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“Throw him over your horse.” I wave my finger toward an unconscious Townes Primrose. Snow turns my dark-blond hair white, and my eyes sting from the cold, relentless flakes.
Lucian grabs one of Townes’ arms and throws it over his shoulder. The new gawky young thug, about eighteen years of age, though he’s not too sure, himself, throws the other arm over his shoulders. When they pause before Lucian’s horse, they exchange glances with one another. Their waistcoats flap about in the brutal wind, and the frail youth shivers. He’s wearing a cloth hat that is frozen now, and he’s barely keeping it together.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I ask, looking around. Not out of fear of being caught, but rather from the need to be as efficient as possible without any collateral damage. It would be too much of a hassle if anyone else were to come upon us and witness this. Although, I suppose, we’d just have to pretend to be good old bastards helping a poor old simpleton who got trapped in a blizzard.
“Boss…” Lucian sighs but as I cock my head at him, raising my brows, he doesn’t waste any more of his breath. He grumbles before muttering something to the youth who grabs Townes by his legs.
Lucian goes for the old man’s waist and together, they hoist him over until his upper body is pushing up against the horse. The animal neighs in frustration.
“Look at him. Pathetic. Pity I couldn’t let the wolves have him. I reckon he’d fill their bellies up for a few days.” I scoff, circling them on Midnight.
Lucian pants. “Say, mate, I reckon he would.” He chuckles, patting the stallion’s side before leaning up against it for support. He runs his hand across his long, dark-brown hair and grimaces when he finds it almost frozen.
Townes is out cold on his belly, bent over sideways on the horse’s back. He could slide off on the ride back, but I hope he doesn’t. He’s worth more to me alive than he is dead. How else would I recover the money he stole from me?
“What man doesn’t know how to care for themselves in the woods?” I scoff. “It’s ridiculous.” Rolling my eyes, I gently press my calves into Midnight’s ribcage. “Now let’s get the hell out of this bloody blizzard.”
We head toward my house in the mountains. It’s about seven hours outside of Colderidge and five hours outside of Lhyrenia. Except for our lanterns, it’s pitch black by the time we pull up to my home. The stars and the moon can’t twinkle through the towering trees that provide housing to creatures and birds, all of which can be heard skittering, squeaking, and calling in the bushes.
We’ve opened my large metal gates that creak when they’re being pulled. We’ve trotted along the paved path toward the front door, not to mention the hour’s long ride of galloping over hills and through rocky paths just to make it here to begin with, and still, it surprises me that this fat bastard hasn’t roused.
“He’s so peaceful. Be a shame to wake him.” Lucian dismounts his horse before standing with his hands on his hips, grinning at me.
With my mouth open, I shake my head. “Fascinating. Poor fool must have thought he died and decided to stick to the role,” I say with a slight smirk before dismounting Midnight and quickening my feet toward the door. We escape the worst of the elements with that blizzard once we leave Lhyrenia, but the night is swiftly upon us which leaves our clothes damp and cold. I’m anxious to get inside and sit before the fire. Shivering, I watch as Lucian and the youth struggle to pull Townes off the horse, dropping him on his head in the process.
“Oop!” the youth gasps. “Now he’s definitely not waking up.” His cheeks grow red though he tries to keep his expression rigid. I can tell he’s scared out of his wits, and he should be if he… they… managed to kill him before he can pay me back.
Lucian nudges Townes with his boot before reaching down to check his pulse. “Aye. He’s still alive.”
“Good. Now, will you two hurry up?” I groan, waving into the house before calling for Carlson. But as I turn to do so, he’s already behind me with a candle. He looks between all of us and an unmoving Townes before settling calm and unbothered eyes upon me.
“Carlson, would you mind lighting the fires in my chambers and setting out some fresh clothes. I’m a bloody mess,” I say.
“Yes, sir.” He nods before walking away but not before sighing at the sight of Lucian and the youth being morons.
“You could help us and not just stand there,” Lucian grumbles before catching a breath.
“Then what would be the purpose of you guys?” I ask. “Come on, hurry up.”
Lucian mutters an insult beneath his breath, and I bite back a smile. The truth is that my day has been made, finding Townes. It’s not even about the money. It’s about teaching him a lesson. Whether he has my money or spent it all, I’ll have a lot of fun with him.
We’ve been trailing him from Lhyrenia, and we didn’t strike right away because it felt good to be in the shadows, spying on him, knowing that he was none the wiser. I might have even let him ride all the way back to Colderidge, keep eyes on him there, taunt him a bit with written notes to make him know we’re watching him, mess with his brain. But he lacks one of those. The fool tried to frighten wolves away with a piece of newspaper on fire. He’s ridiculous. He doesn’t deserve to call himself a man.
“Put him in the cellar. I’ll be with him in a moment,” I say once they’ve finally brought him inside.
“Will that be all, boss? I think we’d like to get out of these damp, heavy clothes as much as you would,” Lucian snarls.
Slapping him on the arm, I grin. “You know what, I’ll handle it from here. Now hurry off before you catch cold and get some food in you. Can’t have you dying on me,” I say.
“Oh really? I thought it didn’t matter to you whether we lived or died,” Lucian says with a wave of his brow.
“It depends on the hour, mate.” I click my tongue against my teeth, smiling before taking the stairs two at a time and shedding my clothes as soon as I’m outside my bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I sigh as the warmth of the crackling fire envelops my naked body. Leftover shivers cause short spurts of violent shakes before I’m settled and drying my hair with the towel laid out next to my nightshirt, trousers, silk drawers, and undershirt. Good on Carlson for giving me options, but I won’t need my nightshirt for now.
Dressed, I make my way down to the dining room for dinner. Lucian isn’t sitting with me. He’s probably having dinner with Gloria in their quarters. Gloria is one of my housekeepers, and she’s Lucian’s woman. They claim to be in love.
Grabbing my glass of wine, I sigh, shaking my head. Fools. They’ll find out soon enough that the whole thing—love, trust, commitment—it’s all a sham. I’ve tried to warn him, but he won’t take telling. He’ll just have to learn the hard way, just as I did. I down my wine and pour myself another. There’s no one sitting with me in the dining room. It’s quiet. A bit lonely, but it’s safe.
Biting into some pork, I sigh and close my eyes. A tightness swells in my chest and tugs at me. I shudder from the impact, clearing my throat, straightening my shoulders, and finishing my meal before heading down to the cellar to see if my guest has yet awakened. If not, the pitcher of cold water in my hand should do the trick.
