Reed (Allen Securities) (4 page)

Just as they were finishing up, a shrill cry rang through the air.

“Oh, Olivia, I’m so glad you’re all right,” a thin, middle-aged women said as she wrapped her arm around Olivia.

“Trudy, I’m so sorry,” Olivia started.

Reed could see the tears pooled in her eyes. From her story, he gathered that this job had been hard to get and having something like this happen while still new wasn’t helping her troubles.

“Oh shush!” the older woman said. “You didn’t cause this.”

“But my brother—”

“Isn’t you.” Trudy walked the floor, picking up pieces of Olivia’s purse. “We can’t pick our relatives, no matter how much we might want to.”

“I’ll come in first thing tomorrow to help sort through things.”

Reed frowned at her. There was no way in hell he was letting her come in tomorrow.

Trudy waved her hand at them. “This is going to take time for the insurance to sort out. Take a week’s vacation, and we’ll talk more later.”

Reed watched as Olivia worried her bottom lip. It was so incredibly erotic, and yet she didn’t even seem to know. It made him think of other more pleasurable things those lips could be doing. His cock hardened at the thought, and he cursed his line of thinking. This was no time to let his dick take the lead. Last time he did that, it hadn’t ended well for anyone.

He moved to the side with his brother, so they could go over information but watched her closely from the corner of his eye.

“Listen,” Kace said. “This is all I could find about her.” Reed flipped through the file shoved in his hands. “She seems pretty clean, but the rest of her family has been in and out of trouble.”

“What about the father?” Reed stared at mug shots of her mother and brother.

“Nothing on record. Doesn’t seem like he was ever in the picture. The mother is something else. Used to try and use the kids for all sorts of stuff. We know there are some sealed juvenile documents, but there’s no way we’re getting our hands on those without something concrete.” Reed took in his brother’s hard stare.

“We don’t need that.” He glanced over at Olivia. “Yet.”

“You know she’s not Niki.” Reed’s head whipped around at his brother’s comment. No one spoke about Niki, but he guessed Kace was outside those rules. Considering what he had to do to fix things, he certainly had the right to say something. “Niki wasn’t just connected. She was living the life. You were just too blind to see it.”

Reed tensed at the memories. Niki. The single person that was always floating around the back of his mind. He had been blind when it came to her. Instead of seeing what was there, his judgment was clouded by lust, and he saw what he wanted to see, a beautiful woman caught up in something too big for her. It wasn’t until it was too late that she revealed her true colors to him. His eldest brother, Ryder, had tried to warn him, but there was no stopping Reed at that point.

He exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. It had been his fault Ryder got hurt, and Niki was dead. This time he was going to keep his eyes open and hands to himself.

“Doesn’t matter,” Reed said. “She isn’t going to be around long.”

Kace hitched an eye brow up at him and shot him a pensive look. “Didn’t really sound that way when you were demanding she stay with you.”

Reed felt the file bend as his fingers tightened.

“What the hell else was I supposed to do?” he whispered harshly.

Kace leaned in. “Let her go to her friend’s,” he said quietly.

“She’s the only lead we’ve got with her brother.” Reed shook his head. “No, we need her, or we lose this client.”

“From what I hear, you shouldn’t be worried about losing this one.”

Reed stepped back in surprise. He knew his client walked on the side of trouble from time to time, but it was unusual for Kace to weigh in. He made a note to look into his client a little more closely. Just because there wasn’t obvious trouble didn’t mean it wasn’t lurking below the surface.

Olivia eyed Reed as she chatted with Trudy about the incident. She watched as the mood grew dark and wondered what would cause the hollow, haunted look rooted in his eyes. Despite everything, she still found him wildly attractive, with his woodsy scent and the powerful way he commanded people. She wondered if he would be that way in other aspects of his life. Particularly in the bedroom.

“I don’t blame you for looking, honey,” Trudy said near her hear. “He certainly is one fine hunk of man meat.”

Olivia nearly fell over at Trudy’s comment.

“Is he your boyfriend, honey?”

Her mouth fell open. Someone like her didn’t end up with a hot man like him. She shook her head.

