Irish: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 5)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  A man came jogging out of the back, his gun swinging lazily at his side. “Boss, we got a problem. We need a secondary code.”

  I took a step toward them, hoping to distract them a little longer and not get shot for it. The first man threw an irritated glance my way.

  “Lady, I told you to sit down.”

  “I’m sorry. I know that you’re busy. I mean,” I waved my hand down the length of his black attire. “I can see that you’re here for something very important, obviously or you wouldn’t be dressed all in black looking like you’re ready to kill anyone that gets in your way. Which could be me since I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut. I tend to do that. Ramble. When I get nervous. I just can’t stop the words from spewing out.”

  “Lady-”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, holding out my arms in a placating gesture. “I really don’t mean to cause you any delays. I just thought I might be able to help you get whatever you need. Then we can all be on our way.”

  “Do you happen to have the codes to the safe deposit boxes?” the man sneered at me.

  “No, but I’m sure one of us could help you,” I said anxiously, hoping that I hadn’t just put us all in danger.

  “Who’s the bank manager here?” the first man yelled.

  A balding older man stood on shaky legs and raised his hand. “I am.”

  The first man walked over to him and grabbed him by the tie, dragging him over to the second man. “How do we get the secondary codes?”

  “They’re chosen by the owner of the boxes. We don’t have those codes here and only a family member can get them through a series of questions. No bank employee can get those codes.”

  “Bullshit,” the man jerked him. “You’re fucking lying to me.”

  The man in charge shot the manager in the leg and got in his face while the man laid on the ground writhing in pain. “Fucking tell me what I want to know!”

  “I am,” the manager insisted.

  The man spun around and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me tight to his chest. I could feel the man sweating through his clothes and wondered how close to the edge he was. He shoved the gun against my temple and my body shook with the realization that I had definitely made the wrong decision in getting involved. “You have one more chance.”

  “I swear. There’s a number to call, but then you have to go through a series of questions and we don’t have any of the answers on file.”

  “Shit!” the man yelled. He threw me to the ground and then started beating the man with the butt of his gun until the man collapsed in a bloody heap on the ground. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had started this and I was going to finish it. I couldn’t allow this man to be beaten anymore because I had opened my big, fat mouth. I could do this. Distract them and save the day.

  “I’m pretty good with numbers,” I said with as much conviction as I could muster.

  The first guy spun around and pointed his gun at me. “Are you telling me you can get in the box?”

  I took a deep breath, knowing that I was probably sealing my fate, but I had to try something. “I don’t know, but I can try. I’ve seen the boxes before and I’m good with codes,” I lied.

  The man jerked his head at me. “Go with him.”

  The second man walked over to me and hauled me up by my arm, yanking me in the direction of the back room. When we entered the room that looked like a jail cell, he shoved me toward the box that was currently standing open. Inside the small door was another door that required a code. I rubbed my fingers together, remembering my favorite scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. I had to pretend like I knew what I was doing or they would shoot me too. The man stayed with me and jerked his head for the other men to head out into the lobby of the bank. I stared at the box, trying to figure out what the hell to do. Were there a certain number of times that you could enter a code before the box blew up or disintegrated?

  “Get to work. Stop stalling,” he said from behind me.

  “I’m working on it. I have to figure out how many times I can enter a code before the box locks down. Based on this model, I figure I have three tries before we’ll be completely locked out. What I really need is information on this person so I can rule out codes that would most likely be used.”

  I hoped like hell that I sounded convincing, which I must have because the man pulled a file from his bag and handed it over to me. Reading all those mystery novels was really paying off. I took the folder and skimmed through the notes, not really reading any of it, though I probably should if I had any hope of getting into the box and saving my own ass.

  “You have two minutes,” the man said, nudging me.

  “Okay. I just need one more minute.” I scanned the file again for any dates or numbers that might work and decided to try a birthday first, although that just seemed really obvious. With shaky hands, I entered the first set of numbers, only to have a red light pop up and start blinking at me. I looked through the file again, being sure to take my time so that I hopefully would give myself a little more time.

  I saw that the man from the file was a United States Army Ranger, born and raised in Pennsylvania. Pictures of his house showed a flag outside. He also had what appeared to be the Declaration of Independence in a frame inside his house. I thought back to my conversations with Lucy and all her ramblings about the ratification of states. Pennsylvania was the second state to be admitted into the Union. Was it December 7th or the 12th?

  “Come on, lady. We’re almost out of time.”

  “Give me just a second. I’ve almost got it.” I hoped to God that I was right because if I wasn’t, I was pretty sure this guy was going to put a bullet in my brain. With no more time to delay, I punched in 1271787 and held my breath. When the light turned green, I squealed, jumping for joy that I had gotten it right. He shoved me out of the way and pulled open the box. The sound of gunfire had us both spinning around. It wasn’t one or two shots, but a full on attack. I took advantage of the man being distracted and pulled my hardback copy of Leo Tolstoy’s compilation of three novels from my bag and swung it into his head. He dropped to the ground like a brick, but groaned and rolled over. I picked up the book again and hit him several more times in the head to make sure he was out. I picked up his gun and ran out toward the lobby, stalling just around the corner.

