Page 13 of Handcuffs and Hexes

“I got a message just before you arrived,” Hazel said. “It was what woke me. Apparently two of the EA agents threw themselves into The Breach.”

“What the fuck?” Seth was as shocked as I was.

“Yeah, you would’ve known if you’d picked up your damned phone,” Mateo said.

“Most of the men we had trouble with yesterday had had magic of some sort,” Hazel continued. “Even the first guy we brought back to the station. They’re all male, and they all use magic.”

“Interesting. We figured out the magic part, but we didn’t realize they were all men,” Eva said. “Maybe I can—”

“No way, Little Thief! You’re not going anywhere near that thing.” Mateo pulled his mate closer. “What if it’s only a coincidence that they’ve all been men so far?”

“True,” Hazel said.

Eva didn’t have a lot of magic on her own, but she was the owner of an extremely powerful artifact. Or did the artifact own her? It was complicated, and I never figured out how it worked. But I knew that the scepter—which was not a scepter but a locket, I told you it was complicated—was useless without her, and she unremarkable without it, but together they were extremely powerful.

“Either way,” Mateo said. “After the thing swallowed the other two wizards, it grew again, and Desmon wants us to sneak in to check it out before the EA sends more people.”

That meant it should be pretty fast because they’d kick us out when they arrived.

“I’m coming,” I said.

But before I did, I pulled Seth in for a peck on the cheek, then whispered into his ear. “You should ask our Babygirl about ourlittle secret.” Then, I gave a surprised-looking Hazel a peck too, before following Mateo and Eva through the portal.

Chapter 7

Seth

Theirlittlesecret?Inarrowed my eyes at Hazel, who hadn’t caught Liam’s softly uttered words. What type of secret could the two of them possibly share?

After they’d left, Hazel had disappeared into the guest bathroom to get ready for the day, and so did I. Since it seemed like I was getting a forced day off, I decided to go for my loungewear today, which was a pair of slim-fitting pants, slightly stretchy of course for comfort, and a billowy silk shirt, worn open at the front.

“What is this? Loungewear for pirates?” Hazel asked from the kitchen counter. She’d already commandeered my espresso machine and my coffee grinder by the time I came down.

“Only if you’re a pirate’s wench.” I waited for her to reply.

She didn’t.

I looked her up and down. She was still dressed in one of my old silk shirts, the one I’d worn so often that it was threadbare and mostly see-through. The curves of her body were outlined against the dark cabinet doors.

Shit. She’d given Mateo an eyeful. The manticore was lucky he’d already left. I’d have punched him if he were here for not averting his gaze.

“What?” Hazel asked defensively.

“Where’s your bra? And your underwear?” I asked, an idea of what this secret could be forming in my head. How much had the two of them done?

She shrugged. “In your washer or dryer? Liam said he washed them. I didn’t have time to look for them yet.” Her look turned sly. “Does my nudity bother you, Mr. Let’s-Give-Hazel-a-Peepshow-by-Making-My-Clothing-Transparent?” She cocked her hip to one side.

I prowled toward her, trapping her smaller form against the counter. She tried to keep her face neutral, but her breath hitched, and her nipples peeked visibly through the sheer fabric.

I placed a hand on the counter on either side of her, trapping her. “Did it bother Liam?”

My words had the opposite effect as intended. She seemed to fold in onto herself like she was trying to disappear. Then she tried to shove me away and escape the circle of my arms. But the worst part of it was how she refused to meet my gaze.

Had Liam done something that hurt her? No. I shoved the silly thought away. The Liam I knew would never, if not because he’d learned to be a decent soul, then because he knew it would make my life infinitely more difficult.

I gripped her chin gently but firmly and tilted her to face me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied before trying to get away again, this time with some force. “And you’re making my headache worse.”

---