Page 61 of Harper’s Renegades

“I’m glad you’re all fine with this now,” I quipped, crossing my arms. “I’m not going to Russia. You can leave me in Sweden because I’m not going.”

Leaning over so he toppled into my lap, Ghost looked up at me. “Now, angel, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you said you’d do whatever it took to help Dax no matter what. Does that no longer apply? I just want to make sure I’m not misunderstanding things because when we call Dax and tell her we won’t do the job anymore, I don’t want to lie.”

Glaring, I shoved him off my lap hard enough that he landed on the floor with a thud. “Fuck you, fuck Dax, fuck Russia. When this is all over, we are going someplace I want to go to, and we will be doing whatever I say, and I don’t want to hear a goddamn word about it.”

Ghost propped himself up on one arm and smiled. “Sounds like a great plan, we just have to drop off the girl in the States, and we’re home free… right?” he asked, looking up at Magnus.

“That and a tank,” he corrected.

This had Ghost hopping to his feet, childlike excitement glowing in his eyes. “Did you just say a tank? We get to drive a tank!”

“Part of the payment for this job is her grandfather giving Dax a tank, guns, ammo, and who knows what else. We will deliver them to her wherever she needs them to end this battle with Marco,” Magnus stated.

“Fuck, yes,” Ghost yelled, punching the air with his fist with enthusiasm. “Angel, you have the most amazing best friend,” he announced, dropping a kiss on my head. “I’m gonna go tell Jaxson!”

This left me alone with Magnus, who I still wasn’t sure whether I was happy with or not. “Sit, please,” I instructed.

To his credit, he did as I asked, taking a seat, but in true Magnus fashion, he pulled me onto his lap. “All right, doll, let me have it.”

“Let you have what?” I questioned, giving him an innocent expression.

“Don’t play coy. I know you’ve taken issue with how I handled a few things today,” he commented, taking his finger and tracing it down the bridge of my nose to tap the end of it. “You have my full attention, and I will listen to all you have to say.”

“You know when you talk to me like that, I feel like you’re treating me like a child,” I huffed. “Why do you need to take every moment to show or tell me you’re in charge?”

Magnus paused as if caught off guard by my question. “I don’t do that.”

“Seriously? You do it all the fucking time. Granted, you do it to your brothers as well, but I’m telling you right now, as your soon-to-be wife, I’m not going to allow that. We are going to be partners in life, or this forever dream of yours is going to be hell,” I warned. “There has to be a way you and I can meet in the middle.”

I watched as he took a deep breath and leaned his head back to rest on the plane’s wall. He stayed that way for a few moments, and I remained silent, knowing this was going to be the hardest thing for us to overcome in our relationship. It was worth fighting it out no matter what because if I could get him to release some of the pressure on himself, it might help other things get better too.

“How do you propose we do that… meet in the middle?” he asked, lifting his head to meet my gaze once more. “I don’t even know what that looks like. I’ve been in charge of everything all our lives. It’s been my responsibility to keep everyone alive and safe. Over the years, I’ve failed a time or two, and it’s gotten people killed or hurt. Knowing how painful that is, how could I inflict that on someone else?”

“I don’t want to take that responsibility away from you, Magnus. What I’m hoping for is that you will want to talk to me about the choices you have to make, let me help you process things,” I explained, but I could tell I wasn’t saying it right. “Okay, so François reaches out and wants to hire you for a job. If he were telling the truth, he now wants to talk to me about the work he wants to offer us. I would listen to what he wants, tell him I will get back to him, then speak to you about it. Clearly, I don’t know what’s what in this criminal world you all live in, so I would need your help and advice. Doing this takes the pressure off me, and I share that with you.”

“You want me to talk to you about every job we’re going to take?”

A frustrated groan escaped me as I grabbed his neck and pretended to strangle him. “You’re being thick-headed on purpose. I just know it.” Pausing, I took a breath and dropped my hands to his chest. “Who do you talk to when you aren’t certain about something? When life hands you choices, but you’re not sure which way is the best to go?”

“Depending on what it is, I might talk to Jaxson, he is more level-headed than Ghost, but mainly, I make those choices myself. It might take me a long time to think it over, but in the end, I decided what’s best for my family,” he answered.

“That,” I cried, poking him in the chest with a finger. “That’s when we meet in the middle. You can’t agonize over things like that alone anymore. Instead, you’re going to come find me, and we will talk it out. I might not have all the answers, but I am someone who cares about all three of you just as much as you care about your brothers. Together we can figure something out, and if you have to make the hard call in the end, I’ll be able to reassure you that you made the best choice you could.”

Magnus looked at me, not at all convinced by my speech. “Harper, how can I do that and protect you from this darkness we live in?”

“You can’t,” I countered. Raising my left hand, I wiggled my fingers, showing off the ring. “You know what this means?”

“It means you said yes, and you’re ours,” he answered.

I nodded and cupped his cheek. “It means I said yes to it all. How could I say I love you and I want to marry you when I can’t accept everything about you three? Even if I didn’t end up with you and the others, my life is forever changed, knowing who Dax is. None of you are dragging me into this. I’m choosing to take off the blindfold and see the world as it is. Sure, I’m not going to like a lot of it, but oh well. I’m sure there will be parts of my life that aren’t your favorite, but you learn to understand it because you love me.”

He snorted at that. “Being in the fashion world can’t get you killed.”

“Shows how much you know.” I sniffed, waving off his comment. “Do you have any clue how many people would kill over a design or take another model out of the running? I’ve had death threats sent to me before, and I just throw them away, but it happens more than people know. Not to mention suicides… that is a way fashion kills many people when they feel like their life’s work is never good enough.”

“You’ve made your point,” Magnus said, running a soothing hand down my back. “Every environment has its dark side, I suppose.”

Turning myself so I straddled him, I looked him sternly in the eye. “Now, onto another subject. Stop treating me like I’m a doll. In what world is it okay for you to just pick me up and carry me around all willy-nilly. I am a grown woman who can walk her happy ass wherever it needs to go.” Magnus’s eyes shone with humor as I spoke, making me want to poke him in the eye. “Do you hear me?”