Page 102 of Devil May Lie

“Keep your voice down,” Madden said. Personally, he didn’t give a shit if they were overheard. Hell, he’d tell everyone who had ears if it was up to him. But Berga had been clear that he wasn’t ready for that after their racing bet. He’d explained Baikal’s side of things and why he believed laying low was the right move for them for the time being.

In a state of complete blissed-out nonsense, Madden had stupidly agreed without thinking it through. That’s what he got for making important decisions five minutes after milking his dick.

“Guess he doesn’t tell you everything after all.” He smirked, liking that tidbit of information at least. That, and considering his reaction, it was obvious they were both telling the truth about the status of their relationship. “Best friends for life, huh? Cute.”

“Let’s call up Kel and tell him you think so,” Flix oozed sarcasm. “Aren’t you his?”

“Yup.”

“I won’t let you play around with Berga.”

“Last I checked, I never asked your permission. And neither did he, for the record. Quit treating him like a child. Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit here?”

“No,” Flix said. “I don’t. You’ve seen him when he’s in the midst of a delusion. I may not be able to do anything for him there, but I can at least ensure nothing else goes wrong in his life. Dating you? That’s wrong on so many levels.”

“Why is that?” Madden scratched at the collar of his shirt and debated whether or not he could get away with removing it. Probably shouldn’t. Flix would no doubt take it as a challenge that it wasn’t meant as. He didn’t want to fight him, mostly because he wasn’t a complete fool.

Berga might have told him to call their relationship whatever he wanted when he’d been itching to climax, but he was still very much on the fence about them for the long term, and Madden wasn’t happy about that. He knew what he wanted, even if it was taking the Butcher a lot longer to catch up.

Madden was never going to let him go.

Getting on Flix’s good side was paramount for things running smoothly from here on out. They’d need allies if they were going to make this work and convince the rest of the planet to ignore the fact they were Retinue and Satellite.

“Baikal won’t allow it. He’ll see this for what it is, a threat to his position and the power of the Brumal,” Flix practically growled. “The Butcher isn’t just a member of the mafia, he’s an intricate part of its inner workings. We lose him, and half our shit falls apart in an instant. What if, one day, the Imperial family is no longer satisfied with power divided fifty-fifty? You’ll fight with Kelevra. Berga will—”

“He would never betray the Brumal.” Even Madden knew that. “He’d never betray you.”

“Oh, for the love of Light,” Flix snapped. “We have not fucked, we are not fucking, and we will never fuck, got it? Stop being bitter over our friendship and listen to me. Yeah, Berga would never betray me because he’s formed a deep attachment to me.”

“If I smash this glass over your head,” Madden picked it up, “how mad at me do you think he’ll be? Scale of one to ten.”

“My point is that he’s capable of forming deep attachments, asshole.”

He perked up a bit at that. “You’re worried he’ll get attached to me?”

“I’m worried he won’t be able to choose if it ever comes down to having to,” Flix said. “Foreign or intense emotions can set him off. There’s still so much we don’t understand about his condition. Already, he’s gone from slipping into psychosis a few times a year to twice in the span of a month. The only new factor that could have caused that is you.”

“This is why you shouldn’t leave on random vacations,” Madden drawled. “You end up missing things and not getting the whole story. You should go talk with Bay. Looks like you really do need to do more research before we continue.”

Flix frowned. “You’ve spoken with Bay?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to help.”

“Bullshit.”

“Like I said,” Madden shrugged, “believe what you want.”

The two of them had always gotten on in the past. Madden might have even considered them friends—real ones, not just the type for a show of peace between their two groups. He’d always known how protective of the Butcher Flix was, and vice versa, so this display of affection wasn’t surprising.

But he had sort of hoped, because of their friendship, that Flix would take it a little easy on him. Maybe consider things from his perspective and have a little faith, despite his reputation. He was the one who always made himself available to others for favors, after all. The one they called, both the Retinue and the Satellite, when they needed help with something no one else had time for or was capable of doing. Even though the Satellite had Yuze, their own personal Royal, many of them still came to Madden because his family had more sway over the planet.

“You all use me already,” he drawled. “When it’s convenient to you, you act chummy and rub elbows and tell me you’ll eventually return the favor.”

“Don’t act like you don’t collect on them,” Flix said.

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