  Derek had shown up, along with other members of Reed Security. They were firing off round after round toward the other side of the bank where I could see two of the bank robbers hiding behind the teller station. Derek’s team couldn’t seem to get off a good shot, so I decided to help be a distraction once more. I crept toward the teller counter and aimed my gun toward the robbers. I was a pretty good shot, having been raised by a farmer that liked to hunt, but then I wasn’t really trying to kill them. I just wanted to distract them enough so Reed Security could do what they needed to do.

  I fired off a few shots, hitting just above where they were hiding. They ducked down, but then popped up and fired toward me. I quickly hid again and glanced over at Derek, who was yelling at me across the room.

  “Get the fuck down, Claire!”

  They were pinned down by more gunshots, so I took the opportunity to fire again. I saw one of Derek’s men step out from his hiding spot and rush toward the other men. I fired off a few more shots to keep the men distracted. Derek’s team did the same. The man who had rushed forward took a few shots and then was flung backward when he was hit in the chest. I covered my mouth to hold onto my scream when I realized that he wasn’t wearing a bullet proof vest, but then he just stood up and ran toward them again.

  I watched in utter fascination as he leapt over the counter and shot one guy in the head, then broke the other man’s neck. When he turned back around, his eyes bored into me from across the room. I took a step back, a little terrified of the man that seemed to escape death so easily. He started to walk toward me, but then stopped when Derek stepped into his path and held up a hand.

  I walked forward a little
to check out the man and glanced down at his shirt, noting that he didn’t even have a hole in his shirt. How the hell had he escaped unscathed? He rubbed at his chest a little, but other than that, showed no signs of the bullet even affecting him in any way. And then there was the way that he jumped over the counter and killed those other two men. They hadn’t stood a chance. Could it be that this guy was my rescuer from the other day?

  Derek and the man seemed to be arguing about something and I inched a little closer until I could hear their conversation.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Knight,” Derek hissed. “No one should have seen you. What if someone talks?”

  “Relax. No one’s going to know anything about me.”

  “You’d better fucking hope so. You put us all at risk when you do shit like that. Get the fuck out of here before you get hauled down to the station. Sean’s waiting in the back to make sure you get out.”

  I pretended to be fascinated with my own weapon when I saw Knight glance my way and then leave through the back exit. So, Sean Donnelly- badass detective, was obviously in on it. Of course, it made sense. Didn’t all superheroes have someone in the department on their side? At least Batman did. It was the only thing that was making sense at this moment. No. Superheroes didn’t really exist. Geez, I had been watching too many Marvel movies.

  Cops swarmed the building, as paramedics entered and tended to the injured. The bank robbers were being cuffed and placed on gurneys and the witnesses were giving their statements to the police. Derek walked over to me with a swagger that I had to admit was damn sexy. My legs clenched the closer he came with an intense look on his face that promised danger. I swallowed hard and gasped when he stepped into me and then his hand slid down my waist. He looked into my eyes and my tongue darted out to lick my lips in anticipation of his kiss. My eyes drifted closed and I waited for his soft lips to touch mine. Then I felt his hand on my wrist and he was pulling the gun from my hand. My eyes flew open and I glared when he smirked at me.

  “What were you doing over here with a gun?”

  “I was causing a distraction,” I said as his gaze drilled into me. I felt like I was on the witness stand. “The other guy-”

  “Who?”

  “The guy in the back room, he came out and said they got the initial door open, but needed a code for the second box. They started shooting, so I said that I was really good with codes.”

  “Why would you do that?” he asked as if I was a total moron.

  “Well, it occurred to me that if they didn’t get the answers they were looking for, they would just keep shooting hostages until they found what they were looking for. I thought I could at least buy some time for you by pretending that I knew what I was doing.”

  “You should have fucking stayed where you were,” he growled. “If we hadn’t come in when we had, they would have shot you.”

  “I know, but I got it open,” I said smugly.

  “You got the box open?”

  “Yep.”

  “How?”

  “I looked in the file they had on the guy and I put the pieces together. I could have been wrong and I probably should have been wrong, but I did get it open and if you hadn’t shown up when you did, they would have it.”

  He gripped onto my arm and started pulling me back. “Come on. Show me.”

  I took him into the back where the bank boxes were kept and grinned when I saw that the man was still unconscious on the floor. “I did that,” I said, puffing out my chest. He raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the box that was open.

  “Show me.”

  I opened the box that I had unlocked and pulled out the contents. It was an old fashioned key, but I didn’t have the slightest clue what it belonged to.

  “That was the only thing in there?”

  “Yeah. It doesn’t look like any key that I’ve ever seen. It obviously doesn’t go to a car or a house. It’s too big for a lock box.”

  “Maybe for an old fashioned door?”

