Page 4 of Roses and Murder
Most of the Argent kids were dedicated to their moms. It had always been like that. When your father was a deadbeat whose only use for you was how he could profit off you, you tended to latch onto the parent who stayed.
All they needed to do was sign their name to the roster and they would have been given whatever cure they needed from the Baron’s stores to give to whoever needed it. Neither of them would have delayed once they had it. They wouldn’t have taken that risk with their moms.
Yeah, maybe I was starting to panic. I was worried about Neco, too. Neco would utterly lose his mind if something happened to Theda. I cared about both of those people. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them or their mothers.
Yeah, it was officially time to panic. We were going to the rich people part of town, just in case.
Neco Argent was the most infuriating man I’d ever met. Yeah, if I was going to do this, I probably needed intel from Inspector Trevils. I wasn’t skulking around murdering people, so I didn’t really keep tabs on the man like a serial killer would.
I was also planning on murdering Ollie. Ollie didn’t lie because he agreed with what The Blight was doing. He lied because it was fucking Neco. It used to be like that with us. If things hadn’t gone down the way they did, I would have lied for him, too.
Inspector Trevils gave us all the information he had on the Ghoul and promised to work with us. I would have preferredjust working with a Guttertown legend. We didn’t particularly respect the law, but Trevils was fair. He didn’t care where you were from. He cared if you were guilty. It was the Barons that took his findings and made them not fair.
Mom’s life was on the line. If I wanted to catch a killer, then I needed to understand a killer. My nemesis just so happened to be one, so I had to find a way to make peace with Neco for now.
It was late, and we were on our way back. Much later than I would have wanted because my stupid father had to get his alchemist to whip up something that would keep our mothers alive, but not cure them until we’d finished our little blackmail task.
They gave Neco a piece of parchment, seriously asked him if he could read, and then made him burn it after he read what was on it. I was guessing it was the man they wanted dead. I hated Neco, but he’d never been a bad person. I could even respect how he looked after Rowena, Theda, and the girls at the brothel. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this side of him.
But I’d actually had enough of him for today. I was ready to go home. Mom was going to be pissed. When she got the tonic and was feeling better, she was going to rip me a new arsehole. She wasn’t even going to be less angry that my payment was a one off. We promised not to do this to each other.
I stomped off to go home and Neco chased after me. What was up with that? We were never in the same vicinity if we could help it. He only came in the tavern to drink if I was in the basement. If I was in the brothel to see Beck, I avoided him. He was sticking to me like we were friends.
“Can I help you?”
“This isn’t Guttertown. It’s toxic as fuck here and you’re a stranger. If a man looked like you, he’d never shave, even if his beard was pathetic. He’d also make a big show with the ladies, so he’d never be accused of being into men. That doesn’t fly here.They will beat it out of you. Your father already thinks you’re gay and gave you a pretty hard task. Plus, you’re a bastard. He’s not going to give a shit if you get killed.”
I just grunted. Yeah, that was fair, but since when did he give a shit? His whole schtick was protecting women and children, and he thought I was Lance. Neco hated Lance. Neco broke Lance’s nose. I’d walk with him, but fuck Neco Argent.
“Do you feel better?” he asked.
Ugh. We were chatting. Neco wasn’t a talker. The only time he unloaded was when we were kids, alone, and he was upset about something. He didn’t do small talk. Everyone in Guttertown knew better. He’d listen, but unless he was close to or gave a shit, he’d just stare at you like a psychopath until you left him alone.
“Feel better about what? That my father gave me an impossible task and the only way to complete it is to pick the brain of my mortal enemy that my boyfriend had to lie for because of his extracurricular activities?”
“Boyfriend?”
What the fuck? Neco practically purred that. It was sexy as fuck, but that was a no from me. I just lifted my chin and glared at him.
“Ollie and me are together. I’m with Beck and Ronan, too.”
Neco looked intrigued, but then he hid it.
“Several girls at the brothel are going to be disappointed. I meant breaking my nose and then head-butting it.”
“Oh, yeah. That was immensely satisfying. I wouldn’t mind hitting you again.”
“I gave you two freebies. You won’t get a third.”
“Dick,” I muttered.
Neco opened his mouth, and he looked like he was about to tell me why he gave me two freebies. Because I was pretty surethat meant he wasn’t going to sneak into the tavern while I was sleeping and slit my throat, since that was a thing he did.
Beck, Ronan, and Ollie found us and they were definitely drunk. Ollie knew better because Mom drilled into both of us that we could work or we could drink, but we couldn’t do both. Ollie should technically still be at the tavern, working.
They were all messy drunk. Like, I would have kept my eye on them in case I needed to toss them. And they were all over me. And then they were all over Neco.
“This is assault,” Neco growled, pushing them away.
