Havik by Starr Huntress & Nancey Cummings

Author:Starr Huntress & Nancey Cummings [Huntress, Starr]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Menura Press

Thalia

Thalia looked around the food court, deciding that the crowd was the wrong sort to prove her point. “Busting the smuggler ring is important to you, yeah, and you’ve been chasing leads?”

“Correct.”

“Tell me how you’ve been doing that.”

He shifted, the chair groaning underneath him. “I go to where the smugglers were known to have docked, then find a suitable establishment and listen to gossip.”

“Uh-huh.” If he couldn’t see the problem, she would have to show him. “Take me to a suitable establishment.”

“That would be a waste of time as this is not our destination.”

“Humor me. Pick a place and let’s have a drink. Just one drink.”

He held her gaze, as if trying to figure out what her game was. Eventually, he nodded.

They walked through the station, the crowd parting as he approached, giving them plenty of space.

“I wanted to ask why you bind your tail,” she said.

“I do not like for it to be touched.”

Fair enough.

Havik chose an appropriately seedy bar. His instincts were spot-on there. They ordered drinks at the bar and found a table.

Taking a sip of the bitter ale, Thalia said, “Now you listen?”

He nodded and she waited three excruciatingly long minutes before she corrected all his mistakes.

“I can’t take this anymore.” She leaned forward, keeping her voice low. “If this is your idea of subtle, you suck at being a spy.”

His shoulders squared.

“You walk in here and you’re so obviously Mahdfel that no one is sitting near us. Maybe Ren can get away with that. He’s almost regular person-sized, but there’s no way you’re anything but Mahdfel.”

“I am without a clan. I am not a threat.”

“A guy like you is always a threat. Okay, look around the room. What do you see?”

He twisted in his seat.

“Be subtle,” she hissed. Havik was so bad at being a spy, like super bad.

“Nothing of interest. People drinking. A game of cards,” he reported.

“Rule one, everyone has secrets. Some are obvious and others you have to know what to look for.” She leaned back in her chair, glass of beer in hand, and scanned the room. As Havik had said, there was a card game, people drinking, and not much else going on. “Rule two, the kind of deals we’re interested in don’t happen in the front of the shop. They happen in back rooms and you got to know the right people to get into the back rooms. Which means we need leverage. Everyone’s got secrets, right? Say something to look like we’re having a conversation and you’re not being weird.”

“Me?”

“No, the invisible guy at the table. Yes, you. Try to act like you’re enjoying a beer and maybe flirt a little. Flex your muscles,” she said.

He flexed a bicep and all thoughts emptied from her head.

Oh, wow. Thalia didn’t realize she was all about arms until that moment. Somehow her hand touched his arm. She didn’t put it there.

“I do not know why I entertain these notions of yours,” he grumbled.

She felt her anger toward him soften. He was so earnest but so bad at cunning and deceit that his blunders were endearing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.