Page 60 of Servitude to Serpents

The sounds of keys being pushed from the lounge tell me Pup is still determined to teach the woman to play something tonight. Their laughter acts as a thorn in my skull, a tether pulling my attention away again and again. I want to know what she’s laughing about, what she finds funny. It’s not that I simply want to see her smile—I want to possess it, to keep it hidden for my eyes only, to retain a fraction of the light she has forced into my home long after she’s gone.

“He often hosts these on Tyet’s dime, yacht parties filled with women and drugs. Nobody of substance will be there, so I’ve never attended, but my invitation is an easy way in. Beats the head of one of the leading houses showing up unannounced at his rival’s footman’s party.”

“That would certainly turn heads,” Stuart agrees.

I just nod. “And get back to Tyet quickly.”

“But with the invite, you simply scan in at the door and walk in. I doubt anyone there is high ranking enough to even realize who you are.” Andres takes another heavy drag of his cigar, mine forgotten between my fingers.

“It’s important we do this without setting off reg flags. We need to approach him as calmly as possible. Tyet moves quickly on leaks in their façade.” Stuart captures my gaze again as it lingers on the door. The look of loathing in his eyes only further grates at my nerves. He has hated Pup since the moment I made clear my attention to buy her. The only thing keeping that annoyance at bay is that Stuart more or less hates everyone for the mere crime of existing in his line of sight. The older he gets, the more cantankerous he becomes, and he was never known for his sunny disposition before. That’s what made him an excellent second in command to my father, a man who took close to nothing seriously.

My bourbon coats my throat, burning it. “If he doesn’t have access to the information I need, it’ll be a risk having him move in on his own. Even with a substantial offer in place, his disdain for his boss needs to be assured—"

“Assured!” Andres laughs. “The sorry sod off never shuts the fuck up about it! Everyone from the woman who sucks his cock to the man upstairs knows how much he hates the bastard. The right offer, and he’d flip like a fish. He’s no more loyal than Judas.”

I still, my hand tightening on my drink as Stuart's eyes cut to mine. Ever the dammed strategist, the answer is obvious, filling the silence of the room as we stare each other down. I hope he sees the warning in my eyes, the fucking dare.

“Stu—"

He cuts me off. “Then it’s safe to assume the man would jump at the opportunity the fuck the one who got away from his boss, the Lily he so brazenlyobsessed over at Bloom. A token of goodwill before we talk to the man.”

Andres, for the first time tonight, quiets, giving me a loaded look that pisses me off. “Mahari would have my fucking balls with a side of caviar if I responded in agreement with that.” The odd man raises his glass of now brandy, giving a soft toasting to God knows what with nobody at all. A sudden thousand-yard stare in the older man’s eyes makes him look more like a prisoner of war than a millionaire oil tycoon. If I wasn’t currently digging my teeth into my cheek to keep from beating my second in command to death, that’s a story of his I might actually enjoy listening to.

More giggles filter into the room as an iron weight settles in my gut.

“She’s quite taken with your little pet…”

I ignore him, finally taking another puff of the cigar. “The man… Are you aware of his preferences?”

“I don’t get your meaning,” Andres replies.

“Does he fuck violently?”

The sight of disapproval in the man’s eyes doesn’t touch me any more than what’s budding in my chest. “From what I know, his tastes are quite mundane.”

“How long?” I breathe out, watching the smoke leave my mouth.

“The party is next month. Basilisk, there are other—"

“I trust you’ll send the details of the invitation and whatever else before you leave the estate tonight,” Stuart interrupts.

It’s a way in, a simple way. Offer an olive branch, and I can have everything I’ve searched for. My father can rest knowing I took back that blood Tyet cost him. It’s a simple solution to a complicated problem, and I feel sick at the thought of it.

Andres ignores Stuart, taking a long swig, finishing his sixth or seventh drink before addressing me again. “Some lines, you cannot—"

“For fuck's sake, she is a whore! You are here as a guest. Afriend,even.” Stuart sighs as he stands, his hand going to his waistband, but all I can hear is the giggling from the other room, the piano now long forgotten. It’s amazing how even with all the suffering, she laughs. “…But you and your wifewill not leave in that capacity if you should refuse us the information you came to give.”

Andres stills as I stare at my second in command, cocking my head at him. “You overstep.”

Stuart's jaw clenches as he nods. “Sir.”

Reprimanding him in front of another man was a low blow, but so was what he did, and we both know it. I inhale deeply as I stand, nodding to Andres. “Give Stuart all the necessary information. I’ll gather the women to the parlor. I doubt we’ll be separating them anytime soon.”

I want her to have this.

A good night.

One last one before I rip this all to shreds.

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