Page 56 of Thirst
The sight of her, clearly hurting, caused something hot and restless to flare in my chest. I eyed her, my knee bouncing. Her gaze flicked to my leg, a faint line forming between her brows.
I forced the leg to still and glanced at the door. Where the hell were Brien and Talon?
I’d pulled my phone out to check on them when I heard them in the hall.
With an obvious effort, Nyx pushed herself upright on the couch, feet on the floor, her injured wrists hanging loose in front of her. The navy jacket drowned her frame, made her look like something she wasn’t—small, breakable, like she needed saving.
My jaw tightened. “Tell them the truth and you don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Yeah?” Her thick lashes lifted, her golden-brown eyes burning into mine. “I told you the truth and look where it got me.”
The door opened and Brien entered, wearing power like his custom-made suit. He stopped on the far side of the coffee table and stared down at Nyx—his eyes cold slits, his jaw set.
Meanwhile, Talon closed the door with a soft click and leaned back against it, arms crossed, his lieutenant mask firmly in place.
They were trying to intimidate her, and it worked. Her shoulders hunched and her breath quickened.
My heart lurched, demanding I put myself between her and danger. One second I was standing by the chair, the next I’d stepped past Nyx to put myself between her and Brien. My primus.
Brien scowled, sharp, disbelieving.
Talon straightened from the door. “Cain,” he warned in his deep voice.
I froze. What in Hades are you doing?
I was acting like she was mine. Mine to protect, to shield.
“Sorry,” I muttered to Brien and edged back to my side of the coffee table.
He gave me a long, unreadable look before shifting his attention to Nyx, who was eyeing me, her forehead wrinkled again.
“So,” he said to her. “Just so I understand this—your sire sent you into my territory to negotiate a deal to kidnap one of my men. Do I have that right?”
She visibly summoned energy, pulling back her shoulders, lifting her chin. “Yes.”
“And you knew it was Cain?”
“I was told it was one of your lieutenants.” She clasped her hands together, her face open, her eyes pleading. “I swear, I was only there to find out what I could. I figured I’d listen to what Baker had to say, then go back to my father and tell him to drop it, that Baker couldn’t be trusted.”
A muscle worked in my jaw. If only our truth-sense worked on vampires and dhampirs, not just humans. She could be spinning us a tall tale and we’d never know.
Brien’s lip curled. “But you would say that, wouldn’t you? To save your own skin. And if that’s true, why bring Jerome? He would’ve listened in on the negotiations, known you were lying about Baker.”
Nyx’s gaze jumped to mine, a cry for backup…for trust.
I looked back, stone-faced. But my knee started bouncing again.
She rolled her lips between her teeth, then blanked her face.
“I didn’t have a choice about Jerome,” she told Brien. “I didn’t even know he was coming too until right before I left.” She dragged in a breath. “Everything happened so fast—which I told Cain. I had no way to get him word.”
“And Nazaire?” Brien asked. “You don’t think he would’ve followed up with Baker? He would’ve taken your word on it?”
She spread her hands. “I think so, yes. But either way, I’d have bought some time. Time for me to contact Cain or someone in your syndicate. By the time my father followed up, Baker would’ve been neutralized, right? My father might’ve wondered what happened to him, but he wouldn’t have been sure.”
“Mm.” Brien fell silent, letting the pressure build.
Nyx kept her eyes carefully down.
