Elixir of Strife (Stolen Hearts Book 2) by Nazri Noor

Author:Nazri Noor [Noor, Nazri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

13

LEON

Max massaged his forehead with the tips of his fingers, the perfect sphere of ice in his whiskey making a melancholic clink each time he raised the glass to his lips.

He looked like someone who’d lost a bet, or more accurately, someone who thought he’d lost the last shreds of his dignity. He raked at his hair, mussing it as he pushed it out of his face, tousling the locks and somehow making himself even sexier. Was I hallucinating, or did I just have a weakness for sad, broody boys? Maybe it was both.

“I feel so dirty,” he grumbled. “We’re finders. We’re the guys who go in and steal the artifacts. In and out like shadows, get the job done. No muss, no fuss. What have I become?”

“You didn’t become anything,” I told him, hands cupped around the warm glow of a fresh caramel macchiato. “You’ve always been a decent guy, and you did what any decent guy would do. Those poor people were abducted. This way, the Masques can help them go home.”

A cadre of Masques had popped in — almost literally, in fact, teleporting to our location, a full-on arcane raid. A handful of them cast a mass sleeping spell over the dining room, knocking out the normals and making sure we had no mundane witnesses.

Some careful psychic manipulation helped them convince Divina’s captives that they had, in fact, made the terrible choice to come work for her. Divinity was shut down on the spot. There was, however, no sign of Divina Brillante. She’d somehow made herself scarce in the process.

But still, we helped all those people, freed them from her tyranny. Looking at Max, you’d think we’d left them for dead instead. He rubbed at his hair again, his face almost gaunt, his eyes haunted. In his leather jacket, his hair messed just so, I imagined him sitting on a concrete sidewalk, broken and beautiful and despondent in the evening rain.

Wow, I really had problems.

And sure, kind of weird that he didn’t bother to tell me about this possible deal with Divina and the olive — kind of important for a work partnership, especially in a business as potentially dangerous as finding. What else could he be hiding? But hey. I didn’t tell him about the dragons either. We were even. Probably. Hopefully.

“Seriously. It’s okay.” I felt for the back of his hand, traced the length of his fingers, the strong peaks of his knuckles, and squeezed once. “I still think you’re a bad boy, Max.”

“That’s not what this is about.” He pressed his lips together tightly, rubbing his shoulder as he glanced up at me through his dark lashes, so raw you’d think he’d just been roughed up in a bare-knuckle fight. “But — you really think so?”

I grinned, giving in. “I know so. You’re a good bad boy. The best bad boy. Leather jacket and all.”

Beside us, sitting at the same table, Tina stuck her tongue out and retched. “The two of you are disgusting.”

Max shook his head.

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