Chapter 10

Lake hit the gas and rounded the corner tight enough it sent Nix careening in the passenger seat next to him. The corner of his mouth twitched, but since the Songbird was glaring his way, he resettled his features quickly.

Emotion was a dangerous thing. When you offered someone a glimpse at how you felt, you were giving them the chance to uncover your truths.

Lake didn't want anyone riffling through his feelings. Didn't want them messing around in his head, trying to discover things they shouldn't. When they'd been younger, it'd been an oddity of his, something the other kids tried to make fun of him for on the playground before realizing his identity. Usually, that last part came only after West had given them a fat lip for their insolence.

It was hard to imagine there'd once been a time when the two of them never fought with each other, when they weren't constantly butting heads like they did now. If he could go back in time and choose a different path, turn down Demetrious's offer to move in with them, he would. He'd known all about the inferiority complex West had with his father, but he'd foolishly believed he could help if he was there.

Lake had only made it worse.

That was why he'd offered Nix up to West the other night when his friend had shown an interest. Originally, he'd called Nix there to test his theory and confirm he was in fact Nightingale from the app. Stripping him had been a tactic meant more to show him who was in charge; things weren't supposed to get sexual.

But West had clearly wanted him, and Yejun too…And Lake had thought maybe letting them get a taste could be received as some sort of truce. Yejun understood why he'd left for Vitality, but West…

His best friend was still hurt and feeling neglected. Abandoned. If the man currently glaring daggers at his side could help mend the bridge between them? Lake would use Nix as often as it took to achieve that goal, and it wasn't the only one the Songbird could come in handy for either.

"The hacker we're looking for is clever," he began, still speeding down the winding road toward their destination.

Back on Vitality, he'd had to be cautious; he couldn't afford to get pulled over by the cops, even if the ticket would be immediately waived the second they saw who was driving. Word could always get back to Tulniri he wasn't acting on his best behavior, and his place in the line of succession could be compromised. Now that he was free to do as he pleased, Lake let loose. He'd missed the speed and the thrill. The risk. It used to be that taking a drive was the only thing that could clear his head when things got too tangled in his mind.

"From what I gathered at the Roost, you aren't talking about the app. This hacker, he's after Club Essential?" Nix asked, gripping the handle above him tightly in one hand.

"That's one theory," Lake said. "Another is that he's after us."

"Us being?"

"My friends and I."

"The Demons." He hummed in understanding. "Why?"

"Do you pay attention to the news, Songbird?"

"Not really. But if you're asking if I'm aware of your situation with the throne, yeah. I don't think there's a person alive on this planet who isn't." He paused and then. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be." Lake had barely spoken to the Emperor and Royal Consort, better known as his aunt and her lover. They'd never been close, even when his parents had been alive, and while the Emperor had shipped him off to Vitality with the excuse that it was to create ties between their two worlds, another part of him had always suspected there'd been more to it than that.

She'd always known that he was a threat.

She hadn't been wrong.

"I'm aware of other things, too," Nix told him then. "Like, for instance, that this car can go the regular speed limit."

"Know a lot about cars, do you?"

"Yes, actually," he surprised him by saying.

The problem with hacking into his personal files was that they'd only been able to uncover information about his studies and living situation. There'd been a basic family tree of his immediate family, but aside from that, the only glimpse at hobbies Nix may have had came from his Inspire social media account.

Which was filled with random photos of plants and steaming mugs of hot beverages. There hadn't even been a single selfie. Not one.

At the end of the day, there was more about Nix Monroe that they didn't know than things they did. But Lake wasn't stupid enough to tell him that. He needed Nix to sign these documents, not because he wouldn't proceed with his plans if he didn't—Lake would—but because it made the others more comfortable knowing there was a layer of legality between them and what they were doing.

"This is a JF-897," Nix said. "There were only five shipped to the planet, so to call it expensive would be a massive understatement."

"Do you like it?" Lake could already tell the answer to that, but he wanted to hear it anyway.

"Not even a little." He sneered at the controls. "It's so pretentious."

Lake chuckled. "I'll let West know you don't approve."

Nix sent him a look that was a mixture of wariness and confusion.

"He bought it for me as a welcome home gift," he explained, laughing when that caused Nix to pale. "I'm curious, are you afraid of him because he almost choked you on his dick, or are you—"

"Like you mentioned already," he interrupted. "I'm not an idiot. I know you guys are scary. I knew it before I even stepped foot into the Roost that night."

"But you came anyway."

"Yeah." Nix turned to stare out the window as trees whipped by.

"Do you regret it?"

"What do you think?"

Lake considered. "You're hiding something. Only someone confident or desperate would willingly walk headfirst into danger. You've done it more than once by my count. I would have said it was the latter without hesitation before but now…"

He'd expected Nix to cower away from them when they'd entered the cafeteria earlier—and he sort of had, but not near the extent that Lake had presumed. And even though he'd been anxious and on edge, that hadn't stopped him from talking back. During their private chats on the app, Nix had been soft and warm, but in reality, he was a jagged mystery.

"I don't like when there's something I can't see through," he confessed. "I don't like that there are things about you I don't know. West would say that's half the fun, but—"

"The two of you are very different," Nix surmised. "So, what? Is this the part where you threaten to hurt me if I don't tell you all of my secrets?"

"You don't even sound scared of that possibility."

"You aren't the only one who has things to do, Lake."

