Page 4 of Beneath the Cursed Veil

I had half a mind to kick him out the door before he could say anything else. Instead, I watched him open the pouch, take out the glass eyeball and hold it up to the light.He turned it this way and that, twisting his fingers as he looked at it with appraisal.

“Aye, Meera,” he said with pride, “You’re my favorite bounty hunter. You always pull through for me, darlin’.”

Scoffing, I flipped through the money, checking to make sure it was all there. Not that Lou had ever screwed me over, but there was a first time for everything. A huge sense of relief flowed through me when every dollar was accounted for. This was enough to keep me afloat for two more months. “Keep your terms of endearment. Your charm doesn’t work on me.”

“My charm works on everyone, love. To what extent, well,” —he shrugged playfully— “it varies.”

He was working an angle. I’d done business with him long enough to know some other offer was coming. “Just say it.”

Lou raised his brows innocently. “Whatever do you mean?”

I sighed. “Stop beating around the bush. You’re trying to be cute so you can butter me up?—”

“You think I’m cute?”

Shooting him a stony glare, I sighed. “I said you weretrying. Not succeeding. Now speak up or get out.”

He tutted. “You’re awfully brazen tonight. Some might think I’d done you wrong.”

“Getting that eyeball was a nasty job, and this”—I held up the wad of money—”isn’t enough to cover how gross it was. I had to crawl through a sewer to get into that guy’s house. A sewer, Lou. There isn’t enough magic in the world to block that stench. Do you have any idea how bad that was?” I crossed my arms, jutting my hip out. “I should’ve gotten paid at least twice this. You set me up.”

“I did not,” he said firmly. “If I knew how to find it, I’d have saved the money and done it myself.”

“You would have crawled through a sewer?”

“Eh,” he shrugged. “Maybe not. Either way, we both know I can’t do your job. That’s why I hire you. I’m just the middleman, lass.”

As much as I wanted to argue, it was the truth. He was nothing more than a broker. The go-between. Lou got paid to find rare items for wealthy buyers. Only he couldn’t actually find them. His expertise wasn’t in retrieving things, so much as knowing who to ask to find them. He had contacts all over the realms and knew how to keep his mouth shut. It granted his buyers anonymity and his bounty hunters a small layer of protection. Or so he said. Honestly, I didn’t trust him, but I also didn’t have a lot of options.

He paid well, and I was desperate.

Hence why I crawled through a fucking sewer and why I wasn’t kicking him out right now.

I sighed, not in the mood for games after the past couple of hours interrogating Jenkins. “What do you want?”

“I have another job for you.”

“Obviously.” I angled my head at the pouch as he tucked it away in his coat’s inner pocket. “But if it involves taking a swim through excrement, my answer is no.”

I might be desperate, but even I had my limits.

Lou grinned, the cunning glint in his eye making the hairs along my arms rise. “It doesn’t.”

“You’re sure? Because you claim you didn’t know about this last one.”

“I didn’t know, and I am sure. Now, do you want it?”

The record had stopped playing, leaving only a lazy static circling the air. “What’s the pay?” Some might askwhat the job is first, but in the end, they were all the same. I found whatever thing needed to be found, whether it was a glass eyeball or an enchanted cuckoo clock. Ultimately, the object didn’t matter. It’s what he was willing to pay that did.

Lou took a step to the side, picking up a pair of antique bone dice that sat in a bowl on the shop counter. He rolled the hand-carved trinkets as I waited for him to answer. The dice clattered against the counter, producing snake eyes. Lou looked up at me slyly. “More than any other job I’ve given you.”

I bit my bottom lip, moving the dice aside so I could think without him distracting me. “Give me a number.”

“A hundred grand. Cash.” Lou leaned his hip against the checkout, watching in amusement as I choked.

“Ahundredgrand?” I knew he wouldn’t joke about this. Leprechauns were serious about money. Especially Lou.

Even if I ended up in the sewer again, this would be worth it. With a hundred grand, I could almost pay off my mortgage. A year or two and I’d own the building outright. My shop. My apartment. Keeping up with maintenance and utilities after that would be a breeze. And most importantly, it would buy me time to figure out a long-term solution to my money problems that didn’t involve doing shady jobs for Lou or mooching off my sister.

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