The Reed Security Relationship Manual: A Reed Security Romance - Giulia Lagomarsino (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

“Hey, Lucy didn’t say it first,” Hunter shot back.

“No, but you did freak out over a drawer,” Burg grinned. “Imagine what would have happened if she’d told you she loved you.”

“I don’t have to think about it, because it didn’t happen. All I did was take my time to be sure, which every sane man should do.”

“And you should talk it out with friends first,” Ice added. “You don’t want to pass out in front of her as you tell her.”

“And you shouldn’t write a damn rulebook about what your relationship should be like,” Burg said.

“That is exactly what we’re doing,” I stressed.

“Yeah, and look at how well that worked out for you last time,” Craig chortled.

“Hey, I had my rules for a reason.”

“Yeah, because you knew you would fall in love,” Ice said dreamily.

“You know—“

A loud alarm sounded in the building. We all tensed for just a second before we jumped into action. I quickly swiped at my phone, checking to see what the alert was. “Car accident,” I shouted, racing for the pole.

With a quick hand scan, I was sliding down the pole and racing toward my truck in the garage.

“Who’s car is it?” Ice shouted from behind me.

I grimaced as I looked down at the information on the screen. “It’s Emma’s.”

Burg’s face drained of color, but then he was hopping in the passenger side, pulling out his own phone. “Her heart is racing.” He must have pulled up the tracking info, which also held their vitals, not that the women knew that.

I put the truck in drive and spun the wheels getting out of there. A few other trucks joined me, driving just as crazy as I was to get to the scene of the accident. It seemed to take forever to get there, but then in the distance, I saw the flames.

“Call the fire department,” I said grimly. I really hoped that it wasn’t Emma’s SUV on fire.

“Up ahead,” Burg shouted. “Do you see that?”

I nodded, unable to speak. Emma’s SUV was in the ditch, the whole front end smashed in, and there was a second vehicle in the field, engulfed in flames.

“Holy shit,” I muttered. “What happened?”

I screeched to a stop just behind Emma’s car. Burg was already out and rushing to her. I was right behind him, along with Ice, Craig, and Hunter.

“Move aside,” I told Burg. It didn’t matter that his woman was in the car. I was the medic, and I needed to assess the situation. I saw Hunter run around to the other side out of the corner of my eye. Leaning inside, I looked at Emma, whose eyes were closed. She had a small cut over her forehead, but I couldn’t see any other injuries at the moment. Her pulse was strong beneath my fingers.

“Neck brace,” I shouted over my shoulder as I turned, only to come face to face with Burg. He was chalk white, staring into the SUV. I turned to him, holding my hands out. “She’s alive, okay?”

“She’s…” He swallowed hard, and I could tell he was just barely holding on. “Craig,” I snapped, getting his attention. He immediately ran over to Burg, just to keep him calm while I worked. Cap had shown up at some point and handed me a collar. Slipping it around her neck, I made sure she was stabilized while Hunter called it in.

Emma started to rouse, her eyes squinting as she looked around. “Did we get him?”

“What?” Hunter asked, confused by the question.

“The guy following us. Did we get him?”

Raegan moaned, trying to roll her head, but Hunter stopped her. “Don’t move. An ambulance is on the way.”

I looked in the backseat, thankful to see that all the other women were moving around, seemingly uninjured. Still, they needed to stay still until the paramedics got here. By now, all of Reed Security was here, trying to help out in any way they could.

“Ladies, just sit still until the ambulance gets here. Cara, you doing okay?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “I’m doing fine. Sinner taught me how to strap myself in at the last minute when the vehicle’s about to crash.”

I frowned, shaking my head slightly. It just sounded so weird coming out of a pregnant woman’s mouth.

Jackson pushed his way to the car, taking a knee beside Raegan. “Raegan, are you alright?”

She stared ahead of her, looking at the other vehicle that was in flames.

“Hey, are you okay?” She groaned and rolled to look at him. “Just hang on, okay? I swear, I’ll do that Rod Stewart impression you keep asking me about. Just don’t fucking die on me.”

I yanked open the back door and started checking on the girls. “Why the hell weren’t any of you wearing your seat belts?” I asked.

“Well—“ Claire started, but I interrupted her when I saw the ambulance pull up.

“Just hang on, girls. The ambulance is here.”

Raegan lifted a shaky hand and pointed out the front window. A weird grin split her lips that was slightly tinged with red. “We got him.”

Emma laughed, slapping the wheel excitedly. “Told you we had him.”

“Had who?” Burg asked, taking Emma’s hand in his. “Who was after you, babe?”

Cap shoved his way beside me, “Raegan, can you describe who was following you?”

“Dark hair, sunglasses,” she said, squinting. “He was right on our tail.”

“What was he doing?” Cap pressed.

“He was following us,” Emma repeated. “Way too close. He had to be…”

She closed her eyes and Burg flipped out. “Goddamnit, do something!”

I moved to him, pressing a hand against Burg’s chest. “Just calm down. The ambulance is here. It looks like she just hit her head.”

“Would you be so calm if it was Brooke?” he shouted. “That’s my wife in there!”

“I know, man. I get it, but you have to calm the fuck down.”

Cap was staring at the other vehicle, his eyes scanning it as it burned. Then he took off running. “Cole!” he shouted, racing toward the truck. My eyes widened, and I took off after him.