They exited the forest area that surrounded the campus and shot out onto the crowded city streets. The number of other cars forced Lake to slow down, but he didn't mind. They were close enough to the office building now, and it wouldn't be much longer before they reached it.

"Finding this hacker is important to the club," Lake said, opting to get them back on track. "That's why they've ordered us to find him."

"If it's really that important," Nix argued, "then why would they trust you guys? Why wouldn't they put together a team or something? Everyone knows the club is packed with members from every organization and career. Surely there are people in law enforcement who could handle this instead?"

Lake hesitated. He could tell him now since there was no way he was letting Nix walk away without signing the documents. Nix hadn't been serious when he'd mentioned threats just now, had merely been poking fun at Lake, but he'd learn quickly that Lake wasn't above resorting to that form of persuasion.

"There are these things called Legacies," he began. "They're members born a part of Essential by blood or familial positioning. My parents were both members before their deaths. Yejun's parents are members. West's father…you get the point. Legacies are sworn in at the age of thirteen, but we aren't considered for official roles until we've graduated from Foxglove."

"Foxglove specifically?" Nix frowned.

"Yes. All Legacies have to graduate from our university. As seniors, we're given a task which we must complete. Usually it's something simple, mere semantics, where we prove our loyalty to the club and its values."

"Being told you have to flush out a hacker who seems to pose a legitimate threat doesn't seem all that simple," Nix drawled, and Lake nodded, waiting for him to come to his own conclusions. It didn't take long. "This has something to do with your bid for the throne, doesn't it? Either someone is trying to block your way, or the club wants a stronger confirmation from you that you won't turn on them the moment you've got the crown."

It couldn't be the latter since the Emperor was an esteemed member of Club Essential and had been since its creation—hell, that's where the name had come from even—but he'd exposed enough secrets already. The fact of the matter was, Lake didn't trust Nix. He wanted him in an inexplicable way he'd never experienced before, but it was too obvious the other man was hiding something. That couldn't be ignored.

No matter. Whatever that secret may be, Lake would unravel it.

"As far as operating the planet," Nix surprised him by adding, "you're pretty much as essential to it all as they come. That is, if you can keep your place as the next in line. This being a targeted attack does seem like the most likely option."

"If someone is using this method to try and keep me from the throne," Lake pulled into a medium-sized parking lot and circled the twelve-story building, "that means finding this hacker is the only way to thwart them."

Nix waited until they'd parked at the back of the building before admitting, "I'm still not sure what any of this has to do with me or having to date you."

Lake shut the car off and unbuckled, turning in his seat to better face him. "What if I told you there was no connection and we just want to fuck you?"

They'd been infiltrated before while he'd been away, and the repercussions…well, they were still ongoing. That was yet another reason to keep Nix close instead of pushing him away. If his secret happened to somehow coincide with the hacker or the last student who'd betrayed them, then Lake would uncover the truth and make him pay for his deception.

When he thought about how broken Yejun still was…

"I'd call you a liar," Nix replied. "If this was just about sex, you could have taken it the other night easily enough."

"Rape, you mean."

"Going to try and tell me that you're above that?"

Lake wasn't fond of the tone he was taking, but he kept his cool. "There's no need to rape someone who's already interested." He shifted closer, hand shooting out to capture Nix's chin when he attempted to turn away. "Admit it, Songbird. You'd climb on and ride my cock right now if it meant getting what you wanted in return."

Nix frowned at him, and it was there in his eyes, a flash of something that proved all of Lake's assumptions correct.

"I don't know why you wanted to enter the King tier so badly." He was going to find out though. "But it's obvious that was only part of your goal."

"I already explained that," Nix insisted. "My cousin—"

"Died. Yes. So sad."

He slapped Lake's hand away with enough force it actually worked. "Don't you dare talk about her like that."

Ah, so it was a she. Was she even really his cousin? An ex-lover, perhaps? That would explain the crazed desperation and the almost ridiculous lengths he'd been going to. Maybe this really was about opening up his horizons.

"Is it sexual exploration?" Lake murmured to himself. "Is that what you're really after?"

Nix glanced away, his cheeks heating, but that wasn't enough to either confirm or disprove his hypothesis.

"If it is, this deal really will benefit the both of us," Lake said. "Come. We can't talk out here about private matters such as this."

"Where are we?" Nix sent a suspicious look out the front window toward the building.

"It's an office space we've used since we were younger," he told him, seeing no reason not to. "It's where the Enigma App was created and developed. Only the three of us and our staff have access, so we can go over everything comfortably inside."

"Does everyone know you're behind the app?"

"Yes." It hadn't started out that way, but in the years since, Lake was pretty sure it was a well-known fact amongst the student body. Everyone at the club knew, obviously.

"Why did you create it?"

"Why do you think, Songbird?"

"I think you've never needed a hookup app to get laid."

"Very true."

"I'm not the only one hiding things," Nix pointed out, but that was seemingly the end of the discussion, as he quieted afterward and didn't ask any other questions.

He also didn't make any moves to get out of the car.

Was Lake going to have to drag Nix in kicking and screaming or—

"Okay." He undid his belt and had one foot out the door in an instant, pausing only to send Lake a questioning glance when he didn't immediately follow suit. "Coming?"

He chuckled before he could help it. Nothing was ever as it seemed when it came to the Songbird.

That was half the problem.