35. Harper
HARPER
Without bothering to go back to the hotel for anything we had brought, we drove through the night and into the morning until we crossed the border into Belarus.
Once there, we pulled off to the side of the road and got some sleep.
We didn’t get much, but a few hours kept us going.
The guys had a contact in Minsk who could get us a flight back to the States.
A flight which happened to have the tank and all the other supplies that Dax needed.
Dax and Prim’s grandfather managed to coordinate all of that while we were sneaking in and out of Russia. Her grandfather also set Prim up in a boarding school for brilliant teens in New York so she could finish her education before starting college.
“Why the hell would I want to go to some prissy school in nowhere, New York?” Prim grumbled.
While she hadn’t been a delight to travel with, she toned down the attitude once she had gotten a chance to speak to her grandfather.
He set her straight on a few things, and I could tell even though she was mad at him, he meant a lot to her.
If anyone could relate to having surrogate parents who are really your grandparents, it would be me.
I shared a bit about it, hoping it would have her ease up on the Barbie jokes, but that was too much to ask.
“Look, midget witch, you have to keep a low profile so you get to go to an amazing school out in the middle of nowhere. Once Dax and her people get you set up with a new identity and your citizenship in the US, you need a place to hide out,” Ghost explained as he tossed a sandwich at her.
We were fifteen minutes away from the airport and then another nine hours away from New York. The end was so close I could taste it.
“Don’t I get a say in any of this?” Prim demanded.
“No,” we all said in unison.
I turned to look at her in the back seat.
“We just stole you from the government and one of the biggest mafia bosses in all of Russia. Besides my friend and the asshole she is about to wipe off the face of this earth, he is number three. We can’t have him catching wind that you made it all the way to America.
You’re safe for now, but it’s up to you if you stay that way.
Once we drop you off at the school, you’re on your own.
We have bigger fish to fry than dealing with your attitude. ”
“I could help, you know,” she offered. “You said so yourself, I’m as lethal as you three,” Prim said, trying to reason with Magnus.
“Not gonna happen, kid,” he answered, giving her a drop-it look from the rearview mirror.
Muttering to herself in Russian, she started in on her sandwich.
“I heard that,” Magnus warned. “Keep it up, and we’ll tie you up and slap some duct tape over that mouth.” That ended the argument just as he hoped it would.
Pulling into the back lot of the ocean freight shipping airport, we ditched the SUV leaving the keys in it and walked up to the man waving at us.
“Hello, my friends,” the portly guy greeted. He was all cheeks and smiles with a balding head and short stature.
“Billy, I can’t tell you how good it is to see a friendly face,” Jaxson said as he hugged the man.
He thumped Jaxson on the back as bros do and stepped back. “Glad you made it safe and sound, now let’s get you loaded up, and we’ll be on our way.”
“I can’t tell you how much I love the sound of that.” I sighed, leaning into Ghost.
Prim looked at us as if she had a question but didn’t want to ask. “Don’t hold back on us now. Just ask,” I said, motioning her to go ahead.
“Which one of them are you actually with? Like I see you have a ring, but you treat all of them like your lovers. I even see you kiss them all… like in front of each other.”
“That’s because I am with all three of them,” I answered. “On paper, I might be marrying one of them, but they will all be my husbands, and I’m their wife.”
She scrunched up her face as if trying to figure that out, then shrugged and jogged to catch up with the others. “Cute kid,” Ghost muttered. “We are never letting our kids turn out like that.”
“Ha, I’m afraid with the three of you as their father, they will be worse,” I countered, wrapping my arm around his waist as we walked. “Please tell me you have a place in New York with stuff for us ready and waiting.”
“Don’t you worry, our penthouse in New York is amazing,” Ghost answered, kissing the top of my head. “We will hopefully get a day or two to recover. Then we’re off to give your BFF her tank.”
“She’s so demanding, isn’t she? Couldn’t have just any tank. No, she needed this one all the way from Russia that comes with a free stabby teenager,” I teased, causing us both to burst into laughter.
While the cargo plane was no private jet, it still was much roomier with fewer rules for a nine-hour flight.
Most of us slept the whole way back, but every time I woke up, I saw Prim watching out the window as the world flew by.
I knew we’d been hard on her, and she was giving up her whole life that she had back in Russia to start over, but at least here she had a chance.
When things settled down, I would make sure Dax and I went out to see her, make sure things were going well, and the school was a good fit. I didn’t want her to hate her new life, but it certainly would take an adjustment.
When we landed, the contact from the school met us at the shipping airport, where we handed her off.
Shocking me to no end, Prim gave me a tight hug.
“Thank you for coming after me. I know I’m a pain in the ass, but I owe you my life.
” She stepped back and wiped her cheeks quickly.
“You tell anyone I said any of that, I’ll tell everyone you kidnapped me.
” With that final goodbye, she slid into the back of the town car, slamming the door.
I turned to find my guys smiling at me, and I just shook my head. “Oh, I don’t know if I can have kids if they all act like that.”
Jaxson reached out and pulled me close. “None of that. When that time comes, you’ll be an amazing mom, I have no doubt.
” He pressed a kiss to my lips, then my forehead.
