Nightingale: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “And that makes walking away okay?” Hunter asked. “Do or die for your brothers unless it’s inconvenient?”

  “All of you shut up!” Lola shouted. She held her gun out, but I couldn’t tell what side she was on. “None of you are thinking clearly. This isn’t about rescuing someone from certain death. We have to be smart about this. Reid’s going to Utah. OPS is close. We can put a team on Reid; watch him and make sure that’s he’s being treated well. We cannot just kidnap the kid and pray for the best. And what the fuck is wrong with all of you, wanting to help Florrie escape? We always do shit together, but you’re talking about sending her out on her own with that kid. She’ll have no connections, because you know none of us can help her once she’s out there! The feds will be watching our every move. I want to help her too, but this isn’t the way to do it!”

  “Why isn’t he offering to go with?” Jules jerked his head at me. “Can’t man up for your woman?”

  “Kidnapping is against the law,” I reminded him.

  “So is murder, but you snapped a guy’s neck for taking a shot at Florrie. Where’s that sense of justice now?”

  “Look, I understand if you don’t want to help me. I know that I’m asking you to stand against Florrie, but there is only one side I’m on right now and that’s Florrie’s, even if she doesn’t see it. If I let her do this, her life is essentially over. And I know I’ll lose her if I stand in her way, but I would rather lose her by trying to save her, than to lose her by a bullet she would take trying to outrun the police. You don’t want to help? That’s fucking fine, but then it’s on your head when she gets hunted down and shot.”

  We all stood in a standoff, each of us watching for any sign of movement. I saw Cap slowly pull his phone out and place it against his ear.

  “Rob, we’re all in the panic room. Engage the final security protocols.”

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Jules yelled, swinging his gun to Cap.

  “Just do it right fucking now!”

  The lights in the panic room flashed and a voice came over the speaker system, letting everyone know that we were on lockdown and that no one would be allowed to leave. Knight had installed the protocols after Kayla got out. It basically fully locked down the panic room to the point that none of us could override the system and get out. It was the only way that Cap could make sure that Florrie didn’t run.

  “What the hell did you do?” Cazzo asked as we heard mechanisms locking into place. None of us knew exactly what happened when the final protocols kicked in. We just knew there was no getting out without an override from someone in the IT department.

  “No one is going anywhere,” Cap said. “This shit stops right now. We’ve taken the law into our own hands before, but never when the law was breathing down our necks. I won’t allow this company to go down in flames when there are other ways to handle this!”

  “Holy shit. What the fuck is going on?”

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw Knight and Tony walking behind Coop, Craig, and Florrie. Reid wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

  “Florrie, where’s Reid?”

  “Knight stashed him in our suite,” she sneered.

  “Florrie, you need to let this go. We’ll figure something out, but this isn’t the way to do this. The social worker is on the way over, if not already here.”

  “And I would be gone already if it wasn’t for you,” she shot back. “If you loved me, you would let me walk out that door right now.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Then you never loved me,” she said, right as she launched herself at me. I blocked her fist, but she brought up her knee, immediately nailing me in the nuts. I had been hit there enough to breathe through it as I continued to fight. I did everything I could to keep from hitting her, but when she kicked me in the chest and I flew back into the table, crashing through the glass, I knew I was going to have to step up my game.

  “Sinner, get the kid out of here,” I shouted. I barely saw him move before chaos broke out around me. Chris knocked Ice’s gun from his hands and tackled him to the ground. Derek and Hunter were throwing punches, each trying to knock the other out. Cap was fighting Jules. It was fucking chaos.

  I jumped to my feet and sidestepped a kick, grabbing her leg and twisting her leg up behind her back. She threw an elbow back into my stomach, but I held tight until I could get in a better position.

  “Florrie, knock it off. Someone’s gonna get hurt.”

