11. Magnus #2
“I agree with you,” I said as I started to walk around her.
“There was no reason for you to be on high alert. You had an incredibly good security system that was also linked to Dax’s as well as ours.
Somehow, they managed to bypass it without setting off any of the silent alarms, which is something only an organized group of individuals could do.
The Mad Dogs had outside help because that type of person doesn’t exist among their members. ”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better, Magnus,” she stated, matching my own posture and crossing her arms. “If something that good can’t keep people out, then what could have been done differently?”
“A dog would have helped, us being there, having a full-time bodyguard, to name just a few,” I rattled off. “While I get you wouldn’t have wanted any of those things, not realizing that you were attached to the criminal world, it could have made all the difference.”
Harper snorted at my words which quickly devolved into full belly laughter. “You want me to have a full-time bodyguard?”
“Not anymore since you already have us three,” I pointed out, seeing her glare as I raised my hands in surrender. “You asked what could have been done differently. That was my answer.”
“Whatever, that situation is obviously over, and the chances of it happening again once this is all finished are small. Although, the idea of getting a dog is kind of smart,” she commented.
“I’m not talking about a purse dog here, doll. You need something that will cause a person to think twice about messing with you,” I stated, picturing her showing up one day with something fluffy that looks like a dust mop.
She tapped her chin, thinking that over. “Yeah, I could get behind that. I’d also make sure it was a boy, so I at least had one man I could boss around in my life since that doesn’t work with you three.”
Rolling my eyes, I dropped my arms and waved at Ghost to start the training. “All right, angel, let’s go through things from the beginning and see what you remember and what you might need a little work on. You said Dax worked on teaching you how to get out of holds?”
Harper nodded. “Grabbed from behind, front-facing, on the ground, against a wall, wrist grab, and hair-pulling. She told me it was so if I ever got in trouble at a party, I would be able to get away from creeps.”
“She didn’t do a very good job since you went home with quite a few creeps,” Jaxson commented as he joined us. “Not gonna lie, there were some times I really didn’t see what you saw in a dude.”
Harper stuck her tongue out at him, and he tried to reach out and snatch it. But she sucked it back into her mouth and twisted out of the way. “Ha! Gotta be faster than that.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t taunt me, gorgeous. You don’t know how fast I can be,” Jaxson warned. A spark of heat lingered in those words as well.
Quickly, before the moment devolved, I cuffed my brother on the back of the head and shooed him out of the way. “Go on. You’re distracting her as we need to get down to business.”
“Uh-oh, Maggie’s getting grumpy… better watch out,” Harper teased, pouting her full lips at me. “He thought we might be having fun, and he had to put a stop to that right away, didn’t he?”
Now it was my turn to glower at her. “Harper, I would warn against trying to antagonize me. It won’t be as much fun for you in the end as you think it will be.”
Before she could say another word, I dove in, grabbed her arm, spun her around, and trapped her against my chest. It was an easy hold for her to get out of if she knew the right moves.
I was counting on the shock of the sudden attack to unsettle her.
The only hope she’d have was getting her brain to react without thinking about what was happening first and to move.
Right now, she froze, her body locked up with shock written all over her face.
“Do something, Harper. Your enemy isn’t going to wait for you to get your wits about you. Move,” I barked.
Snapping out of her shock, she slammed her heel into my foot, making me bite my cheek from the sharp pain.
As my hold loosened slightly, she slammed her elbow into my gut which had me pitching forward, giving her the perfect angle for her to go for my nose.
Not feeling the need for an actual broken nose since she wasn’t holding back at all, I dodged out of the way, releasing her.
“Damn, angel, you really let him have it, didn’t you,” Ghost commented with an impressed whistle. “You’re big mad.”
“The bastard came at me out of nowhere then yelled at me,” Harper spat, stomping her foot. “Hell, yeah, I’m mad at him.”
“Doll, that’s the whole point. Do you really expect the bad guy to announce his motives before going after you? No, they are gonna snatch you and knock you the fuck out,” I argued back.
Harper let out a growl, storming up to me. “Why the fuck do I need to worry about the enemy doing that to me when I have you?”
Her words slapped me across the face. “What? What did you just say to me?”
“Oh, did I hit a nerve? Forgive me if I’m not your perfect little doll for you to dress up and order about.
I agreed for you to protect me and to show me what kind of life I was missing out on.
I get that I’m in danger, and you’re trying to help me, but do you need to be such a royal prick about it?
” Harper snarled. “Take note from your brothers. They understand how to deal with women far better than you do. I might look like a Barbie, but I’m not an idiot.
I know when someone is deflecting and using me to deal with their own issues. Guess what? I’m over it!”
With a swish of her ponytail, she turned on her heel and walked out of the gym.
“Uh…” Ghost looked between Jaxson and me, a little panicked. “I don’t think this is the right place for her to be storming off alone, seeing as it’s crawling with drug dealers.”
“Then go get her. Clearly, she doesn’t want my help,” I muttered, marching over to one of the punching bags.
Ghost took off after our woman, and Jaxson took up his spot holding the bag.
He didn’t say anything, just let me beat the shit out of the sand-packed leather sack.
Memories of Sage flashed through my mind as I swung.
Having not bothered to wrap my hands, I felt when my knuckles split, the burn reminding me I was still alive and on this godforsaken earth for some reason.
How could a person as mild and sweet as Sage be the one who was taken from this world when I was a controlling grumpy asshole, as Harper so adequately put it, who killed people for a living.
My hands were covered in so much blood, I would never be able to remove it.
I finally slowed when the bag became slick with my blood coating it.
The only warning I gave Jaxson was to meet his gaze before I swung, lashing out with a roundhouse kick that knocked the bag off the chain and slammed it into the wall bursting the seam, so sand started to leak out.
My breathing was labored as I stood there, letting the blood drip from my hands to the floor.
What did it matter if Harper couldn’t find anything good left in me?
This is what I became to keep my family safe.
She might not like it, but it wasn’t going to change.