Page 89 of Devil May Lie
“Yuze says they might have a hit on the CCTV of the bakery.” Flix motioned toward the door. “He’s asked that we meet at the manor.”
Baikal hesitated a moment and then shrugged. “Sure. Let’s go. Doesn’t seem like there’s anything else here that needs my attention. Right, Butcher?”
“I’ve got everything under control,” he replied.
If Flix was nervous about Baikal’s obvious attempts to pry, he didn’t show it. Instead he lifted a hand and then headed out, with the Dominus close behind.
Berga waved them off, deciding not to dwell on Baikal’s mild questioning. Eventually, he’d have to have a conversation about it, of course, but after his talk with Flix…Admittedly, he was less inclined to speak with their leader. What would he do if his best friend turned out to be right and Baikal ordered him to end things with Madden?
He couldn’t betray the Brumal.
They were all he had.
All he’d had since his parents had tossed him aside.
Forget it. Overthinking the what-ifs would get him nowhere.
If he started on his backlog now, he may be able to finish half of it before the end of the night and find time to see Madden. Typically, he’d stay all day and night and complete everything all at once but…
It’d been a handful of days already since the last time they’d been together, and there was an odd, poking feeling in the center of his chest. Almost like a mixture between anxiousness and longing. The fact he felt that way at all proved he’d made the right choice when speaking with Flix about the situation.
He’d purposefully left out the side effects of his experience so far. How he was growing more and more attached to the Mad King, beginning to rely on him and yearn for him in ways Berga hadn’t even thought he could.
In a very short amount of time, this had become about more than just fixing his past. Berga was curious to see how far he could go. How capable he was of experiencing regular emotions and attachments to another person. If, in the end, it was dubbed a failure and the allure wore off, he’d end things with Madden amicably—because that’s what they’d agreed on, wasn’t it?
There was nothing for Flix to fear.
He had everything under perfect control.
Chapter 22:
“Dad is so mad at you right now,” Rebecca practically sang as she dropped onto Madden’s couch and plucked one of the ripe go-go berries out of the dish on the coffee table. “But that’s nothing compared to how pissed off mom is. You’re so done for, brother. Can I have your bike when you’re gone?”
He snorted and crossed his arms, leaning back against his trophy cabinet across from where she was sitting. He’d learned a long time ago that while his sister was a dummy, always keeping her well within his sights when she was around his things was the way to go.
Case in point, she was after his hoverbike despite being unable to drive one.
Hell, bitch didn’t even have a license.
“You’re eight days too late,” he drawled, still salty over that whole ordeal.
“What do you mean?” Her eyes went wide, but even her surprise couldn’t mask the flash of maniacal glee she felt along with it. “No! Don’t tell me you crashed it?” She covered her mouth with both hands, laughter spilling past her lips. “That’s your prize possession.”
No duh, that was why she wanted it.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
Madden shrugged. “Buy a new one.”
The old one was totally trashed, reduced to little more than scrap metal. If Berga hadn’t shot that guy in the head, Madden would have. He’d already put in an order for a replacement, a newer model with a few extras thrown in for him to help soften the blow. Custom work like that, unfortunately, took time, which was why he was still waiting even though it’d been a week.
“What are you using right now? Are you just…not racing?”
“I have other bikes.” His collection was extensive, to say the least.
“Yeah, sure, but you’re stubborn. You refuse to use just anything in an official race.”
He sighed. “I called off all the events I was going to take part in and am using a couple of the others just to ride around for fun, happy?”