Page 76 of Honeythorn
“Just—please. Keep walking.”
“No, wait, are we even allowed here?” They were passing hallways and doors, all deserted. The sounds of the ball were falling away.
Somethingdefinitelywasn’t right.
Milan stopped walking, ready to demand answers, but all of a sudden Jason was pressed across his back and there was something sharp piercing through his clothes and being held just against the skin of his side. Milan’s breath stopped in his chest.
“What—Jason. What are you doing?”
“Keep walking, Milan. And be quiet. I can’t stand to hear one more word out of your mouth. Do you have any notion of how tedious you are?” Jason said, shoving him forwards even as he kept the knife dangerously close to him.
Milan couldn’t think. He simply couldn’t draw a connection between Jason and Jack. How was this happening?
Finally, Milan was pushed into a library until the back of Milan’s thighs were pressing against a large, wooden table.
“What is this?” Milan demanded despite the knife that was being pointed at him. There was a mad light in Jason’s eye he had never seen before, making his heart race even quicker.
“Isn’t it adorable, how you thought I was interested in your friendship?” Jason sneered. “I had to sit there and listen to your inane blabber. Who cares about those blasted machines?”
“You were the one to approach me. Are you mad?”
“I approached you, yes, but believe me, it was not for your company.”
“Let’s leave the suspense behind then, shall we? Reveal yourself.”
“You should watch what you say, for it isn’t just your life in the balance,” Jason warned lightly.
Milan stilled completely.
“Here is what is going to happen—you help us gain Raphael’s estate, or we kill you both.”
He fought against the stunned fear at the notion of them harming Raphael. “How on earth would I do that?”
“Easy. Raphael is about to arrive with Jack. You’re going to tell him that you’ve been fooling him all along.”
Milan shook his head, but Jason didn’t stop.
“We’ve been watching your every move. We knew everything there was to know about you even before you arrived. You’re our golden goose, dear friend.”
“No. I can’t. I shan’t. What purpose would that even serve?”
Jason laughed. “Oh, you will, or I will gladly kill you. I am embroiled in this now—there is nothing I can lose. And you—you’ll tell Raphael you’ve been plotting against him, and he will never be loyal to you again. He will throw you out, just like he did Jack—and isn’t that curious? Two Omegas in a row? And, of course, there is the matter of the neglected bond.”
Milan gasped. “No.”
“Yes. An abuser, a scoundrel—we’ll be able to prove his poor character in court, and Jack will gain half the estate. I will get my share and you—well, you can go back home. We all win.”
Milan shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. He couldn’t do that to Raphael. For him to believe that Milan had been manipulating him all this time, to become another one of his abusers…
“No. Please—I can’t. I have money, I can give you—”
Jason laughed. “Please. The only way this works is because the moment the seed of your deception is planted in his head, Raphael will never believe a word you say. He’ll never let you near him again, just like he did to Jack. Then it won’t matter what you do—it’ll be us against him and, believe me, we will win.” Jason turned his head slightly towards the door as voices could be heard in the hallway. He grinned. “Now, dear friend. It’s time to act.”
Suddenly, Jason pressed against him, the knife between them. “I promise you—if you do not follow my instructions, I will slit his throat in front of you,” he said before taking a brutal kiss from him.
Milan wanted to struggle, but fear had paralyzed him. Even when he heard the door open and the voices suddenly stop, he could do nothing.
He couldn’t let Raphael die. Jack was sure to be armed, and they weren’t—they would be easy to overpower. Even if he lied to Raphael, maybe he could find a way to make him trust him again, a way to prove himself. If not, he could still testify in favour of his character—unless he told his solicitor not to deal with him, of course.
