He relaxed, and just like the rampaging warlock, he allowed his magic to dissipate. Josh brought a hand up and wiped it over his mouth as if his lips were sweaty. He flicked his gaze over to me, and if there was a flicker of compassion in his eyes, I sure as heck didn’t see it – because immediately Josh shifted his full awareness over to Max.
Max still had a hand on the rampaging warlock’s shoulder. He wasn’t using a deathly grip or anything. This wasn’t some Vulcan nerve pinch. All it was was a hand rested on the guy’s arm.
Though Max had an appreciable build – and he was more than strong enough to have shoved me out of the way twice now – the crim was much larger. He was from the same kind of brawny stock you associate with thick-necked goons and Rambo-like soldiers.
Josh took a breath and went to push his hands into his pockets but stopped. He drummed his fingers on his thigh instead. “Thank you,” he said.
Max ticked his gaze from Josh to the crim then down to me. His gaze lingered on me. It wasn’t for long – just a second – but it was long enough that….
I swore I felt it again. This rope connecting me with Max. Before I could explore that thought, Max took his hand off the crim’s shoulder. He took a step back. “There’s no need to thank me; I was simply doing what any concerned citizen would.”
What the hell was going on here?
There was enough emotional subtext to make this into a daytime TV soap opera. And hell, that was quite appropriate, because it would make me the stupid-assed damsel who always flitted from situation to situation without ever having a clue.
But fuck that – sorry, stuff that. I wasn’t going to let Josh and his idiotic troubles ruin my morals.
I finally pushed up, patting my pants. My leg hurt, and I winced a little as I pressed it.
This appeared to get Max’s attention. “Are you alright, ma’am?”
… Was there something off about his tone?
I’d heard Max speak plenty of times on TV, and he was always as smooth as melted butter. But there was something unsure about his voice now, wasn’t there? The look in his eyes—
Josh cleared his throat and took a step forward. “I can take it from here,” he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out a fancy set of handcuffs.
They were magical. I’d seen enough cop dramas to know that these were not the kind of handcuffs you could simply saw through. They were meant to stop a warlock from producing magic.
I expected the crim to buck, turn around, and run for his life. He looked like the kind. There was a seriously desperate look in his eyes, too.
But then I realized the desperate look in his eyes wasn’t directed at the handcuffs – it was directed entirely at Max.
Max pushed a hand into the pockets of his vest, the tails of his suit jacket somehow sitting neatly behind him and not scrunching, almost as if the fabric was scared to rumple. “He’ll be no trouble,” Max said confidently.
“Do you know him?” I asked.
I’d done nothing and said nothing until now, but the question was out of my lips before I could stop it.
Max turned all his attention to me again. He smiled. “Do I know you?” he asked, a searching quality to his tone.
“She’s no one,” Josh spluttered.
“I’m his new partner,” I answered at the same time.
Josh shot me a death glare, but it was one that didn’t last as Max arched an eyebrow at him pointedly. “You have a new partner, Mr. McIntosh? That’s unusual. You wouldn’t have been given a new contract without careful consideration; you can only contract a select few witches as the principal bounty hunter of Madison City. Which makes…” he trailed off. Then he smiled.
And that smile… God, it seemed to remind me of something.
Yeah, I get it – I knew this guy. From the TV. From magazines. From the news. I didn’t know him in-person. And yet…. “I’m a finder,” I announced out of nowhere, surprising myself just as much as I surprised Josh.
Josh looked as if he either wanted to kill me, or wanted to bundle me up in a sack and never let me out again.
The rampaging warlock scrunched his nose up. “What the hell is a finder?”
“A very rare breed of witch,” Max said smoothly as he brought his hands out of his pockets, clasped them behind his back, and looked at Josh.
Something passed between the men’s gazes. Whatever it was, it had a fair amount of energy behind it. I swore I could practically feel the air crackling with it.
