Page 51 of Our Tricks

Harper had a hold on Magnus’s arm and was glaring at him. “Not until someone apologizes for being the major asshole just now,” Harper declared.

Magnus looked down at her, clearly not happy with her comment. “Doll.”

“Don’t you doll me, Maggie. Void was right, you reacted before Dax ever gave you all the information. I get that you’re a possessive bastard, but do you think you could take a moment to read the room first? None of her men would let her bring someone who would be a risk to Dax, let alone me,” Harper reasoned as she crossed her arms, looking well and truly pissed. “How many times do we need to go over this? Every time we agree to help Dax end this shit with Marco, you take acting like a caveman to a whole new level.”

Magnus searched my best friend’s face, and he saw it as well as I did that this wasn’t something she was going to back down from. Harper had a stubborn streak a mile wide, and these guys might have found a way to work around it until now.

“I’ll apologize for yelling, and I’ll also apologize for not letting you explain,” Magnus said, his gaze shifting to me. “What I won’t apologize for is putting Harper’s safety and needs first.”

“Maggie,” Harper scolded.

“No,” I cut in. “It’s fine, I promise. Honestly, it makes me feel better that they all think about you first because I’m not able to do that right now. I’m too far in this that I can’t see the fallout that might happen to others outside my immediate circle. The fight night showed that, so while I don’t love getting yelled at, I get where he’s coming from.”

With a heavy sigh, she threw up her arms. “Whatever! Just play nice, or I’m going to put someone in time-out.”

Grinning, I shook my head and looked over at Alvaro. “You want to answer their questions yourself?”

Alvaro looked warily at the triplets, straightened his shoulders, and stepped up beside me. “Yes, I’m Diego’s son and nephew to Marco, but I’ve never wanted to be part of this life. I tried everything in my power to stay out of everything, even going abroad for my first semester of college. Then Dad pulled me out of school and forced me to work in the company while living with one of my older brothers, Franco. Mom did her best trying to keep me out of the worst of it growing up, but they think it made me weak and soft.”

The triplets looked him up and down with calculating eyes then turned their backs, having a hurried whispered conversation.

Harper rolled her eyes as if she couldn’t believe this was happening.

When they faced us once more, Magnus nodded. “If you can provide us with what information you have on Marco and anything else we should know about Diego’s operation here in New York, then we’ll let you live.”

Chapter 19

Void

Alvaro took the verdict well enough, but I suppose when you grew up in a lifestyle where threats like this were common, it wasn’t as shocking. Out of the triplets, Ghost and I got along great. We had a similar mindset about things. Jaxson was fine too, as he had the same way about him that Cognac did. They go along to get along until you cross the line, then they would take your ass out. Magnus, however, was a fucking prick, and it might be the case that we are too similar to get along, but fuck, I wanted to clobber his face in after he said that shit to my little demon.

We needed them, and they had skin in the game now with Harper since Marco was still looking for her. It would take everything in me to grit my teeth and listen to what he was saying as he ordered us all about like his fucking minions. Eagle was our leader, and he could pull that shit but not this asshole.

“Magnus, while I get and agree where you’re coming from, Alvaro is our problem to deal with,” Sprocket interjected. “This is a team effort, but at the same time, we also need to respect each other and the dynamics we have in our own groups. Besides, the FBI knows we have him, and I’m not sure having him show up dead when they know he was last with us is good for any of us.”

The stormy look on Mag’s face was priceless. “What do you mean the FBI knows about him?”

“The facility where I have Mariana, Alvaro’s mother, is run by all the government agencies. There was an incident that occurred wherein we learned Marco was trying to get his sister out of there and back to him. Since the facility is more of a secret and was attacked, the FBI stepped in to investigate and handle the situation. We gave them Franco who was far more involved with the family business than Alvaro. They know we’re working on hunting down one of the biggest players on Dax’s list, and we needed Alvaro for information,” Cam explained.

The cool tone he used told me he was just as fucking pissed about Magnus’s action earlier. The black knight was quickly earning all the respect he needed from me the longer he was around. Obviously, I knew we were stuck with him for life, but at least I could get along with him. He was finally meshing with the rest of us like family should. It took a hell of a lot longer than it had with Westly, but it all worked out as it should.

“Franco’s also the one who tried to blow us up last night, so it’s better I don’t have access to him,” Dax added.

That had Harper’s eyes going wide as saucers. “Excuse me? Did you just say that you were almost blown up last night?”

“Good thing they didn’t go back to the apartment below us. That could have gotten messy,” Magnus muttered, then let out an oof as Harper elbowed him in the gut. “Doll, don’t start something we can’t finish here,” he warned.

Harper’s cheeks flushed, but she ignored his words. “Tell me what happened?”

“Later,” Dax answered, waving off her concern. “It’s all settled, and we’re fine. We need to stay focused on this so we can stop all these fucking near-death experiences.”

Harper opened her mouth to argue, but Jaxson rested a hand on her shoulder. “She’s right, gorgeous, we need to find Marco and make our plans.” She shut her mouth with a pout but nodded sullenly in agreement.

“Wes has a cell phone that we know Marco called. Do any of you have stuff for us to track down where the call originated from?” Dax asked, slipping into planning mode.

Ghost raised his hand then held it, motioning to Wes to toss it to him. “I got it covered.”

“Alvaro, what can you tell me about your uncle? Do you have any idea where he is or what systems he follows to transport his goods?” Dax questioned, taking a seat and sipping on her beer. “Anything and everything you know about him is going to be relevant, so don’t leave anything out.”