Cazzo_A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  I nodded in agreement. It wasn’t what I wanted to do right now, but I had to do what was best for my team and for Vanessa and that was me staying out of the way.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “What the hell was that?” I yelled as Derek came running into the tech room.

  “Becky, wipe everything. We’ve got company.”

  Becky turned and quickly started tapping away at the keys. I turned to Derek for an explanation, but he was already barking orders at people.

  “Cazzo, you need to get your ass down to the panic room. Cap’s orders.”

  “No. I’ll wait until everyone else is out.”

  “You’ve got to go now. I know you want to stay and fight, but you’re a liability right now. You’re not in fighting shape. It’ll take us longer to get your ass down there and you know it.”

  I knew he was right. I hated that he was right. This was supposed to be what I did, but I was nowhere near ready to take on anyone right now. But this wasn’t the time to think about shit like that. I needed to keep my head on straight and do what they needed me to do. I gave a quick nod and headed for the elevator where several others had already gathered.

  Once we made it to the panic room, we watched from the monitors as men in tactical gear and ski masks attempted to break into the building from the garage. They hadn’t bypassed the elevator yet, which would give everyone else time to get down here. Once they were inside, with the number of men trying to get in, we would be overrun. All our weapons were stored in a locked room in the garage, which I now realized was one of our biggest mistakes. Of course, we never would have assumed that we would be attacked in our own building.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I asked myself. Lola stood next to me and stared at the bank of monitors. Men were setting explosives around the building, trying to find a way in. They could blow through the elevator door, but that wouldn’t get them access to the floor they needed. Cap had set up a safety feature that you couldn’t pry open the elevator doors without the proper security measures being followed. A few minutes later, the doors opened and Cap walked into the panic room with Chance, Gabe, Derek, and Becky.

  “What’s the plan, Cap?” I asked urgently.

  “You head home and run things as best you can from there. When we get to the safe house, Becky will make sure we’re linked. We have three vehicles, so Rob, you’ll go with Cazzo and get him set up with whatever he needs to run operations out of his house. Chance, you take Becky and your team and get the safe house set up. Derek, you and I will head to Maggie’s. If they have someone watching her, they’re probably going to make a move. Get on the phone with Hunter and tell him to be on standby. If he thinks there’s a threat, he needs to get out of there. We’ll meet up along the way.”

  I still had no fucking clue what was going on, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it. Everyone was hustling to follow orders and until Cap could get set up in the safe house, running things from my house was the only way to keep things going. We still had a team in the field that we needed to stay in contact with and I would be their contact until Cap said otherwise. Since Cap had wired my house to Reed Security, I could also have Rob access the camera footage and we could start sorting through what was happening.

  I walked as quickly as I could with my cane over to the SUV that Rob was climbing into. Rob was our other tech specialist and was extremely smart. He still trained with the teams on our training course because he liked to stay in shape. When we occasionally needed a tech person in the field, Rob was our go-to guy. He was trained to use a weapon and did well under pressure.

  As I got into the SUV, I pulled out my phone and dialed John’s number. “Ice, Reed Security was just attacked. Everyone got out. Is everything okay there?..Good. I’m on my way with Rob. My house just became the base of operations until Cap is set up. I want someone with her at all times.”

  After getting the affirmative from John, I hung up and drummed my fingers on my leg. It was going to take way too fucking long to get back to Vanessa. Even with the guys there, I was on edge that something was about to go down. I just needed to see for myself that she was okay.

  “There’s something you need to know before you get to my house. Vanessa Adams is staying there and John’s team is her protective detail.”

  Rob looked over quickly at me in astonishment. “How did none of us know this?”

  “No one was supposed to. We needed to keep her safe and since they went after Sinner, the fewer people that knew, the better.”

  “Shit. I knew that John’s team was on assignment, but none of us knew where. So, this is all related to her?”

  “I can’t say for sure, but if I had to guess, I would say yes. Her father got into some bad shit with an arms dealer, Carl Reiner, and then offered to trade Vanessa for a debt that he supposedly owed. Vanessa found out and ran. We’re not sure who’s after her, her father or the arms dealer.”

  “Her father wouldn’t be able to pull off an attack on Reed Security. That was well planned.”

  “He could hire someone. His accounts are being drained by Reiner until he gets his money back. Adams keeps moving his money around, but now it’s more of a challenge for Reiner. He doesn’t let people get away with shit, so he may come after Vanessa out of spite.”

  “If he sent someone to attack Reed Security, then he probably assumes that Vanessa is being protected by us.”

  “Which means it’s only a matter of time before they start running down all employees until they find her,” I finished.

  We both ruminated over the predicament we were in as we finished the drive to my house. When we pulled in, I saw Chris sitting on the deck, looking like he was relaxing with a beer. I knew differently. Chris was blending in. Anyone driving by would be suspicious of a man standing outside the front door with a rifle in his hands.

  I started for the house at a brisk pace, but I was exhausted by the time I got up the stairs. I had to remember not to push myself too hard or I was useless. Breathing hard as I reached the door, I motioned for Chris to follow us inside. John and Jules were inside with Vanessa in the living room. She stood up when I entered and hurried over to me, hugging me tight and then running her hands over me like she wanted to make sure I was okay.

