A Mad Reed Security Christmas Read online

  “Yeah,” she nodded seriously. “And then I would have landed on this really cushy, soft bed that would have enveloped me in snuggles and warmth. Whew,” she said, swiping a hand across her forehead. “You’re right. That was really close.”

  “Hey, you knew it was going to be like this. You’re pregnant, and I will do whatever I have to so that you and my baby are safe.”

  I wrapped her in my arms and thought of what it would be like to hug her when her belly was sticking out. I wished more than anything that I could feel our kid moving around right now.

  “Okay, are you ready?”

  “Yeah, I think I have everything I need.”

  “That’s a huge suitcase,” I pointed out. “We’re only going for a weekend.”

  “Yeah, but there are so many clothing choices and I want to look perfect for you.”

  I smiled and kissed her softly. After all, she was pregnant and I didn’t want to hurt her by kissing her too hard. I pulled her suitcase off the bed, but dropped it to the floor. It was fucking heavy.

  “Claire, what exactly do you have in here? This suitcase weighs a ton.”

  “Nothing,” she said sweetly. “Just the regular stuff women pack. You know, all my hair supplies and my makeup. And then there’s all my toiletries. I have to be prepared for anything.”

  That didn’t sound anything like Claire. I mean, she always looked nice, but she didn’t have tons of makeup and shit to pack. That just wasn’t her. But I wasn’t about to start an argument right now. We had to get on the road to go see my brothers.

  The doorbell rang, signaling that Hunter and Lucy were also here and it was time to hit the road. I dragged the suitcase down the stairs, almost killing myself when it slammed into me and I fell down the stairs. Luckily, whatever was in this suitcase wasn’t enough to kill me. I had my own suitcase sitting by the door, ready to go. When I finally answered the door, Hunter stood there glaring at me.

  “What the fuck took so long?”

  “I had to carry Claire’s suitcase down the stairs. I swear, it’s loaded with bricks.”

  “Well, get moving. We need to get on the road if we’re gonna miss the traffic.”

  “I’m coming. Keep your panties on.”

  “It’s not my panties I’m worried about.” I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what exactly he was referring to. “Lucy’s been snapping at me all morning.”

  “And how is that different from any other day?”

  “It’s not like we fight all the time. In fact, things have been really great ever since we found out she’s pregnant. But then she woke up this morning and I couldn’t do a fucking thing right.”

  I looked behind me and saw Claire coming. I didn’t have much time. “Look, we have to do everything possible to make sure that they’re happy for this trip.”

  “Why?” he hissed. “I’m tired of getting kicked in the balls today.”

  “She actually kicked you?”

  “No, it’s a metaphor.”

  “Then suck it up. Because if we want to survive this trip with two pregnant women, then we have to play it smart.”

  “Fine,” he grumbled, snatching one of my suitcases to take outside. “What did you pack? This is your suitcase, right?”

  “Yeah, I had to pack all of Claire’s vitamins and anything she could possibly need for the drive.”

  “Vitamins are all she could possibly need. What else did you pack for her?”

  “Well, I packed a neck pillow for her. You know, in case she wants to sleep. I want her to be comfortable. And then I packed plastic bags in case she got car sick. Let’s see, then there are the foot warmers that plug into the lighter. Medications that are safe for pregnant women-”

  “What for?”

  “For anything she could possibly need.”

  “So, she doesn’t actually have any ailments.”

  “Well, no, but she’s pregnant. What if she gets sick and we’re in the middle of nowhere, with no pharmacies in sight? And then I also packed Pedialyte, a warming pad, pregnancy pillow, a radiation wrap, and a belly harness. I think that’s it.”

  “Wait, what the hell is a radiation wrap and a belly harness?”

  “The belly harness is to hold her belly up so that the weight of it doesn’t hurt her back. The radiation wrap is so that she can use her laptop without the radiation getting to the baby.”

  Hunter stared at me for a moment. “You’ve got problems, man. Radiation? And she doesn’t even have a fucking belly yet.”

