The Reed Security Relationship Manual: A Reed Security Romance, Giulia Lagomarsino [acx book reading .txt] 📗

Florrie snorted. “And those smart choices include following your rules.”

“Exactly,” Rocco replied. “I’m just saying, if there was a strict set of rules for her to follow, things would be a lot easier.”

“For you, maybe,” Florrie snorted. “You’d better be careful what you wish for.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that when you go after the women of Reed Security, they tend to fight back,” Florrie smirked.

“You don’t seem to be a problem,” Rocco muttered.

“That’s because everyone knows not to fuck with me. Your problem is that you underestimate Brooke.”

“I’m well aware of her capabilities.”

“Really? Even after all those training sessions, you still think that she’s just a little kitten you can pet?”

“Look, I’ve seen her skills with a gun, and while they’re not bad, I’m not exactly worried about her killing me.”

I watched in the rearview mirror as a smirk slid across Florrie’s face. I had a feeling she knew something we didn’t.

“Not all lethal skills come in the form of killing someone.”

Rocco’s brows furrowed. “What other way is there?”

“If you don’t know the answer to that, I can’t help you.”

We pulled into the residence of a man by the name of Milo Caselli. He was currently living in an apartment outside of D.C. From the looks of things, he wasn’t doing too good right now.

“Did Cap say who took out the hit on him?” I asked, staring up at the dingy apartment building.

“His wife,” Rocco snorted. “He must have done something really bad to piss her off.”

I frowned. “I don’t know. Look at our women and tell me if you still think that’s true.”

We parked in front of his building and glanced around as we approached the front door. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but then again, this place was a dump. It would be easy to conceal yourself around here. Hitting the buzzer, we waited outside, my eyes continually scanning the property until we were let up. He didn’t even ask who it was. He just opened the damn door.

Trudging up the stairs, Rocco banged on the door, pulling his gun as soon as the door was opened. He shoved the man inside, his weapon pointed at him the whole time, as Florrie and I checked out the rest of the place.

“What is this? Who the hell are you guys?”

“Clear,” I shouted as I walked back into the room.

Rocco held the guy by the shirt collar, his gun still trained on him. The guy looked absolutely terrified. “Are you Milo Caselli?”

“Yeah.” Sweat trickled down his face and his whole body shook with fear.

“Milo, you’ve got a real fucking problem.”

“I know,” his voice shook. “Someone’s trying to kill me.”

“And you just let us walk right up to your apartment,” Florrie snapped. “You opened your door without checking to see who it was. Tell us again how you’re still alive?”

“I…I just moved in here. I figured it was safe.”

“Then who did you think was at the door?” I asked.

“I ordered a pizza!”

“And that almost just got you killed,” Rocco said, shoving the guy away from him as we all holstered our weapons.

“So, your woman is trying to kill you. Any idea why?”

He snorted. “You want a list?”

“Did you try and kill her first?” Florrie asked. “Hit her?”

“No,” he shook his head, “Nothing like that.”

“Did you cheat on her?” I asked. “Women tend to not like that.”

“Of course not. I love her.”

“And she loves you?” Rocco asked.

“Well, up until about a year ago.”

“What happened a year ago?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “One day, she just started getting really pissed at me, saying things like, Do you know how to flush the toilet, or do you need me to do it for you? Or I would ask where something was, and she would say, The same place it’s been for the last ten years.” He stared at us with wide eyes. “And then she just wouldn’t tell me. I don’t know where to go with that.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Rocco scratched his head. “You haven’t threatened her, hit her, cheated on her, run over her dog, or anything at all that suggests you don’t want her alive?”

“Right,” he nodded.

Rocco turned to me with a long look. “Christ, this guy doesn’t need protection. He needs a marriage counselor.”

“I mean, we’re here,” Florrie said. “We could just shoot him and collect the hit money.”

“Hey!” Milo said indignantly.

“Relax,” I held out my hand. “We’re not going to shoot you. We’re going to take you to your wife, and we’re going to have a long chat about…so many things.”

“Yeah, you should definitely be the one to discuss the ins and outs of a relationship with him and his wife,” Florrie snorted.

“Hey, if anyone can show this guy how to come back from the worst of the worst, it’s me.”

“Alright,” Rocco said as we drove out to Milo’s house outside of Bethesda. “Let’s just get in and explain the situation. Maybe we can talk her into giving you a second chance, and then we can get home and I can finish the damn manual.”

“What manual?” Milo asked.

“It’s a relationship manual. I’m writing it, along with a rulebook for my fiancé.”

He leaned forward in his seat, obviously interested. “What kind of rulebook?”

“You know, rules that she follows so that we’re on the same page in our relationship.”

“Does this work for everyone?”

I shook my head slightly. “Probably not for you.”

“And she knows about this, and she’s okay with it?”

Rocco glanced at me for a moment before shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “I wouldn’t say she’s exactly thrilled about it, but there have to be boundaries in every relationship. Besides, I just found out she’s pregnant. I’ve got to get this thing signed before that baby comes. After that, her hormones will be going crazy, and she’d probably kill me.”

“Wait, so you have this notarized and everything? Like a real contract?”

“Not exactly,” Rocco said. “It’s more like