Page 36 of Villain
“Okay,” he admitted, bending the truth since being honest and admitting he’d actually come to hunt one down was out of the question. “So what if I did come for one?”
“I’ll do you better,” Lake replied. “I’ll give you three.”
This again. “And all I have to do is pretend to be your boyfriend, that it? Fake date you and your two best friends?”
“What makes you think it’ll be fake?”
Nix gave him a bland look. “Come on. I know I’m not ugly, but I’m hardly anything special either. First day of school and the three hottest guys on campus are magically interested in little old me? I don’t buy that. This isn’t a fairytale.”
“It’s good that you’re aware,” Lake said. “Because I’m no prince.”
“That’s not something I’m in the market for.”
“No,” he agreed. “You don’t seem like the type who often needs saving, no matter how timid you are in the bedroom.”
Nix rolled his eyes, but Lake wasn’t finished.
“Get in the car,” he ordered. “Or I’ll come over there and put you in it myself.”
“It means that much to you?” Nix couldn’t figure him out, and not for a lack of trying. Despite what he’d said about this not being a fairytale, the whole thing felt too surreal to be reality. “You need me to fill this role, whatever it is, that badly?”
“Yeah,” Lake confirmed. “And if you’re as smart as I think you are, it’ll mean that much to you too, once you learn the stakes.”
He’d stalled enough. This was only ever going to end one way and they both knew it from the start. The fact that Lake had allowed him to play it out for this long was already telling in and of itself, and Nix tucked that information aside to be picked apart later.
For now…
With one tug, he yanked open the car door.
And got inside.
Chapter 10:
Lake hit the gas and rounded the corner tight enough it sent Nix careening in the passenger seat next to him. The corner of his mouth twitched, but since the Songbird was glaring his way, he resettled his features quickly.
Emotion was a dangerous thing. When you offered someone a glimpse at how you felt, you were giving them the chance to uncover your truths.
Lake didn’t want anyone riffling through his feelings. Didn’t want them messing around in his head, trying to discover things they shouldn’t. When they’d been younger, it’d been an oddity of his, something the other kids tried to make fun of him for on the playground before realizing his identity. Usually, that last part came only after West had given them a fat lip for their insolence.
It was hard to imagine there’d once been a time when the two of them never fought with each other, when they weren’t constantly butting heads like they did now. If he could go back in time and choose a different path, turn down Demetrious’s offer to move in with them, he would. He’d known all about the inferiority complex West had with his father, but he’d foolishly believed he could help if he was there.
Lake had only made it worse.
That was why he’d offered Nix up to West the other night when his friend had shown an interest. Originally, he’d called Nix there to test his theory and confirm he was in fact Nightingale from the app. Stripping him had been a tactic meant more to show him who was in charge; things weren’t supposed to get sexual.
But West had clearly wanted him, and Yejun too…And Lake had thought maybe letting them get a taste could be received as some sort of truce. Yejun understood why he’d left for Vitality, but West…
His best friend was still hurt and feeling neglected. Abandoned. If the man currently glaring daggers at his side could help mend the bridge between them? Lake would use Nix as often as it took to achieve that goal, and it wasn’t the only one the Songbird could come in handy for either.
“The hacker we’re looking for is clever,” he began, still speeding down the winding road toward their destination.
Back on Vitality, he’d had to be cautious; he couldn’t afford to get pulled over by the cops, even if the ticket would be immediately waived the second they saw who was driving. Word could always get back to Tulniri he wasn’t acting on his best behavior, and his place in the line of succession could be compromised. Now that he was free to do as he pleased, Lake let loose. He’d missed the speed and the thrill. The risk. It used to be that taking a drive was the only thing that could clear his head when things got too tangled in his mind.
“From what I gathered at the Roost, you aren’t talking about the app. This hacker, he’s after Club Essential?” Nix asked, gripping the handle above him tightly in one hand.
“That’s one theory,” Lake said. “Another is that he’s after us.”
“Us being?”