  “No, look at the cuts of the key. This is too strange. This wouldn’t fit in any door.”

  “How do you know so much about this?”

  “I’ve worked in a library for years. I read a lot.”

  “Is that how you put together the code?”

  I blushed and dropped my head. “Sort of. I just looked for clues and hoped I was right.”

  “And you learned how to do that from reading?”

  “Well, I like mystery novels.”

  “Who are you? When I first met you in the grocery store, you were a nervous wreck. Now you’re a gun wielding, code breaking librarian that is confusing the hell out of me.”

  I shrugged and winced a little at the pain that I felt in my neck. I could feel a headache coming on, most likely from the intense situation I had just been through.

  “Are you okay?” Derek asked in concern. “Did you get hurt?”

  “No. It’s just..you know..everything. Just a headache.”

  “Let’s go finish up and then I’ll take you home.”

  I picked up the box, slipping the key into my pocket before putting the box back. I shut the door, knowing no one else would be able to get back in the box without cracking the code, and chances were, that wasn’t going to happen.

  Derek led me out to the lobby and we spent a good hour going over what happened with the police. Knight was long gone and by the time we left, I had met the other members of the team that were with Derek. The team had consisted of Derek, Hunter, Lola, and Knight. Apparently, Hunter and Lola were on a team with Derek and Knight trained with all of them. Derek informed me that occasionally they help out the police department for situations that are too big for them to handle. He said they normally wait for a request for assistance, but seeing as how I had insisted on causing a distraction, he made a decision to go in without permission, something that the police chief wasn’t too happy about.

  I was exhausted by the time we were done and I just wanted to go home and start researching the key I had taken, but when Derek led me to his truck, we didn’t head toward my house.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Reed Security.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, we’re going to figure out why those men wanted the key that’s in your pocket.”

  I stared at him in surprise. “How did you..”

  He smirked at me. “I’m very observant.”

  We pulled into a garage several minutes later and then he led me through a series of scanners, key codes, and other security measures. He pushed me down into a seat in a conference room and sat across from me. I squirmed under his intense stare, feeling like I was about to be grilled.

  “Listen, there are things that we need to discuss-”

  “I know!” I shouted before I could think better of it. He narrowed his gaze at me and leaned forward in his seat.

  “What exactly do you know?”

  “That man, Knight. I know who he is, but you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to say anything. Frankly, I think what he does is great and I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize what he has. I promise.”

  Derek’s eyes searched mine and narrowed in on me with an intensity that had me shifting in my chair. Oh, shit. I should have kept my mouth shut. I was going to end up in a dungeon while they figured out how to keep me quiet. I would never see my dad and Lucy again. And what would happen with my job at the library? Would they allow some idiot to come in and take over? If I ever stepped foot in there again, I would see non-fiction books arranged by last name instead of the Dewey Decimal System. It would take me months to get everything back in order. I started wringing my hands together as the anxiety of my library being destroyed took over.

  Derek nodded, seemingly appeased with my promises and waved in someone behind me. A tall, muscular man with short, dark hair walked into the room and sat at the head of the table. Hunter and Lola sat down as well. Knight was absent.

  “Claire, I’m Sebastian. I’m the owner of Reed Se
curity. Derek tells me that you were able to crack the code to open the box that the bank robbers were trying to get into.”

  “Yes, I cracked it.”

  “And then you took what was inside the box. I’d like to see it.”

  I looked at Derek and realized that it wasn’t a request, but a command and all his team were expecting me to just give it up without hesitation. “Um, I’m not sure-”

  “Don’t fuck with us right now,” Sebastian growled. “You have no fucking clue who those men were.”

  “Claire,” Derek snapped. I looked over him and he gave me a slight nod. I turned back to Sebastian, swallowing hard, and pulled out the key that I had taken from the box, sliding it over to Sebastian. He picked it up and looked it over, seeming to realize right away that this wasn’t your average key.

  “Do you know whose box this was in?”

  I nodded and thought back, hoping I was getting the name right. “Nathan Kent.”

  Sebastian leaned back in his chair and the rest of them started murmuring amongst themselves. “What the fuck do they want with him?”

  “You know him?” I asked.

  Sebastian nodded and turned to Derek. “Is he still overseas?”

  “As far as I know. I haven’t heard from him in a few months, but last he told me, he wasn’t due back for another three months,” Derek said.

  “See if you can get ahold of him. I’ll look into what’s going on in his unit, see when he’ll be coming home.”

  He stood and motioned for Lola and Hunter to follow. Derek stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I have to take care of something real quick. Just hang out here for a few minutes and then I’ll take you home.”

  “Okay.”

  He walked around me and was gone before I had a chance to ask any more questions about what just happened. There were so many things that I didn’t have a chance to think about until right now. Derek was gone for a good half hour and I really had to go to the bathroom. I poked my head out of the conference room to an empty hall. My bladder was screaming in protest, so I made my way down the hall to where I assumed the bathroom was. I paused outside a room when I heard Derek talking with someone else.