Page 76 of Take Her

After the fire burned his place outside the city down, Nero had moved into a stately building that he owned the top five floors of, and had remodeled extensively throughout the years. The outside gate opened for me, I took the elevator up, and Rio, his bodyguard-butler combo, was waiting for me inside.

“He’s still asleep,” he said.

“Tell him it’s important,” I snapped, then rephrased myself, because I liked to pretend I still had some solidarity with the working class. “Please.”

The man stared stonily at me—it was his only expression, always—but before I had to convince him to change his mind, Nero appeared at the top of a white marble stair.

“Rhaim! I would recognize that sonorous sound of irritation anywhere. To what do I owe the honor?” he asked, then frowned. “Is something wrong? Is Lia okay?”

I supposed it was nice to know he was still concerned about her wellbeing in a general sense. “She’s fine—but I made some moves yesterday. We need to talk.”

He reached the bottom of the stair and brushed Rio aside. “Of course. Coffee!” he called out, and from somewhere beyond, I was sure someone would hear him, know what he wanted, and bring him some.

Fifteen minutes later we were in his den, holding cappuccinos, and I had caught him up.

“Why did you pick Samson again?”

“Because he’s not entirely a vulture. He’s just carrion-adjacent.”

“And you think twenty-five’s reasonable?” Nero asked, then narrowed his eyes at me. “What did you have to give him to earn that?”

I shrugged. “Forty percent, a board seat, and a job done personally.”

Nero groaned at that. “Bestiola, do I not give you enough time to play?”

“Fuck you, Nero—I wouldn’t have had to be talking to him if you’d just owned up to your plan from the start.” And there were a hell of a lot of easier ways to extricate Corvo away from Freddie Senior than a public IPO—some of which were located in the tool chest in my truck.

“I’m an old man,” he said, with a grin and a shrug, like it ought to cover up a multitude of sins. “I like to pretend I can still get things by you. How is Lia doing by the way?”

“She’s smart.”

“Of course she is. That’s my part of her genes,” he said. “And no...episodes?”

I was sure to give him a mystified look, like I didn’t know what he was saying. “Like low blood sugar?” I guessed. “Or is she one of those people with the bracelets?” I said, snapping fingers to pretend to find the thoughts. “Who have epilepsy?”

“No—never mind. It’s good to hear she’s flourishing.”

I remembered how hurt she’d been to find out that her father was essentially selling his company out from underneath her. “I’m pretty sure she’d be doing better if you told her the truth.”

Nero waved his hand through the air dismissively. “Once the wedding license is signed, I’ll give the St. Clairs all my shares. My forty percent, plus Lia’s fifteen, they’ll have a majority, and no one will fault them for removing both Freddies from the board.”

I couldn’t imagine Nero ever dropping Corvo’s reins. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m an old man,” Nero repeated.

“Yeah, you’ve been bitching about that for fifteen years now. I don’t listen to you anymore when you say it,” I said, settling back in my chair.

“You never did. In fact, you’re one of the few people who consistently call me on my bullshit. As much as I find that a source of vexation in a world that bends to me by large degree, I’m still smart enough recognize its value.”

I set my coffee aside on an end table, wondering where the hell our conversation was now going. “Thank you. I think.”

He chuckled at that. “Rhaim, I’ve been hiding some things,” he said, and paused.

“Like usual,” I muttered, loud enough so he could hear.

He gave me a rueful smile. “No, these ones are not to dick with you—they’re important to me.”

I made sure to only give him an expression of deep concern, wondering if he was going to take this opportunity to tell me what the fuck was wrong with Lia.