31. Harper
HARPER
If I had known Magnus’s brilliant idea of not traveling like they normally do involved taking a boat to Tallinn, Estonia, then boarding a train to St. Petersburg, where we would switch trains to Moscow, I wouldn’t have downed a bottle and a half of red wine the night before.
It had been a great evening of us playing Monopoly, of all things, but it became heated when Ghost and I got tipsy.
Who am I kidding? I was wasted after the first bottle but kept stealing Jaxson’s glass when mine was empty.
Now here I was two days later, on the last leg of the trip, snuggled into Ghost’s side as I watched the scenery pass by.
The awesome part of this way of traveling is I got to see so much of the world I hadn’t yet.
Everything was so interesting to look at as we followed the coastline on the first day.
Now, as we approached Moscow, things were becoming much more rural.
If you looked on a map, Moscow stretched out like a starfish with the heart of the city in the middle.
I was beyond ready to get out of these cramped spaces and get moving.
The ferry was nice because at least we got to wander around the boat, stretching our legs, but the train didn’t offer that as easily.
Sure, we wandered up and down the train, but it wasn’t as easy with having to shift between cars.
Magnus had been working away on his laptop, getting information about this Primakova Maximovana we were supposed to find.
We found the coffee shop she worked at and her school.
It was the prestigious kind meant for smart kids, where normal school would be too easy.
I glanced down at her picture on the tablet, wondering what kind of kid she might be.
Her blue eyes gave off a fierce look as if she were a wild animal chained for too long.
Her father was an absolute deadbeat, and she cut him out of her life as fast as she could.
Prim was close to her grandfather, but he was hard to track down.
It seemed he wasn’t a fan of modern technology or the way of doing things via the internet.
Magnus said he was the contact if something went wrong but that we should only reach out in desperate need.
I hoped to God that wasn’t what would happen on this trip.
We just needed to approach her, save her, get the hell out and back home.
Something in my gut told me that things were never going to be that simple.
We had the KGB and the mafia with their sights on this girl.
It seems she’s smart and already started her training with the KGB when she was younger, but her grandfather got her out and into this school to protect her.
The problem was, once she turned eighteen, all bets were off, and she wouldn’t have that shield anymore.
“How much longer?” Ghost grumbled, shifting in his seat. “This is why I hate traveling this way. It takes forever and is cramped.”
“This is the best way for us to move without bringing attention to ourselves. We bought tickets under fake names, and everyone knows the security they have entering different countries on trains and boats isn’t anything like that of the airports.
Besides, if something went down, and we thought we were being followed, we could get off at any of the stops along the way,” Magnus pointed out for the fifth time.
“You really should just ignore him when he gets like this,” Jaxson commented, opening a bag of chips. “The more you try to reason with him, the worse it gets.”
Ghost took his sweatshirt and chucked it at his brother’s face. “Fuck off. Just because you like riding trains doesn’t mean I can’t be pissed about it. You know what happens if I get bored.”
My brows shot up as I looked for the others to fill me in, but they just acted like he didn’t say anything weird. “So… what does happen when you’re bored?”
“Well, angel, I tend to find something to break up the monotony,” Ghost said, giving me a sly grin.
“I don’t get it…”
Jaxson let out a heavy sigh. “He starts trouble of some kind to make things more interesting. Picking a fight with a stranger, trying to sneak into the train conductor’s area, unlatching the last luggage car from the end of the train without anyone noticing, that sort of thing.”
“Why am I even surprised by this? Of course, you would do something so stupid, but let me make myself clear,” I warned, pointing at Ghost. “I don’t want to be dragged into one of your crazy ideas.
My goal is not to end up in jail this time or be noticed by law enforcement of any kind.
My record is clean, and I’d like to keep it that way.
One of us needs to look normal on paper. ”
“Doll, none of us have a record,” Magnus pointed out.
“Is that because you didn’t get caught, or you had someone erase your records?” I countered, giving him an attitude I knew he wouldn’t appreciate.
