Knight_A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  His eyes searched mine before he gave an almost imperceptible nod. “I know I’ve fucked up everything in your life, but I’m going to make it right.”

  “Don’t walk away when this is done.” His brows furrowed as he considered my words. “I know what I said, that I needed my life back, but the truth is, without you my life is very empty. I’ll take whatever you can give me. If you can only come to me between jobs then I’ll take it. I know we won’t have a conventional relationship and I know at times it’ll be hard, but I would rather have those stolen moments with you than not have you at all.”

  “Why would you want that with me? I’m a killer,” he said harshly.

  “You are, but you’re my killer. It’s true that I don’t agree with your profession, but maybe that doesn’t matter so much any more.”

  “Why? You didn’t want me anywhere near you and now you’ll take anything. I don’t understand what changed.”

  I looked up at him, wanting him to understand the internal battle I had been fighting with myself. “I used to think that I was just someone you were obsessed with. I didn’t want to lay it all on the line for someone who could never love me. I wasn’t even sure what my feelings were for you. But when I heard you talk with Hunter, I realized that I’ve been in love with you for a while. I just didn’t want to admit it. I don’t know how things are going to turn out after all this, but I know I don’t want to go back to living the way I was without you. Every time you left, I felt so alone, but I had hope that you would return.”

  “If you really want me, I’ll always return to you. I’ll do whatever it takes to come back to you.”

  He crushed his lips to mine and pulled me roughly against him. His tongue slid against mine with a possessiveness that was all Garrick. His hands slipped over my body and touched me in ways that lit me on fire. I knew right then that I had made the right choice. There was nothing I wouldn’t give to have more of him, to feel enraptured by him. He broke the kiss and pulled back, cradling my head in his hands.

  “Before we take this any further, I need to know if what I do is going to ruin us. It’s one thing to know what I do, but if you really saw what I do, you might change your mind. I need to know first. I want you to see Marks.”

  “What? I don’t need to see,” I said, taking a step back.

  “I need you to see. I’ll always try to keep you from seeing what I do, but we’re in the middle of a shit storm. Chances are you’ll see me do something and I need to know you can handle it. I couldn’t handle it if you asked me to walk away again. I think it might kill me.”

  I could see in his eyes how important this was to him. He needed me to be sure that I could handle the killer inside him and part of me questioned that also. I took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Okay. If you really think I need to see, then let’s go.”

  He shut off the water and pulled a towel off the bar, wrapping it around my body. I quickly dressed and found a pair of sweatpants in a dresser. Handing them to Garrick, we went back downstairs and he led me to the basement to the room he had Marks in.

  “Is he alive?” I asked as we stood outside the door.

  “No, and it’s not pretty.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath as he opened the door and prepared for the worst. I was a little shocked by what I saw, but I wasn’t sure why. I knew what he did and we had brought this man here to get information. I had just never witnessed something so gruesome before. There was a bloody eyeball on the ground and the man sitting in the chair was covered in blood with a knife sticking out of his neck. I could see why they needed the drain. They had to wash away the blood from the room, and there was a lot of it. Since I was a doctor, this was something I could deal with and not lose my lunch over.

  “Who was this man exactly?”

  “He was the commanding officer for my unit. My superiors answered to him. He was a part of the profiting scheme my superiors were running. I didn’t know it until Reed Security checked into him. If I had, I would have taken him out with the others.”

  “Did you get what you needed out of him?”

  “Yes. He said that one of the men I killed isn’t dead.” He looked at me and a look of pure hatred crossed his face. “He wants revenge on me for what I did to him. He was in rehab for years and I’m sure I messed with his income. He wants you.”

  “Yeah. I heard that part.”

  “We have to be careful. Until we know exactly who he sent for you, we have to assume that everyone is a threat.”

  “Even Hunter? I mean, he’s been helping you all along.”

  “No. Pappy would never turn on me, but I don’t trust the men he works with.”

  “They’re good men. They’ll help us if you let them.”

  “I don’t know them. For all I know, they want me out of the way and would hand me over just to get rid of me.”

  “Except that you already said this guy wants me. Getting you won’t satisfy him if that’s true.”

  “Not everyone thinks the way you do.”

  I walked out of the room, deciding that I had seen enough. After Garrick followed me out and closed the door, I stopped him in the hall before we could go upstairs. “If you don’t trust anyone else, trust me. I would never ask you to trust Sebastian if I thought there was the slightest chance that one of them would turn on you. Please. Do this for me.”

  “I do trust you. If this is what you want me to do, then I’ll do it.”

  “Thank you.”

  We went back upstairs and Garrick stopped me outside my door. “Now you’ve seen what I’m capable of, and that’s not the worst I’ve ever done. So, before we go inside that room, I need you to decide if you can accept what I do. If you need time, I’ll leave and you can come to me when you decide. But I won’t step foot inside your bedroom again until I know that you want me there forever.”

  I grinned up at him mischievously. “Not even at night to watch over me like a creeper?”

