Sneak Peek at Chapter 1 - Knight Security Book 4

Sneak peek at Chapter 1 of Magnum's book - tentatively called "True Anchor"
First draft is done, watch for the pre-order coming soon.

Chapter 1 The Happy Couple
Magnum
An engagement party. This was my brother's pretense for calling me here to this restaurant in Chinatown, Los Angeles.
The text simply said he was getting married and he wanted me to come to the party.
Well, here I was.
Where the hell was he?
Put my job on hold for him to drive up here for him. He'd better show.
The Golden Dragon restaurant wasn't very busy. Only a few tables full of mostly old men, smelled like grease and smoke. The hostess was cute though and looking me up and down. A black girl in a tight little red silk dress, tits high, sexy necklace dropping down between them. My type. Might as well work my magic on her while I was waiting for Gavin to show up, maybe take her out later, rock her world.
I walked up to her podium where she had a book with the tables listed. "Just one tonight?" Her mouth dropped open when she saw me.
Yeah, babe. I get that a lot.
I caught her gaze and held it. "No. I'm waiting for my party."
She snapped her mouth closed, popped out a hip, and plastered on a vixen smile. "What's your name, honey? I'll let you know when they get here." Her voice was much higher and sweeter now.
"Beaumont."
She bent forward and scribbled down Bomount.
Excellent. Also my type. Can't spell for shit.
Her lips smacked like she was suddenly chewing gum. "You like dim sum?" Oh yeah, totally my type. Too easy. Maybe my trip up to LA wasn't such a waste of time.
"Is that what you're servin'?" I stepped forward and got in her space, towering over her tiny wooden podium.
She slowly raised her head and breathed out a long sigh. "I'm offerin' whatever you're takin'."
Way too easy. "What time you get off?"
"I'm off at nine."
I nodded but didn't promise her nothing. I had no idea where I'd be three hours from now, and I was already getting tired of her after just a few words. But she looked like a good fuck so maybe I'd find a way to be back here when she got off. Maybe not.
She was eye-fucking me the whole time I was waiting for my brother. He finally showed.
Or at least it looked like him. He'd cleaned up. Short hair, suit with a bow tie, clean shoes.
I was laughing as he walked closer. "What the hell happened to you, man?" We hugged and I patted him on the back. I'd never seen him in anything other than oversized jerseys and pants hanging off his ass. His hair was always long or braided and he never shaved.
"A man can't look nice?"
"You look completely fucking different."
"A good woman will do that."
He moved aside and I saw her. His woman. Short, hair pulled back, a black and white argyle sweater with a white dress shirt underneath, small string of pearls beneath the sharp points of the collar, black slacks with a crease in the front, white socks, and shiny loafers.
"This is Wren." Gavin looked so fucking proud of his girl. She looked barely legal, sweet and innocent, and completely not his type at all. "This is my big brother Antoinne." His smile and voice dripped with smarmy sarcasm.
"Magnum." I corrected him but he knew what he was doing.
"Right."
We'd had our fights over the years, but I was still his blood. I was the only blood he had, so he'd better not be disrespecting me in front of this "girl." She was clearly in over her head with a criminal like Gavin. What was her angle? What could she possibly want from him? Dude was broke and as soulless as me.
"Sylvie and Julian coming?" I asked my brother, ignoring Wren's outstretched hand.
"No. Too short notice." He glanced down at my snub of his girl's hand and frowned at it.
He didn't invite the other siblings? Only me?
"Any of your friends coming?"
"Nope."
"Her family?"
She looked away, and he wrapped an arm over her shoulders.
"No," he said with a tone telling me to back off.
"So I'm the guest of honor at your engagement party?"
He'd duped me? Pretended it was a family gathering and it was just me. I hated being duped. I hated being lied to. Everyone was a fucking liar. Was it so hard to just be honest and tell the truth?
"Wren is the guest of honor. I wanted you to meet her. Now stop being an ass and say hello to her."
"Hello," I quipped and turned back to the hostess.
