But I didn’t hear anything.
“Jessica. Stop fucking around. Come help-” I pulled out and stopped in my tracks. Morgan, Chance, Derek, and Claire were staring at me with boredom. They wouldn’t be when they found out Payton was in the vent.
“What are you doing?” Chance asked.
I cleared my throat and straightened my shirt. Giving a light laugh, I tried to explain. “See, there was this guy that was doing something suspicious and I thought we should follow.”
“Lucy, where’s my daughter?” Morgan asked.
“Now, don’t panic,” I said, trying to remain calm.
“Lucy,” Morgan bit out between clenched teeth. “Where is my daughter?”
“Hey, Mom,” Payton called from the vent. “It’s totally fine. I’m just a little stuck. Maybe you could pull on my foot?”
Chance rolled his eyes and shoved past me as I stepped off the chair. He reached into the vent and yanked on Payton’s foot until she was dangling halfway out of the vent. Chance pulled her the rest of the way out and set her on the ground.
“I just want you to know that I had nothing to do with this,” Jessica said. “It was all her idea.”
“Hey,” I grumbled. “It was Payton’s idea to use the vent.”
“And it worked,” Payton said excitedly. “Chance those classes you guys give are so awesome.”
Morgan glared at Chance, who just shrugged sheepishly. I was glad to have the heat off of me for once.
“Didn’t Hunter tell you to stay in your room?” Derek asked.
“Fine, I’m going,” I said, grabbing Jessica’s hand and pulling her along behind me. A few minutes later, Morgan and Claire joined us in the room with a stern look from the guys before they left.
“So, do you want to tell me why my daughter was stuck in a vent?”
I was about to answer when a knock interrupted me. I answered the door, only to be shoved aside as Raegan, Reese, Ivy, and Emma pushed inside.
“You are not going to believe what I heard,” Ivy began. “First off, the guys are preparing for war. Second, I overheard a guy telling this employee that they had to take us out. And since the guys are planning a war, these two mystery people must be onto the guys.”
“Was the employee a skinny guy with dark hair and pasty skin?” I asked.
“Yes!” Ivy said. “You saw him too?”
“He was acting all suspicious, so I followed him to a room that needed a key. Payton got in the vents, but she hasn’t had a chance to tell us what she saw.”
We all turned to Payton and a big grin split her face. “Well, the room looked like it was a storage room, about eight feet by eight feet. Three of the walls had storage racks that went to the ceiling. He went to the wall opposite the door and pulled a box from under three other boxes on the second shelf from the top. Inside was a Glock 19 that he took, but he obviously didn’t know how to use it based on the way he fumbled it. He also pulled out a Gerber StrongArm Serrated Fixed Blade Knife. He put that inside his waistband in a sheath. He was definitely preparing for something. After that, he replaced the box and went to the door, checking the hallway before he exited,” she nodded excitedly.
We all looked to each other, completely baffled at how smart this girl was.
“Well, that confirms what we found out,” Ivy said. “We snuck into the office behind the front desk. Apparently, there’s someone that wants to buy the lodge from the owners, but the owners don’t want to sell. Since this guy made his offer and it was declined, there have been all sorts of issues with the lodge. A pipe burst which cost thousands of dollars in repairs. People have been turned away from staying here and there were a whole bunch of cancellations right before you booked this place,” she said to Morgan.
“I think maybe you guys are finding things that aren’t really happening,” Morgan said.
“How can you say that?” I shrieked. “Look at what we’ve found!”
“And not only that,” Emma chimed in, “but we overheard this one guy telling the employee that they needed something drastic to make sure we realized what a mistake we were making! And the guy suggested he use the families as a weak point. We’re the weak point!”
“Wait,” Morgan interrupted the round of gasps. “If this guy is trying to steal the lodge or push the other guy out, why would the guys be involved in this? This doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with us.”
“Are you kidding?” Raegan asked. “This has everything to do with us! What kind of company do the guys work for? Security.”
“Right.” I nodded, feeling it all come together. “The owner was being threatened and when we showed up for the wedding, the guys must have seen something happening. They approached the owner to find out what was going on.”
“And the owners had no clue how much danger they were actually in,” Emma jumped in.
“But then the guys must have found something…a hideout or stash of weapons that was meant to be used against the owners,” Raegan added.
“And they went to the owners to give their assistance,” I nodded along.
“But they said, no you’re here for a wedding. I could never involve you,” Reese said, always believing the best in people.
“That would never fly with our men, though. That’s what all the weapons are about,” I said. “They’re sacrificing the wedding to help these guys out. But they don’t have the information we have. They don’t know we know!”
“And now they’re pushing us away,” Emma gasped. “Hiding us from the destruction that this could cause. Because they love us so much, they couldn’t bear for us to be harmed!”
“Yeah, and if the guys don’t know that they’re doing this at nine o’clock tonight, one of us is going to end up dead!” I shouted.
“Alright, alright,” Morgan said, trying to calm everyone down. “We’ll talk to the guys, but you guys have to sound logical. You’re not supposed to know about any of this.”
