“How do we do that?” I asked, buckling my seat belt.
“A broker.”
We pulled back onto the main road to head into town. “Where do we find one of these people?”
He sighed heavily. “They’re spirits. I’ll see about finding one when we get back, but please note, I don’t think going back to the market will help us.”
“Noted, but cut the attitude. I’m sorry my tutors in the magical ways have been lacking and that I don’t know that I need to find a ghost to get to some fantasy magical marketplace I’d never heard of before two days ago.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “My apologies. I’m just on edge.”
A wave of heat and sexual need washed through me so hard I squeezed my thighs together and gripped the door for support. “Jesus Fucking Christ. What the hell was that?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He gritted through his teeth and drove faster.
I eyed him, watching for any other signs of this sexual onslaught, but he gave me nothing but the tight edge of his jaw as he stared out the windshield.
We made it back to the safehouse in record time and I let him lead the way up the elevator into the apartment. The moment he unlocked the door, he reached underneath the back of his jacket to slide out the wicked sword he’d been working with this morning.
I gripped the handles of my knives tucked against my thighs and followed him into the apartment.
Helix lounged on our couch, drinking our booze in a twenty-thousand-dollar suit.
I released my knives and cut in front of Fin who looked ready to gut him. “Do you bother abiding by locks or are they just a suggestion to you?”
He waved his drink toward me in acknowledgment. “Eh, sometimes it’s fun when I get a challenge. And your wards were definitely a challenge.”
Fin stepped up beside me, the sword now gone. “And yet, you still managed to break them, how?”
Helix scanned Fin, head to toe. “It’s not you, princeling. It’s part of my gift. I can unlock anything given enough time.”
Fin went rigid beside me. I reached out and grabbed his hand before he launched himself over the couch toward Helix.
“What can we do for you? I’m pretty sure you made your position clear last night. And I didn’t appreciate the headache I left with.”
He climbed off the couch, crossed to the bar, and refilled his glass then poured two more. Once he handed them out, with a little grin for Fin, we sat down.
I barely had time to wonder why all the boys seemed to clamor after Fin with me sitting right beside him. He had a way of drawing them in.
“Melinda has decided she will help you but under a very strict set of rules,” he said, looking at me.
“Rules you likely laid out, am I right?”
He inclined his head. “Of course. Her safety is my life, and I would never allow her to compromise herself, even if putting herself in danger is what’s right.”
I thought this might be the closest thing to an apology this shiny penny was capable of.
After a swig of the bourbon, I waved at him. “Tell us what you want then. We’ll see if we can make a deal to get this done.”
He split his attention between us. “She agreed to work with you, but she won’t see you again, either of you.”
Fin looked like he might protest but I patted his forearm, hoping he’d catch my hint to shut the hell up.
When he sat back again, I rubbed his thigh in thanks, my eyes still locked on Helix. “What else?”
“You will sign a magical contract with me laying out the needs and parameters of this partnership.”
Fin spoke up. “Containing what? We need to know every detail before we’ll consider signing it.”