I cleared my throat. I tried to make it strong – it was as meek as hell. What exactly had I just done? Josh had all but directly warned me that Max was a criminal, and I’d just gone and announced my powers to him. Sure, sooner rather than later, news that I was working for Josh would spread, but that didn’t mean I had to go and announce it right in the guy’s ear.
“Rare? She doesn’t look special to me.”
“All right, time to lock you down,” Josh snapped as he brought his handcuffs around, grabbed the guy roughly, and locked his hands in a smooth, practiced move.
As soon as the handcuffs were in place, there was an echoing click, and the last faint green tinge of magic disappeared from the warlock’s body. His shoulders drooped, and his head dropped. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted to start swearing, but I could also tell from that very same look that he wouldn’t dare do it in front of Max.
Who the hell was Max that he could come in, weigh a hand on a rampaging criminal’s shoulder, and stop the guy just as effectively as a tank stopping a rabbit?
Josh kept his eyes on Max as he started to fumble with something on the handcuffs. No, that wasn’t quite right – Josh didn’t keep his eyes on Max. Josh kept his eyes on where Max was looking. Every time Max’s eyes darted too close to me, I swore I saw the tension rising up Josh’s throat like a hangman preparing a noose.
Once Josh was finished, he took a step back, brought two fingers up, and made a specific motion in the air.
A magical circle appeared at the warlock’s feet. It was bright and packed with glowing symbols that shifted chaotically over the polished concrete floor.
Josh took a step away from the guy, made one final swiping motion with his fingers, and then… the criminal sank through the floor.
I’ve seen a lot of cop shows – and I knew what was going on here, but again, this was the first time I’d seen it in real life.
I managed to stifle a gasp as a tingle ran through my body at the sight of so much magic.
The guy sank right through the floor until he disappeared completely. The glowing circle remained for several seconds, then disappeared with a crackle.
Then… it was just the three of us. Or should I say just the two of us? Because I wasn’t a real, live, functioning human being for the purposes of this conversation. I was just something that was being looked at warily.
I don’t think I’d ever felt more uncomfortable in my life. I brought up a hand, latched it on my neck, and started to scratch my skin. But when that didn’t distract me sufficiently, I twiddled my thumbs, quickly realized that was idiotic, and started patting my hands on my legs instead.
It took a while for Josh and Max to break their edgy silence.
Max was the first one. He shifted on his foot and reached a hand out to me.
I was so surprised, I took a jerked step back and promptly slipped in a puddle of alcohol and glass. I jolted backward, but before I could nut my head on the wine-covered floor, Max shifted in. In the lightest, quickest move I’d ever experienced, he grabbed my elbow, pulled me up, twisted me to the side until I was standing close by him, then let go.
His hand technically didn’t linger, but his touch?
I think I went as bright pink as a rose.
Josh obviously saw it, because his death stare grew all the harder. “Beth, could you please just remain standing? Is that too much to ask?”
“Be fair, Mr. McIntosh – she simply slipped.”
I fully expec
ted Josh to snap back at Max and continue the argument – just like he would with me – but he didn’t. He remained perfectly still and quiet for several seconds. “Thanks again for your help there. Now, we really need to be leaving.” Josh pushed toward me and hooked an arm through mine.
Max? He reached over and clamped a hand on Josh’s shoulder.
We were like a triangle – or at least a line of people holding onto each other. Except for me, of course – I was holding onto diddly squat, and I sure would like to be let go. But judging by the exact way Josh’s fingers tightened around my elbow at Max’s grip, Josh wouldn’t be letting me go until Hell froze over.
Josh didn’t breathe. I felt the tension well in his chest, and I certainly saw it blazing in his eyes. “Can I help you, Maximus?”
“I simply want to be properly introduced. As the only official government-sponsored bounty hunter in this town, you offer an invaluable service to the witch contract holders in Madison City. And now,” Max let his gaze slip toward me, “you have an assistant. It’s only proper that you introduce us.”