Ivy snorted. “Well, if we didn’t know, then how could we warn them about that we know about everything we’re not supposed to know?”
I rolled my eyes. I would have to go with her. We couldn’t present to the guys that we know something we’re not supposed to know that they know about.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Morgan
Chance and I led Ivy and Lucy to my bedroom, having convinced the others that if too many people were there, the guys would think they were all nuts. Which they were. Whatever was going on at the lodge had nothing to do with the guys. They weren’t here on security business. Well, not for the lodge anyway. But I couldn’t tell the ladies what was really going on. All I could do was let them explain and then talk things over with Chance on how best to handle this.
I had texted Chance and asked him to join us in the bedroom, since they didn’t want us wandering around. He insisted on meeting me at the room we were already in, so here we were, walking down the hall to my room where Chance would hear us out. After we were all seated, Chance sat down and listened to them rant and ramble for the better part of fifteen minutes. He did his best to look interested and taking the so called threat seriously.
“Wow, that is quite a lot of digging you ladies did. But I don’t think I have to remind you that you were supposed to stay in the rooms until we said you could come out.”
“Listen,” Ivy said. “We understand, but we were trying to help. We’ve been sitting on the sidelines as you fight the battles. We just wanted to help.”
Chance nodded and stood. “Well, I’ll talk with the guys and fill them in on what’s going on. I’m going to take you back to your room. Please stay there until someone comes to get you.”
“And when might that be?” Lucy asked. “I’m hungry and I don’t want to keep waiting around.”
“Soon. And the chef has created a huge feast for all of us.”
He led them out of the room while I waited for him to come back. He sighed, rolling his eyes as he plopped down on the couch. “I was not expe
cting that.”
“I tried to stop them, but what was I supposed to say?”
“It’s okay. It’s pretty clear that something else is going on, but it doesn’t involve us in any way. Still, a guy walking around with a gun and a knife isn’t something that I can allow. I’ll find the employee and relieve him of his weapons.”
“What are you going to tell the ladies?”
He chuckled slightly. “I guess I should make it a fun story, huh? Make them think their efforts weren’t wasted. Unfortunately, if that employee really couldn’t handle a weapon, I think they’re going to be disappointed.”
“Well, make something up. At least make it sound like you really appreciate their efforts.”
He shook his head in exasperation. “They’ll just do it all over again the next time they see something suspicious.”
“Well, look on the bright side. At least they’re on the lookout and aren’t completely unaware of their surroundings.”
“They’re a little too aware of their surroundings.”
He sighed and pulled me into his lap. “Are you upset?”
“About what?”
“All of this. I know it’s not the wedding you wanted.”
I shrugged noncommittally. “It’s not the worst. At least we can say our wedding was interesting.”
“There were so many other ways it could have been interesting. Your parents could have shown up and dictated the whole wedding. Or you could have a bridesmaid disaster where they start pulling each other’s hair. Maybe the cake would fall on someone before we had our first bite.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Guns, bombs, bad guys…it sounds like one hell of a wedding.”
He kissed me hard, then murmured against my lips. “Glad I won’t be disappointing you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Ivy
“He’s not going to do anything about it,” I said, pacing the room as the other ladies watched. “You heard him, Lucy. He wasn’t surprised and ready to run out the door to investigate. He thinks that we’re all mad, seeing things that aren’t there.”
“Well, you told him,” Emma sighed. “Now it’s up to him to make sure that the situation is taken care of.”
“No, it’s not. Ladies, we need to arm ourselves. If they aren’t going to believe us and take us seriously, then we have to be prepared for anything.”
Claire jumped up, a big grin on her face. “I have guns!”
“Really?” Lucy said, not at all shocked. “Leave it to Claire to pack guns for a wedding.”
“Hey, I packed them for Thanksgiving and they came in handy. All Derek packed was pregnancy stuff. Someone has to be the logical one. Besides, these guys all seem to think that just because we rebuilt and the threat is over that there’s never going to be another threat. I say we arm ourselves for anything.”
“We can’t just show up at dinner with guns strapped to us,” Raegan said irritatedly. “Besides, they can all kill with their bare hands. If anything happens, they can just snap someone’s neck.”
“Yeah,” Claire grinned. “I have first hand knowledge of that. It’s so sexy.”
“Ladies!” I shouted. “We are not going to sit back anymore and pretend that we can’t do anything to protect ourselves. Now strap on a gun and let’s get ready for dinner.”
They all did as I said, a few of them grumbling at the fact that the guns were uncomfortable. By the time the guys showed up to get us, we were all ready to take on anyone that dared to hurt us.
⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️
We left the room, with Jules’s arm wrapped tightly around me as we headed for the elevator. As I walked into the dining area, I froze, almost stumbling over my own feet as I saw the waiter, the employee from earlier with the gun and the knife, standing by the dining table, serving our dinner! Chance had told me he was going to take care of him, but here he was, standing here. Not dead! I was going to have to go in and take care of this myself. This really was my best option because obviously they weren’t going to take care of it. Why? Why would they not take care of it when this man was an obvious threat?
