Page 40 of Roses and Murder
“No. Everything changed when I realized Folcard was your father.”
I snorted.
“At least one good thing came from that arsehole siring me. You should probably kiss me.”
Because kissing Neco Argent was probably going to be sexy and a little dangerous. He also turned me down flat. What the fuck?
“The first time we kiss isn’t going to be when I’m soaking wet and you just got a knife wound sewn up. It’s going to be special.”
I broke out into goosebumps because with Neco, that could mean literally anything.
“Now, I have one big question,” Neco asked. “Who scarred your torso and who do I need to kill?”
Imanaged to convince Neco no one needed to die for my scars and that they were just a side effect from binding my chest. He looked like he briefly wanted to get revenge on some bandages, but then he realized it was pointless.
He wouldn’t kiss me and I wasn’t going to make him. Ididask him to stay the night. We were both going to have to get up early to see our fathers, and we did this all the time when we were kids. I missed it.
Neco was a perfect gentleman, even if my bed wasn’t all that big. He wrapped me up in his arms and ordered me to go to sleep. I just felt safe and protected. This was new and Neco wasn’t Ollie, Beck, or Ronan. I made sure not to grind my assagainst him in any way, even though it was pressed right against his crotch.
I didn’t want to ruin this, so I enjoyed it until I fell asleep. I was out, and it wasn’t just everything that happened before. I used to sleep better when I fell asleep in Neco’s bed.
Except Mom was in my room violently shaking me right as the sun came up and I had no idea what was going on.
“What is it?”
“Your father is outside with Trevils. Get dressed,” she hissed.
What the fuck? That wasn’t the plan, and I trusted Trevils. He completely lived up to all the stories Old Man Aimes told us when we were kids. He wouldn’t have changed the plan. Trevils wouldn’t have spoken to Folcard without me. Especially not this early. The ride to Guttertown didn’t take as long with the horses I knew they would have, but it still wasn’t short.
Mom passed me a new set of bandages. He’d already seen them once, and I didn’t particularly care if he saw them again, but Neco turned his back when I whipped off my shirt to bind my chest.
As soon as Neco and I were dressed, we went outside andeveryonewas out there. The Madame took her place next to Mom, but most of Guttertown was about to watch this go down. Most people looked the other way when a Baron slunk their way onto our streets to take a mistress, but that wasn’t what this was.
Trevils mouthed an apology to me and I realized exactly what had happened when I saw Goran sitting on the horse next to Folcard. Not only was this mannotGuttertown, the Ghoul would have easily been able to kill him because Lower Cutwart didn’t like his family enough to invite him to the celebration.
I figured out why. This man was a fucking snitch. I could see the sweat on his brow. He told Folcard some tale and Folcard dragged him all the way to Guttertown to prove it. Goran couldhave told himanything.He was there for everything because we decided to be nice and give him a chance to avenge his family.
I was going to rethink being nice to people who weren’t from Guttertown unless I was sure they deserved it.
“Open your shirt,” Folcard demanded.
Ah, fuck. He ratted outthat.Neco stepped forward.
“This man is a rat. He was a target of the Ghoul because he was raising one of your bastards, but he made it easier for the Ghoul to get to him because the rest of Lower Cutwart didn’t like him enough to invite his family to their celebration. You can’t trust anything he says.”
“I’m not stupid, boy. I was fully aware he was lying when he showed up with a story about single-handedly stopping the Ghoul and wanting a reward. When pressed, he started babbling about a one-eyed giant andmy daughter.I decided to come to Guttertown to clarify because I signed a contract with a Lance Argent. If someone used a fake name on a contract, then that is fraud and I demand payment.”
Fuck. He was trying to throw me in the brothel for free. He’d say the contract was void, and he didn’t owe Mom the cure, but since I didn’t use my name, I had committed a crime against him that I needed to pay off at the brothel. It would never be paid off. He’d leave me there until I died.
Mom stepped up next to me and squared her shoulders. She really should be in bed, but I was pretty sure she’d been wanting the chance to face my father in some capacity since he decided she was his.
And Folcard might think he was the smartest man in Nestran, but Mom was smarter.
“Check the census. When I registered her birth, I gave the name Lance Lucia Argent. It’s a family name. She signed her name as it’s written on the census. I’m guessing she didn’tcorrect you when you assumed she was a boy because she didn’t want to embarrass you that you couldn’t tell the difference, sir.”
Oh, gods, I loved my Mom. She had thought ofeverythingwhen she decided to hide me as a boy. I didn’t know she had me on the rolls officially as Lance just in case, but with Lucia as a middle name so I could be called Lucy.
And she just put it back on Folcard that he should have known if he was that smart. And this was Guttertown, so not a single person was going to speak up thattheydidn’t know, either. Most of them liked me and didn’t give a shit why they all thought I was Lance, but the ones who didn’t weren’t going to speak up, either, because the Barons might lose to Guttertown just for once.
