18. Neco

W hy was I constantly running into Lance Argent? All I was trying to do was get home from Ilyn's shop. Momma saw his brother Athan earlier in the day because I made her. I had the money because I stole it from the man I murdered. I didn't spend it as soon as we got it. I usually hid some.

I was going to buy us a house one day so she could retire from the brothel. I just wasn't there yet. One day. Right now, I'd happily spend money on the healers because she was coughing up blood.

Athan thumped all over her and confirmed she had an infection in her lungs. It wasn't the Pale Plague, so thank fuck for that. She quarantined herself at first because that was the Madame's rules. Athan said that was why Rowena and I didn't get it.

There were herbs he could prescribe that would lessen the cough, but if the infection got worse, I'd have to contact my father because the Barons had access to a compound that would help.

Mother fuck. I should have told Lance. His mom was sick, too, and I had nothing against Caitrin. Lance was already tearing ass down the street back to the tavern. I needed to get to Ilyn's shop, but then I'd swing by the tavern just in case they hadn't gotten a healer yet.

Ilyn was a grumpy fuck on a good day, but he was pleasant as long as you didn't come into his shop covered in blood and gore or weren't snotting everywhere. And if you didn't show up five minutes before he was trying to close up like I did. Ilyn got less pissed about staying late than he did about blood and snot, so he helped me instead of kicking me out.

I had herbs and roots for Momma. I hated Lance, but I'd always liked and admired Caitrin. She offered Momma a job more than once, but we lost our house, too. The brothel had free room and board for her and two kids, so she never took Caitrin up on it.

I didn't know if Caitrin's cough was the same as what my mother had, but I could at least pass it on. That meant talking to Lance if I couldn't find Caitrin. Caitrin probably wouldn't be working. Lance wouldn't let her.

Lance just pissed me off. Every time I saw him, I remembered him kicking me when I was down and I wanted to hit him again. And then I realized how beautiful he was and that he was my first crush. I wanted to kiss him and that pissed me off, too, because I didn't know if we were half-brothers or not.

Ugh. And no one had been acting up in Guttertown, so I couldn't go slit a throat to make myself feel better. Though, I did really enjoy myself with Beck. I could do that again.

Best get this out of the way. I went straight to the Whispering Raven instead of the brothel. Ollie was behind the bar and Ronan was bussing tables, but Lance was nowhere to be found. Ollie knew everyone's business, so he'd know where Lance was.

I took a seat at the bar. Ollie also knew most of my business, including what I usually drank. He had a whiskey poured and slid it over to me before my ass was even on the stool.

"How's Theda? Did the soup help?"

"Athan saw her. He said it's some kind of lung infection. It could clear up with the herbs he recommended or it could get worse and I'd have to contact my father."

"Fuck. I don't know, man. That's rough. Lance knows that's a possibility, and he's been busting his ass coming up with new spirits to sell so he never has to."

I didn't particularly want to see my old man, either. I knew who he was, but I wasn't exactly throwing his name around Guttertown. I didn't want to be associated with that. He was a complete fuck-wit deadbeat with two kids he wasn't taking care of and if we ever needed anything from him, he'd demand payback.

"Lance might have to. Athan said there's a compound that would cure it, but only the Baron's healers can make it. He gave me a list of herbs and roots. I don't know if Caitrin has the same thing, but can you pass that along to Lance?"

I knew he would. Ollie loved talking. Always had for as long as I'd known him. He knew this was important, and he cared for Caitrin.

"Yeah, but I wish you and Lance would make peace and you could tell each other this shit. Lance was wrong for what he said to you, but he was a stupid kid acting out because his friend was cutting him out. Back then, Lance was always shooting his mouth off and doing stupid shit. He should have gotten his nose broken a lot more often, but he had us."

I grunted. I didn't want to talk about Lance.

"Lance did us a solid bringing the soup over. I hold no malice towards Caitrin. She's a good woman. I was returning the favor."

"Then consider this a favor. You have competition in the Trulos District," Ollie said, leaning in where no one could hear him.

What the fuck? Ollie knew everything about everyone, but there was no fucking way he could have known about my trips to the Trulos District. The very first thing Keeva taught me was how to travel in the shadows without being seen. No one could have seen me.

I just stared at Ollie. I really didn't want to slit his throat because he knew my secret. Ollie was goofy, and we'd played together since we were toddlers.

"Speak," I growled in a low voice.

"Beck and I pieced it together between what he knew from the brothel and what I overheard at the tavern. We don't give a shit. We think you're doing a great thing and will protect you. They've given you a nickname and there was an inspector in here asking questions. I think I put him off looking at Guttertown for suspects.

"But there's someone else killing in the Trulos district and I don't think they have the same reasons as you. They are also messy about it and killing the entire family, not just the men. They are leaving evidence everywhere and taking trophies like a sicko."

"The women and children, too?"

Because if he was, he'd find himself on the other end of my blade. All this recent interaction with Lance had put me on edge, but I couldn't kill anyone who didn't deserve it.

"Apparently. And before you get stabby about it, there's a pretty famous inspector looking into it and I didn't risk my beautiful arse lying to him so you could do something stupid and lose your head."

Ollie really did have a nice arse.

"I slice, not stab. And do you really want this man eventually making his way to Guttertown because he wasn't caught in time? Also, the Barons decide who faces justice. If this person is important, they might look the other way if he makes Guttertown his hunting ground.

"There's a difference between a serial killer and an assassin. You don't have to worry about me unless you earn my knife. This man is random and unpredictable. He's even more dangerous when you know the Barons may look the other way as long as it doesn't happen in their backyard."

"Be careful, Neco. You're still one of us and we care about you. If someone finds you at the scene struggling with the killer, they won't care what the truth is. You're from Guttertown and they will automatically pin it on you."

That much was true. Surprising another killer wasn't going to be like popping out of the shadows and slitting the throat of a man who thought he was safe in his sitting room. There would be a struggle and they would definitely pin it on me if they caught me.

My accent would give me away as being from Guttertown. It was the one thing I struggled with. Keeva said if I wanted to kill in the Trulos District, I needed to talk like them. I felt like a fancy-pants cunt every time I talked with that accent and could never pull it off because Keeva said I looked like I was sucking a lemon and trying to pass a really hard turd at the same time.

Yeah, Keeva was mean sometimes. She hurt my feelings, and I wasn't sure I had any sometimes.

I needed to practice the accent with a straight face. It would help me blend in if anyone talked to me and I could root out who this person was. I didn't have to surprise them at a kill scene. I'd only do that if the women and children were in danger.

This man liked to break into people's houses and kill them, but he wasn't as good at that as I was. Let's see how he liked it right before he died.

But first things first because I was curious.

"What nickname did they give me?"