Parker: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “So, if the virus was unleashed, he would be on the committee that would be in charge of spending. How does that help if you’ve got a virus that could kill you at any moment?”

  “We know from the paper you found that they were hoping this was ready by the spring. So, if someone is planning on using this virus as a weapon, they’re planning to do it soon,” Cap said. “Which means we don’t have much time to figure this out. We need to know who the target would be. Chances are, it would be a foreign country, someplace that it would take longer to spread to the US. Becky, you and Rob need to start digging. I know this is fucking impossible, but come up with any ideas for us. Start with the U.S.’s biggest enemies and work down the list. Look for any way that the senator would have an interest in what happens in those countries. Knight, what about your contact with the FBI?”

  “We’re meeting up tomorrow.”

  “I want him here. Cazzo’s property has a secondary entrance. We’ll use that, since his property is the farthest from the main building.”

  I pulled out my phone and called Kate immediately. This changed everything. This was no longer some little plot that the feds were covering up. This was much larger and deadlier than I could have ever imagined. The feds weren’t going to come at us with a search warrant. They were going to come in and take over, disregarding any law that got in their way. Because if their plan got out, they would all rot in jail for the rest of their lives.

  The phone rang and rang, but Kate didn’t pick up. My heart hammered in my chest as I dialed again. I felt like I was going to throw up. This couldn’t be happening. I should have gone immediately. What the fuck was I thinking? I headed for the door as soon as it went to voicemail for the second time.

  “Where are you going?” Hunter asked.

  “Kate’s not answering.”

  I rushed out the door and jumped on my motorcycle. Kate’s office was in town, a good twenty minutes from where I was. I heard some of the guys get in their trucks, but I didn’t wait for them. There wasn’t time. If they were already there for her, I had to pray that she was able to stall them until I could get to her. If they laid even one hair on her head, I would kill them all without a second thought.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Kate

  “Hey, Kate, is it alright if I head out for the night? I’ve got dinner plans.”

  Carrie looked so hopeful that I couldn’t say no, even though I had a massive amount of paperwork to finish up. Hudson wouldn’t be happy with me. He didn’t like me deviating from my schedule, and his paranoia was off the charts right now. But I would just have to explain to him that I had work that couldn’t wait. He’d just have to get over it.

  “Sure,” I smiled. “Have a great night, and lock the door behind you.”

  “Thanks, Kate!”

  She walked out of my office and I heard the bell over the door chime, signaling she had left. I sighed at the mountain of files that I still had to go through. Pulling the first one off the top of the pile, I started jotting down notes and checking over the patient file to make sure I had all pertinent documents. The bell over the door rang, pulling me from my thoughts. Carrie must have forgotten something. I continued on to the next file.

  “Did you forget something, Carrie?” I called out as I started with my notes.

  She appeared in the doorway, a wobbly smile on her face.

  “Did you forget something?”

  She didn’t say anything, but then she stumbled forward into my office. A man appeared behind her, holding a gun at her.

  “I’m so sorry, Kate.” Her voice wobbled as tears filled her eyes. “They said if I didn’t get them in, they would kill me.”

  I slowly stood from the desk and moved toward Carrie. “It’s okay. You did the right thing.”

  I had to think fast. I hadn’t called Hudson yet and told him that I was going to be late. He would come for me when I didn’t answer the phone. Hopefully, he would get here before these men accomplished whatever it was they came here to do.

  “Kate Knight?” the man asked.

  I nodded slowly. “That’s me.”

  “You’re coming with us.”

  Another man appeared in the doorway, gun in hand and a deadly expression on his face. My phone was on the charger on the table behind the desk. Even if I could get to it in time, there was no way that I could get a call to Hudson before one of them got to me. My best bet was to go with them and wait for Hudson to come get me, because I had Carrie in the room with me. But I also knew that he would tell me to fight with everything I had. If I went with them, my chances of living decreased greatly. If I made a move, Carrie could get hurt, and I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.

  I felt Carrie wrap her hand in mine and squeeze tight. I could feel the tremor in her body. She wouldn’t make it five seconds with these men. I didn’t relish being held captive either, but I knew I could handle it. Knight would come for me. I wasn’t naive anymore. I knew what I risked by going with them. I knew what they might do to me. But I also had my kids to fight for, and I would rather fight and risk it all than go with them and lose the chance to see my kids again. Knight had trained me, not a lot, but he had trained me in self-defense. I had a good chance of getting out of here.

  I took a deep breath and nodded slightly. “Okay, just promise me that you won’t hurt Carrie. Stick her in the closet and lock the door or something.”

  “Kate-”

  “No,” I cut her off. “If you want to live, you’ll do this,” I hissed.

  Tears tracked down her face and I could see the guilt in her eyes, but I didn’t have time to think about that right now. The only thing I could think about was survival. They were here for me, not her.

  “Fine,” the first man said, jerking his head for the second man to take Carrie. “But if anyone comes after us, we’ll be coming back for her. And she won’t be leaving alive.”

