Nightingale: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  For the past week, Alec and I slowly started returning to our lives. I didn’t go into work, mostly because I was still terrified. But I also decided that I wanted to enjoy this overwhelming feeling of joy. If something did happen to the baby, I didn’t want to regret not slowing down and taking the time to enjoy this. I read parenting books and started thinking about a baby’s room. But there were also moments that I just relaxed on my new deck and read Guns And Ammo. I still needed my fix, after all.

  There were three rooms upstairs, one of which used to be Reid’s. I couldn’t bring myself to move his stuff out of that room yet. We weren’t replacing him with this baby. So, everything stayed the same and the baby would have a brand new room.

  “Alec, Florrie…Craig. It’s great to see all three of you. Again.” Dr. Sunshine beamed at us, motioning for us to enter her office. “So, how are things going?”

  I took a deep breath and grinned. “I’m pregnant.”

  “Wow.” She smiled back, nodding her head. “And how do you all feel about that?”

  “Fucking terrified,” Craig said. “Seriously, Doc, my stomach is in knots and I’m feeling lightheaded quite a bit. I had to sit out of training the other day because I was so off balance.”

  “And Alec? How are you doing?”

  “Oh, he’s good,” Craig piped up. “Really solid. I mean, he really has a handle on this. I mean, it’s scary for sure, but he’s really holding us all together.”

  Dr. Sunshine nodded while Alec and I grinned. It was just too funny. “So, Alec and Florrie, how do you feel about this? Is this moving too fast?”

  “We’re good,” I grinned, linking my fingers with Alec’s. “It was hard to get to this point, but it was definitely worth it.”

  “And what about your trust issues?”

  Alec glanced over at me, smiling at me the way he always has, with that dangerous love in his eyes. “It’s not perfect, but we’re working on it every day.”

  “And we’ve got this little one to worry about,” I added. “That kind of trumps all the other crap that we’re bickering about.”

  “That’s good, but keep in mind that those issues won’t just go away. Masking them with the baby is only a temporary fix. Keep talking and working through those smaller issues so they don’t build. Remember, you’re stronger together than you are apart.”

  There was one thing that had been bothering me, and I sort of felt like this was the only place that I could voice that concern. “One of my biggest fears right now isn’t losing the baby,” I admitted. “My fear…” I looked to Alec and felt tears build in my eyes. His brows furrowed and he slipped his arm around me, pulling me in closer. “My biggest fear is that we’ll lose this baby and we’ll be back to hating each other. I know now that I can handle a lot, even losing this baby if it’s not meant to be, but I can’t handle losing you.”

  “Baby, you’re never gonna lose me. We’ve fought through hell to stay together. Nothing can tear us apart now.”

  I nodded as tears slipped down my cheeks. I loved him so much, and making it through losing Reid and all the other crap had just strengthened our relationship. I occasionally had lingering thoughts of him cheating, but I knew that it was a one time thing. It was a flurry of emotional wreckage that temporarily tore us apart. But we were both continuously learning from our mistakes and talking more than we ever had about things that were bothering us. I knew this time we would make it.

  “Aw, that’s so beautiful,” Craig said tearfully.

  “I think that I can give your boss the all clear from me.”

  “No more sessions?” Craig said in a panic.

  “No more sessions. If you need me, obviously, I’m here, but I think the two of you have reached the point that you really don’t need me anymore.”

  “But…but what about me?” Craig asked. “Doc, I’m serious. I’m having these massive pains in my chest. My stomach is cramping and I feel nauseous all the fucking time. My back hurts so much that I can’t sleep.”

  “Have you tried putting a pillow between your legs when you sleep?”

  “Will that help?”

  “It should,” she smiled.

  “What about the nausea?”

  “I would eat a few crackers before you get up every morning. Sip some ginger ale.”

  He nodded furiously, taking it all in. “What do you think I have?”

  “Well, you’d have to see your physician, but I think you Couvade Syndrome.”

  His eyes widened and he sank back in his chair. “Oh, God. Is that bad? That sounds bad. Doesn’t that sound bad?” he asked, turning to Alec and I.

  “It’s a sympathetic pregnancy. It doesn’t surprise me, based on how close the three of you are.”

  “So, we’re going to be like…pregnancy partners?”

  “No, asshole,” Alec said, slapping him upside the head. “I’m her pregnancy partner. You’re just fucking weird.”

  “Hey, don’t hit me. You could hurt the baby.”

  “You don’t have a fucking baby,” Alec retorted.

  “You could hurt her baby through me. You heard her, I’m having a sympathetic pregnancy. We’re connected and shit.”

  “No, you’re connected through her,” Dr. Sunshine clarified. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t affecting Florrie in the same way.”