  “Then don’t try to stop me,” she growled, grabbing me around the throat and moving into a headlock. I tried to break her hold, but one thing Florrie really excelled at was using her smaller form to get into positions that were impossible to break. I was quickly losing air, so I did what I had to. I tossed her over my shoulder. She flew against the wall and crumpled to the floor.

  Someone slammed into me from behind and I fell to the ground, trying to roll into the tackle. I grabbed onto a shirt and tugged as hard as I could, getting just enough traction to grab onto the bulging muscles I knew were Craig’s.

  “This isn’t right, man,” I panted, flinging him over my shoulder.

  “You’re right,” he said, jumping to his feet. “It’s not right when you betray your own fucking team. But then again, you’re used to that, leaving your team in the dust.”

  He ran at me, but I sidestepped him just in time, bracing for the impact of his arm snagging me and dragging me down. I blocked his first punch and countered with one of my own, hitting him in the kidneys. Knight was there in a flash, dragging Craig off me, but then turned to fight Chance as he was barreling toward him.

  Florrie stumbled to her feet and ran at me, punching and kicking so fast that I almost couldn’t keep up. Florrie was faster than me and she knew it. I blocked as much as I could, not wanting to hurt her in any way. I should have fucking known she wouldn’t do the same for me.

  “Florrie, just stop. Let’s talk about this.”

  “Fuck that,” she said, picking up a metal lamp and tossing it at me. I just barely avoided getting hit by it, but she had the cord and wrapped it around my neck, squeezing so tight that black spots appeared in front of my eyes. I jabbed back twice into her stomach and then returned the kick to her crotch. When the cord loosened, I grabbed her arm and flung her across the room. I ran for the supplies, hoping to grab some zip ties to stop this madness.

  An alarm sounded, making the lights flash all around us. I quickly glanced around to assess the situation, which was just enough time for Florrie to sneak up on me and get two punches to my kidneys and one to my throat. I fell to the ground, gasping for air as I watched her run to find Reid.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Florrie

  I didn’t bother to look back as Alec fell to the floor gasping for air. I needed to get to Reid and get the hell out of here. Craig caught up with me just outside the suite and stood guard as I rushed inside and got Reid. He stood when he saw me and ran forward, knowing that we didn’t have much time. I snatched his hand and ran down the hall, back to the room that would lead us to the escape hatch.

  Craig flung open the hatch door after entering the codes. “Hurry,” he said, grabbing Reid and lowering him through the opening. I could hear the footsteps pounding and I slipped through the hole. Craig followed immediately and we took off at a run down the tunnel.

  “Run faster, Reid,” I urged. I could hear other people entering the tunnel, running after us. I knew they weren’t there to aid us. They wouldn’t be running after us if they wanted to help. They would be holding the others back. It took forever to get to the door at the end that opened up to the garage. Craig quickly entered the code again and we shoved through the doors, running flat out for the SUV that I had already packed our things in.

  “Backseat, Reid!”

  I raced to the driver’s side, starting the vehicle as Reid buckled up in the back and Craig ran to open the door. I backed up quickly, my tires squealing as I slammed on the gas toward the overhead door. In t
he rearview mirror, I saw Alec pushing through the door of the tunnel and yelling for me. I heard the gunshots at the SUV, but I didn’t stop. I gunned it for the door, but one of the tires blew out, causing me to swerve. I would have gunned it and run on the rims, but as the door opened, my heart sank at the sight of Cap standing with Derek and Sean, their guns raised, aimed directly at me. My door flew open and Alec hauled me out, holding me tight to his body.

  “No!” I shouted, feeling my last chance slipping away. I struggled to break free from his grasp, but he had me locked tight against his body. I watched helplessly as Sinner yanked open the back door and pulled Reid out. Chris stepped out of nowhere and pointed his gun directly at Alec’s head.

  “Let her go,” he growled. There was no fucking with Chris right now. I could tell he was willing to pull the trigger if Alec didn’t do what he said. Maybe not to kill him, but he would definitely follow through on his threat to shoot. I didn’t want Alec to get hurt, but this was my chance. My very last chance, and if this didn’t work, I would lose Reid forever.

