32. Harper
HARPER
Icould see why Magnus picked this hotel since it was within walking distance to the coffee shop where Prim worked.
It was a nice enough day, and after getting the film of travel grossness off me, I felt a million times better.
Add to it that we got to go for a walk and stretch our legs was even better.
The term coffee shop wasn’t what I would have used for this place.
It reminded me more of a restaurant, almost like a Panera, where you order at the counter then take a seat, and they bring you your food.
They had tons of amazing-looking food items for all meals of the day or just a pastry if that’s what you wanted.
Everything about this was perfect because I was hungry and in need of caffeine.
Magnus ordered for all of us once we’d looked up everything online, so we knew what the options were.
I got a simple soup and salad with an iced coffee, then wandered through the dining area to find an open table and to scout out who was working.
The one thing none of them seemed to be able to find was her work schedule, almost as if she was being paid under the table or not kept on a routine shift.
When I didn’t see anyone with vivid pink dreadlocks, I took a seat near the back corner of the restaurant, where we could still see everything that was going on.
This was another skill the guys were trying to teach me, to be aware of my surroundings and use them to my best advantage.
It was actually quite easy to pick up being in such tight spaces, making sure you weren’t blocked in, knowing your exits or had your back to the whole room, keeping someone from jumping you.
Stealing was also thwarted by doing this, which almost happened a few times on the train.
Ghost joined me first, carrying four cups of various coffee, set them down, and gave me a wink. “Smart pick on the table, the same one I would have picked. You see any sign of her?”
“No, but it’s Saturday afternoon. She could work in the mornings,” I suggested. “How late is this place open?”
“Oh, these places are open twenty-four seven or at least until eleven at night. They know that Moscow isn’t a city that sleeps, so tea and coffee are always accessible,” Ghost explained.
“Then our job just got that much harder if we can’t get her schedule,” I groaned. “It will be more suspicious of us to be lingering around here all day into the night. People are going to notice.”
Ghost slid over my coffee. “Take a drink, angel, then take a deep breath, okay? This is not our first job. This is what comes with the territory. Some things you can plan for, while others you need to deal with on the fly. Just because we can’t find it online in their computer database doesn’t mean it’s not written down somewhere. ”
“Why does she look like she’s panicking?” Jaxson asked as he set food down on the table. “Did something happen?”
“No, she’s fine, just getting a taste of what being on the job is like,” Ghost explained.
Jaxson nodded, taking his seat, and passed out the silverware. “Dig in, gorgeous. You haven’t been eating much the past few days. I know you say it’s because of traveling, but now we’re not, and if it goes on much longer, Magnus is going to resort to hand-feeding again.”
I let out a sigh and pulled the soup over to me. The aroma of the chicken noodle was savory and made my mouth water. There was a hunk of fresh bread to go along with it that I dunked in. It tasted as amazing as it smelled, and it made me realize I was way hungrier than I’d thought.
“Good you got her to eat,” Magnus announced when he placed his tray of food down, passing some over to Ghost.
“You were right. The threat of feeding her did the trick,” Jaxson teased.
I stuck my tongue out at him before going back to my food.
“I might even need to order something more,” I mumbled.
“The portions are smaller than I’m used to in the States.
Don’t get me wrong, these are far more reasonable for a person to eat, but I’m not sure I feel reasonable about my hunger at the moment. ”
The guys chuckled, and each took a portion of what they had, piled it on a plate, and slid it over to me. My heart melted at how fucking sweet these men could be when they weren’t driving me crazy. This was the part of them I fell in love with and showed up just when I was about to kill them.
“You really do love me,” I sniffled, digging into the rest of my food.
While I indulged my stomach, the guys kept their attention on our surroundings, watching the comings and goings of people.
After we’d been there for about an hour, Ghost got up and wandered off.
I assumed he was going to the bathroom, but then I saw him chatting up one of the younger workers, who also happened to be a pretty brunette.
