Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Cast of Characters
Chapter One - Ruth
Chapter Two - Jessica
Chapter Three - Storm
Chapter Four - Jessica
Chapter Five - Storm
Chapter Six - Jessica
Chapter Seven - Storm
Chapter Eight - Jessica
Chapter Nine - Storm
Chapter Ten - Jessica
Chapter Eleven - Storm
Chapter Twelve - Jessica
Chapter Thirteen - Storm
Chapter Fourteen - Jessica
Chapter Fifteen - Storm
Chapter Sixteen - Jessica
Chapter Seventeen - Storm
Chapter Eighteen - Jessica
Chapter Nineteen - Cap
Chapter Twenty - Storm
Chapter Twenty-One - Jessica
Chapter Twenty-Two - Storm
Chapter Twenty-Three - Jessica
Chapter Twenty-Four - Storm
Chapter Twenty-Five - Jessica
Chapter Twenty-Six - Storm
Chapter Twenty-Seven - Reed Security
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Jessica
Chapter Twenty-Nine - Storm
Chapter Thirty - Storm
Chapter Thirty-One - Jessica
Chapter Thirty-Two - Storm
Chapter Thirty-Three - Jessica
Chapter Thirty-Four - Storm
Chapter Thirty-Five - Jessica
Chapter Thirty-Six - Elsie
Chapter Thirty-Seven - Storm
Chapter Thirty-Eight - Jessica
Chapter Thirty-Nine - Cap
Chapter Forty - Jessica
Chapter Forty-One - Storm
Chapter Forty-Two - Jessica
More To Come...
Storm
A Reed Security Romance
by
Giulia Lagomarsino
Storm
A Reed Security Novel
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: B07Y8PGLKT
Self published through Kindle Direct Publishing
This book is dedicated to the two women that are always there for me and supporting me. Any time of day, you’re both there for me and helping me work through issues and finish my books. Thanks so much!
Reed Security Cast
Sebastian “Cap” Reed- owner
Maggie “Freckles” Reed
Caitlin Reed
Clara Reed
Gunner Reed
Tucker Reed
Team 1:
Derek “Irish” Cortell- team leader and part owner
Claire Cortell
Hunter “Pappy” Papacosta
Lucy Papacosta
Rylee Papacosta
Rocco Turner
Evelyn Rose Turner
Team 2:
Sam “Cazzo” Galmacci- team leader and part owner
Vanessa Galmacci
Sofia Galmacci
Leo Galmacci
Mark “Sinner” Sinn
Cara Sinn
Violet Sinn
Asher Sinn
Blake “Burg” Reasenburg
Emma Reasenburg
Ryker Reasenburg
Beatrix (Bea)
Team 3:
John “Ice” Peters- team leader and part owner
Lindsey Peters
Zoe Peters
Cade Peters
Willow Peters
Julian “Jules” Siegrist
Ivy Siegrist
John Christopher Hudson Siegrist
Chris “Jack” McKay
Alison (Ali) McKay
Axel McKay
Elizabeth (Lizzie) McKay
Team 4:
Chance “Sniper” Hendrix
Morgan James (Shyla)
Payton James
Jackson Lewis
Raegan Cartwright
Parents: Susan and Robert Cartwright
Gabe Moore
Isabella (Isa) Moore
Vittoria
Lorenzo (Enzo)
Grayson Moore
Team 5:
Alec Wesley
Florrie Younge
Craig Devereux
Training:
Hudson Knight- formerly known as Garrick Knight
Kate Knight
Raven Knight
Griffin Knight
Lola “Brave” Pruitt
Ryan Jackson
James Jackson (Cassandra Jackson- mother)
Piper Jackson
Ryder Jackson
Team 6:
Storm Hart
Daniel “Coop” Cooper
Kayla Cooper (daughter)
Tony “Tacos” Russo
IT Department:
Becky Harding
Robert “Rob” Markum
CHAPTER ONE
Ruth
1954…
Ruth
I looked at myself in the mirror. Staring back at me was the face of a young woman, properly dressed and everything a young lady should be. The black dress that I wore hid my secret though. I was pregnant. Wallace, my beau, and I had started sleeping together one night a little over three months ago. We thought we were being safe, but that first time was more frantic fumbling than anything. I had sinned and gone against everything my parents had taught me. But being bad felt right with him.
