Nightingale: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “But you made such a cute couple the last time,” Craig grinned until I smacked him. “Ow, what the fuck was that for? I’m just pointing out that if you hadn’t fucked everything up, they would have made a very cute couple.”

  “I think you mean if I hadn’t fixed what was fucked up,” I growled.

  “No, I meant exactly what I said. I’m telling you, that guy is like JFK Jr. or something.”

  “Alright, let’s not get into this shit right now. We have security plans to make, and Rob already started on putting together your packets. Let’s do our best not to fuck up this job, alright?” Cap said in irritation, shooting me a dirty look.

  I sighed heavily. Obviously he was referring to how I snapped a man’s neck the last time I was on this guys protection detail. “He deserved it.”

  “Let’s make sure no one else ‘deserves it’ on this job.”

  “Why do we get this job? What job are they doing?” I asked, jerking my head toward Cazzo.

  Cap grinned wide and tossed a packet to Cazzo. “They get to be the security detail for a Mrs. Laura Sutton, age sixty-nine, and her Pomeranian dog, Elise. Now, get the fuck out of here before you and I finish our conversation from earlier.”

  My eyes widened and I glanced at Sinner and Burg, who both looked like they wanted to puke. I didn’t have to be told twice to leave. There was no fucking way I wanted to stick around and risk Cazzo convincing Cap to switch teams for the jobs. And there was definitely no way I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier.

  “Do you think he was serious?” Craig asked. “Do you really think they’re doing security for a dog?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past Cap to take a job like that just to piss us off,” Florrie said.

  “Or he’s got a really good job and he just said that shit to throw us off.”

  “Unless he wants you to think exactly that,” Craig grinned.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, he said that shit right in front of us. Then he knew we would come out here and question the job because it sounds really fucking stupid. So, then we start to question if he’s fucking with us. But the thing is, we’ll never really know for sure.”

  Craig was right. What were the chances that anyone on Cazzo’s team would tell us if they got a really good job? “He’s gotta be screwing with us.”

  “Yeah, but what’s the job?” Florrie asked. “It’s gotta be something big. Like, guarding someone really high profile.”

  “More high profile than Jamie Hanson?” I asked. “It’s not like he’s the richest man in the world, but he’s made a name for himself. Who would be bigger than him?”

  “Bill Gates?” Craig suggested.

  “Bill Gates has security for his security,” Florrie responded.

  “Well, it can’t be a political figure from another country. They would be covered under secret service,” Craig said. “Maybe it’s a spy. You know, a spy from another country that needs asylum, but our country won’t provide it because of who they were spying for. Maybe it’s a Russian or an Iranian.”

  “Yeah, and that would be a job Cap would take,” I said sarcastically. “Moral, do-gooder Cap decided to protect a foreign spy against his own government.”

  “Hey, you don’t think they’re guarding a Pomeranian, so I was just throwing out some suggestions.”

  “You know what?” I shook my head, unable to believe that I had fallen into Cap’s trap. “It doesn’t matter. They’ve got their job and we’ve got ours. We get to guard the JFK Jr. wannabe and it’ll be a cake job. Then we’ll come back here and wait for another job, just like we always do.”

  “You’re right,” Craig nodded. “It doesn’t matter what their job is.”

  “Exactly.”

  The door opened and Cazzo walked out with a smirk on his face, followed by Burg and Sinner. I ran up to him and got in his face. “Alright, what’s the real job? We all know that you’re not really guarding a fucking dog, so just tell us now.”

  “The job is the dog and the woman,” Cazzo grinned.

  “Listen, we can do this all day, alright? We all know that Cap wouldn’t send you out on a job to protect a dog. So, who is it? A foreign national? A spy? A hacker?”

  He laughed and slapped me on the arm, shoving past me. “I think you have bigger issues to worry about than who we’re protecting. Like why the hell you had that whole back and forth in his office.”

  “There was no back and forth,” I said, my spine stiffening.

  “Yes, there was,” Florrie said. “There was something else going on in there. What really happened?”