His brows slowly rose, telling me that he didn’t find it all that cute. “I know we are all tired, cramped, and bored after so long in small spaces, but let’s not cause trouble where there doesn’t need to be any… doll.”
I could tell by his tone it was a warning that I’d better shape up or I wasn’t going to like how this was going to end. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
“No, we have not had anyone clear our records. We’ve never been caught or had charges brought up on us for anything. We can’t say the same about you, can we, miss three speeding tickets going unpaid and almost getting arrested for it,” Magnus snapped.
“Those aren’t on my record anymore, are they?” I shot back.
Jaxson reached out, a hand standing between us. “Guys, let’s not go down this road. We are all fed up, and this isn’t the best time to be having that conversion.”
“Oh, you mean the fact I slept with the prosecutor so he would wipe my record clean? Is that what you don’t want to talk about? It happened before you three were in my life, or should I say aware you were in my life,” I muttered.
“Angel, why are you picking a fight with Mag?” Ghost asked, his expression worried.
I sat up and moved to the other side of the bench seat with my arms crossed, glaring at the three men dragging me all over the place.
“Guess you’re not the only one who starts shit when they’re bored.
We all have stories from before we met each other, and I don’t like that Magnus was about to shame me for dealing with my situation the way I did. ”
“Gorgeous, we would never shame you,” Jaxson pleaded as if me pulling away had hurt him. He turned on Magnus and snarled. “What are you doing? You are a grade-A asshole, but you’re never this cruel, especially to Harper.”
Grinning, I popped to my feet. “Damn, I did good that time if you two believe we were really having a fight.”
Ghost and Jaxson looked at me like I’d lost my mind with the sudden mood change.
The entire trip, we’d been arguing about the fact I wanted to help, but they didn’t think I had enough skills or training to be involved.
To prove his point, Magnus kept creating random situations that I had to act on the fly to respond to.
“Guys, I never got three speeding tickets. That’s Dax’s department, not me,” I explained.
“As soon as Magnus brought it up, I knew what he was doing, trying to rile me up into some kind of argument. I didn’t know the point of it, but I played along until it looked like you were about to truly attack dear old Maggie.
” I walked over to Jaxson and gave him a big hug since he seemed the most rattled by this.
He wrapped me up tightly in his arms and kissed the top of my head.
“Just for the record, I really don’t believe you’ve never had a record or been caught doing something in your lifetime,” I mumbled into Jaxson’s chest.
“You would be right,” Jaxson answered, his chest vibrating with his laughter. “Weston does help us out from time to time, but we also don’t ever give out our real names. Sooo, Magnus was telling the truth because the Wright brothers don’t have a record.”
Someone tugged on my ponytail, and I knew it was Ghost, upset he wasn’t getting a hug.
Jaxson relinquished me to his brother, who hauled me into his lap.
“That was mean, angel.” He pouted. “I can’t believe you would lead us on like that.
The two of you fighting like that for real would be my worst nightmare.
Only because I’m not sure who would win, but it wouldn’t end pretty. ”
“You have to admit that was pretty good,” I said, looking pointedly at Magnus.
“I pulled that off without missing a beat. You wanted Mouse to come along to sweet-talk people into doing things for us. Why can’t I?
Seriously, there is a reason I’ve never had a ticket or gotten in serious trouble.
Many times, I’m the one who got Dax and me out of trouble without needing to resort to violence. ”
Magnus groaned as he rubbed his face with his hands.
“I can’t lie to you and say that wasn’t rather brilliant.
You didn’t even need a minute to figure out how to respond.
You just went for it. If we needed to cause a distraction, something like that would have been perfect.
Fights between couples always pull focus, leaving others to do the real work. ”
“So, does that mean you can finally admit I have a skill that can be used?” I challenged him.
Magnus settled his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward to look me in the eye.
“You have many, many skills, Harper. That brilliant mind of yours is teeming with talent, but I don’t want to drag you into this world if you truly want to keep fashion as your focus.
The three of us are behind you no matter what, but I won’t put you in the position where it will affect the other if that’s your dream. ”