  “So, not just a client,” Rob muttered. I glared at him, but turned back when Vanessa yanked at my face and kissed me hard. My arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. I couldn’t help it with her. When she was around, nothing else seemed to matter, and that pulled me out of my lust filled haze. I had to keep a clear head right now.

  “Rob, you can set up in my office, right over there. The house is already connected to Reed Security, so do what you have to do. We need to take a look at the footage and see if we can find anything. When Becky contacts you, we’ll need to link up with her.”

  He nodded and headed into the office while John and Jules eagerly awaited my explanation. I pulled Vanessa over to the couch and sat down, sighing in relief that I was no longer standing. I had overdone it and now I was going to be out for a while. Chris stood next to the front door so he could keep an eye on the driveway, but he was still paying attention.

  “We think the attack on Reed Security has to do with Vanessa,” I said, squeezing her hand. “We need to be on high alert until this is sorted out. We have to assume that if they attacked Reed Security, then they assume we have Vanessa.”

  “Are we heading to another safe house?” John asked.

  I shook my head. “We hang tight until we have more information, which shouldn’t take too long. Right now they only assume we have her. Becky wiped the computers at the office, so they shouldn’t get anything from the hard drives, but they will start coming after employees to get to her. We’ll see what Becky and Rob find out from the footage and go from there. Cap was on his way to get Maggie and then he was headed to the safe house.”

  “In the meantime, we should look at possible options if we have to leave,” John said. “If they dig enough, they could fi
nd our safe houses. It would be best to go somewhere that’s not connected to us.”

  “Do I get a say in this?” Vanessa asked.

  All of us looked at each other and the guys excused themselves from the room. “Vanessa, this isn’t up for debate. Our job is to keep you safe.”

  “So, I’m a job now?”

  I gave her a stern look and tried to remember that she was probably upset and scared right now. “You know that you’re not a job to me, but you are to the guys and they won’t let you step foot off the property without them. All of us care about you and there is no way we’ll let anything happen to you. We need a solid plan before we do anything and I promise that I’ll tell you what that is as soon as I know.”

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  The guys went out to walk the perimeter and Vanessa went to the kitchen to cook, since she had nothing else to do while we waited for information. I went to check in with Rob. He was connected with Becky now and they were going over the footage.

  With nothing else to do at the moment, I went back to the living room and sat down. My legs were starting to cramp from overuse and it would get painful if I didn’t take care of it. Vanessa must have noticed my discomfort because she walked over to me and held her hand out to me.

  “Come on. I’ll give you a massage.”

  I went with her willingly, knowing that I needed this. When we got in the bedroom, I laid down on the bed and let her help me take off my pants. Exhaustion was hitting me hard. It didn’t take more than two minutes into the massage for me to fall asleep.

  “Sam.” I could hear Vanessa’s voice as she nudged me awake. “Sam, Sebastian’s calling.”

  I shot up and answered my phone. Vanessa left and gave me some privacy as Cap gave me the rundown on the situation. When he said Knight’s name, I knew we were fucked. You didn’t hire the best assassin unless you were serious about the job. Reiner must have paid a lot of money for Knight. He was the best at what he did.

  “Cap, I hate to say this, but I’m not in fighting shape. Maybe you need to send her away and leave me as a decoy. He can come after me all he wants, but if she’s not here, maybe he’ll leave us alone.”

  “Did you seriously just offer yourself up as bait?” Derek’s pissed off voice boomed through the phone.

  “Look, I’m not saying it has to be for the entire time, but maybe she needs to go away for a while. You know that I couldn’t take him out right now unless I had a gun on him. If he got the drop on us, there’s not a damn thing I could do to protect her. She’s probably safer without me.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you not being there. Face it, you and Derek are the two people I trust most in the world. I have no doubt you would do anything to protect her. If you’re not there, I’m always going to be wondering if one of the men could be turned,” Cap said.

  “Bullshit, we have Ice here and I would trust him with my life and hers. I can be in contact with them on a regular basis. You know she’s a distraction to me, Cap.”

  I hoped that him knowing she was a distraction would sway him to my way of thinking. He knew all too well how difficult it was to protect someone when you were involved with them.

  “I’m guessing she’s the perfect kind of distraction. This is the plan, you’re taking your team and leaving. We’ll have new IDs worked up for all of you. I need to find someplace that isn’t connected to us, so give me a few days to do that. In the meantime, hang tight and be on your guard. I’m guessing it won’t take too long for Knight to start looking into you.”

  I sighed and agreed, knowing that once Cap made up his mind, there was no changing it.

  “I know someplace we can go. There’s no connection and you won’t know our location either. Makes things more difficult all around. I’ll handle our IDs.”

  “Do you have Cash’s number?”

  “At OPS? No.”

  “I’ll get it to you. He’s located on the west coast. If you’re in trouble, you call whoever can get to you fastest. I’ll give him a heads up.”

  “Take care, Cap.”

  “Watch your six.”