Excuse me, assistant? That sounded like I answered Josh’s phones and cleaned the take away off his desk. I didn’t point that out, though. I was finally starting to appreciate that the only way to get out of this increasingly awkward situation was to shut the hell up.
A fact I’m sure Josh appreciated.
“Her name’s Beth Samson. Started working for me today. That’s it, really.”
I didn’t honestly expect Josh to answer. Or at least I expected him to lie. He told the plain truth, unembellished with insults.
Max pulled his hand off Josh’s shoulder, pivoted, grabbed my palm, and shook my hand. In doing so, he pulled me easily out of Josh’s grip.
Suffice to say, Max did all the shaking.
As he did so, I got pulled further down that path. Whatever strange strings that connected me to this man grew stronger and stronger.
Josh looked like he wanted to march over, grab my hand, and pull me away. He appeared to hold onto himself, though – at the cost of his face stiffening like concrete.
“You mentioned you were a finder,” Max said as he eventually let my hand fall. His fingers slipped past mine, his short nails tickling along my palm.
The sensation sent deep tingles racing into my belly, and they were more than a little pleasant.
Was I still blushing? Of course I was still blushing.
“Um, yes, I’m a finder,” I said after an extremely awkward pause where I had to remind myself what he’d just said.
He nodded. “Rare,” he said, really emphasizing that word with wide movements of his lips.
My stomach tightened as it reminded me in a timely manner of the fact Maximus Knights was a criminal. Or if not an outright criminal somebody who’d spent a lifetime living just on the line between what was good and bad.
“Now that introduction is over, we really have to go. Beth here is going to have to learn the ropes sooner rather than later,” Josh said through the stiffest jaw possible. Hell, it sounded like it had locked up and I’d have to take him to the hospital.
Max turned to face Josh. “When will you begin hiring her out? I take it you could use the money.”
Excuse me? That comment felt like a slap in the face. Hire me out? I sounded like I was a car Maximus wanted to borrow.
Josh stiffened. For the very first time, he actually looked angry, and he allowed that anger to linger long enough that Max would be able to see it. “She can’t be subcontracted,” he said with a firm voice that no one would be able to question. “You should know that, Max.”
“My mistake – it’s been a while since we had another finder in the city. But those are the rules, aren’t they?” You would be an idiot not to pick up the subtext of this conversation. Without saying it, Max was asking Josh to break the law.
So this was what Josh had been talking about.
I promptly pushed away the lingering sensation of Max’s touch on my hand. Hell, I even brought my hands behind my back and patted them on my coat to wipe that feeling away on the premise of straightening the fabric.
“Yep, that’s the law. Plus, she’s under a protection order,” Josh added, his grumble reaching deep into his belly and echoing through the room.
Max nodded.
He turned back to me.
Before he could say anything else, Josh walked in, grabbed me by the arm, and led me away. “Thanks again for your help, Mr. Knights. It was greatly appreciated. Now you have a good day, you hear?” Josh walked away.
Though I could easily break his grip, I didn’t.
I did, however, turn over my shoulder and catch one last glimpse of Max. And Max? He smiled.
Chapter 6
By the time Josh got me to his car, he was steaming. This time he didn’t wait for me to clamber up into his enormous vehicle. He grabbed my door open, yanked it to the side until the hinges protested with an almighty creak, and actually shoved me up into the passenger seat, bundling me like I was a mere piece of luggage and not an actual person.
“Hey, do you mind! Get your hands off me.”
“Just shut up, turn around, put your seatbelt on, and never, ever do that again.”
I caught a glimpse of his face as he stalked around the side of the car. He reached the driver’s side, yanked the door open with just the same unnecessary force, and jumped in. He slammed the door, the sound echoing through the car and probably punching down the street like an explosion.
He turned the ignition on and pulled out from the curb before he put his seatbelt on. Something I would’ve pointed out was it not for the fact that Josh looked as if he wanted to stab me.
