17. Harper
HARPER
“You want me to do what?” I demanded as Jaxson handed me a mug full of coffee, only to pull it back when I shot up from my seat.
“That man’s son all but assaulted me, and he wants to meet me to hear the whole story?
Why, who in their right mind would say something like that and not plan to kill the person who shows up? ”
“Angel—”
“No, Ghost, I don’t give a shit what you say. This is ludicrous,” I yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. “The whole fucking point of me being here is to keep me alive and out of trouble. This, this is just asking for it.”
“Doll, sit down.” Magnus barked, slamming his hand on the counter.
I sat crossing my arms and glaring, knowing there was nothing they could say that would get me to do this.
“Thank you, I’m sorry I snapped at you, but you aren’t giving us a chance to talk,” he reasoned, giving me a warning look.
“Jean-Claude is the son of a well-known and powerful French mobster, but he is the youngest son who wasn’t liked by many.
He’s always had it out for the three of us, and this was just the final straw.
His father knows I was in the right to kill his son.
He touched what’s ours after I told him to let you go.
As a favor for not making a big deal out of this, his only request was that he be able to speak to you,” Magnus explained.
“How do you know he won’t just shoot me?” I countered.
Magnus sighed and leaned on the counter across from me so we were at eye level.
“Because I would shoot him dead before he ever had the chance to move for his gun. The other two would take out his bodyguards, and the whole matter would be over in seconds. If there is anything that a crime family understands, it’s protecting what’s yours. ”
Spotting the mug of coffee Jaxson set by me, I reached out and slurped some of it loudly as I thought over what Maggie said. “The meeting is in public?”
“Yes, at an open-air coffee shop owned by neutral people,” he answered.
“What if he had snipers to take me out since I’ll be in the open?”
Magnus walked around the counter with a frustrated growl, picked me up to set me on it, and stepped between my legs. Now that we were nose to nose, I could feel the effort he was putting into not demanding to listen to him like he normally would.
“Harper, I understand you’re rattled after what happened last night. I’m guessing that is the first time you’ve been so close to someone getting killed?” Magnus asked.
“Second, when Dax saved me, she killed two of those biker guys in front of me,” I corrected. “Neither of them splattered on me, though. That was new.”
He lifted a hand, cupping my throat, letting his thumb stroke up and down my pulse.
“If there was another way I could have killed him, I would have so you didn’t have to go through that.
Death isn’t easy to swallow for most people, but when it leaves such an impression like that, it sticks with you. ”
“I think I’m dealing with it fine,” I stated, raising my chin in a challenge.
“You are. Other than those few nightmares last night, I think you are doing remarkably well. The thing you need to learn about the dark side of the world is it comes with give and take. I killed his son. He wants you personally to tell him what happened. There are a lot more things he could ask for if he wanted to, but that was his request. While none of us love the idea, I’ve made the situation as safe as I possibly can.
” He pressed his lips to my forehead and held them there for a moment before pulling back. “Will you do this for us, please?”
The fucker said please! Now, what am I supposed to do with that?
“Fine, I will play my part in this… but…” I said, poking Magnus in the chest. “Know I will hold you responsible if something goes wrong, and you have to tell Dax about it.”
The other two both swore under their breath at that threat.
“You have yourself a deal, Harper,” Magnus agreed, then grinned at me. “Well played, you knew that if Dax found out we didn’t keep you safe, she would bring hell down on us.”
“Damn straight,” I said, giving him a peck on the lips. “Now free me so I can go get dressed. I’m not wearing a baggy T-shirt to meet a mob boss.”
“You have twenty minutes before we need to leave,” Ghost warned.
I gave him a thumbs up and headed into the bedroom, then paused to spin on my heel. “Do I get to carry a gun?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely the fuck not.”
Jaxson and Magnus turned on Ghost for his contradictory answer.
“Why the hell would we give her a gun? She’s only shot it the one time, and they will be patting us all down. The agreement was that none of us got to bring weapons to the meet,” Magnus argued, shoving his brother.
“Fuck off, Mag,” Ghost spat back. “I don’t like this plan of yours, and if we can send her in with something that might keep her alive, we should.”
