Page 7 of Devon (Krsnik Clan #5)

RYAN WAS A BIT GRUMPY, but he didn’t think anyone would hold that against him.

“Do we really have to see him?”

he asked Devon, who was walking next to him.

Devon turned big eyes to Ryan.

Dammit. When he looked at Ryan like that, Ryan was always willing to give him the world, let alone a meeting with a man Devon considered a friend.

“Nic’s a prisoner.

I’m sure he feels lonely,”

Devon said.

“Maybe he should’ve considered that before befriending you so he could sneak Parrish into the village.”

It had been a few days.

Parrish and his people hadn’t been able to enter the village, and eventually, they’d left or had been killed by the hunters and the Krsniks. Ryan had stayed far away from the fight. His only focus had been Devon, and thankfully, Devon had finally been on the right side of the shield. Kendrick had stayed there, too, so Ryan hadn’t had to worry about anyone.

Devon had been worried about Nic since the fight.

Nic had been wounded, so Clay and Rowan had agreed to keep him at the village and wait to decide what to do with him until he felt better. He wasn’t free to roam the village, though. Ryan wasn’t sure he could do so even if he was because of the wounds Parrish had inflicted on him, but he was relieved that Nic was locked up in a bedroom far away from him and Devon.

The problem was that Devon wanted to talk to his friend.

Ryan wasn’t sure Devon could call Nic a friend, considering what he’d done, but he was starting to realize that Devon was too good. He’d be willing to give Nic a second and probably a third chance, even though he hadn’t been willing to give himself one.

Hopefully, that was in the past.

Devon hadn’t mentioned leaving again, not even when Kendrick had insisted that he and Ryan come back to the house after the fight. Devon had been so focused on what had happened and on making sure that Ryan was okay that he’d barely glanced in Jonas’s direction.

That had been a good thing.

Jonas had looked like he wanted to strangle Devon, but Ryan had talked to him since then. Jonas had begrudgingly agreed that Devon hadn’t bothered Kendrick recently and that he seemed to be over his crush. His entire focus had been on Ryan, which was what Ryan had wanted, even though he hadn’t been wounded.

Both he and Devon had made stupid decisions the night of the attack, but they’d come out of it alive and in one piece.

Ryan hoped he’d never have to see Parrish again, but something told him that the Kudlak wasn’t done. If anything, being defeated several times by Rowan and the clan had to irritate him. If Ryan had to guess, Parrish would try to get to Rowan time and time again until he either succeeded or died.

Ryan knew which option he’d prefer.

“I don’t think he did it willingly,”

Devon insisted.

It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation.

Ryan agreed with Devon, but he was reluctant to admit it. He didn’t want to give Nic any grace. The man had almost caused Devon to be hurt, and Ryan couldn’t stand for that.

“I want to know what happened,”

Devon continued.

“Once I do, I’ll decide if I want to continue being Nic’s friend.”

“He kissed you, then handed you over to Parrish.

Why would you want to continue being his friend?”

Devon narrowed his eyes at Ryan.

“Are you going to forbid me to be his friend?”

“Of course not.”

Ryan would never forbid Devon to do anything.

It wasn’t his place.

Devon looked surprised, but he nodded.

“Good.

I understand why you’re uncomfortable with this, but Nic isn’t a bad guy. He won’t kiss me again. I told him I didn’t want that from him.”

“It’s not the kiss I’m worried about, Devon.

Nic betrayed you.”

Ryan wished he could say he thought that Nic had become Devon’s friend because he wanted to, but it was clear that wasn’t the case.

Parrish had sent him. Maybe Nic had started to really like Devon after a while, but initially, he’d seen Devon as an opportunity.

Devon didn’t seem to care about that.

They continued walking on the path until they reached the isolated house where Nic was being kept.

There had been a bit of a scramble when Clay and Rowan had decided to keep him in the village because they didn’t have a jail or anything that resembled a cell. There hadn’t been a need for one before, and Ryan hoped there wouldn’t be a need in the future, either. Of course, Nic was disproving that.