  “But she could,” I insisted. “What if she has a growth spurt over the weekend and it starts hurting her back?”

  “Babies don’t grow that fast, asshole.”

  “Whatever. I’m prepared for anything.”

  “You’re prepared to look like an idiot.”

  We finished loading the bags in the SUV and got in. Claire and Lucy were already in the back, oohing and ahhing over Lucy’s daughter, Rylee. At least they could entertain her for the trip so that Hunter and I could just relax.

  We were halfway through Ohio when I started to get a bad feeling. Something wasn’t right, but I just couldn’t place it. I kept checking the mirrors, but I didn’t see anyone following us. I checked my phone, even called Cap to make sure nothing was going on at home, but everything was fine.

  “What’s going on, man?”

  “I don’t know,” I said uneasily. “Something’s wrong.”

  “It’s probably just nerves.”

  “Nerves.” I thought that over, but what could I possibly be nervous about? “That’s not it. I’m not worried about going home to see my brothers. And I know that Claire’s fine. There’s nothing going on with her that’s worrying me.”

  “Okay, so let’s talk it out. What exactly are you feeling?”

  I stared out the window for a moment, trying to put my finger on it. And then it hit me. “We’re being hunted.”

  Hunter looked at me and laughed, but I just shook my head slowly and glanced to the backseat to make sure the girls weren’t listening. When I looked back at Hunter, he knew I was serious.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “We have to draw them out and end this. Whatever they want, they’re being really fucking careful. I haven’t seen a tail yet.”

  “So, they have multiple vehicles on the road, tracking us and then exiting so we don’t get suspicious.”

  “That would be my guess.”

  He nodded and pointed to a sign for Cuyahoga National Park. It would take us north and away from where we were headed.

  Hunter shrugged. “A national park would be pretty empty about this time of year. Everyone’s traveling for Thanksgiving.”

  “Alright. Let’s do it. I’m gonna start getting ready. What did you bring with?”

  “I have a few guns, but not enough for a full out war. I was thinking this was going to be a relaxing trip.”

  I snorted. “When have we ever had a relaxing trip?”

  “What about you? Didn’t you bring anything?”

  “Well, sure. I mean, I have one at my back and one at my ankle.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Well, you didn’t bring anything either,” I shot back.

  “What didn’t you bring?” Claire asked.

  “Um…well, the thing is that we have a bit of a situation.”

  “Ooh!” she said excitedly. “What kind of situation.”

  “Not really sure. Someone’s hunting us.”

  She spun around and searched out the back window. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Well, we don’t exactly know where they are.”

  “Then how do you know we’re being hunted?”

  “Because I can feel it,” I said irritatedly.

  “Okay, so what’s the plan? Blow ‘em up? Shootout at the OK Corral? Ooh! Are we doing a snatch and grab? I bet we could fit a few bodies in the trunk.”

  “Claire, you’re pregnant. I want you to just sit back and let me handle this. Now, we’re goi
ng to have to come up with some way to get rid of them that doesn’t involve bullets. We don’t have enough fire power.”

  “That’s not true,” Claire said smugly. “I packed a few things.”

  “Why did I think this would just be a normal vacation,” I muttered as I crawled from the front seat to the trunk. I pulled Claire’s suitcase out and laid it flat. When I opened it, I was floored.

  “Claire, you packed two outfits and the rest is weapons.” I pulled out an FN P90 submachine gun. “Where the hell did you think we would need a machine gun? And a suppressor? Claire, we’re going to Thanksgiving!”

  “You just said we’re being hunted. Aren’t you glad you have it now?”

  “Holy shit!”

  “What?” Hunter asked.

  “She packed C4, a blasting cap, and a remote detonator.”

  “That could work,” Hunter said nonchalantly.

  I slowly looked up at him, staring at him in the rearview mirror. “Do you not see how insane this is? She loaded up guns and C4 instead of clothes for a Thanksgiving dinner. This isn’t normal!”

