Sebastian must have had at least two guys carry Garrick out of that building. That was the only way I could see moving him and him surviving. It would have been very painful and I hoped to God that he had passed out before they moved him.
I continued to look over his body, telling myself this wasn’t really him. Everything was pretty much the same except for one very obvious difference. His tattoo on his wrist was gone. There was faint scarring where the tattoo had been, but other than that, it was as if it was never there. For some reason, it made me sad that another piece of Garrick was gone. I had come to love those little things about him and now I would never see it again.
Sitting up in bed, I pulled myself together and grabbed a robe from my closet. I couldn’t stay in bed with Garrick and pretend that everything would be fine now. It had been painful enough to lose him once and I wasn’t sure if I could trust him again with my heart, or maybe I just didn’t want to take the chance that he might break it again. I went downstairs and started the coffee, staring off into the backyard as it brewed. I didn’t normally sit and enjoy my morning coffee. I always found ways to keep myself busy so that I didn’t think about Garrick. Now that he was here, I found myself sitting down at the kitchen table and enjoying my first cup.
I kept glancing at the stairs, waiting for Garrick to walk down and when he didn’t, I decided to make breakfast. Except there was nothing in my fridge to make. I threw on some clothes and was surprised when he still didn’t wake. I ran to the store and bought groceries. I wasn’t sure why I bought so much, especially considering that I didn’t want him to stick around, but I found myself loading my cart with things he would like. I hadn’t bought this much food in the last year.
When I got home, I unloaded everything and chastised myself for acting like he was actually going to stick around. He hadn’t made any promises to me and other than saying he wanted me back, I had no idea what that actually meant for us.
“I’m such an idiot,” I mumbled to myself.
“Don’t talk about my woman that way.” I looked up to see Garrick standing at the bottom of the stairs in his jeans. He didn’t have his belt on and his jeans hung low on his frame, showing off the deep v that was cut from his abs. He was leaner than before, but he still had that sexy, dangerous look to him. His eyes trailed over the length of my body, pausing on my breasts and my crotch. I felt tingles shiver through me and I had to keep myself from squeezing my legs together.
I turned around and busied myself with getting stuff together for breakfast. I needed a distraction so that I didn’t jump him and fall back into bed with him. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him and kissing the side of my neck. My eyes slid closed as his tongue left wet trails from my ear down my shoulder.
“You taste so good. You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning. I still have plans for you.”
My eyes snapped open and I turned around in his arms, pushing against his chest as much as I could. “Last night was a mistake. I think you should leave.”
His eyes turned deadly as they narrowed in on me. He stepped back into my space and crowded me against the counter. “Let’s get one thing straight. You don’t get to tell me to leave anymore. I gave you time to work shit out, but we’ve been apart too long and it’s not going to happen again.”
“You mean until you decide that something’s more important,” I quipped.
“So, that’s what this is about.” He nodded and stepped back to the counter on the opposite side, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. “You think I’m going to leave again.”
“Aren’t you? I mean, you’re working for Sebastian now. You could go out on a job and not come back.”
He nodded, “That’s true, but I could also leave you a hundred other ways. I could get in an accident or I could get sick. Are you telling me that you’d rather not take the chance?”
I felt so vulnerable around him. He had a way of making me see things his way even if I didn’t want to. What I really wanted was some space to figure out where my head was. “Look, this is all just happening too fast. I haven’t even had time to process that you’re alive. I don’t know how to feel about all of this.”
“It’s simple, Kate. I’m here and I want you. I don’t ever plan on letting you go again. If something happens to me, it’s not going to be because I want to leave you. I didn’t make that choice last time and I won’t in the future.” He walked over to me and ran his hand along my face and to the back of my neck. “I love you,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss my lips. “I shouldn’t have survived that night, but I did, and there’s no way I’d waste another chance with you. I want to marry you and have kids with you. I want to be around to see them grow up and have their own lives. There’s no way I’ll do anything to jeopardize this second chance. I’m yours for the rest of my life.”
I melted into a puddle at his words. I couldn’t fight him on this anymore. I wanted him more than ever and even though I was still upset that I had been in the dark for a year about his death, I couldn’t deny that my feelings for him were just as strong as ever. I had been lost for the last year without him, but now that he was back I felt my body come to life again. It was in the way he touched me and let me know that I would only ever be his and he would only be mine. I felt it deep in my soul that I was meant to be with him.
“I love you, Garrick. Just promise me that you won’t ever do something like that to me again. I couldn’t stand to go through that again.”
“I promise. You’ll never go through anything like that again.”
“Wait. You said that you want to marry me, but I don’t even know who you are anymore. Which man am I marrying? Are you Hudson McGuire or Garrick Knight?”
“I’m both, Kate. I’ll always be both men no matter what my name is. I’ll be Hudson when you need a good man to love you and cherish you, but I’ll be Knight when you need someone to protect you. Either way, I’ll always be the man that loves you.”
