9. Harper
HARPER
Breakfast was light and easy, with the brothers talking about things as I ate my entire meal with Magnus watching my every bite. When we finished, I helped with washing the dishes while Ghost acted like a fool, snapping my ass with the dish towel every time he walked by.
“Do that one more time, and I’ll see what moves I remember from the self-defense Dax taught me,” I growled, catching the towel and tugging him closer.
Ghost stuck out his lower lip and pouted at me. “You’re being no fun, angel.”
“Come up with something else we can do because this is getting old,” I suggested, snagging the towel and drying the last of the forks to put away.
This suggestion perked Ghost right up. “Oo, good idea. I’m thinking we could go skydiving or maybe bungee jumping. What do you think?”
Why I was surprised at all that this is where he went first, I had no idea. “Why don’t we do something that doesn’t involve heights.”
“I have an idea,” Jaxson called from the living room. “We could take her out to the firing range. It would be good for her to know how to shoot a gun or at least how to handle one since we have them all over the house.”
“What! No, I don’t want to do that,” I screeched.
While I didn’t have an issue with guns in general and knew they offered protection, I never wanted anything to do with them.
This was one of the biggest struggles I had with learning about who Dax really was.
I had no idea she had guns stashed around the house or on her person most of the time.
Yes, she was a crime lord, and it made sense, but that didn’t mean I had to be involved with the things
Magnus appeared in the kitchen carrying a duffle that clinked suspiciously when he set it down on the island. “Way ahead of you, Jax. I agree she needs to know so if something happens and we aren’t around, she doesn’t shoot off her toe or something.”
“Look, I might not know how to fire a gun, but I know better than to do something stupid like that,” I argued. “Besides, you told me you’d never let something happen to me, so why even bother?”
“All right, let’s say we get into a fight, and one or more of us is injured while defending you, and the attacker comes after you?” Magnus challenged.
“I would run,” I answered. “Before all this, I was an avid runner, and I can go a fair distance. If someone is coming after me, I’ll book it out of there and find someplace to hide.”
“Damn, you would just leave one of us there dying? That’s cold, angel,” Ghost muttered, shaking his head. “Here we are trying to keep you safe, and you’d just up and leave us in the dust.”
Now that he put it that way, I hesitated. “Well, I would come back.”
“What if it’s too late and one or all of us die?
How would you keep yourself safe in a place you don’t know with trained killers hot on your heels?
” Jaxson pressed as he came to join in the conversation.
“Men like us don’t give up on their marks.
We’re like a dog with a bone. We don’t get paid until the job is done, and money means a whole hell of a lot more than you do. ”
My brain was spinning with their questions and harsh tones as they kept coming after me with this hypothetical situation. “Stop, just stop,” I demanded, tossing my hands up. “What the hell is going on right now? Is this because of what you learned about more people coming after me?”
Magnus came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my front, so his hand gripped my throat and pushed my head up to look at him.
“You are ours, Harper, and because of that, you are our weakness. Once people learn about you, they will never stop trying to get to you so they can get to us. I’ll be damned if I will make it easy for them, and leaving you with no knowledge of how to defend yourself isn’t smart.
I pray you’ll never have to use what we teach you, but I will not leave you vulnerable. ”
I wanted to argue, but in his face, I could see he wasn’t going to budge. Magnus was a controlling asshole, but when he got like this, it was almost as if he was reacting out of fear.
“Has it happened before?” I asked bluntly.
“Ask the real question, Harper,” Magnus demanded.
I licked my lips, not sure I wanted the answer, but I needed to know. It was only fair. “Have you lost someone you loved because you weren’t there to protect them?”
“Yes,” he answered in a clipped tone, letting go of me, but I still tracked him as he turned his back.
“That is all I will say for now. It’s in the past, and there’s nothing I can do to change it, but I can learn from it, which is why you are coming with us to the range and learning to shoot.