  “Florrie,” Alec pleaded, “It’s over.”

  “It’s not,” I said, moving toward Reid. “I can still make it.”

  But as I glanced around, I knew that I didn’t really stand a chance. The room was split. Half on my side, but half against me, and then there was Sean. He was a cop, and a cop witnessing this wouldn’t do anything to help me. And even if I managed to get out of here, what were the chances that he would give me a head start?

  Alec shifted toward me, but Chris pressed his gun harder against Alec’s skull. Blood dripped down his face and his eye was swelling shut from where I had punched him earlier. He looked like he was still recovering from my throat punch based on the way his chest was heaving.

  “Don’t fucking move,” Chris growled. “If you want to live, you’ll stay right the fuck where you are.”

  “Drop it right now, Chris.” Cap made his way around the SUV, his gun pointed at Chris.

  “Not a fucking chance. I’m not letting that kid get taken back to an abusive situation.”

  “The social worker is in my office right fucking now. Even if we wanted to get the kid out of here, we couldn’t. Every single one of us would be accused of aiding and abetting. There’s a fucking cop down here with us.”

  “I’ll fucking deal with that if it means that the kid doesn’t have to go back to that kind of situation,” Chris said.

  “Drop it, Cap,” Hunter said, advancing with his own gun in hand. Everyone had turned on each other, and I wasn’t sure how any of us were going to come out of this alive. “This is Florrie’s choice to make. This is her kid, and no one is going to tell her that she can’t fight for him.”

  “Over my dead body,” Ice said, stepping up beside Cap and aiming his weapon at Chris as blood dripped down his face. “Sorry, man, but you’re wrong here.”

  “Like hell I am,” Chris spat. “Remember that I grew up in a situation like that. She’s saving the kid.”

  “She’s putting us all at risk. Maybe you’re willing to risk your family, but I’m not willing to risk mine.”

  “We’re supposed to have each other’s backs!”

  “Yeah, and that includes not fucking up each other’s lives,” Ice yelled. “I’ve already risked my life with Lindsey one too many times. I can’t fucking do it again.”

  “No one’s asking you to,” Hunter said. “Just walk away. This doesn’t have to affect you in any way.”

  “Bullshit,” Cap spat. “This affects all of us and our business. You let her run right now and our whole business tanks.”

  I watched as they all fought, yelling at each other and all because of my choices. I couldn’t regret trying to make a run for it with Reid, but I didn’t want them all turning on each other either. This was wrong, and it was all my fault.

  “This is insane,” Lola said. “What the fuck are we doing here? Turning on each other when we should be fighting to help each other!” She had her gun raised, pointing it at anyone that looked like they might lose it and shoot.

  “It seems we stopped fighting for each other the minute the law got involved,” Chris said.

  Sean stepped around the SUV, his gun pointed in my direction, but not at any one person. I knew he was trying to stay back and let Cap deal with this. The last thing he wanted to do was get the police involved. Sean was loyal to Cap in every way, and he thought Cap could diffuse this situation, he would let him do it.

  “Look, guys,” Cap said, keeping his gun trained on Chris. “I know not everyone agrees with this, but we are not kidnapping a fucking kid.”

  Things were escalating too fast. I was out of options, and I was running out of getting out of this with what I needed. I couldn’t see a way out of this anymore. My path was blocked. There were too many against me, and now I had a cop right here, witnessing all of it. And through all that, Reid stood there, his eyes wide and slightly fearful, and I was doing this to him. It didn’t matter if I got out of here with him if he was afraid of me. But I couldn’t give up yet. I had to try one last time. Just one last plea to escape.

  “Cap, please, don’t do this to me. Please don’t ask me to walk away.”

  Cap looked at me, his face sad and full of regret. I knew that he wanted to help me. I could see it in his eyes, but Cap was a rule follower. He did what he could to stay within the bounds of the law, and straying outside those bounds was something he only did when he didn’t have a choice. Logically, I understood why he was standing against me, but that didn’t mean my heart could handle it.

