ParkerA Reed Security Romance Giulia Lagomarsino Copyright © 2020 by Giulia Lagomarsino All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum I started developing Parker’s story and GoodKnight back in January. Unfortunately, current events have seemed to line up just a little too perfectly with this story. I hope you enjoy this book and watch for the second part to this story in GoodKnight. Contents 1. Senator Burke 2. Knight 3. Blake 4. Parker 5. Blake 6. Parker 7. Blake 8. Parker 9. Blake 10. Ice 11. Blake 12. Parker 13. Blake 14. Parker 15. Blake 16. Parker 17. Blake 18. Parker 19. Blake 20. Parker 21. Blake 22. Parker 23. Senator Cortez 24. Blake 25. Cap 26. Parker 27. Blake 28. Parker 29. Todd 30. Blake 31. Agent Dennick 32. Cap 33. Parker 34. Blake 35. Senator Cortez 36. Knight 37. Kate Also by Giulia Lagomarsino Preview of GoodKnight Knight Cast of Characters Cast of Reed Security Sebastian “Cap” Reed- owner Maggie “Freckles” Reed Caitlin Reed Clara Reed Gunner Reed Tucker Reed Lily Reed Carter Reed Julia Reed Team 1: Derek “Irish” Cortell- team leader and part owner Claire Cortell Janie Cortell Hunter “Pappy” Papacosta Lucy Papacosta Rylee Papacosta Colt Papacosta Rocco Turner Brooke Evelyn Rose Turner Team 2: Sam “Cazzo” Galmacci- team leader and part owner Vanessa Galmacci Sofia Galmacci Leo Galmacci Max 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 Katie 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 Annie Lewis Parents: Susan and Robert Cartwright Gabe Moore Isabella (Isa) Moore Vittoria Lorenzo (Enzo) Grayson Moore Team 5: Alec Wesley Florrie Younge Reid Craig Devereux Reese Pearson Grant Devereux Training: Hudson Knight- formerly known as Garrick Knight Kate Knight Raven Knight Griffin Knight Cade Knight Lola “Brave” Pruitt Ryan Jackson James Jackson (Cassandra Jackson- mother) Piper Jackson Ryder Jackson Paige Jackson Team 6: Storm Hart Jessica Finley Daniel “Coop” Cooper Becky Harding Kayla Cooper (daughter) Tony “Tacos” Russo Molly Erickson Marcello Russo IT Department: Robert “Rob” Markum Chapter One Senator Burke “Tell Monica to push my eight a.m. back to eight-thirty tomorrow,” I said to my personal assistant over the phone. I climbed the stairs to the private club I belonged to and nodded to the doorman. “Yes, sir. I’ll take care of that immediately. I also need to talk to you about-” “Not now. I’m stepping into a meeting.” “I don’t have that in your schedule,” Timothy said in confusion. “It’s a private meeting. No interruptions the rest of the night. If something comes up, handle it yourself.” “Yes, sir.” I turned off my phone and walked through the lounge to the back of the club where my meeting would be held. We had a lot to discuss tonight, and only a short amount of time to get through it all. The security that had been hired when we started this project was already here. They were to sweep the room for listening devices and cameras, along with sticking around and providing security during the meeting. We couldn’t take any chances right now. We were too deep into this and there was no pulling out now. The head of the biotech firm SynGen was already here. It had taken a lot of money to get her on our side. Helen Taylor was a tough negotiator, but I could tell when I first met her that she could be bought. I had to bring on more senators so that I could afford the funding. Essentially buying her help was not a cheap way to go, but it was our only option. We needed a lab that was privately owned and would be willing to work around certain guidelines that were set forth by the government, the same government that I was working to protect. The rest of the senators filed in over the next few minutes. A security guard came in and took all our phones and checked each of us for any kind of recording devices. The only thing that was allowed was already pre-approved by security. That was a single laptop. We all had to log into it when the meeting started. Only then could we all be held accountable. It was my insurance policy to make sure that no one got cold feet and decided to turn on us. “Let’s get started,” I said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I’ll have Ms. Taylor fill us in on how the project is coming along. Then we have some details to discuss.” Helen nodded to me and stood in front of the rest of us. There were six of us in total. “Thank you, Richard. The project is on target. The trials are going well, and I think we’ll have a viable product in the next month. The researchers assure me that they are working hard on all aspects, but we are running into some complications with the second half of the project. It…may delay things, but there’s nothing that can be done about that. We’re moving as fast as we can, but if we don’t have everything we need in place, the first half of the project won’t be feasible.” “You’re telling us this now?” Senator Nicholas Samuelson asked. “You know how much money we’ve put into this project, and now you’re telling us we might have to scrap it?” “I promise you that the researchers are working as hard as they can-” “Make them work harder,” Senator Nathan Brunswick cut in. “Our asses are all on the line here. We’ve already put things in motion. We can’t afford any slowdowns. This plan needs to be put in place in two months.” Helen pursed her lips, but nodded and took her seat. “Nathan, what do you have for us?” Senator Brunswick was our inside guy on the committee for the Department of Homeland Security. He was able to get our security for us and ensure that our plans were shared with only the people that we knew were loyal to the cause. “I’ve been digging into the man that broke into Senator Blakely’s house. As you all know, we believe the initial information that Senator Samuelson brought to him was being kept there in his safe. Senator Blakely had a camera hidden