“No. We. Can’t,” Magnus bellowed. “If they find her with a gun, she’s dead, no questions, just dead. Then that leaves us killing all of them in broad daylight, so the rest of the family knows just who to come after. We would have lost the woman we love and be on the run forever. It’s not worth it.”
Ghost looked like he wanted to argue, but Jaxson placed a hand on his shoulder. “Calm it down, you two.” Then he looked over at me. “Go get ready, gorgeous, while we talk about this.”
Not wanting to cause another blowup, I left to get ready.
“You’re not wearing that,” Ghost announced when I joined them in the living room twenty minutes later.
I looked down at my outfit, confused. I had a flowy cream wrap-around skirt with ruffles on the edge and a soft pink T-shirt that fit snuggly. “What’s wrong?”
“You look good enough to eat, and there will be lots of men at this meeting who I don’t want looking at what’s mine,” he grumbled as he pulled me onto his lap to kiss me.
I nuzzled his nose, finding his reaction endearing. “Then I guess it will be good motivation for you to make extra sure people mind their manners.”
“Tease… I like it.” Ghost grinned, giving me another quick kiss before putting me back on my feet. “All right, let’s get this over with so we can do something fun.”
Leaning against him, I looked up and whispered. “I’m guessing you lost the fight about me going in with a gun?”
“Yeah, but they’re right,” he answered with a sigh. “It would be more trouble, and your safety would be far more at risk.”
Jaxson scooped me up once I reached the Jeep and placed me in the back, hopping in after me. “Ghost got you twice in a row. It’s my turn now.”
“Damn, you guys keep track of everything, don’t you?” I teased, plopping the large sun hat on my head that Ghost handed me.
“With it being the three of us all the time, it’s the only way to keep things fair.
Even as kids, it’s how we worked out our issues if we could.
Split everything evenly unless there was a reason not to,” Jaxson said, spreading his arms out wide on the back of the seats. “Guess you could say the habit stuck.”
Magnus didn’t say much as we pulled out onto the road. He only looked back at me to double-check I was buckled in, then all but ignored me.
“Don’t take it personally,” Jaxson whispered into my ear. “This is how he gets when we are on a job. Right now, to him, keeping you safe during this meeting is the most important job he’s ever done.”
I nodded, knowing there wasn’t much I could say on the matter or change what was going to happen.
When they told me we would be meeting at a coffee shop, I assumed it would be in the same town we’d gone to last night, but we took a different route and ended up in a bigger, much more populated city.
I could easily pick out the tourists wandering the streets dressed for a day at the beach.
Many of the signs were in more than one language so you could find your way.
Jean-Claude had revealed I was in Bali with them, but I hadn’t really contemplated what that meant for us now.
I’m sure it’s something they will discuss with me after this is all over.
Magnus had to drive at a snail’s pace with so many people darting across the streets, disregarding any form of right of way or crossing at a light.
Finally, we pulled into a parking lot in the center of a shopping area.
Shops boasting the best souvenirs littered the space and made me curious to see what they were selling.
“Come on, angel, maybe we can talk grumpy pants into letting us do some shopping while we’re here,” Ghost suggested as he took my hand.
Magnus led the way while Jaxson took up the rear.
In a way, I felt like I was with my bodyguards instead of the guys I was kind of dating.
The reality of what I was about to do started to creep up on me, and sweat broke out on my forehead.
I was going to sit across from a man who’d just lost his son for touching me.
How could he not be furious at the loss?
We walked up to a cute-looking building that reminded me of a tiki beach hut, only much larger. There was seating inside and out back on a large patio covered by fabric tied between palm trees, giving it an almost shipwrecked feel.
Jaxson ran a hand down my back as he passed to walk up to the register. “Shouldn’t we go with him?”
“Trust us, angel, we’ve done meetings like this a million times.
The only thing that’s different is having something we can’t risk losing being here with us,” Ghost explained in a low voice.
“The drinks are for show, but no one will drink them. Too much risk of them being tampered with. It’s so we give the right illusion to everyone else around us. ”
“What if I want a drink?” I shot back, my insecurity at this whole thing making me cranky.
Ghost looked down at me with a bemused look and squeezed my hand. “When this is over, we’ll get you whatever you like… from a different coffee shop.”