  “What? Nothing,” I chuckled. “It was nothing.”

  “Well, it was obviously something,” Sinner said. “You were sweating bullets when we walked in.”

  Shit. They all knew something else was going on, and they weren’t going to drop it. I was going to have to tell Florrie anyway, and when she found out, she would tell Craig. And there was no fucking way that Craig was going to walk away without telling at least one or two people. With any luck, I might be able to convince the others that Craig had to keep his mouth shut, and they might help me with that.

  I sighed and glanced back to make sure Cap’s door was closed. “Look, I went to talk to Reid this afternoon and I walked in on him and Caitlin kissing in his bedroom.”

  Cazzo burst out laughing and Burg shook his head. Sinner just looked stunned.

  “You are so fucked,” Cazzo laughed.

  “Aww,” Florrie sighed. “Reid had his first kiss. I can’t believe I missed it.”

  “Be glad you missed it,” I sighed, “It was awkward as fuck.”

  “I can’t believe this shit,” Sinner said.

  “What part?” I asked.

  “I’m finally off the hook.” Sinner’s face split into a huge grin and he let out a loud whoop. “See, all this time, I’m the one that’s been on his shit list because of Maggie. And I could never figure out how to get off the list, but it looks like you just took first place.”

  “But I didn’t put Caitlin up to it. In fact, Reid told me that Caitlin started everything.”

  “Yeah, that’s not gonna matter,” Burg chuckled. “You’re fucked, because in Cap’s eyes, Reid is older and he’s your kid.”

  “And, Caitlin was in Reid’s room,” Cazzo pointed out. “Basically, you’re fucked.”

  I looked to Florrie for help, but she just shrugged. “What? Caitlin is just like her mother. I have no doubt that she started this whole thing. She’s trouble and she’s looking to stir shit up. Nothing you can do about it now. You just have to hope when shit starts running downstream you’re not in the path.”

  “But we’re responsible for Reid,” I reminded her.

  “Yeah, but you’re the guy. This really falls more in your territory. Cap’s not gonna blame this on me.”

  I stared at her, completely baffled that she was throwing me under the bus. “I can’t fucking believe you! What happened to you being equal to us in every way?”

  “Well, sure, but those rules don’t apply here. Besides, you’re a guy. I’m sure you can explain this away.”

  “His daughter is involved!”

  “Yeah, you’re fucked,” Cazzo laughed. “There’s no possible way you can spin this that doesn’t end up with you in a body bag.”

  “Well, what should I do? I mean, I already told Caitlin not to say anything to Cap, so I should be good, right?”

  “Did you follow the trail?” Sinner asked.

  “What trail?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you ever seen Friends?”

  I shook my head, not really sure what that had to do with anything.

  “Look, on Friends, Ross slept with someone while he was on a break with Rachel-”

  Burg snorted. “Sure, if you want to call that a break.”

  “It was a break,” Florrie insisted. “The lines of the relationship were clear.”

  “Oh, so it doesn’t matter that they had just br
oken up?” Cazzo asked. “So, if you and Alec broke up, he could go out and sleep with someone the same night and you wouldn’t care?”

  She fucking shrugged. “Once you break up, neither party has control over what the other does.”

  “Hey,” I said indignantly. “If we ever break up, you most definitely do not get to go out and fuck another guy.”

  “I’d like to see you stop me,” Florrie snapped.

  “It doesn’t matter because we’re not fucking breaking up.”

  “Hey, you’re missing the whole point,” Sinner cut in. “Anyway, Ross goes out and sleeps with another woman, but he doesn’t want Rachel to find out. He had to follow the trail of people that his one night stand might tell that could lead back to Rachel. You have to follow the trail,” he said, hammering his fist into his other palm with every word for emphasis.

  “She’s fucking ten. What kind of trail could there be?” I asked.

  “Who’s her best friend?” Cazzo asked.

  “Uh…”

  “It would be…”

  “Maybe…”

  “What the fuck?” I shouted. “Do none of you know who she hangs out with?”

