Page 72 of Devil May Lie
“If you’re leaving me out of whatever revenge scheme you’ve cooked up, then no, no it isn’t. You aren’t.”
“Relax, I’m not pissed off because I’m a—”
The front door to the apartment opened and shut, causing Berga’s ears to perk. His first instinct was to go on the defensive since very few people knew the code to his building, let alone his home. The man on the phone with him was one of them, but as Flix continued to speak, it became apparent he wasn’t the person who’d just entered.
“I’m not about to do anything rash. I got this,” Flix reassured.
“They managed to get the upper hand on you once.” Berga kept his voice firm as he exited his bedroom and eased his way down the long hall. He’d confront whoever was there and—
He came to a standstill the second he spotted Madden putzing around his kitchen. There was a grocery bag on the counter.
“Only because I didn’t know to look for them,” Flix continued, completely unaware how shocked Berga currently was. “This time, I’m the one on the hunt.”
Okay, sure, but who was the one hunting here?
Was it Berga?
Or was it Madden?
The Mad King turned then and caught sight of him, brows winging up before his features settled into a look of concern. “Berga.”
“Are you not alone?” Flix sounded surprised.
This was not how he wanted to explain. Hell, he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to explain anyway. Sorry, bestie, while you were on fake vacation and probably actually kidnapped and tortured, I was getting it on with a Retinue member? No.
“Call me if you need me.” Like a coward, Berga ended the call and set his device on the end of the counter, eyeing Madden. “Didn’t you leave?”
“You shouldn’t be up yet.” Ignoring the question, Madden came over and pressed the back of his hand to Berga’s forehead. “Your fever is gone, at least. That’s good. You should return to bed though, the doctor—”
“I’m fine.”
“Berga—”
“How long was I out for?” He circled the breakfast bar and took a seat on one of the highbacked chairs, figuring that would suffice for a compromise between the two of them. Sure enough, Madden only hesitated another moment before sighing in defeat.
“A day and a half,” he answered, moving back to the stove to continue what he’d been doing. “I watched you all day yesterday, but the doctor said you might wake today, so I ordered takeout.”
They didn’t deliver anything directly to Berga’s door, as per his request, so Madden would have needed to go down to the lobby to collect it.
“It’s porridge,” Madden continued. “I know it’s nothing exciting, but you haven’t eaten anything in almost forty-eight hours, so we should start with this. Do you want anything to drink while we wait for it to heat? Water? Tea?”
“Whose house is this again?”
“I got your mail while I was down there.” Madden motioned toward a small box set close to where Berga was sitting.
“That came fast.” Berga reached for it and started to tear off the tape. He’d only just ordered it an hour before he’d gone to the Docks that night after spending the entire day mulling over his conversation with Bay.
“What is it?”
“A toy.”
“So, something for one of your experiments?” Madden grunted. “Will it explode if I take it from you? You should eat something before you start playing around.”
Berga considered and then nodded, setting the box aside for now. “You’re right.”
Madden paused and blinked at him. “Are you okay? Maybe you still have a fever after all. That was far too agreeable of you.”
“Shut up.”