No. Nooo. She was not going there. No way she was going to think her new helper was actually a dragon.
And from now on, she really should try to keep some professional space. So no matter how good he made her feel, and no matter how crazy he talked, it didn’t really matter because she wasn’t going to end up serious with him.
He was hot, he seemed to like her, and she liked experiencing life with him. But when the job was over and she got back to normal life, she was sure he would disappear.
Him and his odd words about dragons.
She was distracted by the sound of male voices entering the yard and jerked her head up to see several men approaching through the front driveway into the shop. She got up quickly and entered into the garage from her office, counting five men in total as they reached the entrance to the carport. She recognized two of them from Roscoe’s crew, the same men that had been at the bar the other night. The other three were unfamiliar, but judging the mean grimaces they wore and the tattoos on their arms, they weren’t friendly types.
Plus, they all had pipes, wrenches, or other heavy-looking metal tools in their hands.
It was still pretty early, and the shop wasn’t open to the public for another half hour while they finished up last night’s jobs. So nobody else was around, no witnesses except her and her employees.
“We’re here to inform you that the community is no longer in need of your services, Dunn,” one man said, stepping forward.
“Like hell. You’re just here to try to intimidate me into shutting down,” Lindy said, stepping forward and standing her ground.
She’d seen her father fight through divorce and bankruptcy and severe illness to keep this place open at all costs. She wasn’t going to cave into a few brutish thugs just because they told her to.
Beside her, she saw Mike on the other side of the car she was next to, glancing from her to the thugs, not sure what to do. Magnus too was looking up from his work, watching intently.
And Tommy was, well… Where had Tommy gone?
“This is your last warning. Don’t make us do something you’ll regret. Someone could get hurt,” the ringleader threatened.
“If you don’t get off my property, I’ll call the police,” Lindy responded, fearful the threat would hold little power to dissuade them.
The men glanced at each other, smiling, before advancing toward the garage.
Lindy both heard and felt the impact as a hulking, bald brute swung a heavy hammer down onto a workbench, smashing it in two as parts went flying everywhere.
Holy shit, were they actually serious?
Behind her, Lindy heard a loud growl, and just as the thug brought his hammer up to smash her valuable air compressor, Magnus appeared out of nowhere, catching the tool mid-swing as if it were a plastic toy and wrenching it from the man’s hand. Then with a loud crack, Magnus’s fist flew into the guy’s face, sending him careening backward and rolling down the driveway.
“Who the hell are you?” the ringleader said as he watched his comrade go flying in astonishment.
“Your worst nightmare,” Magnus said as he charged, head-butting him just as he finished his sentence, smashing his nose and knocking him to the ground.
The other three, startled and clearly not anticipating the sudden turn of events, all turned to face their attacker, raising their makeshift weapons in defense.
To Lindy’s complete shock, Magnus plucked one of the tools from a guy’s hand, then bent it in half as if it were made of putty.
“Child’s play,” she heard Magnus mutter as he punched the man in the gut, knocking the air out of him with a loud whoosh.
Next to her, she looked at Mike, standing agape at the display. Then, catching his wits, he pulled out his phone and started to dial 9-1-1, looking at Lindy for approval. But she shook her head hurriedly to tell him not to bother.
At that, Mike crawled beneath the car next to him, ducking for cover. Not a bad idea actually.
If the mob had paid off the police, then trying to call dispatch wouldn’t be any good. They’d just take their time getting here, take a statement, and never do anything about it.
And Magnus was clearly taking care of things. In his own peculiar way.
The other two both came at Magnus at the same time, probably hopeful numbers would work to their advantage. Magnus just stepped to the side to avoid the first swing, then kicked his heavy, booted foot into the other’s chest, throwing him into the wall as tools shook off their hooks and clattered to the ground with a loud clanking.
The other guy recovered from his missed swing and whirled around to face Magnus, just in time to be pulled off his feet by Magnus’s hand around his throat.
And despite the size of the thug, he looked puny compared to Magnus, whose muscles bulged and tensed, gigantic and glistening in the rising morning sun as he chuckled to himself. The thug just flailed in the air, trying desperately to break free from her employee-turned-lover’s grasp, to no avail.
“I’m here to inform you that your presence isn’t welcome here at this fine establishment. Now or ever,” Magnus said, practically growling like a feral animal, green eyes burning like fire as the man’s face started to turn red, then purplish.
The first man Magnus had head-butted grabbed him from behind, trying to somehow free his comrade. But moving Magnus was like trying to get an iron statue to budge, and he just laughed as he threw a fist behind him, straight into the face of his assailant.
“If you don’t, someone will get hurt. Understood?” Magnus said before lobbing the man away from the shop like a shot put ball, sending him rolling into the quiet street.
Satisfied, Magnus turned back to face Lindy, dusting off his hands as if he’d just taken out some particularly smelly trash.
Then Lindy heard a quiet, metallic click, and she looked to the side at the sound of the noise.
One of the men had gotten up, a distinct purple bruise covering one eye, and Lindy gasped as he pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at her.
“She’s not getting away with this. We’ll get our money,” the man grumbled, trying to aim the black firearm.
Cold fear shot through Lindy at the sight of the barrel. She’d seen guns before, even handled them, but never had one been trained on her.
In a huge blur, Magnus appeared in front of her, and she saw a gigantic, iron-hued axe, like a prop from a movie, come swinging down like a bolt of lightning, slicing the gun in half.
Lindy saw the man’s expression register shock and amazement a split second before Magnus grabbed the man’s collar with one hand and smashed the handle of the oversized ax he was now wielding into the man’s head, knocking him completely unconscious.
What. The. Hell?