Pulling myself from my stupor, I sat in the chair that Jules pulled out for me at the dining room table. I watched the men around me, looking so happy, like they didn’t have a care in the world. Like I hadn’t just told Chance that there was an imminent threat.
The food was brought out and set out on the table. The waiter went around pouring drinks, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was working with the other employee, the one that was plotting to kill us. He wasn’t anywhere in sight, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t waiting in the shadows. I watched him as he moved. Any one of the guys could be stabbed in an instant, because they weren’t paying attention. So much for their sixth sense. But then the waiter stood behind Emma and he reached into his pocket. I sat with wide eyes, staring at his hand. Waiting for him to pull out the knife and stab her. I couldn’t just sit there and watch my best friend get murdered.
I leapt from my chair, jumping onto the table as I pulled my weapon, trying desperately to get to Emma before it was too late. I slipped on the dishes of food, breaking some of the dishes and sending others flying from the table and clattering to the floor as I scrambled to gain purchase. The men stood suddenly, flinging their chairs back, while the women stood, pulling their own weapons and aiming in the same direction as me. The guys just stood there, staring at us all like we’d lost our minds. One of the other waiters came forward, but stopped when he saw all the guns drawn. He dropped his bottle of wine, the bottle breaking against the floor and spraying the red liquid everywhere.
I held my gun on the man. “Get your hand out of your pocket. Right now! Do it!”
The man paled visibly and took a step back. I trained my gun even further on him.
“Don’t you dare move. I told you to take your hand out of your pocket, you son of a bitch!”
The man slowly removed his hand.
“Now open it!” I yelled.
He opened his hand and pulled out…a corkscrew. Shit.
“Ivy,” Jules said from behind me. “You want to tell me what’s going on here?”
“I told you already. I told Chance what was going on. I told him! They’re trying to kill us!”
Jules snorted and I turned my weapon on him, irritated that he thought I was so stupid that I couldn’t figure out when someone was trying to kill me.
“Don’t patronize me. I know what I’m seeing. And what I’m seeing is a man that’s trying to kill us. He had a gun! He had a knife! Payton climbed up into the air ducts and saw him pull out a gun and a knife! In there! He was planning to murder us all!”
The room was silent as I stood there heaving from my rant. The guys just… stood there, wide-eyed, completely baffled as to what they were supposed to say, while the women held their guns firmly on the other man. They at least saw common sense.
Jules put a hand on my arm, trying to get me to lower my weapon. “Babe, I think this is one of those times when you’re seeing things that aren’t there.”
“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit! The same thing happened, remember? I was accused of doing a hit and run, and hitting a man with a bat, and murdering someone!”
“Technically, you did hit someone with a bat. I’m just saying,” he said quickly.
“And you know it was all a setup, and you thought I was crazy then. Now here I am, telling you it’s happening again! We’re all going to die if you do not take that guy out!”
“Babe…he’s a waiter.”
I scowled at him. Unbelievable! He didn’t believe me again. Chance cleared his throat and stepped up to Morgan, wrapping his arm around her waist.
“Maybe I can clear a few things up here. The waiter is just a waiter. He’s not an assassin. He’s not here to kill anyone. There was another employee working with someone that is trying to buy the property from the owners, and he thought he could threaten them. But since he can barely hold a gun, let alone load it, I rel
ieved him of his weapons quite easily. The owners have removed him from the property. This man is just a waiter.”
“But…no! I heard them. They were saying nine o’clock. Nine. O. Clock! They will be here, and they will attack and take out our families. I heard him say it!”
“Yeah, he was talking about the owner’s family,” Chance clarified. “Not us. We’re just here for a wedding, Ivy.”
“But…I was so sure.”
“Wait a minute,” Emma said. “If you’re just here for a wedding, then what are all those weapons out there for,” she whisper-hissed. “How do you explain all of that? We saw you!”
“I got this one,” Jon, Aurora’s husband said, standing up. “I was outside with Gabe earlier. They’re doing a test, a simulation. You know, team building exercises. I walked through there. Saw it all myself. Totally normal.”
“Wait a minute. When did I miss all this?” Isa said. “We’ve been here the same amount of time as you. How did I miss shoving people in air vents and spying on employees? Where was I?”
“Waxing,” Aurora supplied. “Remember?”
“Still! Why do I always have to miss the good stuff? Even your husband gets to see them setting out bombs and weapons! And I’m just sitting here getting a wax?”
“Well, you needed it,” Aurora said.
“Oh, shut up. You needed it too.”
“Look, can we all just calm down for a minute. Ivy, can you please get down from the table, and we’ll…have the chef make more food since all this is ruined,” Cap suggested.
I grumbled as I got off the table. It wasn’t fair. I was right about this. Why else would they have all these weapons? Team building simulation, yeah right! No way. They wouldn’t do that at a wedding. There was something going on here and they didn’t want us to find out about it. But I knew and I would not rest until I knew exactly what was going on here. It was my vow as a wife of Reed Security. I would not stop until I had the answers that I was searching for.
A Mad Reed Security Christmas Page 17