, don’t be mad at me, but I may be in labor.”

  “What the fuck do you mean you may be in labor? Either you are or you aren’t.”

  “I are!”

  “Goddamnit!” I slammed my fist down on the steering wheel. We were about to enter a fucking firefight and she was in labor. I should have known this was going to happen.

  “Not to make you worry,” Craig said from the backseat, “but these cramps really fucking hurt.”

  “You’re not having cramps,” I snapped.

  “Don’t tell me how I feel. You’re not the one going through this.”

  Florrie made a humming noise laced with pain beside me. She started doing that breathing shit and panting. There were cars barreling down on us and she was in fucking labor. The action might push her further along, but pulling over could get us killed.

  “Alright, we just have to get to that side road up ahead and then I’ll get you to a hospital.”

  “No,” she panted. “This is my last chance. I want to shoot someone.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  She leaned across the seat and grabbed me by the vest. “Do I look like I’m kidding to you? I’m in pain and I need to release the tension!”

  Her face was freaking scarier than I had ever seen it before. I swallowed hard and nodded. I would get us in and out and then get her to the hospital, but there was no way I was standing between her and her gun right now. I didn’t have a death wish.

  “Oh shit,” Craig moaned. “This baby’s coming.”

  “Would you shut the fuck up? I can’t deal with two of you in labor at the same time!” I shouted.

  Between the bullets flying and moans coming from both the front seat and the back seat, I was losing my fucking mind. Jerking the wheel, I went into the low ditch and drove through the field to get to the side road.

  “What are you doing?” Florrie shouted. “The action’s that way.”

  “And you’re about to have a kid!”

  “I am not!” She sucked in a deep breath and then she was pushing. I slammed on the breaks as Craig started moaning about needing to push. I ran around to the other side of the truck and flung her door open. She was panting hard, sweat dripping down her face. I yanked out my phone and dialed Hunter’s number.

  “Kind of busy right now,” he answered as gunshots fired in the background. I could see his SUV flying down the road, but this was more important.

  “Florrie’s having the baby!”

  “Why the fuck can’t the women around here have their babies in a fucking hospital?”

  “Are you coming or not?”

  “Of course I am. Just give me a minute.”

  I hung up and watched as he rammed into another vehicle, pushing it off the road. Then he cut across the field to get to us.

  “Oh God,” Florrie groaned. “I don’t think this was a good idea.”

  “You think?” Craig asked. “This baby is coming!”

  The SUV skidded to a stop behind us, along with a second SUV. I was panicked as hell. This was my first kid and with Florrie’s endometriosis, it just freaked me the fuck out.

  “Whose bright idea was it to bri
ng along Caitlin and Vittoria?” Cap shouted as he got out.

  “Hey, it’s a learning experience,” Sinner responded.

  “It’s a live action situation and they’re fucking kids!”

  “And they put their training to use,” Sinner argued.

  “Would you two shut the fuck up?” Hunter growled before turning to me. “How far along is she?” Hunter asked as he ran over.

  “Nine months.”

  “I know that, fucker. How far along is she in labor?”

  “Uh…she’s breathing heavy and cringing a lot.”

  He rolled his eyes and ran for Florrie’s door. When Craig cried out, Hunter did a double take when he saw Craig laid across the backseat in the same position Florrie was in. “What the fuck is wrong with him? Is he hit?”

  “No, he’s having a sympathetic pregnancy.”

  “Florrie, I need to check you and see if we have time to get you to the hospital.”

  He started stripping her pants down and I flipped the fuck out. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I have to check her to see how far she’s dilated.”

  “Do you have a measuring stick or something for that?”

  He slowly looked at me, his face telling me I was a dumbass. “No, I use my fingers.”

  Rage built inside me at the thought of him sticking his fingers in my woman. Arms wrapped around me from behind. Cap was yelling at me to calm the fuck down.

  “Nevermind,” Hunter said. “I see the head. This baby’s coming now.”

  “What do I do?” I said in panic.

  Cap laughed, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. “Oh, God. This is so funny. I never thought I would get to see someone else going through this.”

  Sinner walked up with his gun at his side and grinned. “I’m so fucking happy it’s not me this time.”

  “Sinner!” Hunter shouted. “I need you behind Florrie.”

  “Fuck no. I’ve already done this. It’s Craig’s turn to play my part.”

  “Craig’s down for the count,” Hunter snapped. “I need you to do this. Alec, I need you over here by me.”

  “What happened to Craig?” Cap asked.