“No. He’s more like my warden.”

“Hey, whatever floats your boat.” Trudy winked at her.

“You ready?” A big hand fell on her shoulder and clamped down. She swiveled slightly to look back at Reed. “We’ll stop by your apartment on the way to my office.”

Olivia shivered at the thought of her apartment. Those creeps had her address, no telling what they were up to. He squeezed her shoulder tenderly.

“It will be fine.”

She looked into his eyes and knew that regardless of the danger, she would be fine. Reed wasn’t the kind of man to say one thing and mean another. Nodding, she turned back to Trudy.

“Keep me posted on the progress.”

“You too,” Trudy said with another sly wink.

Reed watched as Olivia said goodbye to her boss. He had felt their eyes on him as they talked and wondered what she thought of him.

He shook his head. Not that it mattered. This was about getting the job done. He looked down at the file in his hand. It was good to know exactly what he was getting into. There wasn’t a chance he would be going into this blind. Not again.

He rapped on the dark window to the SUV. Meg rolled down the window to the passenger side.

“Put this on my desk at the office,” he said, pushing the file into her hands.

Meg stared at it suspiciously.

“Why can’t you do it?”

“I’m taking Olivia back to her place,” he said.

“You can’t do that!” Meg shouted at him. “She’s a sitting duck there.”

“I’m not,” he said, steel in his voice creeping in. “She’s going to stay with me until this blows over.”

The car fell into silence. He knew this would mean something to them. It shouldn’t, but it would.

“Just put the files on my desk.” He pushed away from the car. “We’ll meet you there when we’re finished.”

Chapter Four

Olivia stared in stunned silence at her once cute apartment. It hadn’t seemed like they were gone long enough for this level of destruction and mess to be possible, and yet it was. The break-in looked less like they were searching for something and more that they were out to destroy. And that’s exactly what they did. All the cushions in her couch were slashed, pictures broken, dishes shattered on the floor. What they couldn’t shatter, they crumpled or ripped. Nothing was left untouched.

She walked slowly through the house after Reed. Once at the bedroom, her eyes landed on the bed. Like the rest of the house, it was also torn and abused. “We need to make this quick,” Reed called from the hall.

“They tore up most of my clothes.”

“Just grab what you can. I’m sure Meg has something you can borrow.” Reed seemed to be assessing the damage to the room as he talked.

She went through drawers and hangers. They thugs had an odd sense of humor. Her daily wear was toast. Only a few items she’s dared to wear out to the club survived. She shoved in the few dresses and hyper-sexual undergarments. They might not be ideal, but it was better than nothing.

They quickly made their way out of the apartment. In a last ditch effort, Olivia tacked up a note for her brother.

“Do you think he’ll find it?” she asked Reed.

“I think if your brother is smart, he’ll be long gone.” He turned without another word and walked down the stairs to the car.

“What the hell has my brother gotten involved in?” she asked.

Reed shook his head. “Let’s get somewhere safe, and we can go over things.”

Olivia nodded.

She hadn’t really thought much about it, but Ben could have taken off. Part of her hoped he did for his own safety, but the other part hoped he cared enough to make sure she was fine. She knew that despite how distant he might seem at times, he did love her. If either of them lacked the ability to show affection, it was their mother’s fault.

Olivia clenched her fist as she made her way down the stairs and slid into the car after Reed. The reaction her mother could still spark in her amazed Olivia. She chewed her lip as she thought of her mother. It wasn’t really a trip she wanted to make, but she could always go to her. Not that she would want to help but with enough incentive, Olivia was sure she would. Pain speared her stomach as she thought it over. Knowing her mother, she’s make Olivia eat a big slice of humble pie before helping and then bail at the last second. Olivia twisted in her seat to look at Reed. He didn’t look like the kind to bail. In fact, he didn’t look like he’d bailed on anything his entire life.

She sighed as the pulled away. For now she was going to trust in Reed. Her mother would be her last resort. She chuckled bitterly. She always was her last resort.

Her pocket chimed loudly in the silence of the car. She smiled sheepishly at Reed. Irene’s name flashed at the top of her phone.

