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I wanted to be mad they all came. It was our busiest night of the week. Same with the brothel and Beck was here, too. But I needed them. That had been the most terrifying experience of my life. I nearly died, and I was surer than ever that someone was going to have to sew my chest up.

It took several layers of bandages across my chest to pass as a man. They saved my life, but they also got shredded in the attack. Neco’s shirt was huge, but it didn’t hide that I wasn’t a man.

Everyone in Lower Cutwart would know. We were all about to be bound in one massive conspiracy if this all went to plan.

You didn’t snitch in Guttertown. That was sacred.

It didn’t matter what the Barons were offering, you didn’t sell someone out.

You might get some temporary riches, but you were going to lose everything.

It was a trust thing. No one would do business with you after that. You couldn’t get supplies and people wouldn’t buy from you. Because we were all cheating on our taxes and we didn’t need some arsehole bringing that to anyone’s attention.

Ollie and Ronan were fawning over me and I honestly needed that. Beck went back to help Neco because honestly, Goran was kind of useless and Neco might decide to kill him for that. I knew Neco had a code, but this was also a tense situation.

We were finally at the barn. I could hear laughter and music inside. I completely would have preferred being at some celebration than doing any of this, but I was so close to getting Mom the cure.

“Make yourself useful and go knock,” Neco growled. “These people don’t know us and won’t let us in because we’re from Guttertown.”

“They hate me more than they hate you!” Goran snapped.

“Yeah, but everyone loves me,” Ollie said, marching towards the barn.

Ollie wasn’t wrong. It was why he always worked the bar. It didn’t matter who walked through our doors or what kind of mood they were in, after two minutes with Ollie, they were butter in his hands and spilling all their drama.

Ollie was our best chance of getting into that barn without the crowd turning on us.

Lovable, easygoing Ollie. I was already mad and bleeding.

If these people laid a finger on Ollie, I was going to go feral.

I’d already fought a serial killer and won.

I could totally take on a barn full of most of Lower Cutwart.

Ollie went in and he took a while to come out. I was starting to get worried, but that was when the cavalry arrived. Trevils was there with Basselt on the back of his horse.

Basselt couldn’t get off the horse fast enough. If this situation wasn’t so shit, I probably would have laughed at the look on his face and how he was walking. Yeah, I would imagine since he could turn into a wolf and run, he didn’t really have a need to ride a horse.

Basselt turned to stroke the horse’s nose and then thanked him for the ride. Shit, were we supposed to do that? Could Basselt talk to animals? Could he talk some sense into our donkey?

“Shit, you got him?” Trevils asked.

I crossed my arms over my chest and walked over. Trevils wasn’t a snitch. He hated the Barons just as much as we did. He said he trusted the men with him, but I didn’t know them. I’d draw my own conclusions.

Trevils peered at the Ghoul and frowned.

“He’s dressed like a Baron, but I don’t know him.

I’ve met all of them and the kids. I know the extended families that don’t have titles because they’ve sent for me to look into completely asinine things.

I notice everything, so I pay attention to their kids and their staff. I’ve never seen this man before.”

“You think he stole the clothes?” I asked.

“Most of us have never met them. I wouldn’t know their kids from my arsehole.

But if someone came up to me dressed like that, I’d automatically think they were kin to the Barons.

I also heard him talk when he pulled a knife on me.

Unless he’s faking, he’s got that pretentious accent like them. ”

“He didn’t or someone would have had me digging into it.

They outgrow their clothes or they fall out of fashion and they stop wearing them.

They have rooms bigger than my house full of clothes, but their servants do inventory on everything in the house every few months because they are paranoid the poor people they employ are stealing from them.

“They double check their work just to make sure they aren’t hiding something. I’ve been called to investigate missing shoes, jewelry, combs, but this man is in his twenties. If he stole clothing recently, no one asked me to look into it, and trust me, they would have.”

I heard this absolutely evil laugh. The Ghoul was awake again and Neco looked ready to hit him again. Maybe I was stupid and should let him, but I’d been dragged, kicking and screaming with my mom used as blackmail, into this serial killer mess and I guess I just needed to know why.

I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night unless I knew what caused a man to do that because I didn’t think it was all Black Paranoia. The Madame said all it did was amplify what was already there.

And if I had any hope of my plan actually working, I needed every detail I could get.

“Don’t hit him. Hold him,” I said.

Because honestly, between Beck and Neco, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I was given the clothes. I’m going to be given everything else when I’m done,” the Ghoul sneered.

“You sure about that? You haven’t even been given the cure for Black Paranoia,” I said.

“You were one of them. I saw you go in and I was eventually going to kill you. Then you fell into my lap. You weren’t supposed to fight back.”

I snorted.

“I’m honestly shocked no one else did.”

“Do you know who my father is?”

“Don’t really give a shit, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to tell me.”

“I’m Folcard’s first-born son. The title is mine.

His wife was having trouble producing an heir.

The only successful birth she had was a girl.

Folcard got desperate. He started having bastards all over Nestran.

But I’m the first son and my mother has the proper pedigree.

I was just taking out my half-siblings and then I would have killed the son he dropped me to recognize, and then Folcard finally would have given me what I was owed. ”

Shit. This man would have murdered me and Mom because of Folcard.

Then, he would have taken out Autar and his family when Autar’s mom didn’t have much choice in the matter.

Autar was hopeless with women, but he was a good guy.

If he actually learned to talk to women the right away, he would treat his future wife like the Queen of Nestran.

The bastards of Guttertown wanted nothing to do with the Barons. If our fathers showed up and offered us a title, yeah, we totally wouldn’t have trusted that. We knew we were going to end up getting screwed, and no one wanted to be a Baron unless we could change things.

We certainly weren’t willing to do all this for it. And the thing was, I didn’t know if Folcard would have been impressed by all the murder to get what he wanted. It seemed like the kind of thing the Barons found impressive.

“You know them better than we do,” I told Trevils. “Would that actually work?”

“Yes. Folcard would consider that kind of blood thirstiness impressive and his true heir. Especially if he’s got no other living sons. Which is stupid because his daughter is actually brilliant and better suited to inherit the title.”

“So, you see, you have to let me go to continue my work. I’m protected as Folcard’s first-born son.”

Ronan stepped forward and grinned.

“Except you haven’t actually killed Folcard’s heir. You’re at the point in your deranged plot where you’re just some bastard who threatened a Baron.”

That was it. It was how I got Mom the cure. Folcard didn’t care about his bastards. I was living proof. I presented the Ghoul and let Folcard know his heir was next and he had to give me the cure.

Except Neco Argent ruined everything when he whipped out his knife and slit the Ghoul’s throat.