  Carrie whimpered as the man grabbed her and shoved her into the closet. I could hear her cries and her pleas, but I blocked them out. Now I just had to get out of this. The first man grabbed my arm and jerked me toward him. I slammed my foot down on his and then rammed my elbow back into his stomach. I grabbed for his gun just as the second man rushed for me. With as much strength as I could, I wrenched the man’s arm toward the other man and fought to get my finger on the trigger of his gun.

  My heart pounded wildly as the second man ran for me. He was just a foot away when I finally got my finger on the trigger and pulled. The man crashed into us and I pulled the trigger again and again, anything to make it stop. We all crashed to the ground. I could feel blood pouring over me, but I couldn’t move the guy from on top of me. The man beneath me was shifting and swearing. I had to get off him and find some way to subdue him before he could get me.

  My phone started ringing, the ringtone I had set specially for Hudson. He was calling and when I didn’t answer, he would haul ass to get to me. Suddenly, there was a press of cold steel against my throat and I stopped struggling. There was nowhere for me to go. I couldn’t escape him in the position I was in.

  “You need to let me go. That’s my husband and when I don’t answer, he’s going to come here and he’s going to kill you,” I spat.

  “I’m not afraid of him.”

  “You should be. You have no idea who he is.”

  “You have no idea who I am,” he sneered.

  “Yes, I do,” I said, trying to buy myself some time. “I’m the woman that got your gun away from you and killed your partner. If I can do that, imagine what my husband can do.”

  “We won’t be here to find out,” he growled, shoving me up from where I laid. The man on top of me rolled off of me and over to his back. His lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling. The knife slid against my neck, making me wince when he came just a little too close to my jugular. “Get up.”

  I very carefully placed my hand between my throat and his hand, trying to keep him from slicing my neck open. “Alright, I’m gett
ing up. Just don’t slice my neck open.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that right now. Someone wants you alive, but he didn’t say anything about making sure you got to him in one piece. So don’t fuck with me.”

  I gave a slight nod and stepped over the dead man on the ground. I had to think of some way to slow him down. I needed to give Hudson more time. “Aren’t you going to clean up the body?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Someone will find him and…and link him to you. He fell on top of us. There’s going to be evidence from you on his body; hair or skin cells. They’ll know that you were involved.”

  “Not in time to save you,” he chuckled in my ear. “By the time they find out that I was involved, I’ll have delivered you and gotten my payday.”

  My head was swirling as I tried to figure out something, anything I could do to leave a message for Hudson. I was panicking and that wouldn’t get me anywhere. But I could sign. The cameras would pick it up. I only knew how to sign letters, but hopefully it would be enough. I wracked my brain for the right questions to ask.

  “Where are you taking me? Who wants to see me?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  “At least tell me what this is all about. I think I have a right to know why you’re dragging me away from my workplace.”

  “Why don’t you think about what your husband has been up to lately.”

  “He goes to work. That’s all I know,” I said quickly. We were nearing the front of the office. I was losing my chance to get a message out.

  “If he had kept his nose out of other people’s business, you wouldn’t be in this position. If you ever make it back to him, I would ask him if his search for the truth was worth it.”

  Search for the truth? What the hell did that mean? It was all I had to go on though. I started signing as quickly as I could, keeping my right hand down by leg so he couldn’t see. I signed something about your search for the truth. I got it about one and a half times before he pushed the door open and shoved me through. I hoped that was enough. I hoped that someone could decipher my sign language. It was all I had, the only hope keeping me going at this point. And if Knight couldn’t find me soon, I had a feeling that I would never see him or my kids again.

  Also by Giulia Lagomarsino

  Thank you for reading Parker and Blake’s story. It’s not over and I know you’re upset about that, but it will all be concluded in the series finale GoodKnight.

  Have you missed out on any of the books in either series? Follow the links below to get to the series page, or scroll further for the individual links!

  For The Love Of A Good Woman series

  Reed Security series

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  My Website

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  Did you start in the middle? We’ve all done it! Find your place in the series and start from there! There’s no need to question which book to start with. These books are best read in order. All books are available in Kindle Unlimited!

  Jack , Cole, Logan, Drew, Sebastian, Sean, Ryan

  Not ready for those characters you love to disappear? You can catch them again throughout the Reed Security Series! These men and women are strong, sexy, and willing to fight for those they love. Sometimes, they fall right into love, while others need a little more convincing. Don’t miss out on this exciting series!

  Sinner, Cap, Cazzo, Knight, Irish, Hunter, Whiskey, Lola, Ice, Burg, Gabe, Jules, Sniper, Jackson, Chance, Phoenix Rising, Alec, Storm, Wolf, A Mad Reed Security Christmas, Rocco, Coop, TNT, Nightingale

  Preview of GoodKnight

  Book 2 of the series finale

  Knight

  The door to her clinic was standing wide open and there were blood smears all over the door and along the floor. Oh, God. My heart thundered in my chest as I ran for the door. I pulled my weapon and crashed through the door, just barely hearing Pappy in my ear, begging me to wait. But I couldn’t wait. Kate could be back there. She was my life, the only good in me that kept me pushing through this crappy life. If she was gone, I would have no one. Not even our kids could keep me from burning down this world. They meant everything to me, but Kate…she was my salvation.

