Page 2 of Harper’s Renegades

My gaze flicked over to meet Jaxson’s questioning green ones. “Tell me everything.”

“Betting you heard some people got beef with Dax.”

I grunted my affirmation, wanting him to speed things along. Had we missed something important while working on this job? We’d made sure to stay close to the area if we needed to step in.

“Seems the De Leon Cartel and now the Mad Dogs are gunning for Dax. Unfortunately, we didn’t figure this out until they tried to use Harper as bait to catch Dax. They attacked Harper in her own house, Magnus,” Weston explained. He told me things I already knew, but we didn’t know where Dax had taken her last night. “She’s fine, so you can stop your growling. Dax handled matters and brought her back to a secure location. Thing is, Dax won’t be able to keep her head in the game if Harper’s in trouble. That’s where you come in. We need someone who can keep an eye on her until things cool off.”

“Where are they right now?” I demanded.

“Yeah, so about that… they took off about a half-hour ago after Dax caused some ridiculous distraction involving a helicopter.”

I couldn’t help but snort at that, knowing it was absolutely Dax’s style. “We’ll agree to help, but only if we get to protect her how we see fit with no argument from Dax.”

“Man, you know I can’t guarantee that. Harper is like her sister, which means she is crazy fucking protective over her, as you know. I’m going to have my balls cut off for even calling you guys in on this, but I know there isn’t a better option than you guys to look after her.” Weston paused a moment, then continued, “You guys already got the job offer, didn’t you?”

“And turned it down for obvious reasons, hard to convince a woman to be yours when she’s dead,” I reasoned. “I’ll deal with Dax when we find them. You have to be ready for the fallout because we’ll do whatever it takes. Even if we have to steal Harper away from Dax.”

“Good luck, really. Harper deserves someone, or should I say three someone’s, who will be devoted to her. I’m getting tired of seeing her heart being played with. Maybe that’s just my own romanticism talking now that Dax and I are finally together.”

“About goddamn fucking time that shit happened. It was painful to keep watching,” I teased. “Now you worry about dealing with your woman, and we’ll finally get the chance we need with ours.”

Hanging up the call, Ghost rejoined us, but I motioned for him to follow me as I tossed down a hundred to cover our drinks with a generous tip. Outside the hotel, we walked a few blocks to where we’d parked our Hummer. I kept my silence until we got in the vehicle, then turned and grinned at my brothers.

“Our day has finally come to make Harper ours,” I announced.

Ghost gaped at me. “What the fuck happened while I was gone?”

“Just got off the phone with Weston. It seems they need to get Harper somewhere safe, and he called us in. All we need to do is deal with Dax, then hopefully convince Harper to come with us willingly. But I’m not above some forced proximity working in our favor,” I explained.

My brothers grinned at me, giving each other a high five as I started the car. “Jaxson, find our woman, will you?”

“With fucking pleasure!”

Chapter one

Harper

“That woman just tried to fucking shoot us!” I screamed as I was dragged out of the restaurant.

Today was supposed to be all about relaxing and pretending I hadn’t almost died last night. Only that was blown all to hell within moments as our waitress and another stranger tried to kill my best friend. I didn’t get the sense they planned to let me or the others at the table live either, but thankfully, Dax was fast on her feet and tossed me out of the way.

Finding out your best friend was also one of the most feared crime lords of the West Coast had turned my life upside-down. Granted, it had only been a day, if that, since I discovered this bit of news. I went from being a fashion designer with a quirky best friend to a fugitive on the run, forced to stick with a group of sexy assassins and a biker chick named Tilly from the Phantom Saints MC.

While I was by no means a fighter, I wasn’t one to turn my back on my best friend, who was practically a sister to me. Getting the hell out of the restaurant was priority number one, but I realized I was being dragged further and further away from the pier. Looking around wildly, I found Tilly and the other two guys but no Dax. Digging my feet into the sand, I tried to slow down the sexy triplet who had a firm grip on my arm.

“We have to go back,” I demanded. “You assholes left Dax behind to fend for herself! What kind of friend does that?”

Magnus turned on me and gripped my chin, locking me in place with his hazel eyes. “She asked us to get you somewhere safe, and that’s what we’re damn well trying to do. Dax can handle herself just fine, but not if she is worrying about you.”

“How is she going to get out of there? What if the cops get called? Tilly’s the one who drove us,” I blurted, pointing at the woman. My mind wasn’t coping with everything that was going on right now. “What if she gets hurt, and I left her?”

Magnus growled but turned to Jaxson. “Get the keys from Tilly and head back to Dax. Tell her we are implementing plan Smoke and will contact when it’s safe.”

Without hesitation, Tilly tossed him the keys, and Jaxson darted off, back in the direction we came. Ghost came up beside us, his chest heaving, a frown creasing his brow. “Why did we stop? We need to get out of here. Those were the Priest’s kids, meaning he’s still out there,” he explained, turning his frown on me, clearly upset I wasn’t following what he’d just said. “Harper, we need to get you to the Hummer. It’s bulletproof. You’ll be safe there no matter who’s after you.”

I looked between the two men I’d known for all of an afternoon. They were asking me to trust they would keep me safe when Dax was the only person I’d ever believed could do that. My mind raced at what to do next, but I froze, unable to speak or even think clearly about this situation.

Magnus nodded to Ghost, and the next thing I knew, I was hoisted over Ghost’s shoulder, face smacking into his ass. Damn, what a firm ass it was. Then they were off running, which was when my mind finally caught up to what was happening.