41. Lucy

I t was so fucked up. On my walk over here, I was prepared to double down and take every precaution as one of his men so no one found out I was a woman. Why was he changing the game now? And why did it have to involve Nestran's dueling serial killers?

I wanted nothing to do with the Ghoul and I was pretty sure the Blight was either Beck or Panas since Ollie went straight to the brothel after Aimes left. I didn't want it to be either of them, but I really didn't want it to be Beck.

The Beck I'd known my entire life couldn't do that. I wasn't judging what the Blight did. Everyone he killed had it coming. If it was anyone but Beck, I'd probably shake his hand. It meant everything I knew about Beck was a lie and when I told them all my secret, he fucked me in the barn without telling me something major like that.

I'd hear Beck out, but I wouldn't turn on him. I had a feeling I was about to be put in a position where I had to choose between Beck and Mom and I hated it.

"What do you want?" Neco said.

Neco grabbed my shirt because I had a feeling he knew Folcard pissed me off and I wanted to hit him. I knew what I looked like as a man, but he insulted Mom. I could restrain myself, but I really didn't know why he gave a shit. Or why his hand was still resting on the small of my back.

"They're both evil, obviously, but the Blight has style, and he's good. Trevils is one of the best inspectors we've ever had and he's got no clue on that one. He can't even figure out his motives. It occurred to us we could use someone like that."

What

The

Fuck.

"You want someone to kill for you?" I asked.

That was a lot. And only the Barons would hear about two men killing their subjects and choose to exploit their children when they needed help by asking them to kill for them. Why couldn't my father just be a decent man?

"Yes. We'll give you both a target."

"This is different from being a soldier," Neco said. "You can't put a knife in a man's hands and expect him to be good at it. None of the men in your employ can teach it, either. To pull off what you want requires a special skill set. I happen to have it and I have demands."

What

The

Fuck.

It wasn't Beck who was the Blight. It had been Neco the entire time. Neco made a lot more sense than Beck.

"You really think you're in a position to make demands?" Neco's father sneered.

"Yes, I do. Like I said, if you ask anyone else to do this, they are going to be caught. Self-preservation is pretty strong and it will come out that you asked them to kill for you. The people of Nestran outnumber you and the only thing between you and them are your men. If you're completely sure about their loyalty, by all means, don't worry about your sons. Keep in mind you're manipulating us into doing this by withholding treatment from our mothers."

Damn. Neco never really talked much but when he did, it was usually because he had something to say. It was rather badass that he wasn't afraid of his father or mine. There was a lot riding on this and Neco was brave enough to negotiate conditions.

"Proceed," Folcard said, waving his hand.

"I'm going to win your challenge. Lance won't be able to do it without getting caught. I'll be your killer, but Lance's mom gets the cure, too, and my father never goes near his daughter. If Momma and Rowena ever need anything further from you, you take payment from me and leave Rowena out of it. I know what I bring to the table. I also won't kill women or children."

Damn. Was this the same Neco Argent who I'd been fighting with for the last ten years? I didn't want to kill someone to save Mom. I would, but I'd probably be caught and hang for it. If Neco was the Blight, then he only killed men who hurt women and kids. That tracked with everything I knew about Neco.

He was keeping his code about not killing women or children, but he was agreeing to kill more than the guilty to save his mom. Neco also knew I would hang if I tried this, so he was giving me an out. He was protecting me just as much as he was protecting Rowena and he was making sure Mom got the cure, too.

What the fuck changed?

Folcard just smiled, and I didn't like that smile.

"Ah, but we weren't finished. We'll agree to most of your terms. My son needs to earn the cure. You don't get anything free in life. There are two of you. We knew one of you might not have the stomach for killing someone who didn't wrong you, so there's a second challenge," Neco's father said.

Of course. It couldn't be this easy. Neco's hand tensed on my back and I had no idea why the warmth was comforting me. We'd hated each other for the last ten years.

"Lance can either handle the name we give him or he can take The Ghoul out of the equation."

Fuck me. Neco tried to fix it, but the only way to get the cure to Mom if that plant wasn't ready to harvest was to kill someone who was probably innocent or take on a serial killer.

Either way, I was fucked.