Page 99 of The Dragon King's Assassin

“Uh-huh.”

“He has a boat at one of the east docks.”

“You've got some interesting friends.”

“Yes, well, since you seem familiar with that part of town, I don't have to tell you that it's not the safest place to walk around when you're drunk.”

“Oh, fuck, did you get robbed?”

“No, that's the weird thing. Someone hit me over the head and dragged me into an alley, but they didn't take my money. And I had gold on me.”

“Now that is very interesting.” Greven drew up a knee and propped his arm on it. “Tell me more.”

“I woke up to the . . . him shaking me. He was really mad. He thought I had passed out, drunk. We got into a horrible argument, and it felt as if he had already made up his mind about me before he'd even found me. He wouldn't listen to anything I said. Scorned me for trying to tell him that I was hit over the head.”

“Did you show him the injury?”

I grimaced. “I didn't have one. It's odd. I was hit hard enough to black out. There should have been something.”

“That is odd. But you said you were drinking; it wouldn't have taken much to put you out.”

“That's a good point.”

“And I'm sorry to say this, but I can see why he didn't believe you if you didn't even have a bump to show him.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“However, as your lover, he should have taken you at your word.”

“Thank you!” I said with a huff.

“Unless you've given him a reason not to trust you.”

“Ugh, you were doing so well, Greven.”

He laughed. “I'm trying to help you see what happened as accurately as possible. It's hard to be unbiased when you're involved, but even harder when everything is so fresh. You need a neutral perspective.”

“And what does your neutrality think?”

“Well, regardless of what he should or shouldn't have done, the whole attack has made me suspicious. You said he's an important man. Would he have enemies or maybe an ex-lover who would want to break you up?”

I went still. “Holy fuck, I've been set up. I thought maybe someone was trying to kill me, but what if their goal had been for him to find me passed out in that alley, just as he had?”

“You said that it seemed as if he'd already made up his mind,” Greven reminded me. “That sounds to me as if someone prepped him.”

“Prepped him?”

“They got him worked up about you before he went looking.”

“Shit. You're right.”

“Do you know anyone who would do that?”

I rolled my eyes. “I could write a list as long as my dick.”

He snickered. “That's a nice-sized list.”

“Shit, I'm sorry about this.” I waved at our nudity.

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