Page 55 of Harper’s Renegades

“Okay, okay, easy there, guys,” I jumped in, ending the fight before the two of them could get started. “Back to the trip… do you know where we are going?”

“Northern Europe is what it sounds like, but she was getting those specifics,” Magnus shared. “So we need to fly out to our home in Sweden and pack things from there. It’s not going to be as tropical as it is here, so these clothes won’t do us much good. Coming from California, I’m thinking temperatures in the seventies might still be warm, but not wear-a-sundress warm.”

“Sweden, really? That sounds exciting. I’ve never been before. England and Italy I’ve visited, but not much else, and those were school trips, so we didn’t get to just wander around,” I commented, picturing all the adventures I could go on now I had these guys in my life.

Magnus’s phone rang, and when he looked at the number, he ducked out of the room. “I didn’t think you’d get back to me that fast.” I heard him say as he stepped out onto the patio.

I turned to stare after him, resting my head on my hand. “Does he always take his phone calls in private?”

“It’s habit. He won’t even tell us who’s calling until he’s sure the deal will go through. It keeps us from knowing too much if we ever get caught. Magnus is just a worry wart about all the littlest things that could go wrong,” Ghost said with a sigh as he plopped down next to me, grabbing the plate of fruit. “Once he knows all the details and money agreed upon with a deposit in our account, then he tells us what the job is. Most of the time, it’s on the plane to our destination. Unless it’s a job he feels will be a big risk, then he’ll talk to us about it before agreeing. We’ve only had that a handful of times.”

“You guys have a line you won’t cross?” I asked, not sure why I was surprised by this.

“No kids, no taking out significant others so they can be with their side piece, and no killing our wife-to-be,” Jaxson counted off for me. “The rules are simple, but we are simple men.”

Ghost nodded in agreement as he shoved his face full of fruit.

“People have asked you to kill kids?” I asked in amazement.

Jaxson frowned as he crossed his arms, almost as if he were trying to ward off the memory. “The fastest way to get someone to fall in line is to take what they really love or threaten what they really love. Problem with that is everyone has a family. You take out their kid, they’ll come after yours. It just turns into a mess. Besides, what harm has that kid ever done to anyone? People know not to ask us, but a few times in the early days, we got contacted. One of them was an infant… a woman wanted her husband’s bastard child killed so he couldn’t claim part of the inheritance. How fucked up is that?”

The mere thought made me sick to my stomach. How could people be so cruel and heartless? A child who hasn’t even gotten to take its first steps wasn’t a threat to anyone. This wasn’t medieval times when a toddler could be put on the throne by a psycho mother.

“I know it’s not many rules, but they’re the ones we won’t budge on,” Ghost added. “When it comes to the side piece bit, that’s just not our problem. Shouldn’t have gotten married if you didn’t want to be committed to the person for the rest of your life.”

“Well, there was that one time we took out that guy,” Jaxson countered.

Ghost waved him off. “She didn’t choose to marry him, her father sold her off, and he held her at gunpoint until she said I do. That fucker needed to die. Who could treat marriage like that?”

I couldn’t help but snort at their commentary. “You three are just a bunch of hopeless romantics, aren’t you?”

“You’re just figuring that out now, doll?” Magnus commented from right behind me.

I squeaked and almost fell off the stool, but he grabbed my waist and kept me steady. “Don’t do that,” I grumbled.

“Sorry, it was just too good to pass up,” he apologized, kissing my temple with a chuckle. “Dax got me what I needed, and it seems like this job is gonna be a little out of our wheelhouse, but it’ll be fun.”

“Dax always has the best jobs,” Jaxson said with a smirk. “You gonna tell us what it is?”

“Let’s get to Sweden, pack, and when we’re on our way, I’ll fill you in. We might need to do some strategy on this,” Magnus instructed. “Just pack what you need for the day. Everything else will be at the house.”

“Wait, are we leaving now?” I asked, spinning on the stool to face Magnus.

“Yes, doll,” he answered, cupping my cheek. “Dax needs us to get a move on this. She’s putting her own plan into action, and we are part of that. The four of us are no longer sitting on the sidelines. We are making it known we choose to support Dax, and it is going to stir up some trouble. You ready for that?”

“If it’s to help Dax, that’s not even a question. She is family, and family always comes first. Whatever she needs us to do, we’ll make it happen,” I stated.

Magnus pressed a kiss to my lips before picking me up off the stool and setting me on my feet. “Just keep that in mind when you learn what the job is because none of it is going to be legal or subtle.”

“Whatever it takes, whatever she needs, it’s what I said, and I’m sticking to it,” I announced and headed off to the bedroom to gather what I needed.

Not knowing how long our flight would be, I hopped in the shower wanting to feel as fresh as I could before getting smooshed together with a bunch of people on a plane. I found a tote bag on the bed with a notebook and pen on top. It seemed Jaxson had been serious about his plan.

Knowing Magnus said we were looking at a high of seventies, I put on leggings and T-shirt, and added a cardigan to my tote for when I got cold.

As I looked around the room, I realized I didn’t have a whole lot to bring with me. When we left California, I’d brought the things Dax packed for me, but none of that came to this part of the adventure. I glanced at the stack of fabric I bought sitting on a shelf but figured there was no need to drag that along from house to house. It would give us a reason to come back here and spend more time. As much as I wanted a purpose to my day, I was beginning to love living in Bali. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be an LA girl, slave to the whims and changes of fashion dictated there.

“You find what you need?” Jaxson asked, leaning at the entrance to the closet.