  He chuckled and gave me a swift kiss. “Not even then, but I make no promises for the future.”

  “I don’t need to think about it.” His face sobered as he waited for my answer. “You know how I feel about your job and that hasn’t changed and it won’t just go away, but I also can’t walk away from you. I need you in my life and I’ll take you any way I can get you.”

  “Be really fucking sure about that because I’ll kill anyone that tries to stand in my way from having you.”

  I was a little ashamed that it turned me on to hear him talk like that. Hearing how far he would go to protect me and keep me made me want to throw all my values out the window. For him, I would set my morals aside to keep him.

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Take me to bed.”

  His dark eyes smoldered and in a flash, I was hauled up in his arms and carried into the bedroom. I could feel the heat simmering within and I needed him to take me and show me how much he wanted me. I expected him to throw me down and have his way with me, but instead, he lowered me to the bed and climbed over me, covering my body with his. I could feel his erection through his sweatpants, pushing against my core. I ran my hands over his taut back muscles, feeling him flex as he rocked over me.

  His mouth latched onto mine and made slow love to mine. His tongue slipped in and out, sliding against mine gently. It was the complete opposite of everything Garrick was and made it that much sweeter. I threw my head back into the pillows as he rocked harder against me. I could feel my panties soaking with every thrust against me. It didn’t even feel like there was the fabric of our clothes between us. I was so close to coming just from him dry humping my body.

  I felt butterfly kisses across my cheeks and then his hot tongue caressing the shell of my ear. “I love you, Kate.” He pushed against my center again. “I’ll never stop loving you or wanting you.” His hand grazed my breast, pushing at the fabric of my shirt until he could pull at my nipple. “You’re mine and I’m never letting you go.”

  I
wrapped my arms around his neck as he latched onto my nipple. His hot tongue circle the bud, nipping and sucking at it until my body clenched and I squeezed my legs around his.

  “Garrick,” I cried as I rode the waves of my orgasm. He didn’t let up. He continued to push harder and faster against me until I felt I might black out from pleasure. My hands slid down his back and underneath his sweats until I could grip his firm ass, pulling him against me and holding him there. “I love you, Garrick.”

  His spread kisses across my cheeks and down my neck until my heart slowed to a normal rhythm. “You’re so beautiful when you come, but I’m not done yet.”

  In one swift move, he had my pants off me and was thrusting inside me. He hadn’t even bothered to pull his pants off all the way. My heart raced as he pushed me higher and higher, whispering sweet words that I never would have expected from him. He rolled us over so I straddled him and his hands immediately reached for my breasts.

  “Ride me, Kate. I want your pussy gripping my cock.”

  I did as he asked, loving the way he looked up at me like I was a queen. Sweat trickled down my neck as I moved faster and faster, wanting to push him over the edge until he spilled himself inside me. I lifted my hair off my neck and my eyes shot to his as he groaned. His eyes were glued to my chest and I smiled when I realized that Garrick was a breast man. He sat up and sucked my nipples into his mouth and I closed my eyes, memorizing the feel of his tongue on me.

  He gripped my hips as he laid back down and started pumping up into me. His hips slammed against me over and over, spreading me wider with every thrust. When his fingers found my clit, I pulsed around him, clenching hard.

  “That’s it. Squeeze me, Kate. Fuck, that’s amazing.”

  He grunted and then stilled as he pushed himself into me one last time, sitting up and pulling my body against his as he jerked inside me. We stayed that way for what felt like hours until we could both breath again, his face pushed against my chest. He pressed soft kisses to my breasts and then pulled me down into his arms where he ran his hand over my back leisurely. I had never felt more loved than I did in that moment.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  When I woke in the morning, Garrick was already awake and stroking my skin softly as he stared out the window. I knew that this moment wouldn’t last forever. He had work to do to ensure that we would be safe from the man that was determined to kill us. Even after this mess was finished, we still wouldn’t have many mornings like this. I had work to get back to and Garrick would go back to his job. I didn’t want to think about that now, though. I wanted to enjoy the moment and think about the rest later.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Better than I have in a long time.”

  “Me too. I always sleep better when I’m with you.”

  We laid in silence for a while and I closed my eyes, relishing in the feel of his rough hands caressing my back.

  “I’ve been thinking, when this is over, I think I want to see about working at Reed Security.”

  I sat up on one elbow and looked down at him. “Is that even possible?”

  He blew out a breath as he ran a hand over his face. “Yes, but it won’t be easy. I’ve made a lot of enemies and I’m a wanted man. It won’t be as simple as taking a job there. I’m not even sure what Sebastian would have me do, but Pappy insists that I would have a job waiting for me.”

  “Is that something you really want to do?”

  He looked over at me and his eyes seemed to soften for the first time since I’d met him. There was none of the harshness that he usually hid behind. “It would give me a chance at a real life again. I don’t know exactly what it would look like and I’m not sure what I would have to do to get it, but I want to try for it. I don’t want to be dropping in a few times a month to see you. I want more.”

