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Simone lifted the flap once more and looked inside Her lips parted in surprise, and a s herknife, heedless of the other custo, its keen edge a testaularthings, her finger treht the blackset these?" she asked

"You don’t need to know that All you need to do is e for your help retrieving an object The purse is exactly as you requested--only the owner can see the hidden contents"

"It’s a neat trick"

It was a hell of a lot more than that--it eeks spent bent over his workbench, pouring everything he had into the project "So, do we have a deal?"

"What are the terms?" she asked

"Terms?"

"What a do I have?"

"A few days atwas al sites, and this chance would be lost

"What’s the object?"

"A hammer"

She lifted an inky black brow in question "Why not just go to Sears?"

"It’s a blacksmith’s hammer And it’s special"

She absently stroked the surface of the leather purse "How special?"

"Special enough that I included a set of throwing knivesthose words without any hint of feeling cost Marcus a good chunk of effort

"No hammer is that special"

"It is when it’s in the hands of the Fractogasts"

Her skin paled noticeably, er "You know about them?"

"Unfortunately They’ve stolen loved ones from me As they have from you"

"Don’t pretend like you know me, or that we should bond because of what those monsters did I don’t bond Ever"

"Good to know I’le job"

"No, you’re looking for an idiot If you’d toldinto ’Gast territory, I’d never have co demands on your price"

"Which you exceeded because you knew you were askinga diamond necklace They’ll see me"

"Not in those boots"

She went still and every trace of teasing fe behind a hard-core, pissed-off badass "What do you know about htened around the hilt of the throwing knife Her muscles coiled under black leather as she prepared to strike "How? Who told you?"

If he didn’t appease her soon, he was going to end up with a knife in his throat "No one toldThey didn’t have to I was the one who made them--the one fro It was an ambush

Simone should have known better than to think that any offer this good could be true

She looked around the café, searching for signs of which patrons hton’s backup While several people looked at her, they were all wearing the same expressions of desire, apathy, or jealousy that she was used to seeing Not one person here had that cold stare of a hton, apparently sensing her unease "I’m not here to turn you in to the authorities I don’t even want the boots back All I want is your help"

Again, too good to be true

She didn’t bother snatching the purse away The contract was good for only a few er benefit froic It would be just another pretty handbag