Page 85 of Point of Contact

Reed fought the haze clouding his vision and his mind, rolling his head upright as he reached to rub the sting biting at his bicep.

At least he tried to.

His hands were locked tight together, the telltale cut of zip ties digging into his skin as he fought the bindings.

"Relax, man. We’re not gonna hurt you."

Reed jerked his head upright as the last of the fuzziness cleared, narrowing his eyes at the men in front of him. "Who the fuck are you and where the fuck am I?"

"I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told your girl. That information is above my pay grade." The guy directly in front of him backed away, recapping the needle that must have just been in his arm, dosing his system with something that counteracted whatever they knocked him out with.

He must have still been a little bleary from it though, because it took a couple seconds for the prick’s words to register.

Your girl.

Reed twisted, fighting against the plastic pinning his hands at his back and his feet to the legs of the chair he was sitting in. "If you’ve hurt a single hair on her fucking head I will disembowel you and feed your guts to the bears."

The second of the two men took a step back, dragging Reed’s attention his way. He blinked hard, making sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him and the drug lingering in his system wasn't distorting reality. But the man's face was still as big of a mess as he first thought it was. "What the fuck happened to you?"

The guy in front of him grinned. "Funny story. Your girl was a hell of a lot harder to get a hold of than you were." He tipped his head. "Of course we didn't drug her, but still." He shook his head, smiling too wide at the memory of Courtney. "That’s a wild one." His gaze settled on Reed. "You two serious?"

What the fuck was going on? This guy was acting like they were friends. Chatting him up, his tone casual, like he didn’t think Reed would kill him just as easily for asking Courtney on a date as he would if she had so much as a bruise on her body. "What part aboutI’ll kill you for fucking with herdon't you understand?"

The guy held up both hands, having the sense to look apologetic. "Fine. I get it. I just had to ask."

Reed shifted in his seat again, jerking at the restraints, even more desperate to get free now that he knew they had Courtney too.

And now that it was clear at least one of them was interested in her.

"You're just gonna fucking hurt yourself, man. Calm down." Death wish turned to the door. "Pierce should be here soon and then you can get back to your life."

Reed's head tipped back in surprise.Piercewould be here soon?

He went still, finally forcing himself to settle down and think. Thinking was what he normally did first. It was what he was best at. He always kept his cool. Almost always, apparently. It seems like maybe he lost his shit when Courtney was involved. And he wasn't even a little sorry about it.

The guy shot him another grin. "I figured that’d get your attention." He opened the door, letting his friend out first before following him out, giving Reed one last look. "I'll see you around." He closed the door, leaving him alone in the bare space.

None of this made any sense. What good would taking him and Courtney do? He blew out a breath, head dropping back as he tried to connect dots that formed nothing but a nonsensical clusterfuck.

If this was all connected, then these were the guys who shot up Nate and Eloise’s cars. Towed them away only to deposit them back on Alaskan Security's doorstep. They would also be the ones who took the shot that killed Bryson's dad before he had the chance to hurt Eloise. They'd blown up a cabin and knocked out all the cameras in his parents’ neighborhood, luring both him and Nate out without backup.

Which meant they probably had Nate too.

And now they claimed Pierce was on his way. There’s no way they managed to nab the head of Alaskan Security. That meant he was coming of his own volition.

None of it made any sense. Who would fuck with them just to fuck with them and then—

Shit.

The answer hit him just as the door opened. He glared at the man who walked in. "Vincent." Reed shook his head. "You're lucky I’m fucking tied up right now."

The head of GHOST appeared unbothered by the barely veiled threat. "Or what?" He stared him down. "You’d kick my ass?" He shook his head. "I don't think so."

Reed's lip curled. "We're way past ass kicking."

Vincent laughed, but the sound was rusty and rough, like he hadn't made it in years. "Are we? Because it seems like I've proven Alaskan Security needs me more than I need them."

Reed rocked his jaw from side to side, fighting the rage that made him want to pull against the zip ties again. "That's all this was? You shot at civilians and blew up a cabin just to prove that Alaskan Security needs GHOST?" He snorted. "You're an even bigger asshole than I thought."

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