Page 79 of The Fighter
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Every one of us exchanged looks. We knew exactly what the captain meant.
“What are you implying?” Magni stepped closer to the captain.
“That every husband upsets his wife at some point. Having the greatest warrior in the world as a father-in-law complicates things.”
Magni leaned back and placed his hands on his hips. “Huh.” His eyes shifted to me. “You wouldn’t let that stop you, would you, Leo?”
I frowned and averted my eyes. “No, Commander, that wouldn’t stop me.”
“Good.” He turned to the four Huntsmen. “Are all you men signed up for the tournament?”
They confirmed it, and Magni nodded with satisfaction before continuing going over his concerns. We discussed entry points, medic stations, guards for Mila, number of fight arenas, positions of beer tents, distribution of police officers and Huntsmen, as well as the logistics of getting spectators to and from the area.
By the time we had been talking and planning for almost four hours, we were drenched from the heavy rain, which Magni ignored. There was thunder and lightning rolling in, and a collective sigh of relief sounded among us men when Magni finally called a lunch break.
Fifteen minutes later he and I were standing by the bar in a local pub when he leaned in. “I would like to see you win the tournament, Leo.”
“Thank you, Commander.” It was hard to meet his eyes knowing that I couldn’t fight for Mila after what had happened between me and Raven.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just that…”
“What?” Magni narrowed his eyes. “Speak up, man.”
I was struggling with what to tell him. After all, Raven had asked that I keep our relationship a secret, so I chose to focus on something else. “I was just wondering why you don’t have Mila’s tournament in the summertime. It’s unusual to have it in the winter and I wonder if more spectators and participants would show up in summer. That’s all.”
“Fair question. I guess the answer is that I’m an impatient man.” Magni was distracted by an incoming call. “Hang on.”
The pub wasn’t crowded, and his voice was loud, so it was impossible not to overhear him.
“She did what? No, you did the right thing in calling me. Let me talk to Mila.” Magni moved away from the bar, but with the small room it made no difference and I could still hear him clearly.
“Mila, why were you trying to leave without protection? What were you thinking?”
I couldn’t hear Mila’s explanation but from the way Magni’s back stiffened and he growled low, I sensed that he wasn’t happy.
“Get the exact address, and you can call Raven and tell her I’ll spank her ass when I see her – and the same goes for Laura.”
At the sound of Raven’s name, I was on alert. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently Raven and Laura went to visit Mr. Zobel’s daughter together and they didn’t bring an escort.” He groaned. “Because their drone was making funny sounds, they had to go down in Mortenstown and they called and asked Mila to pick them up.”
“Mortenstown. That’s a shithole. Why didn’t they call one of us?”
“Because they know we would be furious at them for flying out without protection in the first place.”
I remembered Raven telling me that she and Laura had gone to visit Michael together, but I had always assumed that they had brought guards with them.
“At least they are both good fighters. Of all the women in this country, Raven and Laura know how to take care of themselves.”
Magni scowled at me. “They are women, Leo.”
“I know, but they aren’t helpless.”
Magni stabbed a finger against my chest. “They are our responsibility, and no woman should be alone in fucking Mortenstown. I’m going to go get them.” Pointing across the room, Magni called out to the captain and the four Huntsmen. “Laura needs me. We’ll do this another day.”
