Page 88 of Elven Lies

She gave him a minute to collect himself before he looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“And the target?” he asked, clearly trying so hard not to give himself away.

It was actually kind of cute…

The mission. She had to focus on themission.

“Kordus Harkennr,” she said. “And the Old Joliet Prison. I want everything he’s currently up to, including his connectionswith outside locations. We prioritize how and from where he’s sourcing all his…victims, for lack of a better way to put it. Once we have enough intel on his current infrastructure, I want this task force outfitted with everything we could ever possibly need to infiltrate his base and dismantle what he’s doing in there from the inside out.”

“Yes,” he said, his voice dropping into its usual growl, though this time it sounded more like dark amusement. “Then I’d say this should definitely cover the costs.”

It was either the sound of his voice or some other sensation rippling away from him and through her, but whatever the reason, something about the way he’d said it made her shiver with a mix of anticipation and dark satisfaction.

Now it was Rebecca’s turn to swallow and pull herself back together, just to finish the conversation. “It won’t be enough to stop him forever. Something tells me that’s much easier said than done. At the very least, even if we intercept every shipment of experiment subjects and keep him from getting his hands on more, there’s still the issue of all the magicalsinsidethe prison we also have to consider.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“You know it just as well as I do. I don’t care who they are or what they’ve done. None of them deserve to be left there when we move against Harkennr.” She nodded toward the briefcase. “And if this isn’t enough to cover everything we need once Recon comes back with a more detailed report of what we’re up against, let me know. There’s a lot more that came from.”

Maxwell dipped his head, wrapped his fingers around the handle of the briefcase, and paused before meeting her gaze again with a knowing look. “And then we take Harkennr down?”

“Yes. Not an all-out war, though. Not at first. That’s too big of a risk for us, but if we can weaken him bit by bit, find his pressure points and bear down even just a little, draw his people out inthe open and get rid of them while cutting off his supply, that actually might give us the kind of advantage we need.”

“Understood.” His eyes pulsed with silver light as he slid the briefcase the rest of the way across the desk, then lifted it to take with him, all while holding her gaze, “I’ll take care of it.”

Rebecca nodded at him and couldn’t keep the tiniest ghost of a smile off her lips. “I know you will.”

With a dip of his head, he turned away from her, the silver briefcase of cash in tow, and headed toward the door.

An unexpected pain shot through her center—a tug forward, pulling her after him, compelling her to stop the distance between them from growing any larger.

That same pain she remembered feeling so distinctly while lying in one of Zida’s recovery beds as Maxwell was forced to let go of her hand and leave her in the healer’s care.

The pain of separating from something she had only just discovered.

She almost gasped at the shock of it but forced it down at the last second, because when Maxwell reached the door, he paused and turned back toward her.

The deep concern and tender hesitation etched across his features made her heart sputter.

Had she missed something? Forgotten a crucial aspect? Said the wrong thing?

The questions flooding her mind disappeared just as quickly when the sudden realization of what this was finally hit her.

Maxwell wasfeelingwhat she was feeling—her own concerns, the burdens of what had to be done for Shade, for Harkennr’s victims, overlooked by literally everyone else.

What had to be done with Rowan.

“Whatever else might be on your mind,” he said, “I’m here to listen, or to provide an opinion, if that’s what you want. Eitherway, whatever it is, I want you to feel you can tell me. My duty is first and foremost to the Roth-Da’al.”

It would have been a perfect invitation if not for that last part. Rebecca forced another tight smile. “Shade and its leader. One and the same, right?”

“Well I… That’s not exactly…” Maxwell sighed heavily through his nose and closed his eyes.

Who knew Shade’s Head of Security could be so flustered by anything, let alone his own words repeated back to him?

He pulled himself together and tried again. “I don’t mean it quite in that way this time. But…anything you might need. I’m here.”

It was surprisingly sweet coming from him, however out of place it felt. Even if she hadn’t felt it through the connection transferring their emotions and intentions between them like a twisted collection of cables and tubes rigged up to one of Harkennr’s disgusting magic-sucking machines, she would have known how deeply he meant those words.

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