Jackson

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Wait,” I laughed. “So, all of you are up shit’s creek because of babies? Oh, this is too good. Thank God I don’t have to deal with that shit.”

  “I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you.” Gabe shot me a dirty look. “Mr. Mud Fucker.”

  “What does that mean?” Hunter asked.

  “He fucked Raegan for the first time in the mud. He’s a real charmer, huh? And then, the idiot told her he loved her. Maybe.”

  I shot Gabe a death glare. “That’s behind us. We talked things out and it’s all good now.”

  “She just forgave you after you wobbled on I love you?” Ice shook his head. “Take it from me, she didn’t just forgive you. Remember, I’m the king of fucking up a relationship.”

  “No, she did,” I confirmed. “We were talking and then…and then Sinner and Cazzo walked in…”

  “And everything went to hell. She never actually said the words, did she?”

  I looked to Hunter as I thought over my conversation with Raegan again. “Shit, you’re right.”

  “Of course, I’m right. And you’re not the king of fucking up,” he said to Ice. “Remember, I’m the one that couldn’t commit and then stalked Lucy.”

  “Yeah, so how is it that you wanted a kid and now you’re telling her to wait?” I asked.

  “She was just using me for my sperm. Can you believe that the only reason she wanted to fuck me was because she wanted to get pregnant in case I got myself blown up? I’m not a piece of meat,” Hunter said defensively.

  “Do you hear yourself?” Gabe asked. “You’re refusing sex because she wants to use your body? When did you turn into a chick?”

  “I’m not a chick, but…I thought it would be special. I thought that…you know, we’d light some candles and make love. I didn’t want it to be our normal hard fucking. I wanted her to want it with me, not because I might die.”

  The room was silent as we all weighed what he was saying, but then Ice started chuckling and Gabe and I joined in.

  “What? What the fuck are you all laughing at?”

  “I wanted it to be special,” Ice said in a girly voice. “I wanted to make love.”

  “What guy, who isn’t part of a romantic comedy, actually lights fucking candles?” I asked. “Do you know how much that wax would burn if you were fucking her and the candle tipped over on you?”

  “Brings new meaning to the term wax job,” Gabe laughed.

  “Fuck off,” Hunter snarled. “I’m a changed man. I’m more in touch with my woman-”

  “You mean your feminine side,” I snorted.

  “No, with Lucy. I want to give her everything she deserves and-”

  We all burst into laughter again.

  “And that includes a special night-” he said loudly over our laughter.

  “Oh, fuck,” Gabe laughed, bent in half and holding his side. “Stop it. You’re killing me.”

  “A special night of romance,” Hunter finished, but we were all still laughing. “You’re all a bunch of fuckheads. At least I didn’t jump my woman as soon as she found out I was alive.” He jerked his head at Gabe. “You tried to impregnate Isa as soon as she walked in the room and you fucked Lindsey without thinking about the fact that you might get her pregnant. Who’s the thoughtful and insightful husband now?”

  “You know, he’s right,” I said stoically. “He is the thoughtful and insightful one. You should all take lessons from him.”

  “Thank you,” Hunter said, throwing his arms in the air.

  “Yeah, if you don’t ever want to get laid again, listen to the man that traded in his balls for a skirt.”

  “You know, you’re one to talk,” Hunter smirked. “You’ve had a thing for Raegan since she moved in with you and you just made a move.”

  “I was being respectful.”

  “You were being a douche,” Gabe threw at me. “She’s been practically begging you to fuck her for almost six months and you’ve been holding off because you were so fucking worried about her.”

  “Only you saw her, Gabe. The rest of you didn’t see her when I brought her to my house. You didn’t see how beaten up she was.”

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t seem nearly as affected by it as you do. Seems to me that she wants to move on and you just don’t have the balls to man up,” Gabe smirked.

  “There’s nothing wrong with showing sensitivity in certain situations.”

  “See?” Hunter practically exploded. “He was trying to show his gentler side.”

