Page 21 of Knot Giving Up 2

Meggie’s shriek jerks my focus back to her.

The guy with the dark ball cap is hauling ass away from us, with Meggie’s bag gripped in his fist. Shit!

I react first, bolting after the purse snatcher, and Harrison takes off right behind me.

“Stop!” I holler. The scent of Meggie’s fear stings my nostrils.

I’m fast, but Harrison is quicker with longer strides.

“Shithead!” The insult is the only warning the robber gets before Harrison tackles the punk to the ground, sending his glasses, the guy’s hat, and the contents of Meggie’s bag flying.

I’m there in a heartbeat, and Oz a second later. After what happened on Daniel’s lawn, I’m amazed when Harrison only grabs Meggie's purse back from the asshole and doesn’t beat him to a bloody pulp.

The guy scrambles back and runs away. Harrison lets him go.

All of Meggie’s things are littered across the cobblestone, and I heard at least one splash in the river.

“Fuck, were your pills in there?” McQuinn steps towards Meggie and wraps an arm around her shoulder. I wonder if he even realizes he’s doing it.

Meggie pulls away and runs towards Harrison, with a hug that might fracture one of his ribs.

“Pills, woman!” McQuinn yells after her.

“Don’t call me that. And no, just my passport!” She snaps back before nuzzling into Harrison.

Like a yeti staring down at a newborn kitten, Harrison just stands there with his arms at his sides, looking awkward as fuck. Ellis rolls his eyes before grabbing the purse from Harrison and maneuvering Harrison’s arms like a mannequin to hug Meggie back.

“Got it.” I pick the little blue book up off the ground next to a hair tie. Ellis holds open her bag and I dump them inside, searching the ground for what else fell out.

“Thank you.” Meggie’s words are muffled by Harrison’s chest before she pulls back.

“Fuckin’ Taurus,” McQuinn sighs, staying by my side. “She has to be a Gemini moon or something. That girl is drama.”

“We should tie her down to keep her safe.” I shoot him a glance to see if he likes the visual of Meggie restrained, but McQuinn only huffs before walking away to check the ground for more of Meggie’s things.

“What mugger tries to rob a woman surrounded by six men?” Dante swoops down to pick up Meggie’s hand sanitizer and passes it to Ellis.

“Obviously not a successful one,” Ellis chuckles as he tucks the little bottle into Meggie’s bag.

“The fanny packs they gave me and Em make sense now,” Meggie mumbles to herself as she moves to take her bag back from Ellis. Before she can, he reaches his hand in and pulls out her wallet and passport. Lifting his shirt, he tucks them into his pants.

“They’ll be safe there.” He grins and passes the bag back to Meggie, but Oz intercepts it.

Taking out her chapstick and hand sanitizer, Oz tucks them into his underwear. “You keep the valuables safe. I’ve seen how often she glosses those lips. Help yourself, baby girl.” He gestures to his crotch that now nestles her chapstick.

“Is dick gloss quintessentially Parisian?” I ask.

“It’s fucking dark, so can someone help me find my glasses?” Harrison huffs as he tries to study the ground.

“I can put those in my pants too, for safekeeping.” Oz smirks.

“Don’t think we wouldn’t go in there to get them back.” Ellis shoots a flirty glance at Oz’s crotch. It’s too dark to tell, but Oz might be blushing as he removes the chapstick from his pants.

12

Dante

Iwake up with my shoulder killing me. It doesn’t help that I slept in a tangle of bodies and ended up with Ellis’s weight heavy on my injured side. I carefully extricate myself from the makeshift nest without waking anyone up. Ellis rolls over, but just grabs Meggie like a child with a teddy bear and falls right back to sleep.

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