  “I’d say it’s perfectly normal. I mean, be serious for a minute,” Hunter said. “Look at all we’ve been through. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. She was being prepared, much like you should have been. But instead you packed a bunch of useless crap that she won’t need.”

  “I was looking out for my wife.”

  “Well, she was looking out for you. Better watch it, Cap might replace you with her.”

  “There are also five or six handguns in the front zipper,” she said with a grin.

  “Remind me not to go on vacation with you anymore,” Lucy said. “Seriously, it’s borderline scary how into this you get.”

  “Just borderline?” I asked.

  “Hey, just because we’re having kids doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have fun anymore.”

  “That doesn’t mean that I’m going to hand you a gun,” I argued.

  “How about we table all the bickering until we figure out how to get rid of these guys,” Hunter suggested. “I say we take them out in the woods, knife as many of them as we can, and head to your brothers in time for dinner.”

  “Knife them?” Claire said sadly. “No machine gun? No C4?”

  “Claire, we can’t use the C4. And we’re not using the submachine gun either.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “I’m plenty fun. I just don’t really feel like going to prison!”

  “Alright, we’re coming up on the national park. I say we park, stash the girls, and then lead them to us,” Hunter cut in.

  “Let’s do it.”

  We pulled off the highway and headed for the entrance. As expected, the park was closed and there were no cars in sight. I got out and went over to the gate, lifting the gate up for Hunter. I jogged after the SUV and helped Claire and Lucy out while Hunter got Rylee.

  “Over there,” I said, pointing to the office across the lot. “Hurry. Get over there and pick the lock, just like I taught you.” I kissed Claire and shoved two guns in her hands before slapping her ass and sending her on her way. Hunter and I hung back, waiting until they were out of sight.

  “We’ve got company,” Hunter said, pointing to the vehicles pulling up the drive.

  “Shit, there are seven cars. That’s a lot of potential threats.”

  “Let’s go.” Hunter grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the path in the woods. The guys would follow because they assumed they had the upper hand. Hunter handed me extra clips that he had pulled out of Claire’s suitcase, and handed me one of his knives. I was kicking myself now for thinking that I wouldn’t need weapons on this trip.

  I ran deeper into the trees, finding a good tree to climb. Hunter stayed low, hiding in a hollowed out tree. We could hear them walking through the forest, rushing to catch up to us. They didn’t care if we heard because they were overly confident. I watched as they passed Hunter’s hideout, and then watched as he slipped out behind them.

  He dropped the first one with a slit to the throat. No one else even noticed. I waited until it looked like his position would be given up, but he was smooth, not letting them hear him at all. I was actually getting kind of bored in my spot, just waiting until I could get in on the action. There were still at least fifteen left. That was plenty of men for me to kill.

  Deciding I’d had enough, I moved from my spot in the trees and slipped down to the ground. There was a guy that had just passed me, so I snuck up behind him and quickly wrapped my hand around his mouth as I pulled the blade through his vocal cords. I made it through two more before they finally caught on that we were already taking them out. The leader turned and his eyes went wide at the number of bodies already on the ground.

  I pulled my gun before he could shout out any orders, and fired. His head snapped back as his body slowly fell to the ground. I immediately turned my weapon on the next, shooting him in the chest. I ducked as another man shot at me, and pulled my knife as I ducked. I came up swinging, slicing my knife across the man’s face. His eyeball slipped out and fell to the ground. His screaming only lasted another second before I slammed my knife into his throat. I turned to see Hunter firing, taking out the last of the guys, with the exception of the man that thought he was sneaking up behind him. I could have let Hunter have him, but he already had more kills than me.

  My knife always being my favorite weapon, I flipped it in my hand and threw it as hard as I could. The knife lodged in the side of the man’s neck, spurting blood as he collapsed to the ground. Hunter glared at me.

  “What the fuck? I had him.”

  “You got more than me,” I snapped back.

