"Of course not. At the first sign of any magic, I'm going to club you in the head and wire every one of your limbs to a separate tree. If that doesn't work, I'll shoot you."
"Wow," Javic said in a tone heavy with sarcasm. "Really convincing me of your benevolence here."
"I'm honorable, not stupid. But if you give me your word, I'll believe you until you give me a reason not to. Do I have your word?"
Javic's mouth worked; he hesitated on the words. Finally he said, "I promise I won't try to escape. Provided I have your word thatyouwon't hurt me."
"Provided you don't give me a reason to," Max said. "I promise."
She was aware of Gio having come over from the campsite, a silent presence backing her up. Max was used to working alone, unused to having a partner, so it surprised her howrightit felt.
"Good, now we both have our word that we don't trust the other," Javic said.
"Yup." Max clipped the wire holding up his hands, left one of them free and retied the other one so that it was still wired to the tree but with enough slack that he could rest it in his lap.
Javic groaned in relief, rolled his shoulders and rubbed his wrists before picking up his spoon. He eyed both of them. "You don't have to sit there and watch me eat."
"Oh, we very much do," Gio said.
Max made herself comfortable on the ground with the gun in her lap. She ended up with her thigh resting against Gio's, and decided not to move unless he did. Not only did he not move, but he settled a little closer to her.
Javic only took a few bites before putting the bowl down, but he sipped from the canteen she gave him. Max divided her attention between his hands and his face, just in case there was a double-cross ahead.
"Ready for a chat?" she said. "Let's get some answers about who you are and what you're doing here."
"Starting with?" Javic asked wearily. He leaned his head back against the tree.
"Starting with, whatareyou?"
GIO
Max's nearnessin the soft blue dusk was a thrill for Gio's senses. Her thigh was very warm against his. And now that he had learned how soft her fur was in her shifted form, he longed to run his hands through her night-black hair and find out if it was just as soft.
If only they had been alone.
"I can't imagine how you plan to make me answer your questions," Javic said.
"Really?" Max said. "That suggests a failure of imagination on your part."
Gio cleared his throat. "What about a drink?" he said.
They both looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. Max said, "What?"
"A drink," Gio said. "Where I come from, you'd never discuss business without offering your guests something to eat and a glass of wine. We've already had the food. I don't suppose you have wine in the car?"
Max looked at him, and her eyes glimmered in the lantern light with a sudden playfulness.
"You know, you're right," she said. "We can't discuss this properly without a drink."
She got up and went to the Jeep, opened the cargo door and began rummaging through the disarrayed litter of camp supplies in the back.
"What are you two up to?" Javic asked nervously. He seemed more wary now that they were being friendly than when he was tied up and being threatened.
"Gio's right," Max said. She came back with a bottle and the tin camp cups. "We're shifters, and you're whateveryouare, so we won't get drunk. And it feels friendlier like this."
She smiled at Javic, who looked even more nervous.
Gio was starting to have some doubts about his brilliant idea, especially when Max unscrewed the top from her bottle of—whatever it was.
