Page 61 of Point of Contact

In her experience, most men were also full of shit, and she'd bet her whole ass Reed wasn’t. It just wasn't in his nature. He was grumpy and occasionally an asshole, but he wasn't manipulative. If he said something, he meant it. And that left her feeling shockingly secure with where she stood.

But it was still terrifying.

She gave Bernadette a little pat. "I guess I'll see you soon, sister." It was harder than it should have been to take her hand away. Even harder to walk with Reed across the garage and leave her behind.

Courtney slowed her steps. "What about all our stuff?" She wasn't trying to come up with a reason to go back, really she wasn't. But she desperately wanted to go back. To hide in the first place that had ever felt somewhat like a home to her.

"I'll make sure we get everything out and pack it up." Reed kept walking, not slowing down a bit as he led her across the garage and through a heavy metal door.

She stopped short, jumping back when she nearly ran into a giant man in all black. He had a whole freaking arsenal strapped to his body and a frown almost as sharp as Reed’s.

He stopped when he saw them, looking her over before turning to Reed. "When did you get back?"

"Just now." Reed's dark eyes moved to where a group of men dressed exactly like the one in front of them stood at a set of double doors. "What's going on?"

The man shook his head, frown deepening. "Nothing good." He looked ready to murder someone. "Somebody took out one of our fucking cabins. Blew the whole goddamn thing up."

Courtney stumbled back, the skin of her face going cold. "They blew it up?"

There was no way. No way anyone from Miami would come all the way up here to blow up one of Alaskan Security's cabins.

Reed's arm looped around her waist, holding tight as he pulled her into his side. His grip was firm, but his voice was calm when he asked, "Any idea who it was?"

The man shook his head. "Somebody with some fucking skill. They managed to knock out all the cameras we had on the place before it happened, so we've got absolutely nothing to fucking go on unless we find something there."

Read continued holding her tight. "I wish I could go with you, but—"

The man held one hand up. "You just got back. Get your shit together and then we'll talk. See if there's any place you can think of in that area we should check."

Reed gave him a nod. "Will do."

The man turned and joined the rest of the group as they filed out the doors and into the back of the waiting van, piling in with shocking efficiency before pulling the doors closed and taking off.

"You need to breathe, Princess." Reed leaned into her ear, his nose buried in her hair. "That had nothing to do with you. No one is coming all the way here to bother you. I promise."

She relaxed a little because she believed him. He wouldn't tell her that if it wasn't true. Both his integrity and his temperament combined to make him honest and realistic to a fault.

She managed a smile. "I guess I'm just a little jumpy." And, like she always did when things got to be a little more tense than she wanted, she cracked a joke. "Plus, I definitely don't want to deal with Pierce if he thinks I'm responsible for his shit getting blown up."

Reed's expression barely hardened. "Pierce won't think you're responsible for anything."

She almost laughed. Pierce was absolutely going to pin quite a bit of shit on her, and she probably deserved it. She'd been a huge pain in the ass, but she planned to be better. To be a slightly smaller pain in the ass.

She’d dealt with any number of scary men in her life, most of them employed by her father, but this was different. Right now she had no one's name to protect her. Sure, her father never purposefully protected her, but his name and their connection offered a certain amount on its own.

Not anymore.

Reed pressed one hand on her lower back, guiding her down the hall. He turned, directing her into an open door on the right.

Pierce sat behind his desk, fingers steepled in front of him. Mona, the tiny blonde woman he married, was perched on the edge of his desk, looking more than a little agitated.

Fuck. Even Mona was pissed at her?

She'd met a handful of people from the company, and Mona had been the kindest. If Mona was angry then—

Pierce motioned to the chairs across from him. "Sit down." It wasn't a request and he didn't sound even a little nice.

Courtney started to do as he asked, because what the fuck else was she supposed to do? He'd spent no small amount of money getting her here, and she had absolutely no way of paying him back, so right now she was sort of at his mercy.

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