I also want to see what moves Dax taught you. ”
Jaxson walked over and took my hand, tugging me off the stool, then headed for the bedroom. “Let me show you where your workout clothes are. That will be better suited than a dress for what we want to do today.”
Everything in me wanted to go to Magnus and hug him, to let him know I knew what it was like to have someone you loved taken from you in a moment.
When I tried to do that, Jaxson squeezed my hand and shook his head no.
Begrudgingly, I followed him into the bedroom and to a closet I hadn’t noticed before.
It appeared this closet was where the guys kept their clothes.
Jaxson stopped at the first dresser and pulled open the middle drawer revealing leggings, sports bras, T-shirts, and tank tops in my favorite colors.
He opened another drawer just above it, and I discovered they did have normal bras and underwear for me to wear, although they were all on the sexy side.
“He’ll tell you in time,” Jaxson said, breaking the silence.
“It’s hard for him to admit his failures, especially ones that cost someone their life.
We were teenagers, and she was the first girl to worm her way into his heart.
After that, his controlling nature became even worse, creating the man you see today.
He believes if he can control everything, then it will keep us all safe. ”
“It took me a long time to get my driver’s license.
I think it was because I needed it for college that I actually went and did it.
My parents were killed in a drunk-driver accident, and I think I figured if I didn’t drive, then I couldn’t get hurt like they did,” I shared as I sorted through the clothes.
“I’m not saying our stories are the same, but I suppose you could say I understand the pain of losing someone you loved so suddenly. ”
Jaxson pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “We knew you lost your parents, but none of us thought it was right to snoop into it.”
“Oh, that’s crossing the line for you. Good to know,” I teased. “What about you guys? Do you have any family?”
“There might be a sperm donor running around in the world. We haven’t really looked.
Mom’s dead, overdosed on drugs, chased with any liquor she could get her hands on.
We never bothered to look up any relatives since we were trying to avoid foster care at all costs,” Jaxson told me, nuzzling into my hair as if to hide his face from me.
“Doesn’t matter now. I have you and my brothers.
That’s all the family that means anything to me. ”
“Yeah, I was lucky to have my grandparents take me in, so I didn’t have to go that route either.
” I sighed, hugging him tightly. “All right, I’ll play nice when it comes to this whole guns and shooting thing.
I’ve never liked the damn things, but it seems I’ve landed myself in a world where they are everywhere. ”
“Thank you,” he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss on my lips before leaving me to get dressed.
As I looked around the closet, I stumbled upon several pairs of shoes that were meant for me since they were far too small for any of the boys to wear.
Dressed and ready for the day, I tossed my hair into a high pony and went in search of the triplets.
Not finding them in the house, I walked out front and spotted them packing the Jeep with everything we would need.
“Ready to go, angel?” Ghost called, greeting me with a bright smile I was coming to love.
“I suppose. Let’s do this before I change my mind,” I said, climbing up into the front passenger seat.
“Ah, angel, what do you think you’re doing?” Ghost asked, cocking his head at me.
Resting my arm on the door, I leaned forward, giving him an innocent look. “What? Did one of you call shotgun, and I didn’t hear it? Or is this a no-girls allowed in the front seat type situation?”
“Well, no…”
“Great!” I chirped, sitting back and clicking my seat belt.
Ghost gaped at me, looking at his brothers and pointing at me. “She can’t do that!”
“Why not?” Magnus asked, trying not to smile.
“Seriously,” Ghost shouted, looking like a toddler who wanted to throw a temper tantrum.
“If she sits there, then I have to sit next to him,” he grumbled, pointing at Jaxson.
“If she sits in the back, then Jax and I agreed to take turns, but we can’t do that if she sits up front. It ruins the whole plan.”
Magnus rolled his eyes. “I think you’ll survive one trip without her sitting beside you. As for the future, make sure one of you calls shotgun so she can’t pull the same stunt. Or better yet, why not ask her to sit next to you? She might do it.”
