Chapter 31 Fine As Hell

Wren

Magnum turned, and I followed him into a small room at the back of the house. A square table and four metal folding chairs filled up most of the space. A monitoring pad similar to the one Talon had installed at the bakery hung near the door.

Black walls and the lack of windows made it dark in the room except for a row of fluorescent lights across the ceiling. Why did Sylvie need a safe room? I knew they had floods and hurricanes in Louisiana, but this room seemed like more than that. Mag took care of Sylvie's security just like he'd taken care of me at the bakery.

Mag pulled out the chair on the right for me. Gavin seemed fidgety as he walked around the table to the other side. He bounced on his toes and tugged up his belt, which was hanging very low, and it dropped down again off his skinny hips.

Mag paced in the small space between the chairs and the door. He rubbed his chin and dragged his fingers through his beard that was growing back. The beard that was between my legs only hours ago. I cleared my throat, and Mag's fingers clenched into a fist.

"You got any weapons on you?" Mag asked Gavin as he stood behind the chair, waiting with one hand on his hip, close to his gun.

"Am I being interrogated?" Gavin stopped moving and glared at Magnum .

"I got some questions for you, and the first one is regarding your weapons." Mag's tone was impatient with an undercurrent of weariness.

"Do you have any weapons?" Gavin lifted his chin smugly. "Oh, nevermind. Your shirt's so tight, I can see your piece." Gavin's punkish veneer broke for a brief second, and he seemed to be fighting a smile. Mag smirked. They'd clearly played games like this before.

Mag walked around the table and patted Gavin down from behind. He found nothing but a small pocket knife that he took before coming back to sit next to me.

"Why is Wren here?" Gavin asked. His gaze moved to my hands that were folded on the table. "Where'd you get that ring?"

My throat clogged up, and I wasn't sure what to say. Mag answered for me. "First off, know this. You are my brother, and I love you unconditionally. That means I will continue to love you no matter what happens."

Gavin stopped fidgeting and stared at Mag. "You love me?"

"I do and always have, so let that be on the table between us before we start." Mag kept his gaze and his entire body focused fully on Gavin.

"Start what?"

"I'm gonna ask you some questions regarding Kenny Zhao."

"I don't know nothin' about him." Gavin shook his head and looked sideways at Magnum. His knee bounced and his brow furrowed. Even I could tell he was clearly lying .

"This is how it's gonna go down. You'll tell the truth. If you're lying, I'll know. Then I'll answer your questions, and you will know I'm telling the truth because that's what I do. You good with that?"

"What if I don't feel like talking?" He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Then you'll spend an indefinite amount of time in this room, and Sylvie will make your beignets. Got it?"

"You can't hold me here. That's kidnapping."

Mag calmly checked his phone again. "You're free to leave." He leaned back and pulled open the door.

Standing in the hallway were Kane and Helix, looking deadly serious. Holy shit. When did they get here?

Gavin's mouth dropped as he stared at them, but then he tried to play it cool by leaning back and looking away. He had to be intimidated by the huge men in the doorway. "You brought your thugs to our sister's house?"

"This is Kane and Helix. They are elite tactical operators that have taken down terrorists and criminals across the globe. They are not thugs, and you do not want to piss them off. Now give me your phone, Gavin." Magnum sounded almost bored as he held out his hand.

"What? Why? I ain't did nothin'."

"Kane is an IT specialist. He needs your phone to make sure you haven't been in contact with Kenny, so give him your phone now."

"Alright, look. I swear I've had nothing to do with Kenny Zhao since I left. Honest." He placed his hand over his heart and dipped his head .

"Then the phone will show that. Won't it?" Mag raised an eyebrow.

"Fuck you, Mag. Always trying to control me." He said that but handed the phone to Mag who handed it to Kane. Helix closed the door, and the three of us were alone again.

"I understand you don't like what I'm saying right now, but I'm trying to make sure Wren is safe. If you want that too, tell me the truth, I'll get your phone back to you, and we all walk out of here with an understanding. Fight me, and I leave you in here until I'm done taking care of things."

Gavin's gaze darted between me and Magnum. "Why does Wren need you to make sure she's safe? Are you playing bodyguard right now?"

"I'm asking the questions first then you'll get your chance. Remember?"

"Shit, man. Go ahead." Gavin slouched in his chair and rolled his eyes like a teenager. I'd never seen this immature side of him before. He'd done a good job of hiding it from me.

"Why didn't you show up at the wedding?" Mag tapped a finger on the table as he waited for an answer.

Gavin's eyes came to mine, and I saw a shadow of guilt pass through them. "I'm so sorry, darlin'. I shoulda been there."

Mag leaned forward and blocked his view of me. "I'm asking you why you weren't there."

"I thought it would be better if I left town, okay?"