Wallace and I were together several times a week, whenever he could get away from work at the garage by a decent hour. When he started working longer hours, I started sneaking out of the house to be with him. We met up wherever we could, parking at the overlook of the lake or meeting under the old oak tree at the end of the road I lived on. We just couldn’t stay away from each other. Then I found out I was pregnant and it changed everything. I wouldn’t be able to hide it very much longer.
When I told him I was pregnant, he was thrilled, promising to buy me a ring and make an honest woman of me. He had saved up enough money to rent a little place for us. It wasn’t much, but to me it was home. I would be with him and that was all that mattered. Tonight, he was coming over to ask my dad for permission to marry me. It was too late for a shotgun wedding. Everyone would know what happened when I delivered my baby months earlier than expected. But I didn’t care. However, my parents would be furious. Still, I was determined to stand my ground and take control of my life.
I took a deep breath and headed downstairs. Just as I stepped onto the bottom step the doorbell rang. I smiled as Wallace made his way inside, shaking hands with my father. They seemed to get along well enough, so I was pretty sure that we could make it out of this relatively unscathed. Wallace walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“You look beautiful,” he said with a smile. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he whispered. “We could always just run away.”
“No, I won’t do that to my family. They deserve to know the truth. I’m sure it’ll be fine. When my father sees that you have a ring and you have every intention of taking care of me, he’ll have no choice but to accept this.”
“If you’re sure,” he said warily.
I smiled up at him, needing him to believe like I did. He gripped my hand and walked into the living room where my parents were sitting. My father immediately eyed Wallace’s hand in mine. My father felt it was disrespectful to hold hands, so we never did. Now that we were, he straightened in his seat, setting his paper aside as he p
uffed on his pipe.
“Sir,” Wallace stepped forward, dropping my hand as he approached my father. “I’ve come to ask for your permission for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”
My father smiled as much as he ever did, which wasn’t very much, and stood, puffing out his chest like the proudest man on the planet. “And how will you take care of her?”
“I was recently promoted at my job. I’m now officially a mechanic at the garage. The owner has agreed to rent us the space above the garage. I know it’s not much, but I’ll save every penny to give your daughter the life she deserves. You’ll never meet another man that will love her as much as I do.”
“And being a mechanic is all you plan to achieve?”
“No, sir. I would like to learn as much as I can and eventually buy the garage from Mr. Wilson. I’ve already talked things through with him and we have a plan in place. He would like to retire in five years. In that time, he’ll teach me everything I need to know.”
My father raised his eyebrows in surprise and held out his hand. “Well, it sounds like you’ve thought this through. As long as you do as you say, I’d be proud to call you Son.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He shook his head and I walked forward, stepping into his hold. “Father, we’d like to get married next month.”
“That’s absurd,” my mother said, finally getting up from her seat and coming over to hold my hand. “We need to plan a big wedding. Your father will want to invite people from the firm and then we’ll have to plan the reception and set a date for the church. Not to mention that we have to find you a wedding dress,” she smiled. “We could find you a beautiful one, like Elizabeth Taylor wore in Father of the Bride. You’ll look so beautiful.”
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said, taking a step closer to Wallace. “I’m going to have a baby.”
My mother’s face dropped in shock and my father’s face turned a mottled red.
“How dare you come into my house and ask for her hand after you defiled her,” my father shouted.
“Father, he didn’t-”
“Shut your mouth. I never thought my daughter would become the town tramp,” he shouted. I flinched back in shock. I had never seen my father so angry before. It’s not that I thought he would be happy, but I never expected him to call me names.
“Sir, I love your daughter and our child will never go without. I will take care of them-”
“Like you took care of her? You should have controlled your urges. Even if you get married, there’s not a single person in this town who won’t look at her like the whore you’ve made her.”
“Let’s just go,” I said to Wallace, jerking on his arm. I needed to get him out of here.
“No, I won’t run away like a coward.”
“Wallace,” I pleaded.
“Get out,” my father yelled. “Get out of my house right this minute or I’ll have you arrested.”
Wallace turned to me, pulling me with him into the hallway. “Pack a bag. I’ll come for you in the morning. I’ll be waiting at the end of your driveway. Be ready.”
“I will,” I whispered to him. He kissed me and then with one last look at my father, he left the house. I turned to my father, tears in my eyes, “He loves me. This is just as much my fault as his. But we’re going to be married and we’ll raise this child with love, no matter what anyone says.”
“I won’t have my daughter be known as the town whore,” he spat at me. “You’ll get rid of that abomination inside you as soon as possible.”
I covered my belly with my hands, tears leaking from my eyes. “Mother, please,” I pleaded. But she just pursed her lips and dropped her eyes.
