A Mad Reed Security Christmas

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

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  I ran to catch up to Jackson as he headed for the training center. Now that I knew that I wanted to marry Morgan, I had to figure out how to propose.

  “Hey!”

  Jackson turned and gave me a slight nod. “How’s it going?”

  “Good. Hey, I need to talk to you a minute.”

  “Everything okay? You’re good?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine. I just need some advice.”

  “Okay,” he said hesitantly. “What kind of advice are we talking? Picking out a new gun or what kind of cologne you’re gonna start using?”

  “Why? Do I smell?” I sniffed myself, sure that I couldn’t possibly smell. I’d better not fucking smell after the shower I took.

  “I’m just trying to gauge whether or not I can help you. Guns, I can totally help you with. But cologne? You’d better talk to Gabe.”

  “No, it’s more serious than that.”

  “Right. So, whose body do we need to bury? You didn’t kill Morgan, did you? I mean, I know women can be a pain in the ass, but-”

  “Would you shut the fuck up? I don’t want to kill Morgan. I want to marry her!”

  A huge grin split Jackson’s face and he slapped me on the arm. “No shit? Congrats, man. That’s fucking fantastic.”

  “Thanks, but I need to figure out how to ask her first.”

  He barked out a laugh, looking at me like I was joking, but when I didn’t say anything, his features turned hard. “You…you want me to help you plan out how to ask her?”

  “Well, you’re married.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not like I was some great romantic. I think I just told her I was gonna marry her.”

  “Really?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. That was too long ago.”

  “Well, I don’t have a fucking clue how to do this. I mean, do I try and do something elaborate?”

  “Hell no. Are you fucking kidding? See, Raegan told me she didn’t want anything elaborate for our wedding, and you know what happened?” I shook my head. “I went all out, thinking that I should have some fucking fantastic wedding for her. I ended up throwing everything away ten minutes before the ceremony so that she didn’t freak out.”

  “Okay, so you’re saying that women don’t really like these things to be a big deal.”

  “Fuck no. All that pressure. Picking the perfect dress, flowers, and all that shit with the bridesmaids. It’s all a bunch of crap. Just go simple.”

  “Simple.” I nodded. That sounded fucking fantastic. I was a simple guy. Morgan was a simple woman. That made sense. “I can do that.”

  “What can you do?” Burg asked as he walked up behind me.

  “I’m gonna ask Morgan to marry me, but I’m gonna keep things simple.”

  He hissed in a breath and shook his head. “Are you fucking crazy?”

  I looked to Jackson in confusion and then back to Burg. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re gonna ask Morgan, the woman who stood by you when you were a complete asshole to her, to marry you, but you’re gonna keep things simple?”

  I turned to Jackson, pissed off that he gave me such shitty advice, and I fucking punched him. “What the fuck were you thinking? He’s right. She had to put up with all that shit and I’m just gonna keep things simple?”

  “Hey,” Jackson grumbled, cradling his jaw. “You asked and I told you what I thought. Besides, do you really think after everything you guys have been through that she wants something fancy?”

  “Yes,” Burg shouted. “Especially after everything you’ve been through. You need to celebrate life and all that shit. You can’t go fucking simple.”

  “So, if I don’t go simple, what are we talking here?”

  “You need flowers, music, dancing, a ring. Tell me you have a ring.”

  “Uh…”

  Burg threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “He doesn’t have a ring. What kind of asshole wants to marry a woman, but doesn’t even pick out the fucking ring?”

  “Well, I just thought of this about an hour ago when I was in the shower with her.”

  “And the first fucking thing you should have done was go buy a fucking ring!”

  “But…” I turned to Jackson, unsure why Burg was so adamant about this. “I have training. I kind of figured I would train first and then go looking in a few days.”

  “In a few days?” Burg’s eyes practically bulged from his head. “In a few days? Are you fucking kidding me? You’ve got to get on this shit.”

  “Why? I don’t understand what the rush is.”

  “Because, now that you know you want to marry her, you’re gonna start acting weird around her. She’s gonna start thinking that you’re gonna break up with her.”

  “Why would she think that?”

  “Because you’re acting fucking weird!”

  “I am?”

  “Not right now, you idiot. But later tonight, when you’re in bed with her, you’re gonna want to tell her the revelation that you had earlier. And then you’re gonna blurt out something stupid like When you were giving me head this morning, I realized that I want to marry you.”

  “And that’s a bad thing to say,” I said slowly.

  “Yes!” Burg shouted, advancing on me like he was gonna beat my ass. Jackson stepped in front of him to ward off the attack.

  “Look,” Jackson said placatingly, “when you tell a woman you want to marry her, there are all sorts of questions that come along with it.”

  “What kind of questions?”

  “Questions that you’d better be prepared for. First she’s gonna ask if you’re sure-”

  “Do NOT hesitate,” Burg cut in. “The moment you hesitate, she’s crying and you’re wondering what the fuck you said.”

  “But don’t just say yes either,” Jackson jumped back in. “You need to finesse her and tell her exactly what made you realize that you were ready.”