Ghost marched up to me and leaned in so our noses were touching. “You ride with me on the way back.”
“That’s not asking, and I hate to break it to you, but you’re not as scary as Magnus to order me around,” I commented, booping him on the nose with my finger. “If you ask nicely, I might consider it.”
Darting in, Ghost kissed me, licking my lower lip, asking for me to open for him, which I did, seeing no reason to deny myself.
If it was his mission to convince me, this was a good start, but I wasn’t going to give in until asked.
I could only handle one brother ordering me around.
When he broke our kiss, he looked at me expectantly.
“Oh, was that you asking me because I didn’t hear anything,” I asked, trying to keep my face straight as he scowled.
“Harper, will you please sit with me on the way back?” he mumbled.
I gave him a bright smile and nodded. “Since you asked so wonderfully, yes, I would love to sit with you on the way back.”
The others snickered, and Jaxson made the sound of a whip as he flicked his wrist at his youngest brother.
“All right, let’s get a move on it,” Magnus ordered, hopping into the driver’s seat.
The engine roared to life, and we were off down the dirt road. Today I noticed that not many people were out working, so I assumed it must be a weekend. Of course, not knowing where I was, I had no idea if they kept the same views on weekends the way we did in America.
It could be a holiday or something else entirely, so I decided to ask, “What day is it today?”
“I think it’s Saturday, but I’m not really all that sure. When we don’t have a job to worry about, we tend not to worry about schedules,” Magnus answered, reaching out to put his hand on my thigh. “Enjoy living in the moment. We have nothing pressing that needs to get done.”
While I loved the sentiment and wanted to do as he suggested, I wasn’t used to letting control go like that. I’d been working for so long to get where I was, then in the blink of an eye, it was chaos, and I was in another country with three men.
“You guys didn’t really burn my shop down, did you?” I inquired, remembering it was a suggestion they’d made back in LA when they tried to convince me to leave with them when I thought I had a choice.
Magnus looked at me out of the corner of his eye but didn’t answer me.
I’d been with them the whole time. There’s no way it could have happened without me knowing.
Then I realized I’d been knocked out for a solid eight hours or more.
What if the insurance company was trying to get ahold of me, and I didn’t answer?
There would be an investigation, and with me missing, they might think I’d been kidnapped.
Okay, well, I kind of was, but having the police look into things wasn’t good either.
“No, we didn’t burn your shop down,” Magnus finally answered as if he sensed I was beginning to panic. “We hired someone to complete the remainder of your orders and to let them know you’d be traveling for inspiration for the next few months, and the shop would be closed.”
Surprised, I blinked at him a few times as my brain caught up to what he was telling me. “Who did you get to do the job on such short notice? Also, how are they getting paid? I don’t have the funds to employ someone like that if I’m not getting more orders in.”
“It’s been handled. Nothing you need to worry about,” Magnus stated, giving my thigh a squeeze.
“What does that mean,” I snapped. “This is my business, my blood, sweat, and tears that built it to what it is now.”
“Yes, it absolutely is,” Magnus agreed. “Let’s just call us a silent investor helping you to expand your business and keep its reputation while you’re gone. The landlord has been informed of your travels and the next six months are paid upfront.”
“You can’t do that,” I yelled. “What gives you the right to make that kind of call?”
“Harper, the other option was burning it to the ground and pinning it on a rival designer as retaliation. We figured this was the better option to go with. As for what right do I have? You’re ours, doll, and what needs doing will be done regardless of how you feel about it.
What would have happened if we had just left the shop to sit?
We don’t know how long you’re going to be in hiding.
We couldn’t risk leaving loose ends like that. ”
I let out a frustrated scream and shoved his hand off my leg, not wanting to be touched while I was angry.
Turning my back to him, I looked out the window.
There would come a time I would get bossy old Maggie back for all the controlling shit he was pulling right now.
It would take some planning, but I was willing to be patient to make it happen.
Magnus turned on the radio, and the car filled with music as we drove.