Lucas was fuming at the thought of whatever it was Adin was up to. That wasn’t the real reason, though, and he knew it. It was just an excuse. The words of the Prince rang in his ear as he took the stairs two at a time once he got back inside the house.
The man is a leach. Did you know he once tried to sell his sister’s virtue to me for a tax debt that was almost sixty dragons?
Those terrible words were something that he’d always meant to handle, eventually. However, if he was here, and if the asshole was stealing from them, then he might as well handle everything at once.
Lucas barged into Adin’s room without knocking and found him standing there with his arms out while his manservant dressed him. Both of them turned in surprise, but even as Lord Parin’s smile widened and he started to greet Lucas, Lucas barked, “You, take a hike. Your master and I have something to discuss.”
The manservant backed away uncertainly, and that uncertainty only grew when Adin grabbed for the man’s arm and said, “Now Lucas, I’m sure that what you have to say has some urgency, but surely it can wait until after I'm decent, and I’ve eaten breakfast.”
“Decency isn’t something I really something I associate with you, man,” Lucas answered as he cracked his knuckles menacingly. “Your manservant is welcome to stay if he wants to show loyalty. I can respect that, but I’ll still kick his ass too.”
Truthfully, Lucas wasn’t much of a fighter. Without a sword in his hand, he was mid at best, but against a limp-wristed sop like Adin, he was practically a heavyweight champion. His manservant wasn’t a lot better than that, but still, Lucas was confident he could take them both if it came to that.
Fortunately, it didn’t. Instead, the well-dressed young man took one look at the situation, pulled his hand free from his master’s grip, and quickly exited the room.
“Now Lucas, you know that this place is crawling with guards these days,” Adin said, backing away toward the wall that held the pull cord for the call bell. “One ring from me and…”
“Adin, you wear fancy clothes, attend all the best parties, and live in a house that has your name on it, but don’t think for a minute that means this place belongs to you anymore,” Lucas answered, slowly walking closer. “Anyone you call is getting paid by me and—”
“Perhaps you haven’t heard,” the noble shot back. “While you were gone, my debts were settled, and I’ve gotten my titles back. Do you know what the penalty is for striking a hereditary noble?”
Lucas paused and let the man look smug for a moment. With his puffed-out chest and his unbuttoned shirt, he obviously thought he was untouchable. Lucas waited for a second like he’d let the reality of the situation sink in. Then, just as the lordling started to relax, he punched him hard in the stomach.
Adin doubled over, and then, after another second, he dropped to his knees. “How dare you,” he hissed as he gasped for breath.
“How dare I?” Lucas asked. “How dare you be so fucking stupid? Do you have any idea what they do to people like you where I come from? They break your fingers. They put you in a coma. They throw you off the overpass into the expressway.”
The unfamiliar words obviously confused Adin more than they put the fear into him, but he ignored that. “I’m getting married next week, and when the Torvins hear about how you’ve treated their son-in-law, they’ll—”
“They’ll know you're weak and easy to put in your place,” Lucas interrupted. He’d thought about hitting the man again, but unless he was going to really fuck him up, he’d probably sent enough of a message for now. So, instead of kicking the man while he was down, he sat down on Adin’s bed and decided to beat him verbally instead now that he’d made his point. “As to your marriage, my present will be not to punch you in the face, so you have to show up to the chapel with a black eye.”
“You might think that you’re important, but the Prince will not stand for this sort of behavior; he’ll—” Adin said, with more confidence this time now that he’d slowly straightened back up.
“Hey, asshat,” Lucas shot back. “I’m working for the Prince right now, but if you think running to mommy and crying is going to do shit, well, I won’t even feel bad about what happens next. The fact is you’ve already fucked up, and the fact that you’re threatening consequences and retribution instead of asking me what in the fuck is going on tells me everything I need to know.”
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“But I haven’t—” Adin started to say.
“Where we go,” Lucas answered, ignoring him. “Too little, too late. You fucked up, and you thought I wouldn’t be around to notice.”
“You’d believe the word of that dwarf over me?” Adin asked.
“Every day of the week,” Lucas answered. “I mean, it’s my fault, I knew you’d steal a little, but I didn’t have a better answer. This, though - it's too much.”
“A Parin would never steal!” the noble shot back. “I may have repurposed some funds, but then a third of all of this is mine. It's hardly theft when I’m simply securing my fair share.”