  “They all hang out together,” Burg pointed out. “It might be Maggie. I mean, she’s Maggie’s mini-me.”

  “But Maggie wouldn’t rat me out, right? I mean, she wouldn’t purposely make Cap insane.”

  Sinner laughed. “Yeah, you keep thinking that.”

  “I think you’re missing someone very important that she would tell,” Florrie said.

  “Who?”

  Florrie turned to Sinner with a smirk, then pointed to him.

  “No,” Sinner said, holding up his hands. “No, I am not involved in this. I just worked myself out of the line of fire. I will not go back.”

  “Sorry, man, but she’s right,” Burg laughed. “Caitlin would go to you in a heartbeat. You’re cool Uncle Sinner. She trusts you, and she knows that you keep secrets for her mom all the time from her dad. She’s going to run to you, and when she does, you’re going to have to decide which side you’re taking.”

  “But…no, there are no sides. I won’t be dragged around like this! I’m not getting taken down by a ten year old!”

  “How do you figure you’re getting taken down? Reid is my kid,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, but when Cap finds out that I knew about his daughter kissing your son, I’m a dead man. He’ll look at me like I put her up to it with my manwhore ways.”

  “But you’re not a manwhore anymore,” Florrie said.

  “It doesn’t matter! Don’t you see? To Cap, I am the reason that Maggie gets into so much trouble, and now, by extension, her kids!”

  The door to Cap’s office flew open and we all spun around, facing him like we were facing a firing squad. Cap stepped out, only to stop when he saw us all gathered down the hallway. “What’s going on?”

  “What?” I croaked, clearing my throat. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  “Yeah, we’re just hanging out,” Sinner added. “Just…shootin’ the breeze.”

  “Is there something you needed to discuss with me?” Cap asked.

  We all looked at each other and shook our heads. Cazzo snorted out a laugh and Sinner elbowed him.

  “No, we’re good. Just…preparing mentally…for the job,” Burg said.

  “Would any of this have anything to do with Reid?” Cap asked.

  I panicked. Hell, my heart started pounding out of control and I was sweating so bad that I could feel it pooling in my armpits. What would he do when he found out that my kid was kissing his ten year old daughter? Fuck, this was bad.

  “Alec,” Cap asked. “Does this have to do with Reid?”

  “Yes,” Florrie stepped forward, shoving me behind her. “We’re just worried about the results and the guys were encouraging us to just hang in until we knew something more.”

  Cap looked at us suspiciously and nodded. “They’re right. There’s nothing to worry about until there’s something to worry about.”

  He closed his door and headed down the hallway. Once he was out of sight, I blew out a breath and bent over, sucking in all the oxygen I could. “Holy fuck, that was close.”

  “That was only close because you’re so fucking terrible at lying,” Florrie spat. “I think we should just tell him. I mean, logically, what’s the worst thing he could do?”

  “Shoot me. That’s the worst thing he could do,” I said bluntly. “I’m not ready for a bullet, and especially not one to the nuts. Because that’s what he would do, Florrie. An eye for an eye and all that shit.”

  “Okay, first, let me remind you that this is Cap we’re talking about, and I’m pretty sure he’s not going to kill you over this. Second, it can’t be an eye for an eye if he shoots you in the nuts, unless you’ve given Reid pointers on how to seduce a girl.”

  “Oh God, do you think he knows that shit yet?”

  “Well, he is fourteen,” Burg reminded us.

  “Shit. I need to have a talk with Reid before we go,” I yelled, taking off down the hall.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Florrie

  “Jamie, it’s so good to see you,” I said excitedly, leaning in for a hug just to piss Alec off. He’d been in a terrible mood the whole way here. He really didn’t like that I got along so well with Jamie, but he could suck it. Jamie was a good guy, and even though there was the potential for there to be something between us, it would never happen.

  “Florrie, God, I missed you. Please say you’ll come be my personal security,” he said, batting his eyes at me.

  I laughed, shaking my head. “I think your girlfriend might have a problem with that.”

  “So would your fiancé,” Alec growled from behind me.

