Reed (The Love Family Series Book 4) (9 page)

Chapter 15

Reed placed his hand on Avery’s back and guided her across the lawn to the front door. He leaned into her ear. “Are you nervous?”

“Nope. I’ve dealt with hitmen and mob bosses as part of my job. The Loves will be a piece of cake.”

Reed grinned at her misguided confidence but kept his comments to himself as he pushed the door open and guided her toward the voices in the backyard.

His sisters-in-law, Olivia and Mia, were sitting with Skylar and his mom at one of the umbrella tables. Their easy banter ceased the moment they spotted Reed and Avery closing in.

“You must be Avery,” his mother said by way of greeting as she rose and pulled Avery into a hug.

Avery’s brows dipped, her body stiff under his mother’s assault.

“Come join us.” She guided Avery away from Reed and glanced over her shoulder at him. “You can help the boys while we get to know your friend.”

“Play nice, ladies.” Reed gestured with his fingers from his eyes to theirs as if he would be watching. Reed grinned at Avery’s wide eyes which pleaded for him to stay. He winked and left her to fend for herself.

****

Avery sat on the edge of her seat while all the women at the table stared at her.

“You know Reed’s sister, Sky.”

Sky nodded and smiled.

“This is Olivia, Declan’s wife, and that is Mia, Flynn’s wife.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Avery smiled, ignoring her fight-or-flight feeling. She’d met strangers before, including killers and assassins, but Reed hadn’t been joking. These women were in a whole different ball game.

“So.” Sky leaned forward and clasped her hands together. “Reed and you?”

Avery’s mouth parted.

Oliva nudged Skylar.

“Give the woman a second to breath,” Mia said with a smile. “You guys can be a little intimidating.”

Avery cleared her throat and glanced across the yard to find Reed watching her. “Reed and I are just friends.”

“Just?” Olivia prodded as she rubbed her belly. “There is no
just
anything with the Love boys. You either love them, or you’re ready to kill them. There is no in between.”

“Now that’s not true.” Mia picked up a glass and took a sip. “You were friends with Flynn.”

“No,” Olivia corrected. “I was friends with Skylar, and Flynn was just looking for a way to aggravate Declan.”

Mia sipped her drink and continued watching Avery, studying her as if she was a specimen. Her gaze started at Avery’s short hair and traveled down her face before she glanced down at Avery’s flip-flops. “You’re local. A beach lover, if I had to guess by the tan.”

“You don’t guess,” Olivia teased.

“You’re right, I don’t.” Mia set her glass down and leaned forward. “Short hair means you’re probably low maintenance. The indentation on your finger suggests that you not only own a gun but you also practice with it regularly. You have a bruise on the inside of your arm and your physique and toned muscles support my theory that you’re not only active but a fighter. Which, truth be told, I already knew when you came to the apartment to pick up your bag of guns.” She grinned. “Your quietness, while we unceremoniously grill you, tells me that you’re used to keeping secrets.”

Avery pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at Reed.

“And that look”—Mia leaned back with a grin and pointed toward Avery—“tells me that he’s getting under your skin.”

“Mia dear, not everyone wants to be analyzed.” Reed’s mother reached over and patted Avery’s hand. “You’ll have to forgive Mia. She’s works in research, and she has a hard time turning it off. Avery, you don’t need to tell us anything you don’t want to.”

Avery took a minute to process these women. There was certainly more to them than met the eye. All of them were smart and calculating, which meant she would have to switch tactics from the nice-girl routine she’d planned in her mind.

“Mia’s right, about all of it.” She grinned. “I carry a gun for my job; I surf every chance I get, and I’m used to keeping secrets.” Avery nodded in Mia’s direction. “And Reed…” Avery looked across the yard to find him helping his father near the grill. “What woman in her right mind wouldn’t realize that he’s a good guy?”

“Every woman but you,” Olivia said.

Avery met her gaze. “Even me. But that’s not what we’re about. Not that it’s any of your business. You guys can sit here and judge me on your observations, and I somewhat understand that. I’m a stranger here with someone you love. I’d probably do the same thing in your shoes. But I can also say I’d probably do it with a bit more class and be less obvious. Whatever this is that’s happening between Reed and me is none of your damn business, not that there’s anything to tell.” Avery stood and glanced between the women. “Are you guys always this rude to the women he brings home?”

Mia’s smile grew as though she held the answers to the universe, and she wasn’t ready to share. “I like her.”

“Me too,” Olivia mumbled. “Reed doesn’t bring home women.”