"Why's that?" Mag's voice was strung tight.

"I did something to Kenny, and I thought he might be mad so I left town." Gavin looked down.

"You hacked his system and held it for ransom?" Magnum asked.

"How'd you know that?" Gavin's gaze locked on Mag then moved to me. He knew I'd told him.

"My questions first. So you left because you thought Kenny might come after you?" Mag remained patient as he kept hitting Gavin with questions.

"Yeah. In case he knew it was me, I left."

"Right, but you didn't think he might come after Wren?"

"Did he?" His voice squeaked.

"You knew he'd already had Tommy threaten her with a weapon, and you left thinking if you held his business ransom, he wouldn't come to Wren looking for you?"

"No. I didn't think that. Okay? I thought he'd come after me and leave her alone."

Mag looked at me then because now we knew why Gavin left. In his own way, he was trying to protect me.

"Or you panicked," Mag added in an accusatory tone.

"No," Gavin said belligerently.

Mag sat back in his chair and scanned Gavin's face. "How did you meet Kenny?"

"He had a job opening on the dark web. A tech job where I'd set him up to receive crypto, but he wanted me to do a favor for him first. Go check on Song Bakery and see why they weren't paying their dues." Gavin was speaking more calmly and what seemed to be honestly now.

"And you did that?"

"Yes, and I met Wren, and as you can see, she's fucking hot as hell, so I started asking her out. I told Kenny her grandfather died, and that's why she wasn't paying. He said thanks and gave me the IT job."

My face was burning. I had no idea he thought I was hot as hell. I would've laughed in his face if this weren't so serious.

"But he continued to hound Wren for money?" Magnum asked.

"Yeah, that's when I came up with the plan for the ransom."

"Right because pissing someone off who is threatening you always smooths things over." Mag sat back in his chair and rested his hands on his waist, legs spread wide. Now that Gavin was talking and apparently telling the truth, he seemed less angry.

"It could have worked. We'd get the money from him and leave town." Gavin shrugged like we could've easily left town together.

"You didn't say we'd have to leave the bakery," I said.

"I was getting to that part, but you went and told him we were getting married and that kinda distracted me, darlin'."

"Stop calling me that."

He flinched back. "What the fuck is going on here? Why are you giving me sass?"

He'd never seen this side of me, but a lot had changed since he'd left.

"I have a few more questions," Mag interrupted us. "And then we'll answer yours. Did Kenny ever see your face?"

"We had a video call, but I stayed in the shadows, so no, not really."

"And where have you been? Why'd you hide from me?"

"I wasn't hiding from you. I ditched my old phone and stayed with friends while things cooled down."

"And have you removed the spyware from Kenny's system?"

"Not yet. He hasn't paid yet."

Mag nodded like he expected that answer. "Do you know how to restore his system?"

"Yes, when he pays, he gets his servers back."

"And are you still working for him?"

"No. I quit."

"Alright." Mag rubbed his chin and sat forward. "So here's the deal."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this."

"I'm in love with Wren."

I nearly fell out of my chair. My stomach sank, and I struggled to breathe. "You what?" I said at the same time Gavin asked a similar question.

"I'm in love with her. She's mine." Mag glanced at me, and his eyes raked over me possessively. Oh my freaking God. "That's my ring she's wearing, and I'm protecting her from Kenny."

Gavin's mouth dropped open, and the room was silent for a long moment.

"Now, I get that you had something with her," Mag continued, "but you pretty much blew that when you left her crying at the altar. I stepped in and pretended to be you at the wedding to satisfy Kenny's curiosity, but you are not legally married to Wren. I gave her the ring because yours was shit. We pretended to be married and attended a magic show at Kenny's place. Kenny bought the whole ruse, and we're in with him trying to dismantle his operation that likely includes selling children as sex slaves or labor slaves, not sure yet."

"Holy shit, Mag."

"You're in love with me?"

He turned to me and grinned. "Surprised myself with that one."

My words caught in my throat. I didn't know what to say. His soft eyes hypnotized me. My stomach fluttered and then my cheeks grew hot as the image of his head between my legs came back to my mind, the way his scruff rubbed my thighs and his moans vibrated against my core as his tongue...

Gavin stood up. "Holy fuckin' shit. She was mine . The one good thing I ever had."

That was a bold claim on his part. I stood up too and faced him. "You never had me, Gavin." We'd had a couple of dates and kissed a few times. Nothing else had really happened. There was no fluttering in my stomach, no passionate kisses, no soft eyes that looked at me like I was precious.

"You were going to marry me," he threw out unfairly.

"To get Kenny off my back. We were never in love." I didn't know it until now. Until I had something to compare it to. Now that I'd had Mag's special kind of caring, the way he shared his insecurities with me, the way he always kept a hand near to comfort me. Now I knew for sure I'd never loved Gavin.

