Page 47 of Elven Crown

But Rowan would never do something as selfish as make a deal with Harkennr likethat, would he?

Honestly, she didn’t know anymore. The thought of no longer being able to depend on her anonymity here, now that its disappearance seemed not only possible but a likely reality, terrified her.

“Rebecca!”

Maxwell’s shout tore her from her thoughts, and she frowned up at him before remembering they’d been in the middle of a conversation. “Yeah?”

“You good?” Rowan asked, a small measure of concern in his eyes as he leaned toward her, though there was still far moreamusement in his voice. Of course there was. Everything was funny to him. “You went somewhere far away for a second.”

She shook her head and swallowed, then turned toward Rowan to ask him point-blank, “Why would you bring that up?”

“Because you just went blank and stopped responding,” he said. “Really, that’s pretty obvious—”

“No. Before. You asked if this had something to do with the prison. Why would you ask that?”

He barked out a laugh and dismissed her question with the wave of his hand. “Come on, that’s not a big deal. You brought it up when the two of you were whispering together, and honestly, I’m just really curious to know exactlywhichprison we’re talking about here, hmm?”

“Wearen’t talking about anything,” Maxwell snapped and took another encroaching step toward the elf man. “No one addressed you.”

“Well Iamstanding right here…”

“You weren’t assigned to this briefing.”

“Andyouneed to chill the hell out.” With another laugh, Rowan leaned toward Rebecca again and stuck a thumb out toward Maxwell, as if the shifter could no longer hear him. “Hedoesknow this isn’t an officially sanctioned military body, right? If you ask me, it’s really more like a fancy club with human weapons.”

Rebecca glared at him.

“When you’re wanted for a briefing,” Maxwell snarled, “ifthat ever happens, you’ll know. But until then—”

“Really?” Rowan grimaced at the shifter. “You’re seriously callingthata briefing? Wow. Things are really run a lot differently over here, aren’t they?”

He raised an eyebrow at Rebecca, and she almost had a response for him before Maxwell cut in again.

“You’ve clearly had no experience with an acquisition operation of this caliber.” The shifter surged forward again, fists clenched at his sides while silver light flashed violently behind his eyes. “Until you gain the experience necessary to back up the superiority complex you’ve waving around in everyone’s face, I suggest you stay the fuck out of it.”

Great. Now Rowan had gotten her Head of Security to start cursing. This wouldn’t turn out well for anyone.

None of it cowed Rowan, though, which Rebecca had fully expected.

He laughed and spread his arms, still baiting the shifter right there in the hallway while the operatives in the secondary armory had a front-row seat to the show.

The others watched and listened in the background, only pretending to clean their weapons now.

“That’s no way to treat a fellow member of Shade, now, is it?” Rowan asked.

The murderous intent in Maxwell’s glaring stare told Rebecca it was time to step in again.

But Rowan was on a roll, and he didn’t offer her any window for intervening before he just kept going.

“Nah, let’s get this straight between you and me.” The russet-haired elf dared to close in on Maxwell before clapping a hand down onto the shifter’s shoulder like they were best friends. “Hannigan, I’m one of you now. Didn’t you know?”

With his eyes flashing and a constant growl emanating from his throat, Maxwell had obviously reached the end of his self-control. He’d made an impressive effort at maintaining it a bit longer when he slowly turned his head to look Rowan in the eye. “I wasn’t just blowing smoke up your ass, elf. I told you I’d rip your hands off, and I amthiscloseto fulfilling that promise.”

Time seemed to freeze in the hallway as the shifter and the elf man glared at each other—Maxwell’s features darkened by furyand restraint, Rowan’s contorted in amusement as his carefree grin mocked everything Shade’s Head of Security represented.

If something didn’t change in the next two seconds, Rebecca was sure they would end up killing each other before they came to a resolution.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to intervene all by herself.

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