“Someone better tell me what’s going on before I stab that man with a fork when he comes back,” I muttered, grabbing said utensil.
Jaxson reached out and uncurled my hand, slipping the weapon out of my grasp before replacing it with his own hand.
He lifted our hands up and kissed the back of mine, watching me with laughter in his hazel eyes.
“He’s just pretending. He’s the best at getting information out of people.
If we can get this girl to tell us when she’s working, we can lay out a plan.
Otherwise, we will need to leave and come back later when everyone from this shift has left. ”
“Look at the way she’s smiling at him. The skank thinks she has a chance,” I snarled.
“Gorgeous,” Jaxson said, coaxing me to look at him.
“None of us have any desire to entertain another woman who isn’t you.
Harper, you said yes to forever with us, and we take that seriously.
There is no one else, and there never will be.
On occasion, we will need to let someone believe they have a chance to get information…
yes. Will anything other than a bright smile and a few sweet words happen in order to get it?
No. That would be cheating, and none of us will ever do that. ”
I leaned my head on his shoulder, not trusting myself if I caught Ghost talking to her again. “With everything that’s happened the last four days, I’m just tired, stressed, and worried. We need this to go smoothly, so we can get in and get out before someone comes after us.”
“It’s gonna be all right, Harpster,” Jaxson assured me.
“The first job is always the hardest to get through. Everything is new and different. This one is more so because instead of us just getting in, killing, and getting out, we have a person with thoughts, options, and the ability to disappear under our noses if she wants to.”
“Was that supposed to be reassuring?” I muttered. “Because if it was, you’re gonna need to work on that.”
I could feel a body coming up behind me, but since Jaxson didn’t react at all, I assumed it was Ghost. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me away from Jaxson to rest on his body.
Cupping my chin, he lifted my head so I met his gaze, only for him to lean down and kiss me.
While I’d been expecting him to say something, this isn’t the route I thought he was going to take.
He was using actions over words. Doing this would draw attention, and everyone would see that he was choosing me.
“No one is ever going to be my Angel but you,” Ghost whispered against my lips. I hummed my understanding as he stood back up and took his seat. “I did get what we needed, though. She comes in tonight at six and works till eleven.”
“Good, now I say we go back to the hotel, get some rest, and we can come back later. If she’ll be here all night, we might as well wait for almost the end of her shift to talk to her.
That way, we can make a plan to leave tomorrow.
” Magnus ran his hands over his head as he talked through his thoughts.
“This will go a lot smoother if she’s able to help us out in any way.
I’m sure her grandfather has talked about how to get her out of here.
They must have needed some outside help if they called us in. ”
“Regardless of all that, we need to take this downtime to look at options,” Jaxson reasoned as he got up and started to gather plates onto his tray.
Soon we were back at the hotel in the room that was supposed to be for Magnus and me.
He’d brilliantly gotten a connecting door between one of the other rooms so we could move about the space.
I napped with Jaxson while Ghost and Magnus worked on things in the smaller room.
The soft murmur of their voices set me at ease while I was curled up with Jaxson, who was watching some random game show on the television.
“Do you even know what they’re saying?” I asked with a yawn.
“No, but it’s easy enough to figure out the game, so that helps to connect the dots,” he answered. “You should rest, it’s been a rough few days, and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. This is the part of being on a job that’s hard. You have to take advantage of whatever quiet time you have.”
I nuzzled into his neck and let my hand run over his chest, drifting lower. “What if I want to use my free time for something else?” Jaxson groaned as he rolled over to hover over me. “We haven’t had a chance to have our shower time, and I’m pretty sure we missed shaving day,” I informed him.
“How could I have let such an important thing slip by.” Jaxson purred, running his nose along mine. You know, while this hotel isn’t five stars, it just so happens to have a rather large whirlpool tub in this suite.”
“You know a bath right now sounds rather heavenly. I wonder if there’s someone I could get to join me in it?” I mused while tapping my pouty lips.