"You left her with me," Magnum added as he stood up too.

"I didn't leave her with you. "

"You left her alone at city hall crying on the steps, and you'd invited me to be there. What the hell did you think I'd do? I thought she was gonna be family at that point. I figured out pretty quick the marriage was a sham, and she was in trouble. Kenny blew up the bakery because he was looking for you."

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry, Wren. I planned—"

"Your plan was shit," Mag interrupted him.

"Well, I'm sorry we can't all be as strategic as you, man. I had no idea about the kids or whatever human trafficking you mentioned."

Mag stared at him for a long time like he was judging his veracity. Eventually he nodded and sat back down.

Gavin and I sat too as everything that had been said hung heavily in the air.

"Do you know anything about the society?" Mag broke the silence.

"Never heard of it. What's going on?"

"He's using some kind of magic society as a front for his illegal deals. You didn't see any of that on the dark web?"

"I thought he might be dealing drugs, but I just worked with the crypto. I wasn't involved in making the deals. I was only setting him up for payments."

"Now you're tied up with that and I gotta work to keep you outta prison for it. You should've come to me. I could've helped, and you'd never have to take a job from a guy like him."

"You think I like going to big brother to bail me out all the time? This was my gig. I was doing it on my own. My girl, my job, and you fucked it all up. "

"No. You fucked it up by cyber ransoming Kenny. You should've told me when he threatened her, and I'd have taken care of it."

"Like I said, I don't need big brother cleaning up my shit no more."

"You do!" Mag slammed the table and hot anger came off him. "That's what we do for each other." He pointed sharply at Gavin. "If it were me, you'd be there too. You know it. I don't mind if it's mostly me. I'm your big brother. I look out for you and you need to let me."

Gavin rolled his eyes. "I don't need to do nothin' for the brother who stole my girl while I was outta town."

"Fair enough for now, Gav, but I'm hoping we can get through this and you can accept that Wren is it for me. She will be part of this family, but she'll be mine. "

Gavin's brows drew together and he frowned at the table. "She was my chance at happiness."

"And you'll get another one, but we both know it wasn't right between you two if you'd leave her at risk like that. You'll see it in time. And maybe you'll even be happy for your big brother who never had a girlfriend."

Gavin raised his head and pointed at Mag. "You had Sheila," he said in a teasing tone.

Mag laughed. "Like I said, never had a girlfriend."

Gavin's mouth turned up into a wry grin, and it looked like he was on the path to healing his rift with his brother.

Mag walked around the table and patted him softly on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay. Was worried at first that Kenny had you."

"Can't catch me. I'm too sly."

Kane knocked and entered the room. He handed Gavin his phone back. "Checks out," he said to Magnum.

Magnum nodded.

"See? I told you. I'm telling the truth. You can trust me, man. I'm too smart to lie to you. You'd kill me."

"Under no circumstances would I kill you. However, you touch Wren without her permission again, you will walk with a limp for the rest of your life."

"Jeez. Lighten up, Antoinne."

Gavin turned his attention on me as he tucked his phone back in his pocket. "Can you forgive me for standing you up at the altar?"

I narrowed my gaze on him. "I'll be honest. It sucked. I was terrified and alone."

"I'm really sorry." He gave me puppy dog eyes, and I couldn't tell if he was genuine or not. I noticed his fake veneer more now that I could compare it to Mag who was more straightforward with me. He was also being a lot more of himself now that he was around Magnum. When he was with me, he'd presented himself as a formal businessman. This Gavin was a young kid who made bad decisions.

"I understand you thought you were protecting me in your own way," I said to Gavin.

"I did. I thought Kenny would be looking for me, which he was, but he found my brother pretending to be me instead."

That made me smile. Magnum stepping in for his brother might've changed the path of my entire life. "It worked out okay in the end." I shared a look with Magnum, and he winked at me. I got shy and looked away .

Gavin let out a deep laugh. "Damn, bro. She's fine as hell."

"Don't I know it," Magnum replied.

"You owe me one, man." Gavin stood up from his seat, still smiling and acting casual. "I blew it." He glanced down at me again.

"You did." Magnum looked at me too.

Well, shoot. They were both being way too nice about all of this, but Mag knew his brother, and I trusted him to guide us.

Mag came back to my side and thumped the table to get Gavin's attention. "So, are you willing to work with us to take down Kenny? You'll have to give Kane the decryption key and then go along with me pretending to be you until it's resolved."

"If you think you can handle being me."

"I've been managing." Magnum shrugged.

"You wish you were cool enough to be me for a day."

With Mag's chuckle, I knew then that it was going to be okay between them. Mag had handled the situation like a pro.