“Come on, let’s get to the penthouse so we can get cleaned up and changed.
Clubbing clothes are not something I recommend wearing for two days straight. ”
We called a car service to take us to their building. It was in the heart of New York City on the top floor of one of the high-rises, giving a stunning view of the city. Of course, I’d spent time here in New York, but there was something special about this particular view.
I’d taken the longest shower of my life, needing to get off all the grim of the strip club and traveling. Dressed in comfy clothes, I sprawled out on the leather sectional in the living room.
“We don’t have to be anywhere in the near future, do we?” I called out, knowing one of them would hear me.
Ghost’s face appeared over the edge of the couch. “Would you kill us if we wanted to take you out for a nice dinner? Something for just the four of us since the last one didn’t end so great.”
Sitting up, I looked at him and his hopeful expression and knew I couldn’t say no. “You want to go now?”
“Yes, because the longer we stay home, the harder it will be to leave, plus it is dinner time,” he pointed out.
“Let me get dressed,” I sighed. “But I want a foot rub when we get back.”
“Whatever you want, my angel,” Ghost crooned. “Magnus laid out a dress for you.”
Of course, he did.
Walking into the master bedroom, I saw a stunning red silk dress.
It wasn’t one I’d made, but it was by a favorite designer.
It was light, flowy, and comfortable, the perfect thing to wear while still feeling like a princess.
They’d even paired it with a set of stunning gold wedges, knowing I’d just survived the last trip in my heels.
The only thing I was missing was my ring. I’d taken it off when I’d showered, planning on cleaning it after everything we’d been through, but it wasn’t on the counter where I left it. “Hey, have any of you seen my ring?”
“Yeah,” Magnus called, stepping into the room. “You mentioned you wanted it cleaned, so I sent it off. It should be done in the morning.”
“Oh, well, that was sweet of you,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. “Where are we going for dinner?”
“Not far,” he answered cryptically.
The other two joined us, looking dashing in their suits, and we headed for the elevator.
Instead of going down to the lobby, we went up.
The doors opened and revealed a rooftop patio with actual grass growing and a cute table for the four of us.
Off to the side was a string quartet playing softly, and a man waited by the table with a bottle of champagne.
“We figured the best way to make sure we weren’t interrupted was to do it on our home turf,” Magnus explained.
He pulled out the seat for me, and I smiled as Jaxson settled the napkin across my lap. They let the man pour their glasses but handed the bottle to Ghost, who filled mine.
“Are we now to the point no other man can touch anything provided to me?” I asked, laughing at their possessiveness.
“Let’s just say after the past week, we aren’t taking any chances of someone getting in our way as we celebrate.
We got engaged, then had to rush off on this mission, so you’ll just have to indulge us a little,” Jaxson said, giving me a wink as he raised his glass. “Here’s to us, soulmates for life.”
“Here, here,” Ghost cheered as we all clinked our glasses.
The dinner was exquisite, and I ate until I was about to burst. It was all so good.
The sun had set, but the rooftop was lit up with soft lighting that didn’t take away from the beauty of the city below.
We walked over to the railing and watched life passing us by, the world having no idea what we’d been through.
Then, from the New Jersey River, I spotted fireworks bursting into the sky.
Some of them were in the shape of hearts while others were flowers.
“Why on earth do you think there are fireworks going off tonight? Is there a holiday or a special occasion?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off the spectacle. When no one answered, I turned around and found them once again on their knees. “What in the world?”
“Harper, I know we asked you this before,” Jaxson started pulling a box out of his pocket.
“But we’d like to ask you again, properly this time. With the fancy dinner, the champagne, and the fireworks,” Magnus added, producing a box as well.
Ghost extended his hand, opening his box as the others followed suit. “On the risk of having you say no after everything, we felt it was only fair to you that we did this properly and asked you to be our wife. Will you marry us, Harper Lynn Peirson?”
Each of the bands held a single pink heart-shaped diamond, but I could tell from the way the bands were curved that they would make a single ring when they were put together. It was even more elaborate than the one they’d already given me.
I stepped forward, wiping my eyes as happy tears spilled over. “Yes, my answer is always and forever yes to the three men who hold my heart.”
Ghost leaped to his feet first, wrapping me in his arms and twirling me around. “God, I never knew I could love a woman as much as I love you.” Setting me down, he slipped his ring on my finger.
Jaxson cupped my face in his hands and kissed me like I was the only thing to give him breath. Never had someone made me feel so consumed, loved, and cared for as he had. His band went on next, interlocking with Ghost’s.
Then Magnus was left.
“Harper, you are my everything, and I can’t wait for us to spend forever together no matter what life holds,” he whispered as our foreheads touched, both of us watching as he put the last piece of the puzzle together on my finger.
It was the perfect representation of us. Without one of them, it would be incomplete, and without me to hold it all together, there would be nothing. Each of us played just as important a role in this relationship as the other.
No one was greater than another, and all held equal pieces of my heart.
The end of this adventure.
This is not goodbye, merely until next time.
The boys will only be happy with this ending… for now.
But if you would like to see them deliver the tank to Dax, stay tuned for