He didn’t stab me, and he didn’t say a word until we were several blocks away. Then, only keeping half an eye on the traffic, he turned toward me, and I had never seen him look angrier. Even though I’d only technically met Josh this morning, I’d already seen the full gamut of his dangerous looks.
Until now.
I actually swallowed. “I don’t get it – what did I do?”
“You shouldn’t have introduced yourself,” he snapped.
“… That’s it? I shouldn’t have introduced myself? The way you’re acting, you would think I punched the guy. And why shouldn’t I have introduced myself? I imagine it’s no secret I’m working for you – or at least, it won’t be soon. So what’s the difference with Max Knights?”
“Firstly,” Josh brought a hand off the wheel so fast I was sure he was going to yank it from the steering stack, “it’s Maximus Knights. Use his full name. Never shorten it. He hates that,” Josh said with the kind of ardent vehemence that told me he knew this for a fact.
My brows crumpled in. Though I’d previously told myself I wasn’t good with confrontation – and Josh was being more than confrontational – for some reason, I didn’t actually feel under any threat. My heart wasn’t pounding, and my breathing wasn’t ragged. I was more than calm enough to pick up that something strange was going on here. “Hold on, you know Max Knights, don’t you? I mean, as more than a casual acquaintance—”
“It’s Maximus Knights,” he spat, allowing the word Maximus to draw out as if it was a sword he was unsheathing.
“… Okay. I get it. He doesn’t like nicknames. Whatever. Answer the question.”
Josh returned his hands to the steering wheel, but with the deathly, white-knuckled grip he was using to hold it, it seemed as if he wanted to snap the damn thing in two. “You don’t get to control the conversation. This is me rebuking you. And if you want to—”
“If you threaten me with noncompliance once more, so help me. I am not being noncompliant. I brushed up on the rules on my phone,” I said as I slapped my pocket with a whack, “and they’re pretty clear. Noncompliance is essentially running away or acting in a dangerous manner that can—”
“Threaten bystanders, the general public, or your contracted employer,” Josh finished the sentence. His teeth were so clenched, I swear that each wo
rd was like a bullet blasting from them. “Which is precisely my point.”
“I didn’t threaten—” I began. I stopped abruptly. I brought up a hand and pulled my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ears as curiosity sparked in my gut. “Are you in some kind of trouble with Maximus?”
Josh reacted weirdly. He twitched, then almost immediately, he let out a short, sharp chuckle. “I’m in no trouble with Max.”
“You just called him Max,” I announced as I pointed at Josh, reacting exactly like a school prefect who’d just heard another kid swearing.
Josh looked at me, rolled his eyes, and ground his teeth. “Not to his face. And before you point it out – while I get to call him Max when he’s not around, you don’t. You’re too stupid. If I let you call him anything other than Maximus, you’ll slip up invariably when you meet him next – not that that’s gonna happen – and you’ll get me into even more trouble.”
So many things had just been said that I shook my head. “What is all of this about? Isn’t he essentially one of the kingpins of the city? I get it, he doesn’t have that many contracted employees, but won’t we have to work for him—”
“You will never have to work for Max,” Josh said with some passion. Heck, it was the most passion I’d ever seen him show, and just for a second, it gave me a glimpse of a completely different man.
That completely different man didn’t last. He started swearing like a sailor. “I can’t believe you did that. Max would’ve learned in time, but now he’s seen you—”
My stomach kicked. I tightened my hand on my seatbelt. “What are you talking about? Is he some kind of threat? Am I in trouble?”
Josh turned to look at me, and he snorted. For a second, I swore I could see through his eyes into his twisted little mind as he tried to make a decision – either to comfort me, or to use my fear against me. Though I wanted to believe that though Josh was rough, maybe on the inside he was a good man, obviously he didn’t give a hoot about my anxiety. He shrugged. Actually shrugged. At the question of whether Max was a threat, Josh gave me about as much reassurance as a, “meh, maybe. I don’t really care.”
Forgotten Destiny Book One Page 5