  “Wait….so, this is all me?” Craig asked, completely stupefied.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “So, we don’t have this really great connection?”

  Dr. Sunshine shook her head. “I’m afraid not, but if that’s something you really want to explore, I could suggest a few fantasies you could play out.”

  “No!” the three of us shouted.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Tony

  I ran through the parking garage as fast as I could, messed up the code three times on the elevator, and then burst into the middle of a meeting in the conference room.

  “I’m a dad!”

  A round of cheers filled the room and Sinner walked over to me, slapping me not the back. “Congrats, man.”

  “Yeah, I know. It was intense, but…whew!”

  “So, what is it?” Cap asked.

  “A boy.”

  “Aw, the Taco man has a little taco boy,” Storm said. “That’s so cute.”

  “He’s not a taco. In fact, I named him an Italian name so that he’ll never be confused with a Mexican.”

  “What is it?” Storm asked.

  “Marcello,” I said proudly, puffing out my chest.

  “Marcello,” he grimaced. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m dead serious, and I can call him Mark for short.”

  “Aww,” Sinner beamed, “you named your kid after me.”

  “I did not name my kid after you. I just chose a name that was most definitely Italian.”

  “But also my name,” Sinner added. “Which anyone could misconstrue as him being named after me. Hey, I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I think it’s pretty cool. I’ll have a little kid that’s all mine to screw up.”

  “You already have a kid to screw up,” Cap reminded him. Two, in fact.”

  “Well, yeah, but it’s not the same. They don’t have my name.”

  “They have your last name,” Cap said incredulously.

  “You know, you’re really raining on my parade right now.”

  “It’s my parade,” I reminded him. “I’m the one that had the baby. He’s my kid, and I didn’t name him after you!”

  “Geez,” Sinner snorted. “You’re awfully touchy about this. Fine, he’s your kid.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But he’s still named after me,” he added quickly.

  I threw my hands up in the air, irritated already that I had decided to stop by. “You know, I just wanted to tell you all that my son was born.”

  “It’s great, man,” Storm said, walking over to me. He ran his hand over his jaw and leaned in to whisper to me. “You’re uh…you�
��re not actually naming him Marcello, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head and taking a step back.

  “No, really, why?”

  “It’s just…” He shrugged sheepishly. “It’s just kind of a floofy name.”

  I reared back in shock. “It is not.”

  “Yeah, it kind of is.”

  “Wasn’t that guy from Under The Tuscan Sun named Marcello?” Sinner asked.

  “Yep. That dude was definitely floofy. Floppy hair and all,” Coop nodded.

  “My son is not floofy and he’s not some stupid character from a movie. His name means the hammer.”

  “So, he’s like Thor,” Burg said.

  “Yeah, Thor. That’s right, my kid is like Thor.”

  “Uh, not to burst your bubble, but I just looked up the name online,” Cazzo said.

  “And?”

  “And uh…It’s also a Spanish name.”

  “What?” I stormed around the table and grabbed the phone from him. “No, that can’t be right.”

  “It says it right there.”

  “Yeah, but it’s only spelled with one L. That’s totally different. Nobody will say it the same way.”

  “It’s still the same fucking name,” Cazzo pointed out. “Sorry, man, but you just named your Italian kid a Spanish name. Looks like the little taco lives on.”

  “No,” I said, running my hands through my hair. “No, he will not be a taco! He’s Italian.”

  “He’s apparently also Spanish,” Storm snorted.

  I turned and ran for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Storm shouted after me.

  “I have to change his name before they file his birth certificate!”

  Thank you for reading the second part to Alec and Florrie’s story. I hope it brought out all those pesky emotions that make you love or hate a character. Need more? Click here to get Parker’s book!

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

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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

  Senator Burke

  “Tell Monica to push my eight a.m. back to eight-thirty tomorrow,” I said to my personal assistant over the phone. I climbed the stairs to the private club I belonged to and nodded to the doorman.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll take care of that immediately. I also need to talk to you about-”

  “Not now. I’m stepping into a meeting.”

  “I don’t have that in your schedule,” Timothy said in confusion.

  “It’s a private meeting. No interruptions the rest of the night. If something comes up, handle it yourself.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I turned off my phone and walked through the lounge to the back of the club where my meeting would be held. We had a lot to discuss tonight, and only a short amount of time to get through it all. The security that had been hired when we started this project was already here. They were to sweep the room for listening devices and cameras, along with sticking around and providing security during the meeting. We couldn’t take any chances right now. We were too deep into this and there was no pulling out now.