  “Not gentler side, logical side. I don’t have a fucking gentle side.”

  Hunter shook his head, smirking at me with a knowing look. “You say that all you want, but you really like this chick and you knew that you had to tread lightly with her because you didn’t want to scare her. Because you like her. If you didn’t, you would have sent her to a safe house. You’re not being logical, you’re thinking with your dick, and the quickest way to get your dick in her pussy and keep it there.”

  “You’re so crass. How can you be so sensitive one minute and such a dick the next?”

  “Did you just call me crass? Pull down your pants,” Hunter commanded.

  “What? I’m not showing you my dick.”

  “I’m not looking for your dick. I’m looking to see if you wear Granny panties.” He shrugged lightly. “Just wondering when you turned into an eighty year old woman.”

  “Look, I think we can all agree that being sensitive to a woman is just part of the whole keeping her happy thing. If you want to get laid, you have to play to their needs.”

  “You know, they’re always bashing us for being insensitive and shit, but I’m starting to think we’re not the problem,” Gabe said. “All I wanted was to make Isa feel better. She was all sad when she saw me. It was like she didn’t believe it was me. I couldn’t stand to see the look on her face, so I tried cheering her up. Now, you tell me what’s happier than coming inside her pussy so she can shove a baby out in nine months.”

  “Exactly,” Ice nodded. “So what if I knocked Lindsey up. I’m her husband, the love of her life. The man that listens about her freaky OCD shit. If I want to put a baby in her belly, goddammit that’s my right as her husband.”

  “And it was special because it was your first time making love since almost being killed,” Hunter added.

  Ice looked a little sheepish. “Not exactly. I mean, technically I hadn’t meant to have sex with her. She was snuggled up to me and…it was another accidental fucking.” He raised his hands defensively, his eyebrows shooting up as he tried to back what happened. “Hey, shit happens, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that despite being shot in the fucking heart, I still wanted her so badly that my dick found its way into her pussy. It knows where home is.”

  “She could have stopped it,” I shrugged. “If she didn’t want to get pregnant, she could have just gotten off you before you blew.”

  “That’s not the only reason she’s pissed,” Ice said hesitantly. “Kate walked in and she was fucking pissed that I was exerting myself. I didn’t know what to say, so I told her it was an accident, because it was. But Lindsey got all worked up about it because she said it sounded like I didn’t want to fuck her. Which, obviously I did or I wouldn’t have been hard. She took it all the wrong way.”

  “That’s because women overreact,” Gabe said. “You would think Isa would be happy that I wanted to have a kid with her, but instead, she got all worked up over the way I said it. Don’t they always say it’s the thought that counts?”

  “What exactly did you say?”

  Gabe scratched the back of his neck, squinting like it hurt to actually say the words. “Uh, she said something about not jumping on my train and riding it into the station as soon as she found out I was alive. And I told her that I wanted to put my train in her station and let the passengers off.”

  “That’s why she’s pissed,” Hunter said. “Making a baby is a special thing that needs to be taken seriously. You have to use finesse and-”r />
  “Holy shit,” I groaned. “What the hell happened to you? It’s like you almost died and you turned into some sentimental pussy.”

  “Really?” he asked. “Does everyone feel this way?” He looked to Ice and Gabe, but they just stared at him like he was delusional. “Oh, God. They messed me up somehow. Do you think they gave me a personality transplant or some shit when they operated on me?”

  “They didn’t operate on your brain, asshole.” Gabe tapped his head near his injury. “Maybe if you had hit your head you could claim that.”

  “So, what is this then? It’s gotta be some really bad side effect. Maybe it’s the drugs talking. Yeah, that’s gotta be it.”

  “Yeah,” I mockingly nodded at him. “That’s definitely gotta be it.”

  “Do you think you could take me back to my room? I’m feeling a little faint.”

  I really tried not to laugh at him, but he looked like he had been struck dumb. I grabbed his arm and helped him up.