  I ran through the clinic, checking every room until I got to her office. The blood on the floor was thicker here, pooling out of the door in such a way that I knew that whoever was back there was most definitely dead. I was stalled, unable to move and see who was there. I felt Pappy grip my shoulder tightly, anchoring me in this moment.

  “I’ll go first,” he said.

  “No.” I needed to do this. If she was…if it was her, that was on me. I had to be the one that witnessed the wreckage of what I had brought down on us. When was I going to learn? How many times did I have to put my family at risk because of my own need for justice?

  I moved forward, each step my heart thundered in my ears and the world moved in slow motion. I made it to the doorway, but it was a man’s shoe that I saw on the floor. Hoping against hope, I moved quickly inside. She wasn’t there. There was a dead man on the floor, but she wasn’t there. My shoulders sagged in relief and my body started to shake. I felt like I was going to collapse at any second. Pappy gripped my arm like he knew I was about to go down.

  “She’s not here,” I croaked out.

  “Which means she’s probably still alive. We need to get back to Reed Security and check the footage. From there, we’ll be able to find her.”

  I nodded, but the blood smears on the floor brought back memories I would rather forget.

  A broken wine bottle. Droplets of blood on the bedroom floor.

  I squeezed my eyes shut as I was assaulted with the images that still haunted my dreams.

  I moved silently through the basement with Ice, Jules, and Chris on my heels. We had to clear the whole fucking warehouse, but my only objective was finding Kate. I moved into a dark room with Chris, both of us clearing it when we saw movement in the corner. Kate and Vanessa were on the ground, chained to the fucking wall. I ran over to Kate, pulling out cutters to remove the chains from around her wrists. She stared up at me with wide eyes, her body trembling in fear. I handed off the cutters as she threw her arms around me and held me tight.

  “Shhh,” I whispered in her ear. We needed to be silent, so as much as I wanted to talk to her, I couldn’t put everyone else in danger. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. I could kick my own ass for the terror I had put her through. It didn’t matter that this had nothing to do with me. She was in danger because of the company I kept. They were all good people, but my life continued to put her in the path of bad men. When would it stop?

  I heard more feet shuffling behind me, and then Cole was yanking Kate out of my arms, holding her like he had full rights to her. I didn’t care that he was her cousin. She was mine, and she belonged in my arms. I shoved that aside though. I had to get her out of here and have her looked at. Hunter had entered at some point and was looking over Vanessa. She was unconscious on the floor and needed medical attention more than Kate. Taking Kate’s hand, I led her out of the warehouse and up to the waiting vehicles.

  When we were safely tucked inside, she curled into my body, seeking comfort and protection. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

  “I was so scared. I tried to run, but I wasn’t fast enough.”

  “You held on. That’s all that matters.”

  Cazzo flung the back door open and gently set Vanessa inside the vehicle with us. “We need to get her to the hospital.” He climbed in beside her as Cole climbed in the other side. I didn’t want to let Kate go, but we needed to leave. I held her hand in mine the entire way to the hospital, grateful that she didn’t seem to be hurt. When we got to the hospital, I insisted on following her back to the exam room. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight again. I had let down my guard once, and look where that got me.

  “Hey,” Hunter said, gripping my shoulder. “We should move.”

>   The sound of a whimper broke through the silence. I glanced around the room, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. The closet. I ran over there and yanked the door open, hoping I would find Kate inside, but it wasn’t her. Carrie, I thought her name was. Hunter shoved past me and pulled her to her feet. I stepped back out of the way, disappointment rushing through me. A normal person would be happy that Carrie was alive. I was pissed that she wasn’t my wife.

  “It’s okay. This is Kate’s husband, remember? And I work with him. Can you tell us what happened?” Hunter asked gently.

  “I was leaving for the night,” she said with a wobbly voice. Tears ran down her face and she was visibly pale. She must have been terrified. Was Kate terrified? “I had just walked out the door and I had locked it behind me. These two men came up to me and told me to let them in or they’d kill me. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “It’s okay,” Hunter soothed. “What else happened?”

  “They led me back here and they wanted Kate. She told them to put me in the closet. I didn’t want her to, but she demanded it. She was protecting me.”

  Of course she was. Kate would do anything for anyone, even sacrifice her life if it meant that someone else survived.

  “They shoved me in here and locked the door. I tried to get out. I yelled and hit the door, but they wouldn’t open it. And then I heard the gunshot.” Her eyes went wide and distant, like she was remembering that moment. “I panicked and just sat down, covering my ears. I didn’t want to hear what was happening.”

  A few tears slid down her face as she glanced at me. Her eyes were begging me for forgiveness, but I had none to give for anyone. Kate was all that mattered. This woman meant nothing to me, and if she didn’t have any information for me, I didn’t have the time to sit around and coddle her.