Chapter Seventeen
Blake
“So, what’s your deal?” Florrie asked as I headed for the locker room. I had just gotten in a good workout and I was looking forward to relaxing tonight. After being on the run for the last week, I needed a night where I didn’t have to watch my back. Even last night, I had been wary about being here, but after training with these people and seeing how they interacted with each other, I wasn’t nervous about staying in the creepy bunker. There were really awesome beds and pillows.
“I don’t have a deal,” I responded.
“You’re a fed and you just popped out of nowhere,” she accused.
Alec, her man friend, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, resting his hand on her stomach. “What she means is, welcome to Reed Security.”
“That’s not at all what I meant.”
“Yes, she did,” Alec grinned. “You’ll have to excuse Florrie. She’s a little paranoid of newcomers.”
“Aren’t you all?” I asked.
“Can you blame us?”
“I guess I would be curious if a fed showed up on my doorstep, but I’m no longer part of the FBI.”
“So you say,” Florrie snapped.
“Wow, you really don’t like me, do you?”
“I don’t like anyone that comes into our facility. Don’t worry, it’s not just you.”
“Gee, I’m so glad to hear that. You know, I was really worried about what you thought of me.”
Alec looked between the two of us, probably judging if he had to step in. I wasn’t sure who he was worried about. I knew Florrie could take care of herself, but she was pregnant, so maybe that’s what all the overprotective stuff was about.
“Is it true? Did you steal evidence from the FBI?”
I narrowed my eyes at her accusing tone and stiffened my spine. If she wanted a fight, I would give her one, pregnant or not. “I only took evidence that my boss was trying to cover up. I joined the FBI to make a difference, not to line my pockets so people could get away with shit because they have power or money.”
She nodded slightly. “I’m assuming since you’re on the run that they came after you.”
“Well, yeah, they’re not stupid.”
“How’d you manage to walk out of the building with evidence?”
I smirked and held up my necklace. “It doubles as a flash drive. I had made copies of the files right before I went to my boss’s office, so when they fired me, I went back to the printer and copied it all to the flash drive. They never suspected me. Well, until someone went into my office. They would have seen that a file transfer was made.”
“That’s pretty ballsy. I have to say though, I’m surprised you made it so far away from them.”
“Well, I’m not completely stupid either.”
“I can see that.”
Alec loosened his grip on Florrie and took a slight step back. “So, we’re good here?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Florrie grinned.
“Sure.”
“So, you and Parker.”
“Uh…no. There’s no me and Parker.”
“Really?” she smirked. “Because I saw the video, and Alec and I are no strangers to workplace fucking.”
“Workplace romance,” Alec corrected.
Florrie rolled her eyes. “It was fucking. The romance was few and far between.”
“That’s only because you’re adverse to affection of any kind.”
“Hey, I’ve gotten better,” Florrie snapped.
Alec turned to me with a devilish grin and then pulled Florrie against him, kissing her so indecently that I felt like I was watching a porno. Florrie started slapping at his chest and pushing him away from her. When she finally got free, she took a good two steps away from him, holding her hands up.
“That wasn’t romance. That was flat out mauling. See what I have to put up with?” she asked, turning to me. “Be happy that you and Parker aren’t officially Reed Security members yet. You still have time to figure stuff out before your relationship screws everything up.”
“We’re not in a relationship,” I reemphasized. “We had some fun and that was it.”
“Yeah, well, if he’s anything like him,” she said, jerking her thumb to Alec, “there’s very little chance that you’ll escape.”
“So,” I chuckled slightly, a little embarrassed that I was having to ask. “What’s Parker like?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him, so…”
Alec glanced at Florrie and then scratched his neck uncomfortably. “Uh, we don’t really know him any better than you do. I mean, obviously we’ve never slept with him, so you have us there.”
“Well, how did you meet him?”
Alec cleared his throat. “Uh, on a job.”
“Wait, how does that work? Was he freelancing or something?”
“He was on the other side,” Florrie filled in.
Wow, now I was really confused. He was on the other side of a job, and somehow was now working with Reed Security? How did something like that happen?
“Look, he needed work and took a job with the wrong guy. We were able to get him to help us.”
“So, he’s working with you now?”
Alec and Florrie exchanged a look that just pissed me off. They knew something, but they didn’t want to tell me. “As nice as it is to watch these smoldering looks you keep shooting each other, I would rather get on with my day, so whatever it is that you’re keeping from me, just tell me what it is and we’ll move on.”
“We don’t actually know that much about