  “You’ll be fine, big guy. You just gotta get back on the horse and ride that woman until you’re yourself again.”

  He nodded as we walked into the hallway. Lucy was walking down the hall, but when she saw us, she turned in the other direction.

  “Wait!” Hunter yelled. “I’m ready to fuck you hard, baby. I’ll put so many little Hunter’s inside you, your pussy’s gonna have to acquire more land to let them all settle.”

  Lucy turned back around and stared at him incredulously. She looked around quickly to see if anyone else had heard that, then ran off. Hunter looked down dejectedly.

  “Come on, big guy. Let’s get you back to your room so you can lay down. I think you might have actually hit your head and the doctors didn’t notice.”

  He nodded as we walked to his room and when I lowered him to his bed, he looked up at me in confusion. “Did I just refer to Lucy’s pussy as land where my hunters would settle?” I winced and nodded. He paled and laid down on the bed. I started to walk away, but he grabbed onto my hand and squeezed tightly. “Get Kate for me. I think I need my head examined.”

  “At least you didn’t say that your hunters were going to roam the plains of her pussy.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “Cap, someone’s coming up the road,” Knight said as he walked into the room. “They’re still about five miles out.”

  “Does anyone else come up here?” Cap asked.

  “No.”

  I followed Cap out of the room Becky was using as an IT room and out the front door of the house. Some of the other guys must have already been alerted because Chris, Jules, Florrie, Sinner, Derek, and Cazzo were already headed out to the gate. A few minutes later, a beat up pickup came barreling down the road. All of us had our weapons drawn and aimed at the truck. It skidded to a stop in front of the gate, and slowly, someone stepped out of the passenger side of the truck.

  It was hard to tell who it was at first. He looked like he had been through hell. His face was mottled with bruises and there was no hiding the way he nursed his ribs, favoring the right side of his body. But as he stepped closer, there was no denying that it was Craig.

  Florrie went to run toward the gate, but Cap put his arm out, stopping her from running forward. All of us still had our guns pointed at Craig and the closer he got, the more the grin slipped from his face.

  “Who’s with you?” Cap yelled.

  Craig glanced back at the truck to the man sitting in the passenger seat and then back to us. “Storm. You want to let us in?”

  None of us dropped our weapons, except Florrie. She took a few steps forward, against Cap’s orders, and moved to the gate. “Craig, we just need some answers first. Someone gave away information on how to breech Reed Security. We’re just trying to figure out who that was.”

  “And you think it was me?” He took a slight step back, his hand poised to reach to his back and grab his weapon. He didn’t stand a chance if he pulled it.

  “I don’t think you did,” Florrie insisted, “but everyone else wants answers. You disappeared after we were attacked. No one saw you leave and we just need to be sure.”

  His gaze was chilling and his whole body was flexed to run. “Good to know that my own teammates think I could turn on them, especially after everything we’ve been through.”

  “Craig,” Florrie stepped forward, but he was already walking away, not bothering to keep his eyes on us.

  “If you think I’m a traitor, shoot me in the fucking back,” he shouted, right before he got in his truck. He stared at us for a moment through his windshield before the truck spewed gravel as it shot backwards and then took off down the road.

  Florrie whirled around on us, glaring at each of us with disgust. “Are you happy now? He looks like he’s been beaten to hell and he came to us for help. And you all pointed your weapons at him like he was some kind of rabid dog you had to put down.”

  “Florrie-” Cap started, but she just shook her head and walked away.

  “Do you think he’ll come back?” I asked.

  “Not very likely,” Sinner said. “If I thought my family didn’t trust me, I wouldn’t come back.”

  I noticed he looked at Cap when he said that and was reminded how there was a time that Cap and Sinner were at odds. Sinner had moved across the country instead of staying and trying to work things out. Now I understood why. If one of your teammates didn’t trust you, where did you go from there?