  “Florrie, you know I can’t allow you to leave with Reid.”

  I felt my heart shatter, knowing that there was no way out of this for me. I was going to lose Reid for good. Even if everyone helped me fight through this, I still wouldn’t come out on top, and what would we have to show for it? People would be hurt. I would have to live with that for the rest of my life. And the end result would be the same.

  “Florrie,” Cap said, trying to talk some sense into me. “We’ll do what we can to watch over Reid, but this is over.”

  Anger welled up inside me. I hated being told that I had lost, and I wanted so badly to tell him to fuck off, so I did. “Fuck you, Cap,” I spat. “This is my life we’re talking about and I won’t let you tell me how to live it.”

  “Then you won’t work here any longer. This is not the way we operate here. I won’t have everyone turning on each other. This is not a democracy!”

  “We all own stock in this company,” Jackson said, his gun pointed at Rocco.

  “And you all made it pretty goddamn clear that you don’t want any say in the running of this place. So, you either get on board or you fucking walk!”

  The tension in the room ran high and not a single person flinched. Guns were pointed everywhere and it would take a damn miracle for all of us to walk away alive. This was on me now.

  But before I could step down, Sean walked forward, his gun pointed directly at me. “Florrie, this is over. I’m a cop. I can’t help you, but if we end this now, none of this ever happened. I’ll walk away and you’ll move on with your life.”

  Except, I would never move on. This was the end.

  “Chris, put your gun down,” Cap demanded. “We are not doing this. We are not going to fall apart over this. We’ll work together like we always do and we’ll find a way to get Reid back, but turning on each other doesn’t solve anything.”

  “Florrie, I can’t allow you to leave with Reid,” Sean said calmly. “I really do understand why you want to run, but I can’t pretend that I haven’t seen him here. The social worker knows that he’s here. The whole business would be shut down and the entire police department would be called in to investigate the kidnapping. There is no way that anyone walks away from this with their lives still intact,” he said calmly.

  “Listen to him, Florrie,” Cap urged. “There’s no way out of here, and I really don’t want to fucking shoot you.”

  “Florrie,” Al
ec said quietly. “Please, don’t do this. We’ll watch over him. We’ll make sure that he’s safe, and if he’s not, we’ll fight to get him back. But if you do this, there’s nothing to fight to come back to.”

  “I want to go,” Reid said quietly.

  I turned to look at Reid, shocked at what he just said. “What?”

  “They’re my family, Florrie. I love you guys, and I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me, but…I belong with them.”

  My heart fucking broke. My eyes welled with tears and my whole body trembled. He didn’t want me. He wanted them. “Are you sure about this?”

  Reid nodded and it broke my fucking heart, but then I saw him glance at Alec, and I knew it was all a fucking lie. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew there was no other way for this to end. He was trying to make this easier on me. He was trying to protect me like I was protecting him.

  I pulled him in and held him close, giving him one last hug. A stabbing pain filled my chest, but I sucked it all in and pretended that I was fine, because there was no way I was letting Reid walk out of here feeling like he was hurting me. I would do anything I had to for this kid, including walking away so that he felt like he had won.

  “We love you, kid. If there’s anything you ever need, just call and we’ll be there.”

  He walked over to Alec and gave him a hug, holding him tight for just a few seconds. My hand flew to my mouth as a sob worked its way up my chest. It was so fucking unfair. I watched as he walked over to Sean and they headed for the door. He glanced back at us one last time before walking out the door and disappearing around the corner.

  I fell to my knees, a horrible cry ripping from deep inside as I watched Reid walk out of my life. Tears tracked down my face as Alec raced over and scooped me up into his arms, holding me against him as I cried. I fought him, punching at his chest. I didn’t want his comfort. He had done this to me. He had taken away the one thing I wanted more than anything in this world and now there was nothing left.