Page 34 of Roses and Murder
Lucy couldn’t hold that against us and take away sex and taste testing because she knew damned well her mom was scary. We told her everything. And even though sheshouldhave been in bed, she marched out, kicked everyone out of the tavern on the biggest drinking day of the weekend, and then kicked Ronan and me out to go help Lucy.
Lucy could also be scary, but she wasn’t as scary as Caitrin yet and we were both worried about her, so we did exactly what we were told. It was storming like crazy out. We rushed to the brothel to see if maybe the Madame could spare Beck, but she was already kicking him out of the brothel when we got there.
“Take him. I knew when he met a girl, he was going to get stupid. He’s way too distracted to work.”
We all just stared at her. The Madame kneweverythingabout everyone, but she couldn’t know that. Caitrin wouldn’t have told her and Lucy was so careful we didn’t even know. The Madame just threw back her head and laughed in our faces.
“Oh, please. No sixteen-year-old boy pays to pleasure one of my girls when it’s their first time and doesn’t want anything reciprocated unless they are hiding something. I thought that was always Lance’s business, but then he finally started returning Beck’s affection. He’s just a littletoopretty.”
“Her name is Lucy,” Beck said. “She’s only pretending to be Lance because she belongs in the tavern and if she needs anything from her father, she’s going to be stuck at the brothel.”
The Madame just nodded.
“Caitrin hated that man. She even asked me about poison when he was still coming around. Honestly, good for her. Go save your girl. Her secret is safe with me.”
And I believed that. The Madame only used the secrets she knew when she needed to. Fuck, if I heard something, sometimes, I passed it to her just in case. Was I one of her little birds?
I’d think about that later. Honestly, only Beck and Neco were going to be a damned bit of good against a crazed serial killer, but Ronan and me would be cheering them on and making sure the brawl didn’t get near Lucy.
Damn, we hadn’t had a storm this bad in a long time. I could barely see a foot in front of me and the road leading out of Guttertown was mostly dirt with a few paving stones. It was going to take forever to clean my boots.
But we kept going. Neco was there, and I already knew Basselt was going to use his nose to make sure Neco and the Ghoul met. Thing was, Basselt couldn’t be in two places at once and the Ghoul could be at multiple places.
He might not even be in Lower Cutwart. I wanted him to be in the Merchant District, but I also didn’t. Lucy needed this, but I didn’t want her hurt.
I also knew she mightthinkNeco hated her guts, but he would protect her with his life.
Keeva drilled into me to leave emotion out of it. As soon as I let my emotions get the best of me, I was going to get caught. I waspissedwhen that man knocked my sister on her arse and talked to her like trash, but it was more the principle of the thing. Rowena was a tough kid. Her pride was hurt more than her body, so I was completely in control when I broke into his house and slit his throat.
The Ghoul was going to make me lose it. He was the worst of my targets and I couldn’t kill him. I’d visited his crime scenes. He’d nearly killed Lucy, and that just wasn’t acceptable. I’d still be livid if I thought she was Lance.
I wanted nothing more than to drop this man in the mud and kick his face in with my boot. The most I could do was thumphim again if he woke up, but I hit him pretty hard last time. I just really wanted to hit him again.
He had to pick the whiniest house to hit, too. I could really understand why they hadn’t been invited to this party we were trying to get the Ghoul to. Lucy nearly died saving Goran’s life. I was pissed she got hurt, but if she hadn’t gone into the alley, the Ghoul might have gotten inside the house before Basselt and I got there.
If the Ghoul had open pustules, they were under his clothes. The Madame said it could spread through sweat and saliva, but it was also pelting rain and we were holding him up around his clothes.
Goran still wouldn’t stop bitching about being exposed to Black Paranoia, how heavy he was, the rain, and the distance to the party. He hadn’t eventhankedLucy.
Maybe I would come back and kill him later.
Lucy was quiet as she walked in front of us. I would have felt better if Basselt was with us, but I needed him in the Merchant District. I just wanted to get this over with. Yeah, I got distracted by her tits and then her scars, but the knife wound on her chest was going to need to be stitched up.
I just knew she didn’t tell Caitrin she was off doing this and her momma was going to have my arse she got hurt. I’d take it. Logically, I knew I couldn’t be in two places at once and I’d gotten there as soon as I’d known, but I still blamed myself.
We were so close. I could hear the party over the thunder and lightning. They’d moved it to the barn rather than call it off. I got it. Planning name days and weddings when you were poor was complicated. You had to pay for the food and booze and everyone had to arrange their work schedules because we didn’t sit on our arses all day while someone else did the work like the Barons. If the weather turned to shit, you always wanted a friend with a barn.
Ollie, Ronan, and Beck came running up looking like drowned rats. I didn’t know why they were here, but thankfully, they didn’t come pissed this time. I was glad, though. Lucy had been through a lot tonight and she was wounded. Even if I wasn’t hauling a serial killer across Lower Cutwart, we weren’t exactly in a place where she’d want anything from me.
I’d never be outgoing like Ollie. I couldn’t make pretty things like Ronan. I couldn’t use words to make anyone feel better like Beck.
But if we got through this, I was going to tell herwhyI did all this and if she forgave me, I’d tell her I was the one who would kill for her.
Iwanted to be mad they all came. It was our busiest night of the week. Same with the brothel and Beck was here, too. But I needed them. That had been the most terrifying experience of my life. I nearly died, and I was surer than ever that someone was going to have to sew my chest up.
It took several layers of bandages across my chest to pass as a man. They saved my life, but they also got shredded in the attack. Neco’s shirt was huge, but it didn’t hide that I wasn’t a man.
Everyone in Lower Cutwart would know. We were all about to be bound in one massive conspiracy if this all went to plan. You didn’t snitch in Guttertown. That was sacred. It didn’t matter what the Barons were offering, you didn’t sell someoneout. You might get some temporary riches, but you were going to lose everything.
