Page 39 of The Warrior
“Jonathan, would you mind taking off your shirt for me?”
“I like how eager you are to see muscles again.” He grinned. “Tired of weak Momsimen, are you?”
I smiled. “You have no idea.”
“Take the thumb locks off me, will you?”
“Of course, but first I want to see that strong body you bragged about.”
With his thumbs still locked together he pulled his shirt over his head. It left him blinded long enough for me to pull out the numb gun from my bag.
“So what do you think?” he asked and lifted his arms to get the shirt out of his eyes.
It happened so fast – his eyes meeting mine and his smile falling when he saw the gun in my hands.
The shot had a low sound to it, but the impact was powerful. Like two heavy logs, Jonathan’s arms fell down and his body slumped back in the seat.
We sat close enough for me to lean over and pull Jonathan’s shirt back down. His body was numbed, but he could move his eyes.
“Here’s a tip for you. Never insult Magni in my presence. The next time you hear people gossip about my husband, tell them from me that Magni is a fucking genius in bed.”
Jonathan couldn’t respond with anything more than incoherent sounds.
“Change of destination,” I instructed the drone. “Take us back to the place of departure.” The drone changed direction and a few minutes later it landed in front of the café again, where Hans waited for us.
“What happened to him?” he asked when I opened the door.
I shrugged. “Jonathan agreed it was time to go home. When I told him how eager I was to try out my new numb gun, he said that he would be happy to satisfy me and that he had the perfect body for it.” I patted Jonathan’s cheek with a smug smile and looked at Hans. “It was very kind of him to volunteer, don’t you think?”
Hans gave Jonathan an incredulous stare, like he couldn’t believe anyone would be that stupid.
I sat back in my seat. “Yes, really, Nmen are tough like that; isn’t that right, Jonathan?”
Climbing in, Hans took one of the two empty seats. “I have good news too. Luke has been captured, so we’re down to Devlin.”
“Excellent. Let’s hand over this guy and go find Devlin. I can’t wait to go home and spend some quality time in bed with my man.” The last comment was a kick at Jonathan, who had made the mistake of dishing Magni in front of me.
Hans coughed.
“Oh, don’t be so shocked, Hans, you know we Northlanders have sex. You should try it.”
His answer surprised me. “Maybe I will.”
I sat back with a bad taste in my mouth. Numbing Jonathan hadn’t been enough to make him pay for that insensitive comment about Magni. The gossip about my husband being a bad lover was so unfair. I hated that anyone would think that way about Magni when the truth was that the sex was the best part between us.
Pride and honor meant everything to Magni, and it was becoming clear what my absence had put him through. No wonder he had been so furious with me if smirks and insults had met him everywhere he went.
As soon as we found Devlin, I would return to the Northlands and receive the respect from Magni that I longed for. Once he respected me, we could have what Pearl and Khan had. We could be equals, and everyone would see that Magni and I were strong together.
I smiled a little just thinking about the perfect scenario in my head, not knowing that a very different and less rosy scenario was waiting for me in my near future.
CHAPTER 12
Equality
Magni
“How can you look so unaffected?” Khan panted next to me. “We’ve been running for more than an hour.”
