Page 31 of Obliterated
“Still the same animal,” Joyeus purrs when they’re gone, her eyes narrowing on Max. “All violence. No discipline.”
“Better an animal than a council whore sucking this city dry.”
Tass mutters: “Oh fuck, not again,” as a ripple of gasps cuts through the bar again.
Joyeus tilts her head, unruffled, her smile sharpening. “Careful now, little wolf. Bite the wrong hand and you’ll find yourself neutered.”
Max jerks his chin toward the door. “Those bastards you just coddled? They’re the ones who ought to be neutered. To keep your staff safe. Thisisland.”
Her eyes narrow. “They’re here on my invite. You better leave them alone.”
Off to the side, Sami mutters low, “Funny. Never saw them at the registration office.”
“Because they’re my guests.”
“Then how the hell do they have tags?” Tass shoots back, brows lifted.
My pulse kicks at my throat. I want to know too. But Joyeus glances my way, eyes glittering, and for a heartbeat I swear she knows when she lowers her voice only for us to hear. “I know someone’s been sniffing around where they shouldn’t. And whoever it is would do well to stop, before I stop them myself.”
Max slides his swords back into place with a threateningclink.“Careful now, Joyeus,” he echoes her earlier remark. “All that perfume can’t cover the stink of corruption forever.”
Her eyes narrow. “Don’t you forget who you’re talking to. And you,” her gaze cuts to me again, “get back to fucking work.”
Max just turns his back on her like she’s nothing, like she isn’t even worth sharing the same air as him. And that dismissal cuts deeper than any insult would
Then those dark eyes find me. They rake over me, slow, deliberate. From the curls plastered damp against my forehead, down to where I’m putting my dagger back in its sheet, to the flip-flops on my feet he hates so much. Protective, searching, like he also needs proof I’m in one piece.
His gaze is hungry too, like he can’t stop himself from taking me in.
Like he doesn’twantto.
I know I should listen and get back to my bar, but I can’t find it in myself to move as everything else but Max blurs into static.
He takes a step closer, heat rolling off him, fingertips brushing my cheek, leaving tingles in its wake, sliding slow, steady, grounding.
“You okay?”
I uncoil under his touch, unravel in ways I don’t want to admit, but still manage a frown. “Where the fuck were you?” I hate how it comes out. Too needy, too sharp at the edges.
Something flashes in his gaze. Guilt, anger, or maybe just exhaustion. I can’t tell. “Watcher business,” he mutters. “Some unsanctioned bullshit went on up North. They’re getting thrown in the Pit. Took so long because we had to catch Walkers to throw in with them. Messy as fuck, trying to corral those things alive.”
When his hand slides lower, I circle his wrist and follow his movement. His palm spans my throat easily, those strongfingers splayed wide, thumb pressing over the frantic thrum of my pulse. He doesn’t squeeze… just traces it, slow, like he’s testing proof that I’m still here.
Like he’s testingme.
And I don’t give a shit that the entire bar is watching. Let them. The only thing that matters is that he’s here, in one piece.
Something in me settles, like a knot pulled loose, letting my shoulders unwind.
“As heartbreakingly touching as this little reunion is,” a new voice cuts in from behind me, cool and sharp, “I think you and I have a problem, Max.”
Max exhales hard. He tilts his head back, eyes rolling like the ceiling just insulted him, then cuts her a sideways smirk as he turns. “What’s it this time, Noura? Someone stole that hideous curtain you call a cloak? Pissed on your lawn? Which, by the way, would be an upgrade.”
I press my lips together to hold the laugh in and follow his gaze as I turn. Everyone else lowers theirs. I’m the only one dumb enough to look her in the eye besides Max. The magistrate.
She’s smaller than I expected. Petite, maybe in her early thirties, with amber-toned skin and dark hair pulled back in a severe bun. The red cloak is a slash of color in an otherwise bleak room.
“It’sMagistrate El-Aminto you.”
