20. Void #2
Now I had my little demon to look after, a woman who shared the same dark soul I did.
If I could keep her from getting lost in the bleakness of rage, then maybe there was hope for myself as well.
I could never be a good man, but thankfully, she didn’t want me to be one, happy to take me as I was—black soul and all.
“Who’s fucking idea was it to try and fit everyone in this goddamn car,” Picasso grumbled as we hit the halfway point of our drive.
We’d stopped for food since we decided to get out of Boston as quickly as we could. Dax surprised us by being up by ten, so we decided to just grab coffee and hit the road.
“You’re not the only one who doesn’t get a seat. I have to be on someone's lap for the whole four hours,” Dax snapped.
There seemed to be a miscommunication with the rental car company, and we ended up in an SUV that fit only seven people. They didn’t have anything bigger, so we decided to just roll with it instead of trying to find another company to work with.
“Don’t you even,” Eagle cut in, pointing a disapproving finger at her. “You were offered the chance to take the front seat, but you gave it to Cam, so I don’t want to hear it.”
Her silver-blue eyes flashed at the challenge. “Right, so I was just supposed to sit on his lap and squash his arm? You have to drive since you’re still not a hundred percent yet, so that leaves me.”
“Little hellcat,” Eagle growled.
Cognac cut in between them, seeing just as I did that those two would either start fighting in earnest or fuck each other in the back seat if we didn’t end this fast. “Hey, now I have an idea that will fix this whole problem.”
Both of them glared at him, waiting for his answer.
“It’s simple. I’ll just sit on Dax’s lap. See, problem solved, and everyone’s happy,” he suggested, a shit-eating grin on his face.
Dax rolled her eyes and playfully punched him in the gut as she climbed back into the car.
Wes and Sprocket were already there, so my guess was she went to hang with them in the jump seat.
I side-eyed Eagle grinning at my best friend.
“You know she gets like this when she needs a good fucking. It’s like she doesn't know what to do with her pent-up feelings, so she picks a fight.”
“Yeah, well, I would have been more than happy to bend her over the front seat and give her what she needed, but we’re in public, and no one but us gets to see that shit,” Eagle said as he pulled the keys out of his pocket.
“It’s only two more hours, then I’m sure we can deal with our woman’s issues. ”
I chuckled as we walked back to the car and climbed in.
Dax was in the back like I suspected. Wes was showing her what information he’d gotten back from the lawyer.
For the most part, the contract was legit and the only loopholes were more to ensure neither party had control over the other’s businesses or money.
She’d been sleeping in my arms when Wes first gave us the rundown.
This was better, though. Those two were best friends before they ended up lovers.
Even though there were eight of us involved in this relationship, we needed our one-on-one connection with her as well.
Everyone seemed to keep it together for the last leg of the trip arriving at the high-rise that Magnus had sent us to. I was interested in meeting these men. We’d spoken to them on the phone a few times, but Wes was the only one who’d actually met them in person.
As we pulled up, a man stepped out of a little hut opening the door for Eagle. “Welcome to the Garden Heights Condominiums. Will you be staying overnight?”
Eagle looked over at Cam, who nodded. “Yes, we are guests of the Wrights. We’ll be here for a few days.”
“Excellent. If you leave the keys on the dash and you take this ticket, I’ll get it all settled. In case you need the car, just give that number a call,” the man instructed, tearing off a claim ticket and stepping aside.
Cognac leaned closer to me, whispering, “This place is fucking fancy. Are we sure we’re at the right place?”
“Oh yeah, we’re at the right place,” Dax announced. “Those boys have a flair for the dramatic. I bet you money they have a whole floor for themselves just so they don’t have to worry about sharing space with anyone.”
Tumbling out of the vehicle, we stood looking up at the building, not even really being able to see the top of it because of how high it went. The sliding doors opened, and a shriek sounded as a woman came bolting out, aiming right for Dax.
My first instinct was to intervene, going for my gun, but a hand grabbed my shoulder. “I wouldn’t suggest doing that, my friend,” a voice said. “One thing you never want to get in the middle of is two best friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time.”
Shifting, I found a man with a carefree smile and brown eyes and gave off every signal he wasn’t as deadly as he was.
Clearly, this was one of Harper’s men, and I was impressed he could move so fast without me noticing him.
“I don’t know about your woman, but I’m pretty sure mine would consider taking my balls if I hurt Harper. ”
“Yeah, Dax is efficient like that, isn’t she,” the assassin agreed.
“Harper would make our torture something less bloody but equally horrifying, like making us be her mannequins for her latest design idea. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to get stabbed by those little pins? Fuck, I’d take most kinds of torture over that. ”
My attention drifted back to the two women gushing affection all over the place as they talked over each other and hugged again. “I feel like I’m learning a whole new side of Harper right now.”
He laughed and stuck out his hand. “You must be Void. Ghost, good to finally meet you.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” I answered, shaking it and purposely trying not to make a pissing match out of it.
Two more men who looked identical to Ghost exited the building, talking heatedly to each other. Then the one with hazel eyes cut off the other and turned his attention to the two women. “Doll,” he commanded.
Harper rolled her eyes and sighed, looking over her shoulder. “Yes, Maggie?”
“What did I say about running out here without one of us? The only safe place is—”
“In our four walls,” Harper sassed as if she’d heard this a few times.
“Ghost was right behind me. Besides, like Dax’s guys would ever let anything happen to me?
They’re practically like my big brothers now they made an honest woman out of my girl,” Harper announced, grabbing Dax’s hand to show off the ring. “She’s engaged too.”
By the nickname, I gathered that Maggie was Magnus leaving the other to be Jaxson.
“She makes a good point,” Jaxson interjected. “Now, let’s play nice as we meet the whole family for the first time. Think you can pull that off?”
“Can we at least take this up to the house? I don’t see why we need to make it easier for them to make a move standing out here in the open,” Magnus reasoned.
Stepping up to Dax, I rested a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me. “He has a point. While we might not be able to keep our arrival quiet, it’s best if we don’t cause chaos the moment we get here.”
“That’s absolutely no fun,” Dax said with a pout.
I gripped her jaw and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “If you’re a good little demon for us, I’ll make sure it's worth the effort. Maybe we should play the game of how quiet can you be as I take you over the sink in the bathroom while they talk?”
Her whole body shivered at my words, telling me that I’d been right about what was making her so feisty. “Or are we to the point where you can’t wait? Should we take the elevator up by ourselves and give the security guy a show?”
“Fuck,” Dax whimpered. “How about all the above?”
“Hmm, I think we should see if you can even pretend to be good for at least an hour before you get your reward, little demon,” I decided, knowing I’d gotten her in hook, line, and sinker as I kissed her roughly before releasing her.
Dax’s expression was a little glazed over, then she shook herself out of it and clapped her hands together. “Right, so we were going up to the apartment?”
Harper hooked our girl's arm through hers and led the way with Ghost and Cognac hot on their heels while the rest of us grabbed bags from the car. Magnus grabbed one from me and knocked my shoulder with his. “You’ll have to tell me what you just did to get Dax of all women to comply.”
I grinned wide enough that it showed my teeth. “Some secrets you have to figure out on your own, and it absolutely wouldn’t work for you.”
Understanding flashed in Magnus’s eyes and he let out a bark of laughter. “Well played, Void, well played.”