“What do I call you?”
“Hudson Knight.”
I stared up into the loving eyes of my man and smiled. “It’s fitting. It represents both the man you were and the man you’ve become.”
“So, does that mean you’ve forgiven me?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Then start planning a wedding because there’s not a fucking chance that I’m going to let you slip away again.”
✯✯✯✯✯
I had come to terms with Garrick being back in my life and what he had to do to accomplish that. Things were better than back to normal because he was at home with me every night and we woke up each morning in each other’s arms. When I thought about the number of mornings that I had woken up over the past year and wished that he was here with me, I was ashamed at my reaction when he came back into my life.
Before we could truly move on, though, there was something I needed to do. Garrick was at work, so I used the opportunity to ask Sebastian to meet up with me for coffee. He agreed, but I could tell that he wasn’t looking forward to the meeting. I needed answers, though, and I couldn’t move on until I knew everything.
“Kate,” Sebastian said, drawing me out of my thoughts. He sat down opposite me and turned his coffee mug over to signal to the waitress that he wanted coffee. She came and filled it, asking us if there was anything else she could get us, but we weren’t here for a meal. “So, what did you want to meet me about?”
“I need answers. I want you to tell me how you got Garrick out of that building and I need to know what happened after that.”
“First, you need to stop calling him that. His name is Hudson and if you don’t call him that, it could cause problems.” His eyes were friendly, but held a warning.
“Okay. Hudson.”
“We were on our way up to the main floor, but it was difficult getting there. Some of the stairs were blown out and the elevator wasn’t an option. We had to go in the back way. We saw Hunter dragging y
ou off and we could see you shouting for Hudson. I sent Chance over to search for him and when we found him, he was in pretty rough shape. There was no way that we could get him out of there in the condition he was in without causing a lot of damage. Gabe was able to get a door that wasn’t burning yet and we used it as a backboard. Jackson grabbed one of Jensen’s men that was about the same height and weight as Hudson. We traded one body for another.”
“But you couldn’t have known that Garrick would have survived. You took a gamble with all your lives by staying inside the building so long.”
He nodded. “Kate, Hudson may not have been a part of the Reed Security family then, but he was like a brother to Hunter and he was in love with you. You’ve been a part of our family since you first started helping us. There was no way that we would pass up an opportunity to make things right for you and Hudson. I’m sorry that we had to do it the way we did and that we let you believe that he was dead, but we did what we had to so that he could have a life with you.”
“I get that now. It was a little hard to accept at first, but I’ve come to terms with it. So, what happened after you got him out?”
“He was out of it for days. Honestly, we didn’t think he was going to survive. The surgeon said that if he woke up, he had a fighting chance. When he didn’t wake up right away after surgery, we really thought that was it. But he pulled through and then we set him up at a safe house with OPS to recover. It was a slow recovery for him and he wasn’t too happy that we made those decisions for him, but when we explained what we were trying to do for him, he came around to our way of thinking.”
“So, he stayed away for the whole year?”
“No. We had to send him out on a job and we sent Chance’s team with him. We made it look like another team took him out and we made sure that everyone necessary knew that Garrick Knight was dead.”
I nodded, satisfied with his answers, but there was one thing I still needed to know, but I didn’t know if it would get Hudson in trouble.
“Kate, whatever it is, just ask.”
“Was Hudson always at the safe house otherwise?”
Sebastian’s eyes glittered in amusement. “Not for more than a day at a time. He thought he was sneaking out on us, but we always had someone watching him. He would leave the safe house and come back to check on you. No matter how much we told him not to, he just couldn’t stay away from you. As long as he never let you know that he was alive, I let him get away with it. I know I wouldn’t have been able to stay away from Maggie if I were in his position.”
“So, you weren’t upset with him?”
“Nah. You can’t deny a man the love of a good woman. If he couldn’t have you, he could at least be close to you and know that you were okay.”
“There’s just one more thing and then I promise I won’t bother you again.”
“Anything.”
I looked at him as fiercely as I could, hoping that I could get my point across. “I’m going to be marrying Hudson.” A smile spread across his face, but I wasn’t done. “I don’t ever want to be kept in the dark again about him. If he’s out on a job for you and something goes wrong, you’d better keep me informed. I won’t ever go through what I went through this past year again. Do you understand me?”
“Clearly. I promise that will never happen again.” I smiled, feeling a weight being lifted from my shoulders. It finally felt like all the pieces were falling into place. “Now, I have a question for you. Are you going to come back and work for us?”
“I think I can do that. I’m taking on a partner at the clinic and that should free up some of my time.”
“Good. It’ll be about the same as before, but we could always use an in house doctor. Hunter is really only there as a team medic. He does our physicals now, but I have a feeling he doesn’t want that to be a part of his job forever.”
