Page 58 of Harper’s Renegades

“Harper,” Ghost snapped as he yanked me behind him.

François calmly slipped his hand into the pockets of his expensive slacks. “One doesn’t become the boss of a large criminal family without having a few special talents.”

“Cut the crap and tell us why you’re really here,” Ghost barked. “Where are the other two? Did you harm my brothers?”

“Goodness, you have little trust in a man you consider an ally. We’ve done business for years, Ghost. I don’t understand the hostility?” François asked, cocking his head to the side. “Aside from wishing you safe travels, I wanted to make sure that Mademoiselle Harper had a way to contact me directly. She and I have a deal. It would be remiss of me not to ensure that deal could be upheld. I think you’re going to need my help sooner than you think.”

Stepping up beside Ghost, I reached out and urged him to lower his gun. “It’s all right.”

When he gave in and lowered the gun, I passed him and approached François. Pulling a hand out of his pocket, he proffered a black card with a number in white text on it. “This is my personal number, which is not something I hand out often. While you only bartered for one favor, I have a feeling you and I will find the occasion to need each other here and there. Let Magnus know I will be speaking to you now regarding work that needs to be done.”

I reached out to take the card from him with my left hand, but he snatched it, lifting it so he could examine my ring. Then he held my gaze and kissed the ring before letting the card slip into my grasp. “Until we meet again, I bid you adieu and safe travels.”

Leaving me standing there stunned at the whole encounter, he left as silently as he came. Bolting after him, I jumped off the steps looking around frantically for the other two of my men. I ran around the plane but couldn’t find any trace of them. Then I spotted Jaxson walking out of a hangar, tossing a set of keys into the air and catching them. Seeing that had me realizing the Jeep was missing. It would seem he’d placed it in storage somewhere since we weren’t going to be back anytime soon.

“Gorgeous, what’s wrong?” he asked when he spotted me and jogged over. He grabbed my shoulders and seemed to look me over, ensuring I wasn’t hurt.

“Where’s Magnus?” I demanded.

“He had to check in with the flight office for a few things. Harper, tell me what happened. Where is Ghost?” he asked, tucking me against his side as we walked back to the plane.

My hand grabbed the front of his shirt, needing to feel like I was connected to him. “François showed up. I thought something happened to you both. He wouldn’t tell me where you were.”

“Shh,” he soothed, stopping to pull me into a tight hug. “I’m sorry I should have told you we would be stepping away for a moment. You’re all right, though?”

I nodded, nuzzling my face against his chest. “Yes, he didn’t want to hurt me, but he knew so much about us, Jaxson. How could he already know we were engaged? It happened last night. Did you tell anyone?”

“Ghost, what is she talking about?” Magnus barked, alerting me to his arrival.

Lifting my head from Jaxson’s chest, I found we were all here, and they were just fine. I pulled away from Jaxson to toss myself at Magnus. “You don’t ever leave without telling me. I thought he’d done something to you.”

“Easy, doll, what are you talking about? Who knows that we’re engaged?” he asked, running a soothing hand down my back.

“François, he was just here,” I explained.

“What the fuck?” Magnus roared. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“Only if you count hitting on her,” Ghost muttered. “Bastard was all but letting her know he’d be happy to take her as his woman if she wanted.”

Twisting in Magnus’s arms, I looked at Ghost. “What are you talking about?”

“Really, Harper? The man said he no longer wanted to work with Magnus, only you. Then he made a huge deal about giving you his personal number. Oh, and don’t forget kissing your hand all dramatically,” Ghost grumbled.

“He touched you?” Magnus all but growled.

I sighed, knowing if I said yes, we would drop everything and hunt the man down to kill him. “No, his lips never touched my skin. He was smart and kissed the ring, so he didn’t touch me.”

“That rat bastard,” Jaxson swore. “He thinks he’s so smart skirting what he knows we’ll kill for. François really said he only wants to work with Harper?”

“Not going to happen,” Magnus snapped. “Everyone in the plane before I decide I’m going to start a war of our own with that smug asshole.”

Instead of letting me go, Magnus picked me up so my feet were dangling and carried me like a sack of potatoes up into the plane. “Put me down, Maggie,” I screeched. “We need to work on controlling our caveman instincts because this is not okay. You can’t just pick me up and force me to go where you want.”

“I just did,” he answered, plopping me in a chair. “Now, buckle up so I can get us up in the air. Jaxson, I’m gonna need you to get us off the ground, then we can rotate. Sixteen hours is a long flight, and I planned a stop for us in Qatar to refuel.”

“Whoa, it’s sixteen hours to get to Sweden? Why doesn’t anyone tell me these things?” I demanded, only to be ignored as the two men settled in the cockpit. “Go on, keep ignoring me. We’ve got sixteen hours trapped together. I’m sure we’ll get around to it eventually.”

Ghost took the seat next to me and offered the notebook and pen. “I figured you may want to write all your fury into it. Then you don’t forget what to yell at us about later.”