“We had to know,” Skylar announced, easing up out of the chair with her hand on her baby bump. “I’m sure you understand. He’s my baby brother. Please forgive us for being bitchy.”

“It’s a hormone thing,” Mia said.

“What’s your excuse?” Olivia chuckled.

“My excuse? I’m just blunt.” Mia rose.

“What exactly did you have to know?” Avery asked Skylar.

“That you’d fit in.” Skylar patted Avery’s arm. “Welcome to the family.”   

“What just happened?” Avery mumbled.

“They like you,” Reed’s mom said, winding her arm around Avery’s.

“I’m not sure I like them,” Avery said, making Reed’s mom chuckle.

“They’ll grow on you.” Reed’s mother steered her toward the back door. “You get an extra helping of pie.”

Not sure why the woman thought an extra piece of pie would make a difference, but one bite and she was in heaven. Any torture the other women had given her was worth the taste of heaven in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored every single bite.

Chapter 16

“Your family is missing a few screws,” Avery called over her shoulder, moving things around in the fridge again to make room for the additional leftovers.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Reed answered, walking down the hall to change out of his clothes. His smile grew as he glanced around his bedroom. Dozens of bouquets of lilies were placed around the room and covered the dresser, and petals covered his bed. Skylar had gone all out. Reed grabbed a single lily and carried it out into the living room. 

Avery was lying on the couch with her arm resting over her eyes.

“Tell me they were nice to you.”

She moved her hand and raised her brow. “If that was nice, I’d hate to see when they’re mean.”

“That bad?” he asked, lifting her feet. He sat on the couch, placed her legs over his lap, and handed her the flower.

She smiled, lifted it to her nose, and inhaled. “No wonder you needed brownie points. You didn’t tell me they were angelic piranhas.” She chuckled. “Your being single makes sense now. I’m not sure any other woman would have passed the test.”

“Angelic piranhas?” he asked.

“Sweet and innocent like angels with sharp teeth, ready to tear you into two with smiles still on their faces.”

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same women? Skylar, Olivia, and Mia wouldn’t act like that. That is so out of character for them, even with them being hormonal.”

“Ha,” Avery said. “They would and did.” Her eyes softened. “But pie made it all better.” She held up her flower. “And this.”

“If you like that, you’ll love what’s waiting for you in the bedroom.” He winked and rose, holding out his hand to pull her off the couch.    

She opened the bedroom door and stepped inside. Her face lit with a smile, and her eyes sparkled as she moved throughout the room, leaning in to sniff the flowers. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to sweep me off my feet.”

Reed chuckled. “That might be a little difficult with one good arm, but I’d be willing to try.”

Avery took his hand and pushed him to sit on the bed. “The bank opens tomorrow.”

Reed’s heart squeezed tight. “I know.”

She straddled his lap, her knees on the bed. “Make love to me.”

“Don’t you mean sex?”

She shook her head. “It’s probably our last night, and I want the memory to carry me through all of my tomorrows. Make love to me, Reed.”

Reed crushed his lips to hers without a second thought and spent hours branding memories into her mind. If he couldn’t have her in a relationship, there was no way in hell she’d forget him. Ever.

****

Avery used her sunglasses to cover the bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Her muscles ached and her legs felt like noodles. She let out a deep breath when Reed laid his warm palm on her lower back. The comforting heat from his touch warmed her to the core, melting some of the ice still left around her heart.

Reed guided her to the customer service desk and slid his license across the shiny surface. “I’d like access to my safety deposit box, please.”

“Certainly, Mr. Love.” The woman behind the counter gave him a genuine smile as she typed in the computer with the phone pressed against her ear.

Within minutes, the branch manager walked out. “Right this way.” He gestured with an outstretched hand, guiding him to the room where Reed’s bounty was held.

Reed waited until they were alone before he pulled out his box with the duplicate copies of what he’d printed and the flash drive. He stuffed the contents into his backpack and slid the box back into the slot, locking it.

“Do you think this is going to work?” she asked as they made their way out of the bank and to his car.

“I hope so.” The ride back to his house filled her with apprehension, the air thick and foreboding. She braced herself for whatever they might find.

Reed locked the door behind him before grabbing the sleeve and wrapping it around the thumb drive. He went to work, pulling numbers out of thin air to populate the security boxes waiting for him and bypassed the information they already had. When a screen popped up with a skull and crossbones, he went a bit slower throughout.