  My heart melted at his words. The fact that he was willing to try for me was more than I could ever hope for.

  “Whatever happens, I’ll take you however I can get you. If it works out, that’s great, but if it doesn’t, I’ll still be here waiting for you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Knight

  “THE HAPPY COUPLE finally emerges,” Pappy said as Kate and I entered the kitchen later that morning. I flipped him the bird and walked over to the cabinet for coffee mugs. Pappy had already made coffee, so I poured for Kate and I and walked over to her, giving her a kiss. I was rewarded with a huge smile, followed by a blush when she realized Pappy was grinning at us.

  “Took long enough for the two of you to get your shit together,” he grumbled.

  “Where’s your woman?” I asked, looking around the room as if she would emerge any second. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t have one, so shut the fuck up.”

  “I figured that one of us had to hold out. I always thought it would be you. I never thought that Hudson McGuire would settle down.”

  “Hudson McGuire isn’t around any more.”

  “That’s even worse. An assassin that’s a family man?” He shook his head, but was smiling. It reminded me that I needed to have a talk with Pappy before we took this thing any further. I needed to make sure that I had a reason to give Kate hope.

  “Kate, why don’t you go take a hot shower while I make us some breakfast?”

  It was a dismissal and she knew it, but didn’t argue. She gave me a sexy smile that had me wishing I could go back upstairs with her, and headed for the stairs. When Kate was upstairs, I turned to Pappy and saw his demeanor shift from jovial to serious.

  “So, what’s going on? You just threw all your reasons for staying away out the window.”

  “When this is over, I want to try to go straight for Kate.”

  He scoffed, but grinned at me. “Took you long enough.”

  “Does that job offer with Sebastian still stand?”

  “I don’t speak for him. He made that offer a while ago and I would assume that he would still have a position for you, but you’d have to meet with him.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that, but I don’t know how he plans to employ me. There are some things that can be worked around. I can get a new identity and I can fly under the radar, but I can’t change my fingerprints. Aside from burning them off, there’s not much I can do about it.”

  “That’s something we’d have to work out with Sebastian. I’m sure he wouldn’t have considered employing you if he didn’t have something up his sleeve.”

  He studied me and I could tell he really wanted to ask me something.

  “Just spit it out.”

  “You said you want to try to go straight for Kate. What happens if it doesn’t work out the way you want it to?”

  “You think I would walk away?”

  “Look, you’ve done it before to her. I just don’t want to see her get hurt. Just be sure that this is really what you want, because if it’s not, you’re gonna break her heart and then I’m gonna break your neck.”

  “I appreciate you looking out for her, but there’s no way I’m walking away from her again.”

  “Good. I’m gonna hold you to that.”

  “There’s one more thing I need from you.”

  “Name it.”

  I glanced toward the stairs to make sure Kate wasn’t lurking and then back to him. “If this thing goes south, you know I’ll do anything to protect Kate.”

  “Yeah, I know that.”

  “I want the same from you.” He nodded, but he didn’t understand what I was saying. “If this doesn’t go our way, I want you to promise me that you’ll get her out and keep her safe. No matter what happens. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you make a safe exit, but you leave me behind and get her the hell out.”

  “I promise, but this is going to go our way. We’ll take this bastard down and the two of you are going to ride off into the sunset on a white horse.”

  “Let’s just focus on finishing the job before we plan out a whole fairytale ending.”

  I walked over to the
fridge and pulled out the stuff to make breakfast. Kate came down right as I was finishing up and we got to work planning our next move.

  “We need to send a message that we’re not going to be fucked with. Jensen thinks he has me by the balls.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “We still have Marks’ body downstairs. I think we use it for recon and to send the message that we’re coming for him.”

  “How does using his body help with recon?” Kate asked.

  “Right now, we know that he doesn’t have eyes on us twenty-four seven because we wouldn’t have gotten to Marks if he did. We need to know how often he’s watching us and how many men he has on his property. We go in and watch for outside guards and then plant cameras where we can. Then, we leave Marks’ body on his doorstep and wait for the chaos to begin. It should give us a good idea of what we’re fighting.”

  “I want to call in Derek and Lola. They’re my team and I trust them with my life. They can help us and I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

  “Do it. I’ll take all the help we can get right now.”

  “Where will I be during all this?”

  “Until we know how many eyes they have on us, you stick with me. I don’t want to leave you behind and then find out they were trying to draw us out.”

  “We also need ears on the inside. We need to know who he’s calling in for help,” Pappy said.

  “I can patch into the phone line, but his cell is going to be more complicated and I’d never make it in there without him recognizing me.”

  “I have just the guy for you,” Pappy grinned. “Rob, one of our techs is great at this shit. We can send him in and he can clone Jensen’s phone.”

  “Is he trained in the field?” I asked.

  “He trains with us all the time. He’s good.”

  “Alright, let’s get them over here.”

  “What can I do to help?” Kate asked.

  “Just do what we say, when we say it. I’ll be able to do my job better if I don’t have to worry about you as much.”