Page 42 of Hex and the City
I blinked, pursing my lips, a tiny whirlwind of guilt spinning inside my chest. Who was I to probe about his finances, anyway? In any other situation, I’d consider what I was doing a little touchy, too. But the questions lingered. Even the most irresponsible of relic finders would know about the value of sensible spending.
As good as Max looked in his leather jacket, I could still tell it was old and beat-up. Vintage was the polite way to describe it. For all of the things he could say and do to frustrate me, I knew the guy had a good, solid head on his shoulders. Mr. Preparedness would know all about pinching pennies, wouldn’t he?
Something just wasn’t adding up. But Max was right. We really were having a nice time, and there was no sense ruining it just because I had so many questions about where he liked to spend his money.
“Look, sorry I said anything.” I waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just me being weird about money.”
He chewed on his fries thoughtfully, wiped at his mouth with a paper napkin. “It’s okay. Like I said, this was my treat.”
“And I appreciate that. Really, I do. I think things were just very different for me growing up. It was always about making sure we had enough, you know? Me and my mom, I mean. Back in the Philippines, moving here to the States? It was always just us.”
“Was.” Max watched me so closely I thought I would burst into flames. “You said ‘was.’”
I gave him a small smile. “Yeah, she passed away not too long ago. Freak accident. Wow, I wasn’t planning on being such a downer. Why am I telling you all this now?”
Burger paper rustled. Max was about to take another bite, but now it looked like he was more curious than hungry.
“Man. I’m sorry. And it’s okay. I’m listening. I want to know. And is that how you ended up in Dos Lunas?”
“Yeah. We didn’t know anyone up here, so I didn’t really have anyone to turn to after she died. Pretty much work my way through towns, trying to save what I can. Always gotta keep moving.”
“And why is that? You worried about the authorities? There’s an accord. You know that, right? The Masques, they don’t really give a shit about us finders until we find something that could really wreak havoc. Or until we find a dead body.”
“Yeah, I know. Sometimes I worry about that, still. Then again, it’s mostly something else that goes wrong, and I have to skip town, anyway. Landlord sours on me, or I stop getting finder jobs, maybe because someone talked shit to a local spider.” I stared at my burger, no longer so hungry. “It’s always something, man.”
Max chewed, swallowed, licked his lips. “Doesn’t have to be. Not to oversimplify things, but it sounds to me like you just need a little extra help settling down. For as long as you don’t get entangled with the great fucking families.”
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Max, not this shit again.”
“The Lyons, the Nurs, the Hemlocks, the Brillantes — all trouble. Sure, they’re all sparkling clean on the outside, all the charity work, the community projects. But it’s just a cover, got it? All sinister, criminal bullshit under the surface, as far as I’m concerned.”
“You’re so weird. It’s like you’re obsessed. But point taken. It’s not like I mix in those circles, or haven’t you noticed? No chance in hell I’ll ever meet any of them. And you never know. I might have moved on again before then.” I made a pointed shape with my hand, grinned as I cut it through imaginary seawater. “I’m like a shark. I’ll die if I slow down.”
“Lots of teeth, wants to eat everything in sight? Yeah, that checks out.”
I shoved him in the shoulder and chuckled. “Quit it. Jerk.”
Max blinked at me, staring thoughtfully, holding my gaze for so long I almost looked away in embarrassment. “If you had a choice, would you want to keep moving?”
I looked at the gloom outside Max’s car, the asphalt, the empty parking lot. With his headlights off, out here, far out of reach of the streetlamps, I couldn’t see where the road led, or where it ended. An ocean of darkness. Tiamat had tempted me by preying on that very same need.
Would I keep moving, knowing I didn’t have to? Would I ever stop running?
What was I even running from?
Surprising myself, I shook my head. “No. It’d be nice to stop. It’d be nice to send down roots, for a change. It’d be nice to finally think of somewhere as home again.”
Max stared at me in silence, then nodded. “This could be your home.”
I chuckled. “Your car? I mean, it’s pretty comfy back there. And I wouldn’t complain if it meant getting free blowjobs every night, too.”
He scowled. Somehow, those scowls didn’t seem so scary anymore. “Eat my ass, Alcantara.”
“You keep sweet-talking me and I just might.”
“Just — just shut up and finish your burger already. It’s getting cold, and we don’t have all night.”
I caught the glimmer of curiosity in his face, a little twinkle that suggested he very much fancied the idea, if only for a split-second.