“It’s not heating up,” he mumbled more to himself then to her.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

He smiled up at her and she leaned down to kiss him, as if he needed it for luck. The screen instantly populated with several file boxes. Each one was a duplicate of the number on the ledger.

“Here goes nothing.” He clicked on the first box and paused. Pictures of a baby swaddled in a pink blanket in a hospital nursery. A predominant birthmark in the shape of a heart on her tiny cheek. The name attached to the crib said Miller. He scrolled past that screen to another picture. One of a woman in a hospital bed, holding the baby with, presumably, the father smiling down at the two. The next one had the baby’s birth certificate with the delivering physician’s name at the bottom. He pointed to it. “Alice didn’t deliver this baby.”

He flipped to the next screen of a different woman holding the same baby. Sunglasses hid the woman’s face as she glanced over her shoulder with a baby in her arms.

The next picture was a close-up of the baby in her arms. The birthmark was unmistakable.

“Oh, crap,” Avery whispered, her hand covering her face. “Either that baby was stolen, or sold.”

Reed flipped to the next screen. A snapshot of a bank account with the baby’s birthdate and amount highlighted. The name on the account was Janice Monroe. Reed glanced away from the screen before pointing to the depositing account number. “This one belongs to someone named Wilson Hutchison.”

Every fiber of her being turned to ice. “He’s a mob boss in New York.”

He pointed to it and flipped the screen again. This time, it was a missing poster of the same baby with the birthmark.

“How?” he asked and lost his train of thought. “If Alice didn’t deliver these babies, how is Janice involved, and how did Alice get her hands on this?”

Avery had her phone out and walked across the room. “Sir, we have a situation.” She spoke in hushed tones before she hung up and dialed again. “Landon,” she said with urgency in her tone, “I don’t have time to explain, but you need to detain Janice, and search her house and every property she owns. She’s either behind Alice’s disappearance or knows who is. Pick her up now.”

Avery watched in horror as Reed clicked open the rest of the files. Each time he got to where money was transferred to Janice, he’d mumble another name, each individual worse than the one before. Powerful men in office, underground drug lords, and even a senator had made that list.

“Alice must have figured out what was happening.” Avery pulled up a chair and plopped down before she fell. “Probably had the intention to go to the FBI.”

Reed clicked open the last file and her heart dropped. Another baby swaddled in a blanket. Alice was written on the side of the crib. A single note was on the next page. “I know who you really are, do you?”

Reed leaned back in his chair, his mouth agape. “What do you know about Emily’s family?”

“They were rich socialites and died in a car accident when Emily was sixteen and Alice was eighteen.”

Her eyes searched the screen for clues.

“Do you even think either of them was blood-related to their parents? This suggests that Alice might be a victim like one of these stolen or sold babies.”

“I don’t know.” And that was the truth. If this information was a bombshell to her, imagine what it would do to Emily and Alice.

“Print that for me. Copy it and keep it safe. I have a rendezvous with a team that is going to show up in thirty minutes, and we don’t know who we’re dealing with.”

Avery paced the living room, biting her nails as Reed went to work doing everything she asked. She moved to the window several times and peered outside.

“Whoever sent that to her”—Avery shivered, taking the documents from Reed’s hands—“and those poor babies and parents…”

Avery’s stomach dropped. The consequences of this information would destroy lives. She couldn’t even imagine the implications when these kids found out they didn’t belong to the people that had stolen them. 

“One thing is for sure. If Alice is still alive, she’s going to be the target of a lot of angry, powerful people who have unlimited resources. She’s going to need a hell of a lot of protection.”

Reed cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers. “You’ll protect her. That’s what you do.” The smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes. “Avery, I love you, and all I ever want is for you to be happy.”

“Reed…”

He gave a slight shake of his head. “Go conquer the world, kick ass, and save lives. I’ll still be here waiting, if you come back. I’ll wait for you forever.”

“Forever is a long time,” she whispered into his lips.

“Yes, it is.” He let out a shaky breath and kissed her once more. 

“Reed, promise me you’ll forget about me. Don’t spend your time waiting for me to come back. I won’t.”

Reed answered her with nothing short of the hottest kiss she’d ever receive. His mouth, his hands, his taste… He touched and tasted every part of her down to the core of her soul. This was his goodbye. On some level, he must have known she’d said the truth, that things between them wouldn’t last, yet he kissed her like a man fighting for the right to breathe.

Avery broke the kiss and stepped back. Tears welled in her eyes as she clutched the documents in her hands. Her breath was labored with each step. “Goodbye, Reed.”

He gave her a slight nod and Avery walked out the door without looking back.