3. Oliver

I was able to open the tavern a little earlier today. Caitrin and Lance had been buying meat when needed because Lance was scrawny and had trouble carrying deer and boar home, but when my parents were running this place, my dad hunted. I had no problem hunting because Lance was usually needed in the basement figuring out drinks.

My uncle was also a farmer, so that helped. We had enough meat to serve stew tonight. I'd have to hunt again in the morning, but I was fine with that. When I unlocked the door, Lance was already getting things started. Which was weird because the arrangement we had was that Caitrin and I worked the front of the house most of the time unless Caitrin was helping Lance with alchemist shit brewing spirits.

"Mom's cough is worse. I told her to take the day off. I'll be helping."

Yeah, and being cranky pants about it, too. Did I mention I was madly in love with Lance? Lance had no right to be that beautiful. He had short, blond hair, but it had red highlights when the light hit it. His eyes were a lighter shade of blue than even the sky. I wanted to kiss that pouty mouth that was always insulting me. Lance had this lithe body.

Alas, after I hit my growth spurt, realized I was attracted to him, and started hitting on him, he made it clear he wasn't into other men. Which was a shame. We couldn't marry in the eyes of the king and Barons, but we could definitely get Guttertown married.

I was into the person, not the gender, but not everyone was like that. I backed off and never got sexual with Lance, but I did try to make him laugh and that seemed to piss him off, too. One day, that man was going to laugh at one of my jokes. Asking him to sling ale when his mind was on a basement project was going to be a disaster.

Lance could flirt and joke with the best of us, but he was happiest in the basement. And from what he told me, what he was working on could bring us a lot of money.

"Actually, Ronan was asking to sling ale or work in the kitchen for a few nights. One of the Barons commissioned him and then shafted him when it came time to pay him. He couldn't exactly refuse to hand it over until he got his money because the Baron would retaliate and he'd never get another commission again.

"We've had a few good nights and can afford to pay him. I don't like Caitrin's cough, either. It'll give her a few nights off and you the time to figure out your formula. Everyone loves Ronan and bitching about the Barons. They'll all show up to drink when they find out what they did to him. It benefits everyone. You get time to tinker with your formula, Caitrin gets to heal, and Ronan is a friend."

"Ugh. That Baron is shit for that. You know Mom would have let him work even if she wasn't sick and sales were bad, but everyone loves your stupid face and business has been booming since you were old enough to take over a little. Ronan is one of us."

I grinned.

"You're literally the only person in Nestran who thinks my face is stupid."

Because I was just as pretty as Lance, just in a very different way. Lance had this androgynous beauty, but I bulked up helping on my uncle's farm growing up. Beck was another one of our friends we grew up with, like Ronan. His mom was the Madame. He took his bodyguard duties seriously, but any time I visited him just to hang out, I got offered freebies.

Was that a blush? Did I just catch the unflappable Lance Argent blushing over something I just said? Was he maybe slightly into men and was just starting to realize it? I didn't get a chance to find out because Lance went stomping off towards the basement.

As soon as Lance left, Neco Argent flung the door open and stepped inside. Lance and Neco may or may not be related. No one would know until their mothers name dropped their fathers. Since they hadn't, it was one of the Barons. If it wasn't a Baron, a Guttertown woman would name and shame all day if he didn't step up.

Neco was a complete psychopath, but he was a friend. Case in point, he was covered in blood.

"That your blood or someone else's?"

Neco hated everyone but his mother and sister and he had no problem letting them know that. He tolerated me. One day, I was going to make the big brute my friend again. Because Neco Argent was sexy in the most dangerous way possible.

His mom avoided the brothels after he was born but got forced into it after she got pregnant with his sister. The Madame took them in, gave them a room, and let Theda choose when she wanted to start working.

Theda was passing through the lounge where the working girls were finding clients to get a bite to eat when she was just about to pop with Rowena. There wasn't a single woman who would have agreed to have sex that far along because it wasn't safe.

Some entitled merchant thought if he paid enough, Theda would do it. She refused and when he tried to make her the Madame ordered him to leave. He got violent, but her bodyguard was putting out a fire in one of the rooms, so ten-year-old Neco stepped in.

Neco got the shit kicked out of him, lost an eye, and had a long scar over that missing eye, but he took it personally. Neco just kind of exploded when he hit fifteen and grew to be this massive guy. He also got hot as fuck with that eye patch and scar.

I was also one hundred percent sure he was killing people.

Our tavern was right next door to the brothel and, as a barkeeper, I got all the gossip. If someone hurt one of those girls or a Guttertown brat, I heard about it. I also heard some tales about men getting their throats slit in the dead of night with no witnesses and no evidence. Beck told me the girl who got hurt always had a bag of money on her nightstand when she woke up like magic. It wasn't that hard to put two and two together.

Of course, I was never going to bring this up. Honestly, good for Neco. Those people shat on us and abused us and constantly got away with it. Still, I didn't think Neco was careless enough to walk around covered in blood. He just flung his black hair out of his eyes. Fuck me, he was hot.

"Well, it's certainly not mine, and I'm not about to get caught walking around with human blood on me. I caught a boar earlier this morning," he said, winking at me.

Interesting. Was Neco Argent into men? I'd hit that. I'll bet he'd hold you down and choke you, but he was a big cuddler afterwards. Still, if he wasn't, I wouldn't hint I was thinking about it. He seemed to have an MO with who he killed, but I definitely didn't want to be next.

"Most people wash after they clean their kills."

"No time. It's Rowena's name day and I've come into some funds to make it a good one. Can we use your uncle's land for the party? I could roast the boar there and Momma is going to bake a cake. You're all invited, of course. I think Rowena and your cousin have crushes on each other."

"Is that going to end badly for Baryn?"

Everyone adored Rowena. That kid had spunk. She punched me in the kidneys once and it fucking hurt for a pocket-sized Guttertown brat. Neco made sure no one was going to hurt that girl. Neco had his thing about hurting kids, but he might make an exception if his sister got hurt.

"Nah. I told Rowena not to start shit, but to finish it if someone else wants to. She's not going to hit him unless he hits her first."

"Um, your sister tried to make my kidneys bleed with her fist and I didn't do a fucking thing to her."

"That was just a misunderstanding," Neco said, waving his hand. "Anyway, can we have her party on your uncle's land?"

"Yeah. I don't even have to ask. Rowena is over all the time and she's bonded with one of the horses. She's got a way with animals. If you aren't careful, my uncle is going to steal her when she finishes school and teach her to break horses."

"Good. Right now, she wants to be a soldier."

That sounded accurate. Rowena would probably make a hell of a general. In Guttertown, the women could kick your ass just as well as the men, but in the rest of Nestran, women didn't and weren't allowed to fight.

"We'll make it happen. Tell my uncle I sent you, but if you open with it's for Rowena's name day, he's going to automatically say it's okay. Your sister is one of Guttertown's favorite brats."

"Thanks."

Neco let his mask slip for a minute. I think he honestly thought I was going to tell him no. Everyone really did love Rowena and as far as I was concerned, Neco was a hero fighting for the people the rest of Nestran shit on and the law wouldn't do anything about.

As a bartender, I heard a lot of secrets. I kept most of them. I only repeated what I overheard to the appropriate parties if someone was going to get hurt or shafted.

Neco kept to himself, but he could probably use a friend, even if he might not want a fuck buddy. I could be that friend by keeping an ear and eye out for him.