“Sorry, I really need to take this,” she said to Reed.

He nodded his understand, eyes never wavering from the road.

“Hey,” she said into the phone.

“Where the hell are you?” Irene’s impatient voice echoed in her ears.

“Well I’ve—”

“We were supposed to meet up an hour ago,” Irene’s sweet voice wobbled as she spoke. “Then I turn on news only to see your library torn to hell. What happened?”

Irene was someone who only cursed when mad or upset. Olivia knew Irene was genuinely concerned.

“Oh, I’m so sorry you found out that way.” Olivia watched out the window as the building went by. “I was going to call but things have just been.” Olivia watched helplessly as a pair of headlights careened toward them. She brought her hands up to block her face and threw herself into Reed. “Watch out!”

The impact crumpled the side of the car. Grinding metal and shattering glass sounded all around them. Reed wrapped her tight against him. She could feel the moment he passed out, when he slumped heavily against her side. As the made contact with the sidewalk, Olivia was pitched forward and cracked her head against the dash. Her head throbbed, and the world around narrowed to a tunnel.

Movement caught her eye outside the window and a face came into view.

“Ben’s sister and Reed Allen. Looks like I got a two for one deal.” Neil clapped his hands and grinned wickedly at her.

***

His grinning face was the last thing she could remember when she came to. Noises around filtered in but more as background than anything. The pungent smell of oil filled the air and flooded her senses. She gagged as the vile smell hit her stomach.

Opening her eyes, she saw cans of gasoline surrounding her. A shiver rolled down her spine as she processed what was happening. She sat a bit away from Reed, who was bound in a corner. Neil and two men had worked him over a time or two. There were cuts and bruises all over his body, but he was still sitting upright, with a hard gleam fixed on the two men.

“Not very smart, Neil,” she heard Reed say. “Teaming up with the Russians.”

Neil laughed and paced the floor around the large Russian men, constantly watching Reed for his next move.

“Well you see, that little shit Ben really fucked things up. This was supposed to be an easy deal. He brings the documents, you all get dead, and I get to use my new bargaining chip.” The smile Neil gave Reed made her stomach lurch. This man was not only serious about killing them but would enjoy the act.

As quiet as she could, Olivia pulled herself behind the nearest pallet toward the table by the door. If she could just get her hands on a phone, she might be able to save them. She crept along as Reed and Neil verbally sparred. At one point she was certain she saw Reed’s eyes flicker over to her, but it might have just been wishful thinking.

“Here we are again,” Neil said lightly. “It was a shame what happened to Niki, but then, that’s what happens when you play both sides.”

“You shut your fucking mouth,” Reed shouted. The sound bounced off the walls and seemed to stir the very air.

“Oh? Still a touchy subject for you?”

Olivia watched the two. She was uncertain of whom they were talking about but knew Reed could only hang on for a bit longer. After slipping her hand up the side, she found her phone and a single key. She cursed in her head as she saw the “out of service area” message. Maybe picking the cheapest phone wasn’t the best idea. She stuffed both items into her pocket and slipped back to her spot on the floor.

As she scanned the room, it became apparent that there weren’t going to be a lot of opportunities. From what she could tell, the place used to be a warehouse but didn’t seem in much use now. To the right was a large metal door, propped open by the table she had just been to. There were no windows to escape from or anything that might lead them out. A large pipe lay in the corner behind. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Neil turned from Reed, still laughing at his little game.

“Go secure the front and load the car,” he said to the two men. He flicked his head back to Reed. “I think we’ve gotten all we’re going to get from him.”

As the two men walked past, Olivia pushed herself into the shadow of the pallet. Only when they moved outside the door did she breathe a sigh of relief.

“Oh, the sister is awake.” Neil moved closer to her, arm outstretched. His bleached blond hair stood in stark contrast to his somewhat olive pitted complexion. His cheeks were sunken from years of self-abuse. “No worries,” he said to her. “You won’t be hurt. Your brother will want you whole.”

He ran fingers through her hair, pulling slightly at the end. Revulsion pulsed through her as she fought the urge to spit in his face.