Page 84 of Elven Shadow

And where the hell were Leonard and Diego?

When Rebecca had finally had enough, she pushed herself off the couch and decided to go tell him off herself.

He’d been following her for almost an entire day, inserting himself into her personal affairs, watching her like some secret knowledge of his would be the one and only thing that could possibly protect her from what came next.

That thought was almost laughable—that someone like Maxwell could predict what came next.

Or washethe reason for Leonard and Diego’s absence?

She couldn’t fully explain why that sudden thought made her gut twist on itself or why it felt so believable, so possible the moment it occurred to her.

Was that why the shifter had sat in on the rebel meeting in the library? To pinpoint who was leading the rebel charge so he could get rid of them on his own without anyone ever knowing?

The more she ran that possibility through her mind, the more Rebecca started to believe it.

Which meant Maxwell Hannigan was far more dangerous than she’d given him credit for.

It also meant the shifter had to be stopped.

If he could follow her around at all hours and stick his nose into none of his business to make everything harder for her, she could absolutely do the same.

She could press him for information of what he’d done to the mage in the leather trench coat and the Cruorcian in the baseball cap.

And once he told her everything, she would make him regret putting his hands on anyone in this task force.

A violent fury of validation coursed through her, and Rebecca was ready to storm right up to the shifter and stand toe-to-toe with him to figure out what it was he really wanted and just how dangerous he was to Shade.

How dangerous he had always been but no one had ever known until the moment he decided to turn against his own.

No, she had no proof of that yet, but she fully intended to find it.

As soon as she was on her feet, though, all her priorities changed.

A low rumble spread through the floor, tickling her feet through her shoes a split second before a loud pop and explosive bang ripped through the bowels of the compound.

Meal trays clattered on tables. All conversation in the common room ceased. One of the overhead lights let out a warning buzz before the silence returned.

Still staring at her, Maxwell raised an eyebrow and now looked more curious than anything.

If he thought she had anything to do with whatever had exploded down there toward the training gym, he was sorely mistaken.

A series of rattling pops filled the air while the energetic charge within the common room prickled like ozone, and the ground beneath her feet felt like it was about to shift.

Maxwell’s smirk widened, and Rebecca almost set off toward him again before a different possibility occurred to her—one she should have considered much sooner.

Maxwell could have done something to Leonard and Diego, sure, but he also could have been waiting for them now.

This could have been the start of the rebellion’s plans she hadn’t been brought into either before or after she’d refused to get involved.

Whatever was blasting away down the halls of the compound could have been Leonard and Diego themselves.

It could have been this budding rebellion and their planned coup kicking off right here, right now.

Holy shit. And she’d just unwillingly stepped into the middle of itagain?

Another tremor rumbled through the floor, and now other operatives were rising to their feet as well.

Rebecca’s gut clenched with disastrous realization as she and Maxwell glared at each other and time seemed to freeze.

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