“Victims’ hearts,” he answered.
I won’t tell you what my stomach did. I won’t tell you how cold my blood became. I won’t tell you how much fear pulsed through my heart and tore along each vertebra. Because, to be honest, the only thing I could think about was Farley as he pushed towards me, that sharp, steel knife glinting in the light of the moon.
Max didn’t let his gaze drop from mine. Sure, it was only a look, and yet, somehow, his stare felt like a welcome pair of hands propping me up. Without them? I would have melted into a puddle of tears.
I clenched my teeth. I took several forced breaths until I found the strength to speak. “Is,” I frowned, “… is it Fagan? But you said we had time. You said he’d be forced underground after we took Farley down.”
Max dropped my gaze. “I should have been right, but it looks as if Fagan has friends – strong friends. And to answer your first question,” he looked right at me, “yeah, it’s likely him.”
I felt like someone had locked a hand on my chest and was trying to push me through the center of the Earth. “What… what happens now?”
Investigating the last murder had almost killed me. Literally. It had proved how underequipped I was to face this world.
Again I was aware of the fact that Max was watching me so intently, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the force of his gaze set my hair alight.
I swallowed, then swallowed again before finally crossing my arms so tightly in front of my chest, it was like I was trying to push them through my torso.
“Now,” he answered, “we wait.”
I frowned. “Wait for what?” There was a nervous quality to my tone. My voice shook, and there was precious little I could do to control it.
“We wait for the police to request our assistance.”
I blinked, rapidly. So rapidly it was a wonder steam didn’t issue out of my eyeballs. “We have to wait for the police to request our assistance? Can’t we just… I don’t know, investigate this on our own?”
Slowly, he arched an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have picked you for someone to be gung-ho, especially around responsibility,” he added in a darker tone.
It would have been seriously easy to catch hold of that bait. But I was done letting Max fish for my reactions. Instead, keeping my arms crossed so tightly I was mirroring his own body language, I shrugged. “I guess that’s because you don’t know me very well, do you, Max?”
As comebacks went, it wasn’t brilliant, but at least it got the desired reaction. He considered my point with a shrug. “Maybe. Or maybe I know you better than you know yourself,” he answered quietly in that particular tone he always used when he pointed out that he was miles ahead when it came to this magical world, while I knew precious little.
At the same time, I swear his shadow became just a little larger, just a little more real.
I surprised myself by not reacting to his words. Heck, it was a surprise I wasn’t reacting more to the news of people’s hearts being stolen. Well, I was reacting, on the inside. I was just using all my training as a fake fortuneteller not to allow that reaction to be seen. Plus, I was finally drawing on my natural anger and tenacity. My mother would be proud. No, I had not completely come to terms with this magical world, and god knows I would never come to terms with asshole murderers stealing people’s hearts. I was, however, measuring my fear for now.
“So that’s it, ha? We just wait around until Detective Coulson comes knocking on the door asking for my help?”
Again Max narrowed his eyes, and again it was perfectly clear that he was trying to gauge my reaction. I made it as hard as I possibly could for him as I kept my expression deadly even.
“Who said we’d be waiting?” he answered after a pause.
I fought against the strong urge to lash out and smack Max for being a sanctimonious little prick. He seemed to delight in giving me information in a piecemeal fashion so I never truly knew where I stood.
Again, somehow, I managed to control my reaction. “What exactly do you have planned, fairy?”
“Though we cannot investigate this matter directly, there is nothing stopping us from taking a closer look at the underworld,” he answered. As he did, he tilted his head low. Max had this insane ability to look like a wolf when he wanted. No, that didn’t mean that he suddenly grew furry ears and some fiendishly sharp teeth. It was the way he could get this predatory spark in his eyes. This specific glint that told you you were very much not in control and you were playing into his hands. Maybe it was the kind of look that told me I shouldn’t trust this Scottish fairy, and that I should rather run a mile. Problem was, I couldn’t trust that suspicion. Even after my grandmother’s half warning, a part of me… trusted Max. Almost trusted him completely. No, I wasn’t about to give the guy a blank check to do whatever he pleased – it was super clear he still had a bucketload of secrets, and I could bet some of them were terrifying indeed. It was just that… my heart seemed connected to him. And no matter what crossed between us, it promised me that in the end, it would all be worthwhile.
I wasn’t usually a sappy girl. I liked to think I was completely in control of my emotional reactions. The only way my heart would ever melt was if I heated it up and literally burnt through the muscle.
