Jules Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One - Ivy

  Chapter Two - Jules

  Chapter Three - Ice

  Chapter Four - Ivy

  Chapter Five - Jules

  Chapter Six - Ivy

  Chapter Seven - Jules

  Chapter Eight - Ivy

  Chapter Nine - Jules

  Chapter Ten - Ivy

  Chapter Eleven - Jules

  Chapter Twelve - Ivy

  Chapter Thirteen - Jules

  Chapter Fourteen - Ivy

  Chapter Fifteen - Jules

  Chapter Sixteen - Ivy

  Chapter Seventeen - Jules

  Chapter Eighteen - Ivy

  Chapter Nineteen - Cap

  Chapter Twenty - Jules

  Chapter Twenty-One - Ivy

  Chapter Twenty-Two - Jules

  Chapter Twenty-Three - Ivy

  Chapter Twenty-Four - Jules

  Chapter Twenty-Five - Ivy

  Chapter Twenty-Six - Jules

  Chapter Twenty-Seven - Ivy

  Chapter Twenty-Eight - Sean

  Chapter Twenty-Nine - Jules and Ivy

  Chapter Thirty - Jules

  Chapter Thirty-One - Ivy

  Chapter Thirty-Two - Jules

  Chapter Thirty-Three - Ivy

  Chapter Thirty-Four - Jules

  Chapter Thirty-Five - Reed Security

  Chapter Thirty-Six - Jules

  Chapter Thirty-Seven - Cap

  Chapter Thirty-Eight - Ivy

  Chapter Thirty-Nine - Jules

  Chapter Forty - Ivy and Jules

  Chapter Forty-One - Cap

  Chapter Forty-Two - Sean and Cap

  Chapter Forty-Three - Jules

  Chapter Forty-Four - Jules

  Chapter Forty-Five - Ivy

  More To Come...

  Jules

  A Reed Security Romance

  by

  Giulia Lagomarsino

  Jules

  A Reed Security Romance

  Copyright @ 2019 Giulia Lagomarsino

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2019

  ASIN: B07NVQT2NG

  Self published through Kindle Direct Publishing

  To Katy

  I couldn’t have possibly finished this book without you. Every small piece of advice or just talking through storylines with you made all the difference. Thank you for your time and your input.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ivy

  “JUST TELL ME what the hell is going on, Ivy!”

  Jules was pissed at me. Again. He had been bugging me about my past ever since Blake, his teammate, informed him that I was in hiding. He wanted to know what I was hiding from, but the shame was too much to take right now. I still felt the humiliation and anger that had filled me when I had been accused of knowing my ex-boyfriend’s plans. I had tried to warn them. I had told them everything I suspected, but they still wouldn’t look into it. They said it wasn’t enough to go on.

  And then it happened, just like I thought it would. Only then I was more than his ex-girlfriend. I was a suspected accomplice. No one had believed me. The newspapers said that I had been involved. Strangers raged at me wherever I went. My apartment building had been vandalized several times. My landlord said that I was causing a disturbance and putting the other tenants in danger. I was kicked out with no notice and nowhere to go. And then I was called into my boss’s office and had been told they were making budget cuts. I was no longer needed. It didn’t matter that I had been there longer than some of the other employees. I chose not to fight it. I was tired of the constant anger that was spewed in my direction. I left and never looked back.

  “Julian, I’m not doing this again with you. I told you that it was none of your business and I meant it.”

  “Why can’t you see that I just want to help you? This is my job. I can protect you from whoever you’re running from. All you have to do is let me in.”

  “I’m not running from anyone. My decisions were just that, my decisions. It wasn’t because I was running from anyone or I was in danger.” Sort of. “I chose to move on with my life and I wanted a fresh start. Why can’t you just accept that?”

  “Because I care about you. We’ve been together over two years now and-”

  “We have not been together,” I interrupted. “We sleep together. That’s all we have. We don’t go on dates or do anything couples do.”

  He stepped into my personal space, his chest brushing against mine. Every breath was wrapped up in this man. He made me want to break down and tell him. He had come so close to getting me to spill it all several times, but I had been strong. But now? Now his hands cupped my face and he rested his forehead against mine. He was trying to get me to let him in, but I just couldn’t.

  “That’s not true and you know it. Maybe we were just fucking in the beginning, but we’re so much more now. We spend every minute we can together. I talk to you about more shit than I have with anyone else. I spend every night in your bed with you sleeping on my chest. I’ve never wanted that with anyone, but I want it with you. I want it all. I need you. Just let me in.”

  “I can’t,” I said quietly. “Please don’t ask me to again.”

  I pulled away from him, putting distance between us, both physically and emotionally. I knew he would get tired of this sooner or later, maybe even today, but that was the choice I made and I wouldn’t be changing my mind. If this was the last time we were together, I wanted to remember every last thing about him. His muscular body that held me down as he took me. His bright blue eyes that always seemed to look right into my soul. A face that was strong and hard, but always had a smile for me. His short, brown hair that I liked to run my fingers through at night when we would lie in bed and talk about anything that didn’t have to do with my past. But most of all, I would miss the way those strong arms held me like I was the most precious thing in the world to him, but could easily control my every move with those strong, rugged hands.