I ran upstairs, throwing my suitcase on the bed and packing whatever I could fit. We would get married right away, no matter what my parents said. When I was finished packing, I slumped down on my bed and looked around the room I had grown up in. It wasn’t right. My parents were supposed to accept this child and love it.
I dozed off, but in the early hours of the morning, a racket downstairs woke me. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I opened my bedroom door and slipped downstairs quietly.
“She’s pregnant,” my father said. “The story we’ll give is that she was raped and now she’s gone crazy from the trauma of it all. You’ll take her to your facility where she can rest and recover. The baby will go stay with my brother once born.”
“And your daughter?”
“We’ll see how amenable she is at the time,” my father said in a tone I rarely heard him use.
“And the boy?”
My heart beat wildly as I waited to hear what he would say. “I’ve already contacted the police. He should be arrested within the hour.”
“With your account of what’s happened, I’m sure he’ll be in prison for a long time.”
“No!” I said, running out from my hiding space. “You can’t do this. I refuse to let you take my child from me.”
“You don’t have a choice,” my father said, barely glancing in my direction. The doctor with whom he was speaking stepped forward.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Come with me and we’ll make sure you’re comfortable at your new home until the child is born.”
“No, I’ll never go with you,” I screamed. I turned and ran for the stairs, but arms wrapped around me. I struggled, fighting to get away, but then something pricked my skin and everything started to turn fuzzy.
“Trust me, it’s better this way,” the man said just as I drifted off into a land of swirls and confusion.
CHAPTER TWO
Jessica
I slid my glasses onto my face, trying to appear smarter. The way I figured it, if I came here simply looking into my family history, there wouldn’t be too many questions directed at me. I was at the Brookdale Psychiatric Clinic in Southern Pennsylvania. The doctors that originally treated my grandmother at the Chester Insane Asylum back in the fifties and sixties had relocated to this clinic. In fact, they had shut down the asylum due to overcrowding. The doctors had transferred, and surprisingly, a few were still here. At best, they were pushing ninety by now.
I walked into the lobby and up to the receptionist. “I’m here to see Dr. Abner.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes, I’m Jessica Finley.”
“Alright, let me just get you checked in.”
I glanced around the clinic as she clicked away on her computer. It was a nice space, open and bright. I would imagine that any patients staying here would be comfortable.
“You’re going to go upstairs and down the hall to room 202.”
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. I turned and headed for the stairs. I was too anxious to take the elevator right now. The last thing I needed was for my claustrophobia to kick in right now. I shook off my nerves as I approached the door. I gave a strong knock and was surprised when the door swung open immediately.
“Ms. Finley, I’m Dr. Abner.”
“Hello, thank you for meeting with me.”
“Of course. I understand you’re here about an inquiry into your grandmother’s stay at a previous hospital?”
“Yes, she was a patient at the Chester Insane Asylum back in the fifties and sixties. She died at that facility.”
The doctor scrunched his face and nodded. “Yes, it’s been a long time, but after reviewing her file, I remembered her. It was very sad what happened to her.”
“Yes.”
“So, what can I help you with?”
“Well,” I cleared my throat. “I really am just trying to put together my ancestry chart, but I wanted to put together each person’s history along with it.”
“And you wanted to include her time at the asylum?” he asked with disbelief.
“Dr. Abner, a person’s psychological history is important for future generations, wouldn’t you say?” Before he could answer, I continued. “My own mother committed suicide after being committed to a psychiatric facility. This one, in fact.”
Dr. Abner leaned back in his chair, brushing his hand across his mouth in thought.
“I’m sure you can see how I would want as much detail about my grandmother’s time at the clinic as possible. It would set my mind at ease, to know what she went through and be grateful that it hasn’t happened to me. Yet.”
“Yes, I can see that. Well, what exactly would you like to know?”
“How was she when she entered the asylum?”
He read through the charts and his brows raised in surprise. “It says that she was fighting with our attendants, begging them not to take her baby.”
“You weren’t there at the time?”
“I wasn’t employed by the asylum until three years after your grandmother was committed. I do remember treating her. It always surprised me,” he said thoughtfully, shaking his head as if confused.
“What surprised you?”
He laughed slightly. “I remember thinking she was the most sane crazy person I had ever met. I never could quite figure out what she was in there for.”
That was odd. I had never been told anything but how crazy she was. There were stories of her going raving mad after the baby was born, raging about how her baby was an abomination. I heard that she even tried to slit her wrists, but had failed.