Page 55 of Elven Shadow

“Sounded like you meant a whole lot. Maybe even all of it. I find that…concerning.”

Rebecca scoffed. “Jesus, Max, I’m not actually gonnadoit. Relax.”

When his eyes flickered with another barely hidden flash of silver and his scowl deepened—and was that a bit of a flare in his nostrils?—she realized exactly what she’d done.

The shifter really did hate having his name shortened, didn’t he? Nicknames of any kind, probably. Well then, she’d just have to use it every chance she got, and maybe he’d get so sick of it that he finally left her alone.

It was the only viable weapon in her arsenal she could use against him for the foreseeable future. Anything else would only expose her far too much.

With another glance behind him at Leonard and Diego, Rebecca cleared her throat. “All right, you’ve cleared your conscience. I promise I won’t murder your favorite boss. Have a good one.”

She tried to step around him, but Maxwell cut her off again and didn’t look like he was giving up anytime soon.

Great.

Rebecca rolled her eyes, fighting back the burning urge to throw the shifter into the closest bookshelf just to get him off her back, and snapped, “Was there something else?”

“There’s a lot,” Maxwell growled. “Most of it boils down to the fact that I don’t trust you.”

“Yeah, you made that perfectly clear in front of everyone, like, five minutes ago. Thanks.” She moved to step around him in the opposite direction this time, centering her gaze on Leonard and Diego. “I’ll start taking notes—”

“I’m not finished.” He blocked her path with a deliberate step closer, crowding her space. His eyes bored into hers, silver light flaring with restrained intensity. His snort brushed across her skin with a warmth that almost made her shudder.

She wanted him to hate him for that.

Rebecca almost growled back at him as she darted another quick look at the mage and the Cruorcian she just couldn’t reach. Leonard and Diego looked like they were wrapping up the conversation, and she was running out of time to get their attention.

“You might have everyone else in this organization eating from your hand,” Maxwell continued, hovering in her face like a brewing storm cloud, “but I don’t believe a single word spilling out of your mouth. You’re too slippery.”

Apparently not, because she couldn’t even slip pasthimto get to Leonard.

“Listen,” she said hastily, “now’sreallynot the time for a character assessment, okay? You like reports, though, yeah? Why don’t you write one up for me and send it to my boss?”

“I’m watching you.” Maxwell stepped even closer, which hadn’t seemed possible until he did it. Now, the corner of his upper lip twitched in disdain as he studied her face. “You might’ve slid by with a slap on the wrist after our last mission…"

She snorted. “You’re really stuck on that one, aren’t you?”

“…but they should never have let you stay in this room today.”

That made her stop.

They? As in a decision-making body of leadership thatdidn’tinclude Shade’s Head of Security? Or as in this group of rebels planning their coup, which also didn’t include Maxwell Hannigan?

What an odd way to make that distinction.

With her curiosity particularly piqued, Rebecca stopped trying to fight her way toward Leonard and Diego. Instead, she took a step back to gaze right up into the shifter’s silver eyes, looking for the possible chinks in his armor that were a lot more likely to reveal themselves with a conversation like this.

She folded her arms and plastered a tight smile across her lips. “You think I’m some kinda spy? That I’m gonna ruin thisrebellioneveryone’s so excited about? Wait ‘til the last second and blow the whole thing wide open?”

“I think you haven’t said a word of truth since you showed up here. I think the others trust you way too much.”

“Probably,” Rebecca quipped with a quick nod. “What aboutyou, though? Huh, Max?”

There was that mostly subtle flash of reaction in his silver eyes again, plus the little pucker of distaste across his lips as the shifter snorted down at her again. He definitely hated the nickname.

And now he tried to intimidate her even more by stepping forward, trying to corral her away from Leonard and Diego or maybe even out of the library altogether. But the only effect it had was to send a warm burst of energy and his body heat swirling toward her, and…

What was thatsmell? Was he wearing something with sandalwood?

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