  “Fiancé?” Jamie said, wide eyed. “Let me see.” He snatched my hand and stared down at my empty finger. “There’s no ring and that means you’re still up for grabs.”

  “No, she’s not,” Alec said, snatching me around the waist and dragging me right up against his body. “There’s no ring because Florrie doesn’t like jewelry. See? I know shit like that about her, which is why I’m the one that’s fucking marrying her.”

  I maneuvered myself so I could move away from Alec and his possessive assholery. “Actually, I do like jewelry. I just never wear it because it’s not conducive to the job.”

  I wasn’t sure why I wanted to put Alec in check in front of Jamie. It was probably because Alec thought he needed to piss on me in front of a man that I would never want like I wanted him. Based on the way Alec glared at me, I knew he wasn’t too happy that I had corrected him.

  I heard Craig chuckle behind us. “Well, isn’t this just like old times. How ya doing, man?”

  Craig shoved between us and held out his hand for Jamie to shake.

  “Good. Still adjusting to the new life.”

  “Looks like you’ve been working out,” Craig nodded to his arms. “Trying to stay fit in case you have to run again?”

  I shook my head at Craig’s comment. Jamie held up just fine the last time that we had to run with him. Sure, he wasn’t as muscular as Craig and Alec, but he could hold his own.

  “Nah, I’m just trying to stay in shape. No plans to run anywhere anytime soon.”

  “Well, if you need some tips, let me know,” Craig grinned. “I bench press two ninety-two. I can help you get there.”

  “Wow,” Jamie chuckled. “Talk about intimidating. I feel like I should have done a few push ups before you got here.”

  “Not that it would have helped,” Alec growled.

  I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of Alec’s statement. He just couldn’t stand that Jamie was a genuinely good guy.

  “So, why are we really here?” I asked Jamie after the introductions were over.

  He chuckled, rubbing his hand across his jaw. “Yeah, I didn’t think you would believe what I told your boss.”

  “Well, after your wife tried to kill you, I was pretty sure that you took s
ecurity seriously. So, why aren’t they here with you?”

  “Why don’t we sit?”

  I sat down on the couch next to Jamie, only to have Alec snatch my hand to pull me back up, but I glared at him before he could drag me away. He released my hand and went to sit in another chair, snarling the whole way.

  “So, I’m pretty sure that your boss told you that I’m dating this woman, Tessa Blakely.”

  “Yes, she’s Richard Blakely’s daughter.”

  “That’s right. We’ve been together almost three months.”

  “I have a feeling this story is going to shit,” Craig muttered.

  “You’d be right. So, one of the companies that I invested in last year is a research company that is making great advancements in nanobots that are used to kill cancer.”

  “Sorry, I don’t know what that is,” I said.

  “Basically, it’s a combination of tech and medicine. Nanobots have been in the works for years, basically targeting cancer through these bots and delivering medicine directly to the tumors in the body. Many trials have been done on mice, and the testing is proving very good. It’s still in the testing phase, but my company brought in some of the original scientists that figured out how to use these nanobots. If it’s successful, we’re talking about a faster, safer cure for cancer. It would make millions.”

  “What does this have to do with your girlfriend?” Craig asked.

  “As you know, her father is one of the wealthiest men in the country.”

  “We’re aware.”

  “So, what you may not know is that he actually wanted to buy up the company before me, but the original owners wouldn’t sell.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s a man that likes to make money, and that’s where his morals end. I’m not saying he’s not a good man, but money talks.”

  “Okay, well, it sounds like that’s the type of man you need for this company,” I said in confusion. “Why wouldn’t they want someone like him to own the company?”

  “Nanotechnology used in the human body has the potential to be very dangerous. Imagine if this works, the next step would be to see how else you could use nanotechnology in the body. Could you cure a kid with Down Syndrome? What about trisomy 13, trisomy 18, Klinefelter syndrome, and Turner syndrome? All of those are diseases with chromosomal abnormalities. Now, imagine that scientists just started targeting those abnormalities and finding ways to cure those.”