  “Wait, but you just said not to do anything elaborate.”

  “Well, yeah,” Jackson snorted. “With the proposal. But when she starts asking questions, you’d better be on top of that shit, or the only place you’re headed is to the bar to drink alone.”

  “Okay, so I have to say exactly what made me decide that it was time.” They both nodded. “But I can’t tell her that I had a vision of her in white lingerie, down on her knees sucking me off while wearing a diamond ring.”

  They both just stared at me.

  “What? That’s when I realized it.”

  “I can guarantee if you tell her that, she’s gonna walk out of here and you’ll never see her again,” Burg snapped.

  “Either that or she’ll go to Maggie for help.”

  “Alright, I’ll have to come up with something to say. What other questions are there?”

  “How soon do you want to get married?” Jackson said.

  “Do you want kids?” Burg added.

  “Should we get a dog?”

  “Do you want a big wedding or a small wedding?”

  “How many people should we have in our wedding party?” Jackson said. “The answer is two, by the way.”

  “Two what?”

  “Two people to stand up with you. Gabe and me.”

  “That’s four people, jackass,” Burg grumbled. “She’s going to want two people also.”

  “Fine, so four people,” I said irritatedly.

  “And don’t forget about Payton,” Burg said urgently.

  “What about Payton?”

  “Well, you have to include her,” Jackson said, as if I was completely fucking stupid. And apparently I was, because I had no fucking clue what Payton had to do with any of this.

  “Look,” Burg took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “Payton is a part of Morgan. You aren’t just proposing to Morgan. You’re proposing to Payton too.”

  I stared at him for a moment. Was this guy serious? “Do you know how fucking sick that sounds?”

  �
�You’re not literally asking her to marry you, but you should try to include her in some way. You could give her a little ring too.”

  “Christ, this is a fucking disaster. All I wanted was to go up to her and say, Morgan, I want you to marry me.”

  “You’re gonna marry Morgan?” Gabe’s voice came from behind me. I turned around, frustrated that now I was going to have yet another opinion from one of the guys.

  “Well, I was going to, but these guys are telling me all the complicated shit I have to go through.”

  “I’m telling you,” Jackson said, “just keep it simple.”

  “No, you gotta go big. Sky writing, balloons, and fucking flowers,” Burg urged.

  “No,” Gabe shook his head. “Stop thinking of all that shit. You need romantic, intimate.”

  Jules walked by, whistling as he flung a towel over his shoulder. “Watch a Lifetime movie. It’ll tell you everything you need to know.” And then he was gone.

  “So, simple,” I clarified.

  “No, you don’t want simple, but you don’t want elaborate either. You need to make her feel special. You need to make her crave you more than she ever has. You need to set the mood. You need…Bublé,” Gabe grinned.

  “No,” I said forcefully. I’ve seen what Michael Bublé did to these guys and there was no way that I was doing that shit.

  “Look, let me lay it out for you. Then you can see what I see.” Gabe took a step toward me and brushed his hand through the air, like I was supposed to see his vision. “Imagine this. You take her out on a boat.”

  “What kind of a boat?”

  “A boat. You know, one that…floats in the water. It doesn’t matter what kind of fucking boat it is,” Gabe snapped.

  “It would if it was a canoe,” Burg said.

  “Or a kayak,” Jackson added.

  “Those aren’t fucking boats,” Gabe yelled. “The boat isn’t what’s important right now. It’s about setting the stage on the boat.”

  “I’m just saying,” Burg interrupted. “You’re not gonna set much of a stage in a canoe.”

  Gabe took a deep breath and blew it out. “Anyway,” he bit out, “imagine having candles and a blanket laid out on the floor of the boat-”

  “It’s called a deck,” Jackson interrupted.

  “Do you want to hear my vision, or are you gonna bust my balls about the name of boat parts?”

  Jackson rolled his eyes. “If you’re going to plan an excursion on a boat, you should probably know the correct terms.”

  “Just let me fucking finish!” Gabe shouted. “Anyway, you have a blanket laid out and there’s cheese and wine. You’re kissing her and…” he cleared his throat, “doing other stuff. The moon is out and shining on her face. The water is lapping gently at the sides of the boat. Michael is crooning in the background.”

  “What song is he singing?” I asked.

  “The More I See You,” Gabe grinned.

  “No, you need something more loving,” Jackson said. “Something more…”

  “Romantic,” Burg nodded. “All Of Me. It’s the perfect song.”

  “No,” I shook my head. “It’s too jazzy.”

  “I thought you didn’t like Bublé,” Gabe questioned. “Anyway, I see what you guys are saying. You need something slow.” He snapped his fingers and grinned widely. “Song For You.” He pulled out his phone and within a minute, Song For You was playing. “So darling can’t you please see through me!” He nodded again. “It’s perfect. You’re standing there in the moonlight, your fingers sliding through her silky hair.”

  I looked at his hand as it came closer and then started running through my hair. I begged Jackson with my eyes to do something, but he was too busy laughing.

  “And you’re stuck in this beautiful moment with her,” Gabe continued. He moved closer. Too close. “And then you lean in and-”

  “Hey!”

