Page 81 of Martyr

He liked that his bed rarely went cold. Liked having an extra person at the breakfast table, even if Nix wasn’t exactly a morning person and was grumpy as all hell with them before he’d had at least two cups of coffee. Actually, he even liked that.

A couple of nights ago, he’d even allowed Nix back on his computers to help with the search. True to his word, Nixie hadreached out to some contacts he had who were doing their best to locate information on Serendipity.

Aka, Rase.

West’s hand clenched around his fork and he struggled to maintain an even expression. He should have killed that guy when he’d had the chance, but Yejun had been more upset, so West had left the decision to him. Eventually, they were going to have to come clean and explain to Nix they knew who Serendipity was, but…

Truthfully, West had always sort of had his doubts. He’d kept them to himself for fear of setting Yejun off, knowing his friend needed time to heal and distance himself from the situation and the memories of Iris and what she’d almost accomplished.

In the beginning, West had looked into Rase himself, suspecting that perhaps he was more involved than they’d known, but he hadn’t been able to find any proof. Maybe Nix would have more luck. He was certainly smart enough to see something West might have missed.

He liked that, too. It was sexy.

Nixwas sexy.

Man. He fucking wished Nixie was here right now.

“Are you listening to me at all?” his father, Demitrious, asked from across the round table meant to seat five. They were at one of the restaurants at the Club House, and he was in a piss poor mood because Lake had bailed last minute.

He wasn’t the only one annoyed by that fact, but West was at least grateful Beck had arrived and joined them.

“Not really,” West replied, picking up his wine glass to sip leisurely at the dark purple contents.

Demitrious’s face turned scarlet, but Beck intervened before things could get too far out of hand.

Unfortunately.

“It appears the opposite has been quiet as of late,” Beck said.

“Yes, it’s a good thing we were able to silence them, even if it doesn’t last for long. Lake has you to thank for that.” Demitrious held up his glass in a toast.

The night West had stayed home with Nix, Lake and Yejun had gone to the Club House where a voting was taking place for higher level active members. Lake’s uncle had been behind it, insisting they take a vote before things progressed any further. His stance was Lake was too young, and someone with more worldly experience should take the throne.

Beck had openly voted against his father—something that couldn’t have gone over well between them. He’d stood by Lake’s side throughout the entire meeting, according to what West had been told.

“My father’s attempt to have Lake removed due to his age was preposterous. I want to be as much help to my cousin as possible so he doesn’t feel like his family has turned against him. Also, I’ve heard they’ve made great progress in locating the hacker we’re after,” Beck said proudly, placing a warm hand on West’s shoulder.

This morning, Nix had rested his head there at the breakfast table while Lake had made prepared his coffee. It’d been an odd slice of domestic bliss, an intimate gesture that had nothing to do with sex. It’d caught West off guard and he’d stared at the other man for a long time until Yejun chuckled at him and snapped him out of it.

If Nix were here, would he do what Beck had just done? Redirect the conversation? Or would he get up and shout at his father for being an asshole? Was West thinking too highly of himself for wanting to believe it was the latter?

There was always the chance this developing attachment went one way. Nix still spent just as much time with Yejun, afterall. It was clear he didn’t have a preference. But that didn’t mean he didn’t like West on at least some level…Right?

They all knew how he felt about Lake, even if he was still acting a bit coldly toward him. It was going to take time for him to get over the claiming bite, but that was understandable. Someone like Nix, who’d always enjoyed the pleasure of freedom, wouldn’t take kindly to being forced into an eternal bond with anyone.

“Oh?” Demitrious quipped. “What has Lake found?”

West refused to take the bait. However… “I’m not convinced we’ve got the right person just yet.”

Beck frowned. “Really? I thought I heard the lead was sound.”

“This person is definitely involved,” he agreed. “But I don’t buy he’s the master. There’s someone else working behind the scenes, I’m sure of it.”

“And what does Lake think?” Demitrious asked.

“My cousin isn’t the best with computers,” Beck said with a light laugh. “I’m sure if there’s something to indicate there’s another suspect, West would be the one to find it during his search. Do you have any clues?”

He shook his head. “We need to find Serendipity first. Then we’ll interrogate him.”

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