  The head of the biotech firm SynGen was already here. It had taken a lot of money to get her on our side. Helen Taylor was a tough negotiator, but I could tell when I first met her that she could be bought. I had to bring on more senators so that I could afford the funding. Essentially buying her help was not a cheap way to go, but it was our only option. We needed a lab that was privately owned and would be willing to work around certain guidelines that were set forth by the government, the same government that I was working to protect.

  The rest of the senators filed in over the next few minutes. A security guard came in and took all our phones and checked each of us for any kind of recording devices. The only thing that was allowed was already pre-approved by security. That was a single laptop. We all had to log into it when the meeting started. Only then could we all be held accountable. It was my insurance policy to make sure that no one got cold feet and decided to turn on us.

  “Let’s get started,” I said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I’ll have Ms. Taylor fill us in on how the project is coming along. Then we have some details to discuss.”

  Helen nodded to me and stood in front of the rest of us. There were six of us in total. “Thank you, Richard. The project is on target. The trials are going well, and I think we’ll have a viable product in the next month. The researchers assure me that they are working hard on all aspects, but we are running into some complications with the second half of the project. It…may delay things, but there’s nothing that can be done about that. We’re moving as fast as we can, but if we don’t have everything we need in place, the first half of the project won’t be feasible.”

  “You’re telling us this now?” Senator Nicholas Samuelson asked. “You know how much money we’ve put into this project, and now you’re telling us we might have to scrap it?”

  “I promise you that the researchers are working as hard as they can-”

  “Make them work harder,” Senator Nathan Brunswick cut in. “Our asses are all on the line here. We’ve already put things in motion. We can’t afford any slowdowns. This plan needs to be put in place in two months.”

  Helen pursed her lips, but nodded and took her seat.

  “Nathan, what do you have for us?”

  Senator Brunswick was our inside guy on the committee for the Department of Homeland Security. He was able to get our security for us and ensure that our plans were shared with only the people that we knew were loyal to the cause.

  “I’ve been digging into the man that broke into Senator Blakely’s house. As you all know, we believe the initial information that Senator Samuelson brought to him was being kept there in his safe. Senator Blakely had a camera hidden in his study. It wasn’t hooked up to his security system, so no one saw it when the feds tore apart his house after the murder. It’s taken me months, but I’ve finally put a name with the face of the man that broke in and killed the senator that night.”

  “Good riddance,” Senator Cheryl Allen muttered. “We’re better off with Blakely not around. He would have destroyed us.”

  “We have bigger problems than Blakely at the moment. The man caught on camera was Hudson McGuire, former military who disappeared off the face of the earth after he escaped from his transport to Leavenworth.”

  “For those of us that don’t know who that is, please explain,” Senator Alex Cortez asked.

  Cortez was a new kid and a pain in the ass, but he was ambitious, had some money, and he was eager to make his stamp on the world. In other words, at the moment, he had no morals.

  “McGuire was sent to Leavenworth after he was convicted of killing some of his superiors when they were profiting from deaths overseas. He was a loose cannon that was supposed to be jailed. After he escaped, most people assumed he had gone to a non-extradition country. We kept a watch out for him, but he vanishe
d. However, he popped up on our radar years later when he died, or so we thought. There was a fire in an old hotel building. Two bodies were found inside. One matched a man named Jensen, who had served with McGuire overseas. The other was only identifiable by dental records, which belonged to Hudson McGuire.”

  “So, what makes you think this was him?” I asked Senator Brunswick.

  He let out a sigh and clicked on something on the laptop. He turned it to face us. “This is Garrick Knight, a known assassin that spent several years doling out his own form of justice and reaping the rewards. He, coincidentally, died about the same time as McGuire. The problem is Garrick Knight and Hudson McGuire have the exact same face. So, when I ran facial recognition and not one, but two dead men popped up in the system, I was more than a little curious. I did some digging and found out that a third man that goes by the name of Hudson Knight is currently working with Reed Security outside of Pittsburgh. Somebody went to a lot of trouble to get him the proper identification and make sure that he wouldn’t be linked to either of his former selves. But they couldn’t completely wipe him from the record. In today’s digital age, nothing ever truly goes away.”

  The fact that he said that had us all pausing to consider the implications. Would someone be looking into us one day? No, I had to believe that if we played this right, no one would ever know what we had done. Besides, nothing was really recorded anywhere. We were being very careful not to leave any trace behind of what we were doing.

  “How does this affect us?” I asked.

  Senator Brunswick heaved out a sigh. “This man has records that implicate Senator Cortez. As of right now, it’s in no way a solid lead toward anything. There are bank records that look fishy, but nothing that would lead directly to us. There were also lab tests,” he said, glancing over at Senator Samuelson.