  “You have to let someone in. You can’t hide forever.”

  “Julian, this is my life, the way I want it. If you can’t accept that, then you have to move on. I’m not going to change my mind and I don’t want you to waste your time on me. If you need more, you’re going to have to find it somewhere else.”

  His eyes turned hard and I knew his answer before he said it. “It didn’t have to be this way.”

  He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead gathered his things and left me alone in my apartment. Even though he had just left, it already felt dark and lonely here. The cold I felt even though the sun was streaming in through the windows only proved that I had closed myself off from the rest of the world. It wasn’t a good way to live. It wasn’t much of a life at all, but I had Emma, my best friend, and her husband, Blake, standing by me. They were the only ones that knew my secret and that was because Emma had played the cancer card with me, and Blake had overheard my confession.

  He was certain that no one would care, but I knew that wasn’t true. The hate mail I received from the families of the victims proved that. That day, my ex-boyfriend planted that bomb and killed both active military members and veterans, and people that had been watching the parade. Many were injured, but the number of deaths was what killed me. If only I’d had something more substantial to take to the police. Lives could have been saved and I wouldn’t be living with the guilt.

  I could wish and hope and pray for a different life, but that wouldn
’t do any good. Wishes were things you wanted to come true. That’s all my life would ever be from now on. One big wish that I could go back in time and change the events that altered the course of my life.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Jules

  “FUCKING CASH,” ICE swore. “It figures he would get us involved in this shit.”

  Bullets tore through the air all around us. We were pinned down inside the warehouse that was located in Bumfuck, Nowhere. Cash had called us in for help when they stumbled upon a prostitution ring that was connected to the 14th Street Gang. We had wiped out most of the leaders of the gang at Claire and Derek’s wedding and thought that the rest of the gang would crumble under the lack of leadership. The police had been raiding their hangouts and arresting anyone they could get their hands on.

  “I thought we wiped these fuckers out,” I shouted over the gunfire.

  “I guess they found a partner,” Ice shouted back. He quickly rose up over the wall and fired back at the assholes who had us pinned.

  “What’s the plan?” Chris pulled back from the wall he had been firing around. “They’re coming in fast. We need a distraction.”

  “We’re gonna have to make a run for it,” Ice said grimly. “It’s either stay here and die, or make a run for it and hope like hell that we make it out of here.”

  Everyone else was pinned down in other locations or working to get the women out of the cages and to the safety of the transport vehicles. There were at least fifty of them in the Southwest corner of the warehouse, trapped in cells that were packed with at least ten women. They had been suffering for weeks and some were injured or sick from the terrible conditions they had been forced to survive in.

  I got to my feet and quickly fired off a few shots, taking in the locations of the men that were remaining. “I can distract them. You guys get to that stairwell and book it out of here. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Don’t be fucking stupid,” Ice growled. “There’s no way you’ll make it out of here on your own. We go together or we don’t go at all.”

  “And leave your wives and kids behind? I’m not gonna be responsible for that. I have no one,” I said sharply. “I’m staying behind and you’re gonna get your fucking asses downstairs and finish the job.”

  Chris grabbed me by the vest and yanked me in his line of sight. “Don’t be a fucking hero. It’s not worth it.”

  “We haven’t finished our part of the job,” I said angrily. “You know if we all make a run for it, we’re gonna end up dead anyway. This will give you the chance to get out of here and do the damn job. Now, get your asses moving before they reach us.”

  I fired over the wall again, giving just enough return fire to keep them from advancing.

  “If you’re staying then I’m staying,” Chris growled. “We can hold them off so Ice can get out of here and then we’ll make our way out.”

  “We have to blow up that tunnel. That’s the job and Ice isn’t going alone. If he doesn’t make it down there, then we’ve failed. You have to go with.”

  Ice swore and turned to Chris. “He’s right. Our job is to blow up that tunnel.”

  “Then get the fuck out of here,” I spat before firing off more shots.

  “Jules…” Ice never got emotional. He was a rock, always having control of the situation. But this was something that we wouldn’t all be walking away from. I knew it in my gut.

  “Go!” I shouted before he could say anything else. Chris gripped my shoulder and for a second, I almost lost it. These guys were the only family I had and it was gonna be a blow to them when I didn’t walk out of here. But I knew that getting lost in that thought was a one way ticket to getting us all killed. I needed to get them out of here and I needed it done now.

  I fired off more shots and quickly changed my clip. Chris and Ice took out some extra clips for me and shoved them in my pockets. I pulled out another gun from my thigh holster and held it with my left hand. With two guns, I could create a better distraction for them. With one last look, Ice nodded and got ready for my signal. I took a steadying breath and then nodded. I stood one last time and fired, hitting pillars and walls, trying to keep the fuckers in hiding for just a few seconds until they could get out of here.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them halfway to the stairs. They were almost safe. A bullet grazed my left arm, but I held steady, refusing to fall yet. I saw the moment one of those assholes was going to fire. He was to the left of me, and Chris and Ice had gone right. He had a direct shot to them. Without a second thought I ran and jumped in front of his line of sight, continuing to fire as a bullet hit me dead center in my vest.

