Page 75 of Saint

To say he was conflicted would be an understatement. Nix knew he should turn on his heels and get the hell out of there, no matter what types of threats Juri spewed. He wanted to believe he wouldn’t really hurt Briant, even though it was clear from the video on the holo-pad that his cousin was agitated.

That, paired with the fact his multi-slate was here, it was seeming a lot like Briant was being held somewhere against his will.

By a man both he and Nix had trusted.

By a man confessing that he’d tried to take a life before and had simply failed.

“You only need to do two things for me,” Juri told him. “Do them, and I’ll set both you and Briant free. You can return to the safe life you had before all of this began. As soon as I’m set to be emperor, I’ll order the best plastic surgeons to reverse the damage done to your neck. You can erase all traces of them from your body, Nix. As for your mind, I already have a doctor on standby. She’s a fantastic psychiatrist. She’ll be able to help you readjust, I swear.”

He was super fixated on this idea that Nix was being controlled against his will. It was becoming more and more clear that nothing Nix could do or say would be able to break Juri from this notion. He’d already painted Nix as someone in distress who needed saving. It didn’t matter to him how many times Nix argued that wasn’t the case.

Juri wasn’t listening.

That was the most dangerous part of all this.

That, and the fact that he’d just confessed to using Branwen. The urge to snap the guy's neck was strong, but Nix banked it down for Briant’s sake.

“My cousin killed herself because of you,” he accused darkly, but if that deterred Juri at all, he gave no indication. “How can you expect me not to hate you and want revenge?”

“If I could turn back time and do things differently, do things in a way that wouldn’t end in you hating me, I would. Unfortunately, I didn’t know you back then, and I worked with what I had. I’ll make it up to you.”

“You can’t.” He felt like he was going to be sick. “You can’t bring someone back from the dead.”

“No,” he agreed, “but I can ensure you don’t lose another cousin any time soon. You’ve never wanted any of this. I’m offering you everything youhavewanted. I’ll liberate you from the Demons and their control. All of this can just be a bad dream a year from now. Think about it.” Juri sounded like he one hundred percent believed every word coming out of his mouth. “They can’t give you what you need, Nix. I can.”

“And,” Nix summoned a calm he did not feel, “what is it that you need?”

He wasn’t going to make it out of this unscathed, but he could do his very best to ensure everyone else took the least amount of hits possible. Which meant playing along and convincing Juri he had him where he wanted him.

There were still too many gaps, too many questions, but if Nix took the time to focus on Branwen, he’d never get out of here, and then Briant would be the one who suffered.

Juri had been so nice to his cousin, tricking them into thinking he cared. Had he pulled that exact same trick on Branwen? He had to have, right? In her letter and in the messages she’d written through the Enigma app, she’d clearly been in love. Had Juri always planned on using Briant?

On using Nix? If so, where’d he get the foresight? When they first met, Nix wasn’t as publicly involved with Lake and the others. He came off more like a plaything for them than a real love interest. There’d been nothing to make Juri believe Nix would end up a good tool to use against them.

Their first heart-to-heart about Branwen had also happened before Lake had given Nix the mating mark. If Juri had really wanted to help him, he would have told him the truth then. Instead, he’d lied and pretended not to know anything.

Fool him once, shame on him.

Fool him twice…

Nix couldn’t trust a single thing Juri was saying. Hell, he still didn’t fully believe the guy was actually capable of harming Briant. But then again, if Juri was behind the poisoning, that meant he was far more vicious than Nix gave him credit for.

He couldn’t risk being wrong.

“Two things,” Juri repeated. “That’s all. You have my word I won’t ask for anything more.”

“And those things are?”

“You aren’t going to like them.”

“I didn’t think I would.”

Juri held up his multi-slate. “I’m going to take a photo of the two of us and send it to the Order.”

His eyes narrowed and he felt himself physically go on the defensive again despite his thoughts to pretend to cooperate.

“This is the language the club knows best,” Juri continued after seeing his reaction. “I need to weaponize you against Lake. This is the fastest and most efficient way to do that.”

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