He’d been locked up in a bedroom in this house, and he was guarded twenty-four-seven.

Ryan had found out through Kendrick that Nic also regularly saw a Vila who was taking care of his wounds.

They had Clay and Rowan’s approval to be there, so once they reached the house, they were waved inside.

Ryan looked around, curious to see what a house-turned-jail-cell looked like, but there was nothing odd about the place. It was a bit dusty, and it was clear it hadn’t been lived in, but most of the furniture had been uncovered, and the windows were open.

Ryan briefly worried about that, but the sound of a key turning in a lock told him that he shouldn’t be.

Nic was locked in his bedroom. He wouldn’t be going anywhere near the open windows.

They went upstairs.

They didn’t have to ask anyone which bedroom Nic was in because a Vila was coming out of one of them as they reached the upper floor. He was carrying a tray and looked startled to see them. His blue eyes widened, and for a moment, he looked like he was about to throw the tray at their faces. Ryan recognized him as the Vila who’d helped Nic the night of the attack.

“Clay and Rowan know we’re here,”

Devon quickly said.

“I’m Devon, and this is Ryan.”

The blond man nodded. “Tamlin.”

“We’re here to talk to Nic.”

“He’s in the bedroom.”

“How is he?”

Tamlin shrugged.

“He’s been better, but he’ll live.”

He sounded like he didn’t really care, and Ryan wondered if that was the case.

He didn’t think so.

“Can we go in?”

Devon asked.

“Be my guest.

He’s tied to the bed, so he won’t try anything.”

Devon looked horrified.

“Can I untie him?”

“I was going to come back to do it, but sure.”

Devon didn’t hesitate to open the door and walk in.

Ryan scrambled to go after him, not wanting to leave Devon alone with Nic even though Nic was tied up.

Tamlin hadn’t been lying.

Nic was on his back on the bed, his bare chest decorated with an array of gauze and bandages. One of his feet was tied to the bed, but he had enough space to move. He sat up when he saw Devon, and Ryan had to resist the urge to growl at him.

“Devon?”

Nic asked as if he couldn’t quite believe that Devon was there.

Devon gave him a tremulous smile.

“Hey.

How are you doing?”

“I’m alive, which is more than I hoped for when I attacked Parrish.

How are you?”

“I’m fine.

Not even a scratch.”

Nic glanced at Ryan and quickly nodded at him before turning his attention back to Devon.

“What are you doing here?”

Devon shuffled his feet.

“I guess I just wanted to talk to you.

I want to know what happened.”

“You’re not the first person to ask me that.”

“Will you tell me?”

Nic sighed and flopped back against his pillow.

“There’s nothing much to say.

Parrish sent me to work in town in the hopes that I’d be able to find someone who lived in the village and befriend them. I was excited when you came in. It was clear that you were lonely, and I was going to use that to get more information about the village.”

Ryan stepped closer to Devon and gently rubbed his back.

He’d expected that kind of answer, but even though he didn’t care, he knew that Devon did.

“So you never really wanted to be my friend?”

Devon asked.

“And it’s why you kept asking questions about the village.”

“Parrish doesn’t like to be told no.

I told him everything you told me. I guess it was lucky that you didn’t say anything about the shield.”

“That’s because I didn’t know about it.”

Devon swallowed.

“I thought you were my friend.”

Nic shrugged.

“I wanted to be after a while.

I like you. That’s why I came to the village to warn you about the attack. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I knew that Parrish would be pissed if he found out, but you were more important.”

Ryan wasn’t sure he could believe that, but he wasn’t the one who had to believe it.

He didn’t like it, but Devon truly cared about Nic. If the two of them could get over this and become friends again, Devon would be happy.

And that was all Ryan wanted.

If that meant he had to deal with Nic for the rest of his life, he would. Devon was the person who mattered here.

And Ryan would give him anything he asked for.