“Fair share, huh? That’s what we’re going with?” Lucas nodded. “I’ll have Kar’gandin note that in his books and—”
“The man is a twice damned thief,” Adin cursed. “You know that. A smuggler and a thief!”
“It’s true,” Lucas agreed. “But since you want to talk about the good old days, then remind me, what was it you were in that dungeon for?”
“I…” Adin’s mouth moved up and down, but no words came out as the gears in his head started to spin. He might be a weasel, but when it came to things like this, he was clever enough.
“Listen,” he started again. “I can imagine what it is that the Prince might have told you, but I can assure you that—”
“Offering your sister up to a man like that just because you enjoy spending money more than you enjoy making it?” Lucas said, not bothering to hide his disgust. “I don’t want you near her. Honestly, I don’t want you living under the same roof as her.”
That threat wasn’t nearly enough for his boiling blood. Lucas wanted to thrash the man. He wanted to bounce him off the walls until he was begging and bleeding. He didn’t, though. He kept his rage on ice while he tried to work out what the smart thing to do was.
“You think you can kick me out of my own house?” Adin answered. “This manor is mine by title and deed. I mean to move my wife here in a few weeks time, after a short honeymoon, of course. Not even the Prince would step in to remove a Viscount from his own abode.”
“Fine,” Lucas said, agreeing with that assessment for once. “Then we’ll move her out. And when all of this is said and done, you can stand on your own two feet like the proud Viscount you are.”
Honestly, Lucas wanted to strangle the man, but given the relationship with the Whisperers, that was not wise. Moving Danaria away from him, though, that was a fine plan. After all, if they could move Danaria away, they could move the lab too, and once they did that, there was no reason not to cut Adin off completely or at least be able to if necessary. It made for a fine threat.
“What do you mean, my own two feet?” Adin said, his eyes narrowing as his racing mind seemed to reach a similar conclusion to Lucas’s.
“I mean what I said,” Lucas smiled, standing once more. He hadn’t kicked the man’s ass as he’d planned, but he certainly felt better about the whole thing. “I didn’t have to help you after you got shot. I didn’t have to ride out here and save your life, and I certainly don’t have to keep carrying you. Do you want to be a part of this thing? Then, be useful. You want to sit around and spend money you don't have and didn't do much to earn? Well, that's an option, too, but not for a hell of a lot longer.”
“Are you threatening me?” Adin responded, looking a little angry. That was pretty typical. Addicts usually got pissed when you told them the gravy train was over.
“No, I’m telling you what happens next,” Lucas answered with a shrug as he turned to the door. “A threat would be reminding you that every man guarding your home is being paid by me. A threat would be explaining how Hura’gh would probably make sure you disappear forever for free. A threat would be reminding you that the only reason you’re still breathing is because of a political alliance of questionable value now that I’m on a first-name basis with the ruler of the kingdom.”
It wasn’t all true, of course. The Prince might do him a solid, but the price would certainly be high, and Hura’gh would happily rip Adin to pieces, though he’d certainly charge for the service. It didn’t need to be true, though. It just needed to be frightening, and Lucas didn’t have to turn around to see that he’d hit his mark.
Outside, Lucas found the manservant he’d dismissed so roughly standing there along with Gerwin and one of the aforementioned guards. “I trust that Master Parin is still fit to be dressed and resume his duties?” Gerwin asked.
“He’s fine,” Lucas said, flashing the three of them his best shit-eating grin. “He and I just had a lot of catching up to do, that’s all.”
“Very good,” Gerwin agreed dubiously.
Lucas left them there, noting the confusion about what it was they were supposed to do in a situation like that. Adin might not like it, but they reflected the truth. Whether he was a Parin or not, Lucas was the real master of this house. At least he was for now. If that snake Arissa was going to be living here, though, well, maybe it would be for the best if his operation started moving out to somewhere a little more secure.
Given all the money they’d invested in repairing the old place, it seemed like a terrible waste. That said, it was going to be nigh impossible to keep any secrets from her watchful eyes once she had a run of the place, and she’d figure out the trick to the cider house in no time with all the traffic coming and going from there even if Adin didn’t spill the beans first.
The whole idea gave him a headache. This wasn’t what he’d come home to discuss and was a waste of his valuable time. Still, it needed to be done and was better done now than six months from now when the Torvins had already made their move, whatever that was going to be.
Lucas tried to look on the bright side. Now, he had the perfect excuse to sit down with Danaria and chat for a while. The fact that he had to figure out how to suggest that she consider moving out of her ancestral home… well, that was something he’d figure out along the way.