  The jolt sent me stumbling to the ground as I gasped for air. The force hadn’t knocked me out, but the pain was unimaginable. I forced myself up and glanced toward the stairwell. Ice was standing in the doorway, firing back toward the other guys. He was too far away to actually get a good shot off and he knew it. He wasn’t doing anything to distract them. His eyes were trained on me as a bullet lodged in my leg. I clenched my jaw, refusing to give in to the pain.

  “Go!” I shouted at Ice. With one last grim look, he placed his gun across his chest, over his heart, and then he was gone. I got to my knees, turning back to give everything I had this one last time. I fired until my guns were empty. I released the clip and reached for another, but I was exposed.

  Another bullet hit my vest and then another. I fell back to the ground, barely able to breathe. A different kind of pain took over my body, this one sharp and agonizing. The bullet had pierced through my vest. I was sure. My hands shook as I used every bit of strength I had to load my gun again. Another bullet lodged in my leg, luckily, the same one as before.

  I rolled to my side, gritting my teeth against the pain, and started to drag myself toward the barrier. Another bullet hit my back, but luckily, it was in my vest. I lost count of the bullets hitting my vest until one pierced under my arm, just above the vest. My upper body gave and I dropped to the floor. I could see the men walking out from behind their barriers, coming to see if I was dead. I didn’t have my gun on me anymore and even if I did, I didn’t have the energy to get a shot off before they reached me.

  They were shouting at me, but it sounded foreign to me. My vision blurred and something oozed over my eye. I tried to swipe it away, but I couldn’t even lift my hand. I should have been scared that they were coming to kill me, but all I felt was relief. This would all be over in a minute and the rest of Reed Security would make sure that these guys didn’t make it out of here alive.

  The wall behind them crumbled as the explosives detonated. The walls shook and pillars broke apart from the ceiling. Concrete fell and landed on some of the men. Others tried to run, but got caught up in falling debris. I smiled maniacally and forced myself over to my back. Ice and Chris had finished the job. By taking out that wall, they not only killed some of the men up here, but blew up the underground tunnel that would have been used to escape, forcing the men to exit the building and allowing our guys to capture them.

  A secondary explosion followed almost immediately and took down another wall, taking down the pillar that was holding the ceiling up close to me. That section of the ceiling came crumbling down just feet from where I laid. I wasn’t far enough away to escape the falling rubble and I didn’t have the energy to make myself move. A chunk of ceiling crashed down and then fell toward me. I watched in slow motion as the concrete fell, landing on my stomach down to my legs.

  I screamed in agony as the concrete crushed me under its weight. All the breath in my body whooshed out and everything went black for a moment. Numbness slowly crept over my body until all I felt was pressure. I thanked God that I was going out this way. I didn’t want to die in pain all alone. Another piece of concrete crumbled to the floor just seconds before it bounced over to me. I flinched, closing my eyes as the concrete smacked into my head. I just barely registered the ringing noise in my head before my eyes slid closed. When everything around me dulled
to almost nothing, I was sure I wouldn’t be waking up again.

  My eyes flickered open. Silence filled the air along with a heavy coat of dust from the fallen walls. My body twitched and I could feel my toes wiggle. It seemed odd, knowing that was a relief. It didn’t matter that my toes moved because I wouldn’t be leaving here. The weight of the concrete on top of me made it difficult to breathe. Every breath sent a sharp stab of pain through my chest. My mind was slowing down, but not enough to keep my body from receiving the pain signals. The numbness that had brought me relief was gone.

  I could almost hear the sounds of shouting coming from outside. I hoped that no one else had been injured. I prayed that my family of brothers was safe and would go home to their families. But the last thought in my head was of her. I slowly worked my hand up to my chest and over to the pocket of my vest. Opening the velcro was harder than I thought it would be. I yanked out the picture I had been carrying around with me. It was one of Ivy and me at a barbecue at Cap’s house. Maggie had taken it without us knowing and given it to me with a knowing look.

  With my breath slowing to short gasps, I held the picture closer to my face and stared at the one person I had wanted to share my life with forever. In the picture, my arm was around her and she was resting her head against my shoulder as she laughed. I was looking down at her with a smile I recognized all too well. It was the smile that I reserved only for her.

  My lips twitched and slowly spread into a smile one last time as my hand lowered and the picture fell to my chest. Everything around me faded until there was nothing left but the sound of my heart slowly pumping as my body gave out.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Ice

  CAP’S VOICE FINALLY came through the mic. It had been too long since we were out of communication with the rest of the teams. “All teams report to vehicles.”

  “Cap, it’s Ice. Jules is still inside. I’m going after him.”

  “Last known location?” Cap barked.