“How about I go over things with Hunter and then I work up a schedule that works for me? I’ll send it over to you and you can give me notes on changes.”
“That’s perfect. It’s be good to have you back, Kate.”
I knew he was referring to more than just being back to work at Reed Security and I felt the same way. It was like my life was finally back on track and I had rejoined the world. I had Hudson, I had my clinic, and we were finally going to start living our life.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Knight
“THE NEW RECRUITS are here to run the course, Knight. Let me know how they do.”
Sebastian stood in the training center with his arms crossed over his chest. The new recruits were standing behind him looking completely smug and I was ready to kick their asses and wipe those looks off their faces. I had made the training more advanced than it had been in the past and I pushed the requirements for joining Reed Security past what they had been before. I wanted to ensure that every team member had the skills to perform at the level I expected. All the guys that currently worked here had passed with flying colors, but then I had asked for input from all of them in areas that they felt needed improvement. They all took to the training with a professional attitude that gave me a new level of respect for all of them.
Over the past few months, I had found my rhythm at work and eventually earned their trust. I wanted to make this work more than ever, not just because of Kate, but because I wanted the comraderie I had once shared with Pappy and all my brothers when we were serving. I hadn’t killed anyone in over a year and I no longer felt the itch to take someone’s life. Until today, that is.
I was in the middle of working with the new recruits and they were running the weapons training course. Most of them weren’t doing half bad, but one of the guys, the cockiest of them all, was all over the place. I blew the whistle, needing to get this asshole under control before he hurt someone. I walked onto the course and everyone had holstered their weapons except this jackass. He spun around and discharged his weapon before I could try to take cover. The bullet pierced my side, causing me to jolt back from the impact.
I looked down to see that blood was seeping through my side, almost exactly where I had been shot when I was on my first mission with Reed Security. I breathed deeply through my nose, trying to get control of my anger, but I was failing miserably.
Pappy, who was on the training course in case of an injury, came running over to me with his medical kit. “What the fuck was that, Benson?” he shouted at the recruit.
“I didn’t mean..I just..he shouldn’t have been on the course,” Benson stuttered.
“I blew the fucking whistle,” I yelled. I didn’t realize that I had my weapon in my hand and raised until Pappy stepped in front of me and pushed on my arm to lower my weapon.
“Let’s not kill the new recruits just yet,” he said as he took my gun from me.
“He fucking shot me.”
“Yeah, I can see that. How about we get you cleaned up?”
“Get that fucker off the course now before I grab another weapon and take him out,” I growled.
“Benson, go see Sebastian. You’re discharged,” Pappy barked.
“But I didn’t finish the training,” Benson argued.
“If you don’t get off this fucking course right now, I’ll make sure you never finish anything again for as long as you live, you stupid fuck,” I yelled at him. He took a step back at the vehemence in my voice. I hadn’t gotten this pissed since I had gone straight. One stupid fucker was bringing back all that rage that had me wanting to go kill someone. Benson stumbled from the course and then ran for the door that would lead him to the elevator that would take him to the main level of Reed Security.
“Hud, calm the fuck down. Your rage is making you bleed out,” Pappy said, shaking his head.
He pulled me over to a chair and lifted my shirt, checking the wound from the front and sighing when he found an exit wound. “Well, I think you’ll be fine. ‘You’re going to be laid up for a while, but I don’t think it hit anything major. I’ll take you down to the med room and we’ll c
heck to be sure.”
He stood up and turned to the recruits. “Due to the idiocy of your fellow recruit, training is done for the day. We’ll pick up tomorrow, with a different instructor. If any of you want a chance at being on the team, I suggest you don’t do anything as fucking stupid as Benson did. Dismissed.”
The recruits hurried from the room and Pappy dragged me down to the med room.
“You know I have to do it, man.”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I growled at him.
“Sorry, Hud. If I don’t do this, I’m going to have one pissed off woman on my ass and I already had to deal with her for a year where she pretty much hated me.”
“I swear to God, if you do this, we’re no longer friends.”
“I’ll take my chances,” he grinned.
Fuck. I was so screwed.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Hudson Knight! Do you want to tell me what the hell you were thinking getting shot?” Kate yelled as she stormed into the med room.
“Honey-”
“Don’t you honey me. You haven’t even worked here a year and I already get a call that I need to get down here because you’ve been shot!”
“I didn’t-”
“No! I don’t want to hear any excuses. You’re not even in the field. Who shot you? Tell me right now.”
“Calm down, Kate,” Sebastian’s voice came from the doorway and I sighed in relief that I would now have some backup. Pappy was fucking useless, standing over in the corner laughing his ass off. “He’s not hurt that bad. Pappy has instructions to call you if Hudson is ever injured because that’s what you and I agreed to.”
Knight_A Reed Security Romance Page 24
