Page 77 of Property of Bones

One by one. His eyes flick across the table, catching each of us in that silent, weighted way he does when he’s gauging how far he can push before someone breaks. He’s not just asking if we’re okay with this. He’s asking if we’re ready to go to war if it backfires.

My jaw tightens when his eyes land on me.

I give the smallest nod.

It’s not approval.

It’s readiness.

With a sigh that sounds like a death knell, Spike tips his chin.

“We accept,” he says, voice like iron.

Across the table, El Muerte smiles. “Excelente.”

Max doesn’t react. Doesn’t blink. Just keeps that blank, dead stare like the man inside him left the room a long time ago.

If he’s acting… he’s damn good at it.

But if he’s not?

Then we just made a deal with the devil while holding hands with a fucking eel who knows all of our secrets. Including the location of the bunker where my woman is currently hiding.

And I don’t like eels.

They’re too slippery to stab.

We make the deal.

Doesn’t mean I like it. Sure as hell doesn’t mean I trust it.

Muerte adjusts his cuffs like this is some kind of boardroom handshake instead of a powder keg dressed in leather and lies. Spike shakes his hand… barely. No smiles. No goodbyes. Just steel.

Max trails behind him. Blank-eyed. Detached.

Until he gets to me.

He pauses.

Then he smirks that same smug, twisted grin I remember too damn well.

“That woman of yours,” he says, voice just loud enough to carry, “she’s real pretty.”

I don’t think. Don’t pause. Don’t care.

I explode.

Tackle him to the ground. My fist slams into his jaw. He gets one under my ribs, and another across my cheek. Doesn’t matter. I keep swinging.

Shouting breaks out around us. Arms grab me, dragging me back.

“Bones! Stand down!”

Max lies there, coughing blood, still laughing. “Touchy.”

Muerte glances back, one brow raised, but Max is already on his feet again, wiping blood from his mouth like this is all part of the game. He falls in line, chuckling like a bastard.

Spike looks ready to kill. “Get them out of here.”

---