  “Shit,” Cap swore, running his fingers through his hair. “Knight, tell Becky to find out where the fuck he went. Give her the plates.”

  Knight nodded swiftly and then he was gone.

  “You’re not gonna be able to sweet talk your way out of this one, Cap. That shit hurts,” Sinner said, slapping him on the back.

  “What worked with you?”

  “Well, you did admit that you were an asshole. That went a long way to soothe my bruised ego. And then you apologized. If I remember correctly, you got a little teary-eyed and told me you loved me.”

  Cap shoved Sinner as he laughed, shaking his head and walking inside.

  “Why did you forgive him?” I asked Sinner as we walked inside.

  “You know, when I was taken, all I could think about was Cara, and when I was rescued, I just wanted what I had before, you know, all of it. I wanted Cara, my job, and my friends back. I could tell that Cap was sincere when he apologized and it was his own insecurity about Freckles that was making him act the way he did. Sometimes you just have to forgive and forget. Nothing changed between us, but I knew it would take a while for us to be back to the level of trust we had before. But it still came. And then before I knew it, I was delivering Maggie’s baby on the side of the road and that was way more than I ever wanted to see. I’m pretty sure after that, Cap didn’t have any more reservations about me.”

  “So, we need to find Craig a woman and have Cap help deliver his baby,” I surmised.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Jackson

  We were sitting in our makeshift conference room, trying to come up with our next move. Everyone was there except for Ice and Hunter, who were taking it easy. They weren’t up to strategizing or making any big decisions right now. And Florrie and Alec were nowhere to be seen, but considering what had happened earlier, their disappearance wasn’t unusual. So far, we hadn’t come up with anything new to go on for finding Chance or Morgan.

  “I think we should head back to Reed Security and start rebuilding. We can’t stay on the run forever and we can’t let them intimidate us,” Cazzo said.

  “But if we go back and we’re not prepared, we put all of our families in danger. At least here we can protect them and not worry about leaving them to go to work. We can head up everything from here,” Knight said, emphasizing his point by tapping his finger on the table. “Hell, we could rebuild here. No one knows where this place is. There’s enough acreage to build as many escape routes as we could ever want.”

  “And move away from our families?” Cazzo asked. �
�Maybe that doesn’t matter to you, but some of us have ties to the community back home. We’d be leaving people behind.”

  “I agree,” Sinner said. “Cara’s brother lives there. He’s always helped us out, but I’m not sure he’d be willing to leave his job and move with us. And then Kate’s cousin is there. They’ve gotten really close over the years. Are you telling me your wife would be fine with leaving him behind?” Sinner said pointedly to Knight.

  “My main concern right now is making sure everyone is safe. We’ve already lost a team member and several others were severely injured. How many more do we need to lose?” Knight snapped.

  “I didn’t realize you cared,” I said calmly. “You always act like none of us matter to you.”

  “This is my fucking home,” Knight yelled. “This company is what saved my life and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anyone take that from me.”

  “I think we can all agree that we can’t go home right now.” Cap stood and walked over to the tablet, pulling up aerial footage of the Reed Security property. “Sean sent this over this morning. The building is gone. The detached training center wasn’t touched by the fire, but the structure of the main building isn’t stable. We’re talking a complete tear down and rebuild. We need to use this opportunity to redesign the building and make it exactly how we need it. In order to do that, we have to figure out how those fuckers got into our security system. If Craig wasn’t the leak, then they managed to get past us some other way and we’re not rebuilding until we can be sure that we’ll never be breached and attacked like that again.”

  “So, we stay here for the time being?” Burg asked.

  “That’s our only option at this point. If you don’t want to stay out here, I can’t stop you from going home, but I can tell you that there’s no way I’m sending my family back home with those fuckers still out there. If they came after us in the hospital, that can only mean that they want to wipe us out.”

  “Yeah, but is it The Broker or the head of this trafficking ring that’s trying to get rid of us?” I asked. “We don’t even know who we’re supposed to be fighting.”