  “See?” I spun around and saw Lucy and Claire standing not too far from us with Rylee in Lucy’s arms. “I told you it was hot.” Claire started fanning herself and Lucy looked like she was about to go fuck Hunter right now.

  “Not now, Claire,” I said, stopping that before it started. “We have to leave.”

  I quickly collected my brass, as did Hunter, and we ran back to the SUV and loaded up.

  “Shit, I’d give anything to have Becky back,” Hunter said as we peeled out of the parking lot.

  “I’ll call Rob. You know he’s just as good.”

  “It’s not the same,” he grumbled. “Besides, you know we have to call Cap.”

  I groaned, not wanting to call him. So, I was relieved when his voicemail immediately came on. “Hey, Cap. We sort of ran into some trouble on the way out of town. We’ve taken care of it, but keep your eyes peeled.”

  The rest of the drive was uneventful, and when we got to my brother’s house, I had never been happier to get out of the SUV. Claire and Lucy had been trading stories about seeing us in action for the last half of the drive, and it was getting old.

  “Are you ready to tell them you’re pregnant?” I asked Claire as we made our way to the front door.

  “As long as they don’t act like you.” She put her hand on my arm and stopped me. “Wait, you’ve got a little…” She wiped at my face and then smiled. “All good.”

  I rang the doorbell and grinned when I saw Eric. “Hey! Happy Thanksgiving!” Eric stared at me in horror. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

  “You look like you were in a massacre!”

  I shoved past him into the house and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was splattered with blood.

  “This is not what it looks like,” I said, turning to my brother.

  “You know, I just wanted you to come for a family meal,” he scolded as he brushed past me.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Lola

  “No,” Harper insisted, “we should do the turkey in the fryer. That’s why we brought it.”

  “It’s better in the oven,” Lillian insisted.

  “I say we use the oven roaster,” Alex said.

  I rolled my eyes in irritation. Why did we have to argue over how to make a turkey? I tuned them out and grabbed
a water, but then there were arguments about stuffing and mashed potatoes, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I walked out of the house, glaring at Ryan for abandoning me with a bunch of women. Yeah, they were all great and a little crazy, but they didn’t want to talk about shooting people or the latest Guns And Ammo magazine. Well, I could talk about it with Maggie, but when she was around these women, it was just different.

  I walked right up to Ryan and punched him in the arm.

  “Ow, what was that for?” he asked as he rubbed his arm.

  “That was for leaving me alone with women.”

  “But, I thought they were your friends.”

  “Well, yeah, but no one wants to do the stuff I want to do.” Ryan raised an eyebrow at me and I huffed out a sigh. “Fine, I get it. It’s Thanksgiving and we should all be a family and all that shit.”

  “Actually, I was going to say that maybe you should try to enjoy their interests.”

  “Enjoy…arguing over how to cook a turkey?”

  “Fine, you want to hang out here with us?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  I grabbed another water from the cooler they had sitting out here, guzzling it down. All the guys seemed really comfortable here. All except Knight. Why Kate thought that Knight would enjoy spending time around all these people, I would never know. He looked like he was about to murder the next person who tried to talk to him.

  “Knight, try and relax a little. We’re in the middle of nowhere. What’s the worst that could happen?” I jeered.

  “Derek and Hunter were attacked yesterday.”

  “And yet I don’t see any wannabe assassins around here.”

  “Shouldn’t you be lying down with Kate?”

  “And why would I do that?”

  “Because you’re pregnant,” he bit out.

  I tilted my head to the side, a slight smile curving my lips. “Oh, did you think Kate was lying down and sleeping?”

  He growled at me and took a step forward, but Ryan stood in his way. Bless the man for thinking that he could stop Knight in any way.

  “Hey, Lola,” James ran up to me, shoving a brownie in my face. My mouth started watering at the sight of it. I had been craving them for a few days now, and ever since James came home from school for the holiday break, he’d been plying me with them. I snatched it out of his hand, glaring at him for what he was doing.