  I jumped at the loud bark and turned bright red when I saw Maggie standing in the doorway to the training center. Morgan was also there with Raegan.

  “So, this is what Cap was talking about when he said he always walks in on interesting situations,” Maggie grinned.

  “This is not what it looks like,” I pleaded.

  “Really?” Morgan asked. “Because it looks like Gabe was trying to kiss you.”

  I glanced at Gabe and decided, what the hell? It was his ass, not mine. And it was a hell of a lot better than telling Morgan that he was trying to show me how to propose. That actually made it worse.

  I hung my head, nodding solemnly. “Yeah, that’s what was happening.”

  “Hey!” Gabe said indignantly. “That’s not what-”

  A large breath whooshed out when I punched him in the stomach.

  “I mean…I was just trying to get him to see his feminine side.”

  “By kissing him?” Raegan asked.

  “I never said it was a perfect idea,” Gabe grumbled.

  “And why did you want him to see his feminine side?” Morgan asked.

  “Uh…”

  Gabe shot me a look of panic, so I shouted out the first thing that came to mind. “For sex!”

  “For sex?” Maggie screeched. “Oh, honey,” she said, turning to Morgan. “You’ve got bigger issues than I can deal with if he’s trying to be feminine in bed.”

  She turned and walked out of the room, the girls following behind after a very curious look from Morgan. I released the breath I had been holding.

  Burg walked up to me and slapped me on the shoulder. “I told you you’d start acting weird around her.”

  I flipped him off and walked away. I’d figure it out on my own.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Victor Adams

  “Boss.”

  I looked up from my computer to see my head of security standing in the doorway to my office.

  “Come in.”

  He walked in, shutting the door behind him, and handed me an envelope. “We found them.”

  I looked up in surprise and tore open the envelope. I had been waiting on that news for years. Every time I came close, they escaped before I had a chance to capture them. I grinned to myself when I saw that they were currently at Reed Security, the very same firm that my ungrateful daughter was staying at. I had kept tabs on her over the years, waiting for an opportunity to get back at her for betraying me, but with the evidence they held over my head, I really didn’t have much chance for revenge.

  “How long have they been there?”

  “We don’t know for sure. Reed Security looked like it was out of business for a while. They were attacked and their building was burnt to the ground. From what I understand, they weren’t around for a year.”

  “All of them?”

  He nodded. “They got mixed up with a trafficking ring and had to go on the run. Apparently, they helped take down the ring and took out some pretty powerful people along the way.”

  “Of course they did,” I grumbled. I hated Reed Security more than anything, even Cooper. When I had hired them, they looked like a small operation, not really capable of doing much. My plan had been set and I was ready to force Vanessa into doing what was needed. But then that asshole, Cazzo, as they called him, stepped in and made my life very difficult. And then she married the fucker. If she had gone off on her own, I could have found a way to get her back. But she stayed with him, and I had no choice in what actions I would take. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted revenge for what that whole situation had cost me. And there was one man in particular that was pivotal in making sure that she had escaped me. Daniel Cooper.

  I had thought he was a trusted bodyguard, but he proved to be just as disloyal as Vanessa. He had taken his daughter on the run, and when I found out his ex was still around, I sent my men to her, tortured her until she gave every last scrap of information she could about him. It didn’t turn out to be of any great use, but I got great satisfaction seeing him walk in and see her, slaughtered in her house. My head of security had set
up cameras in the house, waiting for him to come back and see what had happened. I had hoped it would give me some clue as to what his next move was. I had men stationed outside the house, waiting for him, but when he saw the body, he managed to escape. I still didn’t know how, and that bothered me a great deal. The only logical explanation was that there was a problem among my men, but I was never able to find out who it was.

  “Sir, how would you like to proceed?”

  I leaned back in my chair, tapping my finger against my lips as I thought about how I wanted to handle this now that I had him.

  “We need to hit hard and fast. I want him taken out as soon as possible.”

  “Sir, he doesn’t ever leave the compound. I don’t know how we’ll get him. And they’ve put up new security measures that would make it nearly impossible for us to attack them.”

  “Then attack whoever you can. You send a message that we’re coming for them and you don’t stop until they’re all fucking dead!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He left the room and I stood and walked to the window. I was so close I could taste it. I would get them and I would see Vanessa one last time. Right before I slit her throat.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Derek

  “Claire!” I shouted upstairs. She didn’t answer. I hated this new house. It wasn’t actually bad, but our last house was smaller and I could shout to her from the kitchen and she would hear me. But we bought a house that was part of Reed Security property, and we made sure it was big enough for a family. Now, if I wanted to talk to her, I had to actually go find her.

  I stomped up the steps and down the long ass hallway to our bedroom. Claire was sitting on top of her suitcase, trying to zip it closed.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m just finishing up with the packing.”

  I pulled her off the suitcase and gently set her down on the floor. “You shouldn’t be doing that. You could have seriously hurt yourself.”

  “By packing my bag?”

  “By sitting on top of your suitcase. You could have fallen off.”