  I sat on the bed and ran over our options in my head. No matter how I cut it, it would be worse for me to go with them. I didn’t want to turn my back on John’s team, but this was just a bad idea all around.

  “Whatever the fuck you’re thinking, get it out of your head.” I looked up to see Chris leaning against my bedroom door. He had his cowboy hat pulled down low like usual and his stance was lazy, but his eyes said that he was pissed at me.

  “Cap wants us to leave. He wants me to go with.”

  “Let’s get on a plan and work shit out. We’re not going to get out of here if we’re sitting on our asses.”

  “You know I shouldn’t be going along. I’ll slow all of you down. This is the wrong decision.”

  “No, it’s not. Vanessa trusts you more than any of us. She’s more likely to listen to you than us. Do you really want her running off on her own when she thinks she can handle all this on her own?”

  I sat there quietly, still unsure if it was the right decision. “What if something goes wrong? What if I can’t protect her?”

  “That’s what we’re there for. We work as a team for a reason. This is what we do, Cazzo. We make a plan and commit to it. You know as well as all of us that you can’t control everything that happens in life, but you sure as hell can come up with a good plan and fight to the end.”

  “We need new IDs and a place to hide out. I know a place we can go. Let’s get everyone together and make a plan.”

  “Including Vanessa?”

  “Yeah. She needs to be a part of this so she doesn’t freak out.”

  I picked up my cane and walked back into the living room where everyone was gathering. My legs felt a lot better since Vanessa’s massage.

  “Alright, Cap wants us to get somewhere that’s not linked to Reed Security. Rob, we need IDs made for all of us. You’re coming with us. Now that you know about Vanessa, we can’t risk you going back with the others until this is all settled.”

  “Cazzo, I’d never tell anyone about Vanessa.” He looked pissed that I would even suggest it.

  “No one would ever say anything, but there’s a reason no one knew about Vanessa and it’s even more important that you’re with us now. The man that Reiner sent after Vanessa is an assassin. Have you all heard of Knight?”

  Vanessa shook her head, but everyone else knew of him. I could see it on their faces.

  “Who’s Knight?” she asked.

  “He’s former military. Not much is known about him other than he has a distinctive tattoo on his wrist and the fact that he’s a well known assassin. He’s most likely going to go after Cap first to try and get intel out of him. That gives us a small window to get out and ahead of this. We need to work fast. I know of a cabin we can head to. It’s pretty isolated and-”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Cazzo,” Jules interrupted. “We need someplace where you can still do PT. We have no idea how long we’re going to be in hiding for and the stronger you get, the better off we all are.”

  “I can do PT no matter where we are. The fewer people that see us, the better. Besides, my PT comes secondary to keeping everyone safe.”

  “We also have to think about casualties,” Chris said grimly.

  “Casualties?” Vanessa looked horrified by the idea.

  “We’re just trying to plan for every scenario. If Knight does find us, we have to be prepared for an attack. If we’re in a populated area, innocent people could be hurt.”

  “Sam, I trust you. I think we should do whatever you feel is best.” She somehow still looked at me like she did back in Pittsburgh, like I could protect her from everything and as much as that made me feel like I was ten feet tall, I had to face reality.

  “I would like to say that I have the deciding vote here, but the fact is that John’s team will be the one to protect you and we need to let them decide the safest way to do
that.” I turned to John who looked to his teammates.

  “As much as we need for you to be at your best, we don’t know how long that’ll take. We need to plan for an attack that could happen at any moment. I say we go for someplace as isolated as possible.”

  “I agree,” Chris nodded.

  “I go where you go, Ice,” Jules said.

  “It’s decided then. We’ll head out first thing in the morning. Rob, how long will it take to get new IDs?”

  “A day or two.”

  “Let’s get to work.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Vanessa

  WE HEADED OUT early the next morning in two vehicles. I rode with Chris and Sam, while John, Jules, and Rob rode in the other vehicle. I had no idea where we were going, other than it was an isolated cabin. Sam had told me that it was only a half day drive, so I relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

  We stopped half way through because Sam’s legs were starting to cramp up. Now that he was walking more, if he sat too long in one position, his muscles started to spasm. We pulled into a diner in a small town and parked facing the exit. Apparently, Chris was preparing for a quick getaway. I handed Sam his cane and walked beside him into the restaurant. I could see that we had waited a tad too long to stop based on the way he was walking. His gate wasn’t quite as smooth as it had been over the past few days and his limp was a little more pronounced.

  “You should have told us sooner that you needed to stop,” Chris chastised. I wasn’t the only one that noticed then.

  “I’m fine. Just have to work out a few kinks,” Sam said.

  “Yeah, well, you can’t do that shit. You were worried about slowing us down, but you’re doing that now. If we had stopped sooner, you wouldn’t be in so much pain.”

  “I said I’m fine,” Sam snapped. “I’m not in pain. I just need to stretch.”

  I knew Chris wasn’t really mad at Sam. He just wanted to let him know that it was okay to tell him he needed to stop. Chris had a funny way of showing his concern. In fact, every single one of these guys were like that. They just harassed one another instead of talking it out. Men were so strange. I felt like I needed a manual around them sometimes.