Page 44 of Queen of Blades

Probably not. Honestly, Paul was using himself and Harper as bait. Someone wanted her, and now him, dead. This might be the best way to lure them out. Risky as hell, for sure, but it was all he had.

“He could be the reason. It may not be someone Harper pissed off. It’s more likely to be someone Snoopy had, and to get back at him, they’re going after her.”

Eddie hummed on the other side of the line.

“It’s not about him,” Harper said from behind him.

Startled, Paul spun around to find her wearing nothing but a towel. He hadn’t even heard the water turn off.

“I’ve been gone too long for people to remember me.”

Frowning, Paul shook his head. Syndicates had long memories. Good ones knew everything about everyone. Like his family knew that Snoopy was such a misogynistic ass, he not only didn’t give Harper or her sister, Remi, his name, he wasn’t even on their birth certificates. He wasn’t legally bound to them at all. His sons, though, Weston and Colt, were Oberlins, just like him. He gave them his name and signed on the line. He claimed them. Such a jackass.

“So, am I going to have backup?” Paul asked his brother as he returned his focus to the stove. Good thing too. It was time to flip the sandwich.

“Yeah, I’ll get some people together.” Eddie sighed.

“Thanks,” Paul replied and ended the call. “Get dressed,” he said over his shoulder to Harper. “The soup is almost ready, and I have a fresh sandwich for you.”

“Why?” she asked.

Walking over to the table, skillet in hand, he scooped the sandwich with a spatula and placed it on her plate. “Because we’re going to talk to your father.”

“I told you, it has nothing to do with him.”

Paul lifted a single shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m just going to make sure of that. Besides, he won’t take my word that you’re fine.”

As he returned to the counter, he placed the pan to the flame and started buttering more bread for himself. Then the thought occurred to him.

“Don’t youwantto see him?” he asked curiously.

The sound of a utensil clinking against porcelain was his response.

Interesting.

Giving her time to think about it, he busied himself with assembling another grilled cheese. It had to be hard for her, staying with him instead of her dad. He didn’t envy her that storm of emotions. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do in the same position—knowing your family couldn’t keep you safe, but the enemy could. Yeah, definitely not a place he wanted to be.

“I just don’t know if it’s worth the risk,” she admitted.

He nodded. It probably wasn’t, but he felt obligated to do it. If he didn’t work on this theory, he’d kick himself later. There were plenty of criminals in the area who could have something against Snoopy and use Harper to take it out on him, so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities.

Hell, just last week, the stupid motorcycle club fucked over Sebastián on a delivery. So, yeah, it was a good guess, considering it was the Colombians who brought this to the table. He wouldn’t put it past them to lie about things. There was no honor among criminals.

Well, that wasn’t true. They had honor. It was just a twisted sense of the word. Lying was par for the course when it would get their allies to do some dirty work and keep their hands clean.

The more Paul thought about this, the more he considered it wasn’t about Harper at all. She was just caught in the crossfire.

With his sandwich done, he ladled soup into two bowls, balanced his plate on top of one of them, and brought them both to the table. Satisfied that she had just finished a bowl of salad, he placed the freshly warmed tomato soup in front of her before sitting down across from her.

“It won’t be much of a risk,” he lied. “We’ll have cover. People will arrive before us. We won’t be there long.”

He didn’t like the frown on her face. She stirred her soup and refused to make eye contact with him. “What if my dad won’t let me come back with you?”

He bit back his laugh. She had too much faith in the man. Clearly, she hadn’t been around in a while. Snoopy’s fall from grace, and any considerable power, had been hard. While he was still the president of his little group, he wasn’t respected, and he sure as shit wasn’t feared. It actually surprised Paul that the man was still standing.

Out of respect for Harper and her feelings for Snoopy, Paul wouldn’t laugh in her face. “He will.” It was all he could say.

Snoopy didn’t stand a chance against Paul one-on-one, and definitely not if Paul had reinforcements. While the biker may not be happy with the decision to let Harper go back to the safe house with Paul, he’d have absolutely no choice.

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