She'd been eagerly watching the whole exchange. Her smile faltered when she saw my scowl, but she recovered.
"Table for three," I said.
"Sure thing, handsome. Follow me."
She walked out into the main dining room, swinging her hips as she headed toward the crowded center where most of the patrons were sitting.
"That one." I pointed to an empty table in the corner by a ground-level patio. Privacy with an exit if I needed it. I had my personal service weapon concealed in my pocket if anything went down.
We took seats and the hostess left the menus. "Your server will be with you shortly." She sashayed away with her little attitude in check.
Wren reached for her napkin and opened it in a practiced way before placing it in her lap. She was fancy. High society. Again. What the hell did she want with Gavin? "You pregnant?" I asked her.
Her eyes bugged out at the same time Gavin called my name. "Mag!"
"Is she pregnant? Tell me the truth."
"No. Alright? Now chill. I want us to be a family."
Ouch. Fuck. Gavin nailed a blow right through the heart. We didn't have much, but we always had each other. I always told him I was his family, his only blood brother besides Julian. He wanted to bring this girl into the Beaumont Clan, and she deserved a fair chance from me.
"Fine. What do you do, Wren?" I rested my forearms on the table and tried to relax my very tense fingers that would not uncurl.
"I work at a bakery."
"A bakery? Like birthday cakes and shit?" Gavin brought a sweet, fancy girl who sold fucking cookies to join our family? Our fucked up dysfunctional non-existent white trash psychotic slightly illicit family?
"More like Asian treats. Sticky buns and specialty breads. What do you do?"
"I blow shit up." It was true. My pants still had debris on them from the distraction discharge we set off during a hostage rescue earlier in the day.
"Oh, do you work for the studios?"
It took me a second to process her meaning. I'd forgotten we were so close to Hollywood and the movie industry. I knew a few former team guys who worked in the movies, but, nah, not me. I liked the real stuff. No cosplay for me.
"Mag was a Navy SEAL," Gavin blurted out loudly. "Retired before the pension kicked in for some unknown reason."
"Jesus, Gav." He knew he wasn't supposed to talk about the details of my military service.
He leaned in toward me and used a fake quiet voice that everyone could totally hear. "I'm marrying her. She's gonna find out."
I looked to the ceiling. God help me get through this.
"Now, he's a private commando for hire," he said confidently to Wren.
"That's enough." I growled. He was pushing too many boundaries all at once. My fists clenched, and I was very close to punching my brother in the face at his own engagement party.
Luckily, a waiter appeared and Gavin ordered like a pimp, a bottle of merlot and a full spread including lobster noodles and Peking duck. Then he asked what their best liquor for toasting was and asked for a round of top-shelf Baijiu.
Wren watched him the whole time with adoring eyes. What a fucking faker she was. There was no way she found Gavin's little display of recklessly ordering too much food attractive.
The chow was good and we ate silently. Wren wasn't a chatty bird. At least she had that going for her. Gavin was still a gabber like he always was, telling stories about us as kids, most of them untrue.
We didn't have fun times. We were too poor, too busy trying to survive. We had a trauma bond, but that didn't translate well to a girl wearing pearls and loafers, so he embellished. The guy lied as easy as he breathed.
She smiled and nodded at his tall tales, dabbing the duck sauce from the corners of her lips. Was this girl just gullible as hell? She didn't doubt anything Gavin said? The dude was a poor street thug from the bayou, not the fucking highballer he was pretending to be.
"What do you like to do for fun, Wren?" I asked her.
"Oh, I guess I like to feed the birds."
"I hate fucking birds."
She frowned and turned back to her plate.
By the time dinner was over, I'd had enough of their little show. "Let's talk outside."
"I was going to do a toast." He lifted the small but expensive glass of booze he'd ordered.
"After we talk." I stood up and made it clear with my eyes he would be following me.
"Alright. I'll be right back, sweetheart." He pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek and I wanted to vomit. I'd only seen Gavin fucking whores on couches, ass naked in the air. Never seen him even kiss a girl anywhere near her face.
This whole evening was a huge farce.