Page 52 of Tail Me No Lies
“No. Iknowwho he is,” he hissed.
Ruth shrugged a shoulder, which made Geral’s red face get a bit brighter. “You don’t look too good. Maybe drink some water and cool off.”
“Scourge,” he said, just in case Ruth didn’t get it.
She got it. Hard to miss.
She looked around to see if anyone overheard. The music and general noise of the crowd covered their conversation.
“Whatever you think you know, you don’t,” she said.
“I know who your male works for. I know the type of work he does.”
How long had Geral known? He stood all puffed up, proud of himself, like he was bursting to share the secret. Ruth couldn’t imagine Geral keeping this kind of info to himself. He enjoyed the attention too much. He must have just found out.
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know,” she said.
He deflated, like she stole his spotlight. “Oh? So you know that he has a warrant issued for beating a male nearly to death? The male was unconscious in the hospital for weeks and lost his eye. It had to be removed.”
She didn’t know those details, but it wasn’t a huge shock. Briefly, the old worry about Nox keeping secrets from her flared into existence again. She ignored it. She might not know every particular about Nox’s life, but she knew him. The real him.
“He told me. This is old news, Geral,” she said.
“He’s dangerous.”
“Exactly. That’s why I hired him.”
“A female alone with a male like that—”
“Are you pretending to care about my safety?” Ruth placed a hand on her chest for dramatic flair, made a simpering noise, and then rolled her eyes. “Frankly, I’m insulted that you thought that’d work.”
Geral’s nostrils flared. “I know certain people are willing to pay a mountain of credits for his location,” he spat.
“Is this blackmail? Really?” She wasn’t certain that blackmail would translate well. The translation chips were reliable nearly ninety-nine percent of the time, but they got creative when it came to idioms and colorful words.
“Extortion is an ugly term. I am simply relaying facts. Do with them what you will.” He spread his hands open in a gesture that suggested he was helpless, and that just pissed her off.
This smug bastard with his poorly veiled threats and smug face and standing over her like he could intimidate her with his physical size.
She jumped to her feet, forcing Geral to take an unsteady step back. She jabbed a finger at him, hitting him in the center of his chest. “What is your problem? Why do you care who I spend my time with? Just fuck off already.”
He knocked her hand away. “You stole my inheritance from me.”
“It’s the same old story with you. I don’t know why I even bother asking.”
“I will not rest until I take back what is rightfully mine,” he said, that sneer returning. He had his villainous dialogue down pat, she had to give him that.
“You know what’s funny? Well, not funny ha-ha, but funny sad, is that I’d have sold it to you if you asked nicely.”
“You lie.”
Ruth shrugged her shoulders. She resisted the urge to search the crowd for Nox, keeping her eyes on Geral in case he was dumb enough to try anything in front of a sea of witnesses.
“I’m continuing the professor’s research. That’s why he left the farm to me.” Geral opened his mouth, no doubt for some witty and highly classy remark. She added quickly, speaking over him, “Theonlyreason. I would have sold it to you when the project’s done but you had to be a dick, so now I don’t wanna. I don’t even know why you want it. You bought the Sarl place and it’s just sitting empty.”
“You lack imagination.”
“Yeah, that’s still not answering the question. Why do you want it so bad?”
